Porty Podcast

Send us a textThe Bellfield Community Hub has been one of Portobello's success stories. But it's a story with a future and this afternoon the next phase of that story - Bellfield's Big Build - will be launched with a party when we'll learn how we all as a community can be involved through a share offering. But what does that mean? In order to find out - and help those who can't attend, Hazel Darwin-Clements went along to meet Ian Cooke, Secretary of Action Porty and the Bellfield Operations Board, and Alison Jeffrey, Volunteer Co-ordinator at Bellfield. Their target is an ambitious one - to raise £200,000 from the community to refurbish the Celebration Hall and make it more accessible, flexible and warm. They believe there's an unmet demand in Portobello for more community spaces. You can find out all about the vision and how you can get involved by listening to this episode.You can find out more here: www.bellfield.scot/buy-sharesGuest Host: Hazel Darwin-Clements

Send us a textFor the second year in a row, Cycling UK have presented awards to two individuals who have worked hard to promote cycling as a healthy means of getting around. This year’s “Community Champions” from #100WomenInCycling are Kirsty Lewin from Spokes Porty and Hazel Darwin-Clements from Porty Community Energy. In this last episode of the year, Hazel joined David Calder to look back over her work to promote the use of cargo and other bikes – and also to look forward to some exciting projects coming up in the New Year. 

Send us a textThe Beatles are the best-selling music act of all time, with an estimated 600 million records sold worldwide. Between 1962 and 1970, The Fab Four wrote and recorded 188 of their own songs, with 16 of them reaching Number 1 in the Charts. This afternoon and evening, you’ll be able to hear all of them played at the Beatles Marathon at Portobello Town Hall.More information: https://beatlesmarathon.com/All performers will be live-streamed from middayAll music taken from the recordings made during the 2023 Marathon."Here Comes the Sun" and "Sgt Pepper" performed by Unrising Sun"All my Loving" performed by the Charles Hawtrey Band

Send us a textYou may have heard about the Beatles Marathon coming to Porty Town Hall at the weekend. Well, I managed to catch up with one of the main organisers, Stuart McGachan, to hear more about what's planned. Here's a brief taste of what he had to say.For more information, click https://beatlesmarathon.com/#Music from the Charles Hawtrey Band performing at last year's Marathonhttps://beatlesmarathon.com/the-charles-hawtrey-band/

Send us a textOne of the most popular episodes of the Porty Podcast was back in 2018 when the Edinburgh Tool Library arrived in Portobello. The library and workshop moved into the same building as Tribe Porty – both share the same kind of ethos. This month, it celebrates its 10th anniversary which makes it the perfect time to find out how it has thrived, despite the pandemic, and added new services all around the idea of make do and mend. https://edinburghtoollibrary.org.uk/ 

Send us a textIf you go along to Porty Community Fridge this morning, you’ll see something a bit different. Today sees the launch of what they’re calling the RepairMongery. The hope is that people will book a slot where they can bring along those household goods that have stopped working for some reason but have not yet been thrown into the recycle bin. On hand will be experts who will decide whether they’re worth repairing. In this episode, we find out from the founders of the project what they have in mind.

Send us a textEarlier this week, the programme for the Portobello Book Festival was launched. Throughout the first weekend in October, the library will be buzzing with writers launching new books, talking about them, discussing the work of others and laying bare what it means to be an author. This is the 16th Festival and is probably alone in the UK for being free. Tickets will be available from Monday but to get a feel for what will be on offer, David Calder spoke to Joanne Baird and her daughter Grace, now both trustees of this popular event.

Send us a textDementia affects around 90,000 people in Scotland. Across the UK, the total is currently around a million. Those figures however are expected to increase by 50% by 2050. That will put an ever increasing strain on the services which offer day care and other support services. One of those in Portobello is The Cottage in Milton Road, run by Life Care Edinburgh. David Calder went to find out what it provides for those living with dementia.For more information click here: https://tinyurl.com/5mveehmv

Send us a textSt Mark’s Episcopal Church in the High Street has received some good news. The National Churches Trust has awarded it a £100,000 grant to help preserve this historic Georgian building. The church first started fund raising about five years ago but that was hit by lockdown and other issues which delayed the whole project. But when David Calder met the Rev Canon Dr Sophia Marriage, Rector of St Mark's, she told him of her delight that things were finally moving forward again.

Send us a textHere at The Porty Podcast, we were delighted to learn that a group of primary school children at Towerbank had come top in their age-group in a programme called ‘Academy 9’. The aim was to get schools across Scotland involved in real life science and technology projects - in this case the dualling of the A9 north of Perth. The pupils at Towerbank chose to focus on the environment and sustainability aspects of this major undertaking. David Calder went along to meet the winning team.

Send us a textIt almost seems hard to believe but Portobello Town Hall has been running – and more important running successfully – for a year now. And it’s five years, almost to the day, when Miss Morag from Lothian Dance Academy found the doors barred when she was getting ready to put on its Annual Show. Thankfully, it did go ahead despite concerns about the state of the building. And within hours a petition had been launched to save the building for the community. It therefore seems appropriate that Morag Phillips, the same Miss Morag but now a trustee of the hall, should come to speak to David Calder about Portobello Town Hall’s successful first year in community control:

Send us a textIf you were looking at Facebook earlier in the week, you may have seen the lovely photograph of a beaming Morag Donaldson. She’s just been presented with an award recognising all the voluntary work she’s done in Portobello in recent years, most recently in connection with Bellfield. She came in to record an episode of the podcast with David Calder.

Send us a textIt's the first of June. The longest day is just three weeks away. And on Midsummer's Day, The Portobello Sea Rising Festival will take place. In this episode, Hazel Darwin-Clements from Porty Community Energy has been out on the Prom and Beach, occasionally getting her feet wet not to mention a little chilly in the breeze, to tell us about what we can expect at this event , which includes music, a puppet show and much, much more. The organisers are still crowd funding the event, and you can help by buying one of their t-shirts by following this link. https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/sea-rising-festival-2024

Send us a textThe dark nights of 2020 were enlivened by the brilliant pictures and illustrations people put up for the first Window Wanderland. The event just before Christmas helped us cope with the restrictions of lockdown. This year it’s back but moved to the first weekend of March to remind us all that longer nights and better weather are on their way. 

Send us a textIt’s been over six months since the community took over control of Portobello Town Hall. Inside, it’s now strikingly different from what had been before - it now looks quite vibrant and fresh and there’s an air of excitement because of the activity held there. Outside in the grounds that surround the Hall, it’s a different story - and, next weekend, you’ll have the chance to share your views on what should be done.

Send us a textBelly dancing is synonymous with the Middle East. Some of remember films from the 50s and 60s which feature these exotic looking dancers. However, belly dancing has attracted followers all over the world, not least here in Scotland. Tonight, you can see it in action at Bellfield in the first of seven such events to be held there this year. Called The Rose Hafla, it’s a showcase of Scottish belly dancing. https://www.rosesunderthemoon.com/Royalty free music from SmartsoundAlbum: Across Borders Track: Belly Dance - Fire

Send us a textJust over three months ago, Storm Babet caused considerable damage across the East of Scotland. Although Portobello was sheltered from the worst effects of the storm to a certain extent, we still saw large swathes of the beach swept away, groynes left at crooked angles and damage done to the sea wall and Prom. At the time, local Councillor Tim Jones was the nominated spokesman to represent the Council and was shocked by what he saw. Over the past few weeks, officials and others have had time to assess what needs to be done. In this episode, Tim Jones again spoke to David Calder.

Send us a textWhat did you do in lockdown? Well, one Porty couple set about starting their own TV show called Moreish TV. At first, it was found on YouTube but its growing popularity meant that it attracted attention not just from up and coming stars from a whole range of different media but from ever more interesting, important and influential streaming platforms. Today, it can be found on Apple TV giving it all the kudos and credibility its founders could have wished for.

Send us a textOver the past few days, we’ve heard reports that, for instance, Portobello Swim Centre could be earmarked for closure. That was followed a statement from Edinburgh Leisure which insisted there had been misleading media articles regarding venue closures. The very idea that a major Porty facility could be under threat was enough to get many members of the community getting ready to take action. David Calder caught up with June Peebles, the retiring chief executive of Edinburgh Leisure to try and get some clarity about the situation.

Send us a textIt’s just over six months since Tills and Company arrived in Portobello High Street. It’s more than just a second-hand bookshop, but a place where you can meet friends over a coffee or spend time reading or quietly meditating. It’s taken a while to reach the management for an interview to find out more about this business – but in this episode, I finally met up with Joshua McNamara and Amanda Dever.