Porty Podcast

Send us a textMany homes in Portobello date back to the Victorian or Edwardian eras. Those in the centre of Edinburgh are much, much older than that. They were fit for purpose in those days – but, with climate change a growing issue along with ever increasing energy prices, they are no longer energy efficient. We could either pull them all down and lose all the architectural heritage that makes this city of World Heritage site – or find a way to improve them, to retrofit them, in the jargon. Last weekend, a Retrofit Roadshow was held here in Porty and David Calder went along to find out more.For more about Porty Community Energy: https://portycommunityenergy.wordpress.com/The shared repairs app mentioned can be found here https://novoville.com/home/shared-repairs/The local architects:  https://www.affectstudio.co.uk/https://www.ealaimpacts.co.uk/

Send us a textThere have been posters appearing around Portobello advertising the screening of a film called "Rory's Way" starring Brian Cox. It's the first step in the path towards creating a local community film club here. It's a project which David Calder discovered when he met Monica Birch, a member of the organising group, has been fermenting for some months.

Send us a textThe new council has been in place for almost six months, so how are the new councillors settling into the job. Three of them were elected for the first time back in May and, in this short series between now and the end of the year, we’ll hear from them all. In this first interview, Porty podcast Producer David Calder met Kate Campbell from the SNP.

Send us a textThere's just over a week to go before the crowd fund closes.https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/trudy-me-a-picture-book-celebrating-difference

Send us a textPhysical disabilities can be very frustrating. It can lead to a loss of confidence, to the feeling that your boundaries are much more limited. For those who depend on a wheelchair, many come to think they’ve somehow become less visible; when out with a partner, even friends may address their comments to the partner and not to the person in the chair. However, they have also found that having as assistance dog can be life enhancing. Your pet can be trained to take on many tasks to help with your daily life, even helping you get dressed by bringing clothes from the wardrobe or picking up items you may have dropped. Dog A.I.D. brings people with disabilities, their dogs and trainers together to turn your furry friend into a valuable assistant. The charity is in Scotland looking for local trainers and will be at Bellfield Community Hub in Portobello on Monday. David Calder wanted to find out more.https://dogaid.org.uk/

Send us a textScotland’s architectural heritage is well known and respected. The large number of tenements you find all over the Central Belt in particular is an important part of that. But therein lies a problem. Who is responsible for looking after them? Each flat is separately owned. Neighbours nowadays do not always know each other. Some are owner-occupied; others are let. It’s a question that’s exercising the minds of ministers in the Scottish Government. If Scotland’s to meet its climate targets, these building will need to be made suitable for the 21st century – by law if necessary. There’s a Scotland-wide organisation, headquartered in Portobello, which wants to help owners and landlords take action now rather than wait for new laws to be passed. It’s a charity called ‘Under One Roof’. You can find out more about the charity here: https://underoneroof.scot/And book your ticket to Mike’s Tribe Talk here: https://tinyurl.com/4ehx7wnv

Send us a textThere’s a beautiful picture book for children called ‘Trudy and Me – a Picture Book Celebrating Difference’. Its heroine is a young girl, Trudy - born with Downs Syndrome, and her relationship with her brother Patrick as they play on the beach at Portobello. The book however is waiting for a crowdfunder campaign, which will come to an end at the end of this month, before it can go to the printer. So, if you follow the link below, you can help make sure it happens. https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/trudy-me-a-picture-book-celebrating-difference

Send us a textIt was fascinating to meet Lisi Angerer, an Austrian student, currently studying in the Netherlands, who has an ambition to write her PhD about Portobello Central.

Send us a textToday saw an interesting example of inter-community collaboration The Northfield and Willowbrae Community Council hosted an Environment Fair at the Northfield Community Centre. However, a lot of groups from Portobello were quite prominent as podcast producer David Calder found this afternoon. https://www.northfieldandwillowbrae.org.uk/https://www.ourfutureedinburgh.org/https://www.edinburghremakery.org.uk/https://edinburghtoollibrary.org.uk/https://www.portobellotimebank.co.uk/https://portycommunityenergy.wordpress.com/ 

Send us a textThis week’s episode is a little unusual. During the pandemic, we became used to seeing empty trains passing beneath the railway bridges nearby. Since things have improved, Governments around Europe and rail companies have done their best to persuade us back. Ok, the strikes here haven't exactly helped. But in Germany, the federal Government decided to introduce a cut price fare scheme which meant travelling by rail became very easy indeed. For this episode, David Calder met two intrepid local rail enthusiasts who travelled to Germany to try it out for themselves.https://www.bahn.com/en/booking-information/db-navigator-app

Send us a textOn Monday evening, a large group of people gathered in the Wash House for the first ever AGM for Porty central, now that it’s formally a charitable organisation – a SCIO, a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. All going well, it will take over the running or Portobello Town Hall when all of the current works are completed and the scaffolding taken down. The plan is that it will lease the building at a peppercorn rate from the Council and set to work bringing it back to life with many and varied events. David Calder was there for the Porty Podcast.https://www.portobellocentral.org/

Send us a textThe Portobello Book Festival is back and this year... back to normal. It starts on the 29th of September and runs until the 2nd of October. Almost all of the events this year (with a couple of exceptions) will be held at the library, though, as David Calder found out, there is a curious extra - a literary walking tour around the town!https://portobellobookfestival.com

Send us a textYou may have noticed the new wine bar on the High Street, intriguingly called Smith and Gertrude. It opened a couple of months ago; and it's an expansion of the business that's been operating successfully in Stockbridge. David Calder wanted to know more and find out how they didn't just survive but thrive through the pandemic. https://smithandgertrude.com/ 

Send us a textEarlier this year, we heard from actor Cal McAninch about the Porty team taking on the Atlantic Challenge. Well, Atlantic Body and Soul have been training hard and tackling longer and longer trips (you may have seen photographs on social media of their week-long  expedition around the West Coast of Scotland) in preparation for the event in December. David Calder met two of the crew, Alec Martin and Matt Callis, to find out about their progress. https://atlanticbodyandsoul.com/https://www.taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com/http://bodyandsoulcharity.org/https://the-junction.org/ 

Send us a textAnna Liebmann is a basketweaver who lives and works in her studio by the sea. She started weaving in her late twenties and is now a member of the Scottish Basketmakers’ Circle. Hazel met her and recorded this episode while Anna wove, talking about growing willow, teaching in lockdown and what 'zone' you're in while weaving. You can find out more about Anna's work on her website:www.annaliebmann.net

Send us a textOn Sunday afternoon, hundreds of people gathered in Bellfield Street for the BikeFest. It was an opportunity to look at, ride and talk about all sorts of bicycles, many of them highly unusual. The police were there to help register your bike to deter thieves. There was a swap-shop for bike parts, advice on bike maintenance and a workshop on what might help to make Portobello more bike friendly. David Calder took his bike along to find out more.

Send us a textJune is Pride Month – and this year is special for two reasons. The first is that this is the 50th time there’s been such a celebration of the LGBT+ community. And by far the more important is that this weekend sees the first ever Porty Pride. To find out more, David Calder met two of the organisers.https://portypride.com/2022/programme/

Send us a textThis afternoon, the people of Portobello (and beyond) will be welcomed to Bellfield for the first Community Forum to hear about what’s going on at the Town Hall. It’s the first chance since 2019 that local people will be able to see the plans for the building and to discuss the plans for its possible future. Work on making the building suitable for use is now expected to start early in July so this is your chance to let the Trustees of Portobello Central hear your thoughts about your hopes and expectations for when it finally opens its door to the public, as David Calder’s been hearing.

Send us a textA new bar/restaurant will very soon be opening on the High Street. Called Porty Vault, it will be moving into what used to be the Skylark. It’s a major expansion by Vault City Brewing which already is based in Portobello – its brewery is located in the A1 Industrial Estate, just off the Harry Lauder road. But the company is funding this in a slightly unusual way – as David Calder’s been finding out. And if you want to get involved in crowdfunding Porty Vault, just click here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/portyvault 

Send us a textClimate change is happening. It happens slowly but the pace is accelerating. We know the Greenland ice sheet is melting, as are glaciers from the Himalayas to the Alps and across to the Rockies and Andes. Much of the sea ice in the Arctic melts during the summer and ice shelves in the Antarctic are crumbling. So sea levels are rising. But the change is also causing unheard of heat waves in India and Pakistan as well as droughts in southern Africa and parts of the Americas. It can be so overwhelming that many people choose to shut their eyes and ears. But we really need to have a free and frank discussion about what we all can do as individuals and communities. And that’s where the climate café in Porty comes in. David Calder’s been finding out more.