The Civil Service Retirement Fellowship (CSRF) has provided a forum for friendship and companionship for half a century.
Recently CSRF Chief Executive David Tickner paid a visit to the Edinburgh group which offers a busy programme of activities for those former civil servants many of whom gave their entire professional careers to public service
The group began as a charity supporting former civil servants and their dependents, but has changed into a group supporting older members with a local community group network, two national befriending schemes (Phone Buddy & National Visitors Network) and information and advice.
The group network provides a valuable service to retired and older people within the community offering an important forum for friendship and companionship, educational speakers and leisure activities.Â
The Edinburgh group is keen to attract new interest from any retired people in the city. Each year it holds a summer picnic in Princes Street Gardens near the tree planted to mark the group’s 25th anniversary in 1993.
All groups are run by volunteers and in Edinburgh it is headed up by former civil servant and Board Director Liz Beedie who worked as a civil servant.
As a charity, the CSRF receives no government funding. They rely very much on fundraising activities and donations to support their work. Their 2019 Connecting Our Communities initiative aims to get recognition for the group networks, and to attract new members.
The Edinburgh group meets on the third Tuesday of the month at 2.00pm. Meetings take place in St John’s Church Café, Princes Street EH2 4BJ and all former civil servants, dependents and all local retired people are very welcome to attend.
You can find out more information about the group online at  www.csrf.org.uk/edinburgh-centralÂ
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
