Porty Podcast

Send us a textCast your minds back to the turn of the year. Five men from Portobello’s Eastern Amateur Rowing Club were thousands of miles away from their families, in the middle of the Atlantic in quite a small rowing boat taking part in the Talisker Atlantic Challenge. It took them 39 days and 8hours but it’s also taken them time to come to terms with the enormity of what they’ve achieved and with life back on dry land. Next weekend, Cal MacAninsh and the others will be taking part in a Q&A at Bellfield Brewery to share some of that experience.To book tickets, click here: https://tinyurl.com/efvm5ppb

Send us a textWalk down any street – not just in Portobello – but almost any town in the UK and you’ll see row after row of cars, mostly just sitting there, hardly used. The Western World is obsessed with private car ownership. They’re a status symbol. And yet, cars – and road transport generally – are responsible for a considerable proportion of greenhouse gas emissions. If the country is to meet its climate targets, attitudes are going to have to change. And that’s where car sharing comes in. Because of her work with Porty Community Energy and the creation of a fledgling car sharing group here, Hazel was invited to produce a podcast for the Scottish Climate Change Action Network. We had talked about this as a subject – and, in the spirit of re-use, recycle etc, this is a shorter version of that episode.

Send us a textToday, the Portobello Timebank marks its 10th Anniversary with a fund-raising event this afternoon in the Baptist Church Hall. They do hold regular such sessions there – but this one is just a little special – as David Calder found out from some of the members:https://www.portobellotimebank.co.uk/ 

Send us a textPortobello has a rich and varied history, dating back about 300 years. And before that, the Figgate Whins were known as the haunt of smugglers and outlaws. So it’s perhaps unsurprising that there are stories of mysterious happenings in parts of the town. But from next week and through the summer, we’ll be able to hear about some of these tales of ghosts and ghouls and things that go bump in the night when the Portobello Ghost Tours get under way. Here’s a little of what you can expect.To book tickets, click on this link: https://tinyurl.com/3eazxmm2

Send us a textPortobello and its sense of community is attracting the attention of the academic world. The latest to be looking at us is a fourth year undergraduate who’s studying geography at Edinburgh University. We will be the subject of his final dissertation and at least some of his source material comes from… listening to The Porty Podcast.

Send us a textYou may have seen the posters about what’s happening at the Town Hall. You may have spoken to people about how the building will be used when it becomes a community asset. You may have your own ideas about events you’d like to see – or even put on – there. But right now, the trustees are looking for your practical help in the form of the cash they’ll need to run the Town Hall from Day 1 when they take over the lease from the Council – and that day’s expected to be April 1st!!To donate click here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/portobello-town-hall-crowdfunder

Send us a textNext Saturday, a group of storytellers from around the country are gathering at Bellfield for an event next Saturday evening entitled “Tales of the Gallus Women”. These “Gallus Women” are those who, in their day, made a significant impact on their communities but whose lives and influence have largely been forgotten. The show has been brought together by Anne Dignan who founded the local storytelling group here in Portobello. David Calder brought some of them together online to find out more.Tickets on the door or from Eventbrite https://tinyurl.com/27mch2vs

Send us a textIn the last few days, the City of Edinburgh Council has launched a consultation about how to turn Portobello into a 20 minute neighbourhood. Over the next six week, local people will have the chance to express their views on how to make local services – shops, cafes, the local surgery - more accessible by foot, cycle, wheelchair or public transport. It hopes this will help people share their ideas about how to make the town centre and local area better for everyone. David Calder spoke to local councillor Jane Meagher about how it would work.To complete the consultation, follow this link: https://tinyurl.com/bdhtdayf

Send us a textThis coming Thursday, the Portobello Timebank has arranged a talk at Bellfield to mark to 100th anniversary of the public broadcasting in the UK, which took place at the end of last year. They’ve enlisted the help of Tom Stevenson, a retired professor of Microelectronic Technology at Edinburgh University. His talk - The Story of Early Radio – tells the history of radio from the birth of an idea in the mid-19th century to the creation of the BBC and on to its impact in, for example, the Second World War. Scotland has its place in this story – and its development in its earliest years. David Calder caught up with him to find out more.Entry by ticket from Eventbrite. Click here to book: https://tinyurl.com/2p8t5fm3Royalty free music from SmartSoundClassical Suite 5, Chopin - Grande Valse Brilliante

Send us a textThe Portobello Community Hub at Bellfield depends on volunteers. Some of them get involved with single projects, other make a regular long term commitment, or even just offer to help as needed. The tasks they take on vary from being Action Porty Board members, to assisting at events, gardening or helping to maintain the building, etc. To help manage this army of committed individuals, one of the few paid roles is volunteer coordinator. Alison Jeffrey Thom took over this role at the start of this year and as she explained to David Calder, the job feels custom-made for her.To get in touch, contact Alison@actionporty.com

Send us a textPortobello is a magic place - quite literally! In Richard Wiseman, we have a magician whose videos on YouTube have spell-bound people from around the world (over 600 million times he says). He’s performed at the Fringe and was a Fringe Festival Director. He’s also fascinated by the history of magic and Portobello’s rich history in this wonderful art. And that’s the story he’ll tell at the next meeting of the Portobello Heritage Trust. But there’s much more to Richard Wiseman than just magic, as David Calder’s been finding out.https://portobelloheritagetrust.co.uk/forthcoming%20events.htm

Send us a textA new play for schools is about to start touring over the next couple of months. It’s called ‘Maya and the Whale’ and it stars Hazel Darwin-Clements who also wrote it. The production is part of a programme run by Theatre in Schools Scotland. The organisation works with teachers, education colleagues, local authority arts organisations to develop an education values the enjoyment of the arts. David Calder met up with Hazel to find out more.For more information about the tour, click here https://tinyurl.com/55ezbae5

Send us a textThinking back to the Festive Season, cosmetics appear to have been popular gifts. And soap is one of those products that seems to have to ability to keep on giving throughout the year – or rather, good quality soaps. If you do your shopping in Portobello, you may never have come across a small shop at the eastern end of Joppa Road. Dook produces artisan soaps which it sells all over the world – with one notable exception… the EU.

Send us a textThere will shortly be an unusual dance event in Porty.  It’s called the Malecon Matinee and will be held next Sunday afternoon. What’s behind the name? Well, it’s the creation of local people who’ve fallen in love with the music and dance of Cuba – and the Malecon is the main road along the sea front in Havana. But what is different and special about this music and dance? David Calder’s been speaking to two of the organisers.MusicSon Habana - El Son de Cuba (Royalty Free Music)Maria - Cuban Music Locally Recorded copyright free

Send us a textHappy New Year and welcome back to another season of The Porty Podcast.Have you ever walked along Porty Prom and watched the open-water swimmers on a cold January day braving the freezing air before walking into the cold sea? There’s a bit of madness on New Year’s Day when the ‘Loony Dook’ takes place; but to keep going throughout the month despite most weather conditions takes some determination. One Porty resident has given herself a big incentive – raising money for a cancer charity. Annabel Meikle has set herself the challenge of doing “50 Swims for Maggie’s”! To donate: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/annabel-meikle3To read the article mentioned by Annabel, follow this: https://tinyurl.com/4hhnkmrwhttps://www.maggies.org/our-centres/maggies-edinburgh/ 

Send us a textIt may only be the second week of December but the Porty Podcast is taking an extended break until the New Year. However, it’s been an interesting year. Both Hazel Darwin-Clements and David Calder have met lots of interesting people with interesting stories to tell. So we thought we should look back on some of the best bits of the last 12 months. Thanks to everyone who took part and everyone who listened. Have a lovely Christmas and we’ll be back in the New Year.

Send us a textToday, we meet the last of the four councillors we elected back in May. Conservative Tim Jones mounted a tightly focused campaign here in Portobello. He wanted to see the re-opening of Brunstane Road, the removal of some of the Spaces for People protected cycle lanes, and to stop the introduction of a controlled parking zone. When he spoke to David Calder this week, he stressed these remained important but was also keen to see, for example, improvements to the bus services into town.

Send us a textIn this the third of our interviews with our local councillors, I’ve been speaking to Alys Mumford from the Scottish Green Party. The Greens had a particularly successful election, doubling their numbers from five to ten. All of the councillors I’ve spoken to so far have been deeply concerned about climate change and about the current economic and social crises facing the country and the impact that will have on the City of Edinburgh and the Portobello Craigmillar Ward in particular.

Send us a textYou may have heard that Lothian Dance Academy is under new management. For the last thirty-three years, Miss Morag – Morag Philips – has been the driving force behind the school. But before that, she had a thriving career, travelling the world in a wide range of shows including ballet and cabaret. However, as David Calder found out when he met Miss Morag yesterday afternoon, the school we know today almost didn’t happen.

Send us a textAs we know, the new council has been in place for almost six months. Three of our elected members are new to the role. So how are they settling into the job? In this second episode, Porty podcast Producer David Calder met Labour’s Jane Meagher