The Edinburgh Reporter October 2019

October 2019 

@EdinReporter /EdinReporter edinburghreporter theedinburghreporter.co.uk 

Pomp and Protests 

The Edinburgh Riding of the 

Marches was revived ten years 

ago and now each September the 

streets of the Old Town come alive 

with horses and riders bringing 

news from the boundaries or 

marches of the city to the Lord 

Provost. 

This year it took place on 15 

September when hundreds of 

horses trotted through Holyrood 

Park and then up the Royal Mile. 

This is a typical common riding 

event marking the city boundaries, 

but is also a dramatic reenactment 

of the journey taken by the Captain 

of the Trained Band (responsible 

for keeping order in the city) to tell 

of the tragic news of the defeat 

at Flodden in 1513. It began 

again in 2009 when businessman 

Robert Miller presented the City 

of Edinburgh banner to the Lord 

Provost. The Edinburgh Lad and 

Lass are in our photo right. PHOTO 

Martin P McAdam. 

Read more on page 7. 

WHAT'S ON 

Topping & Co have finally 

opened. Read more on Page 17 

BUSINESS 

Meeting Dennis Jones at Ocean 

Terminal. Read more on page 13 

FOOD 

Juliet rounds up the food news 

for you. Read more on Page 25 

It was a beautifully sunny September day for the thousands who joine the Scottish Youth Climate Strike Edinburgh march from The Meadows to 

Holyrood, the weather only adding inspiration for the banner makers. Unusual weather in September said some, Sea Levels are Rising So are We, 

The Wrong Amazon is Burning. It took an hour for the protesters to pass us by on The Royal Mile. Read more on page 7. 

FUNDRAISING 

Social enterprise in need of a 

little help. 

Read more on page 23 

Stay up to scratch with our 

winter golf membership 

Only 

£22 

per month 

Join online or at your nearest course today. 

edinburghleisure.co.uk 

Terms and conditions apply 

Registered Scottish Charity No: SC027450

2 

NEWS 

ABOUT US 

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Editor: Phyllis Stephen 


07791 406 498 

The Edinburgh Reporter 

Letters to the Editor 

Dear Editor, 

Why are people allowed to 

smoke outside of the entrances to 

hospitals in Scotland? 

If smoking is such a major 

contributor to bad health, it seems 

extremely ironic and contradictory 

to me that the NHS and the 

Scottish government cannot 

afford to hire someone to ensure 

this behaviour does not happen. 

My pregnant wife has to visit the 

hospital for checkups and the only 

Dear Editor, 

I am often asked for ideas on 

ways in which people can offer 

support to those affected by 

breast cancer, especially during 

October, which marks Breast 

Cancer Awareness Month. 

And my answer is always… 

take part in wear it pink and raise 

money for breast cancer research 

and support. 

Wear it pink is the UK’s biggest 

and boldest pink fundraiser, taking 

place on Friday 18 October and 

raises funds for Breast Cancer 

Now. 

Not only is taking part fun and 

easy, in doing so you’ll be raising 

money which will make a real 

difference to the lives of those 

All Farmers Autocare outlets 

across the city at 194 Queensferry 

Road, 225 St John's Road, 34 

Hillhouse Road, 111 Piersfield 

Place, 19c Strathearn Road and 

108B Market Street Musselburgh. 

All city libraries. 

Bonhams 22 Queen St EH2 1JX 

Boardwalk Beach Club 

50 Marine Drive EH4 5ES 

Broughton Place Hair & Beauty 

2a Broughton Pl EH1 3RX 

way to enter the building is to walk 

past a crowd of already unhealthy 

smokers. 

If you cannot afford or refuse 

to pay for someone to ensure this 

rule is not upheld, can you at least 

create a non smokers entrance for 

the majority of patients who do 

not smoke and which requires a 

password so that smokers do not 

linger around this entrance? 

I suspect the Scottish 

Government and the NHS simply 

affected by this devastating 

disease. 

Despite more people surviving 

the disease than ever before, 

breast cancer is still the most 

common cancer in the UK. Around 

700 people in Lothian are given 

the devastating news that they 

have breast cancer, and around 

140 people in the area die from the 

disease each year. 

That’s why fundraising 

campaigns such as wear it pink 

are so important. 

Since launching in 2002, wear 

it pink has raised more than £33 

million for breast cancer research. 

Money which helps Breast 

Cancer Now get one step closer 

to achieving our ambition that 

by 2050, everyone who develops 

Helping those in need 

BBC Children in Need have 

awarded £178,589 to two 

Edinburgh projects which work 

with disadvantaged children and 

young people. 

The Junction - Young People 

Health and Wellbeing gets a two 

year grant of £77,116 to support 

young people with a range of 

mental and physical wellbeing 

issues. This will enable one to one 

support sessions. 

Please support our stockists! 

Café Lowdown 

40 George St EH2 2LE 

Candersons Sweet Shop 

102 Leith Walk EH6 5DT 

Close Gallery 

4B Howe St EH3 6TD 

The Doo’cot 

731-733 Ferry Rd EH4 2UA 

ESPC Showroom 

107 George St EH2 3ES 

Grassmarket Community Project 

86 Candlemaker Row EH1 2QA 

Henderson's 94 Hanover St EH2 

We write about news relating to Edinburgh and the immediate area. 

We welcome contributions to our website and newspaper. 

do not care about the health of 

non smokers. 

I am getting sick of encountering 

this when I have to go to hospital. 

breast cancer will live – and be 

supported to live well. 

Last year alone, over 19,000 

people registered to take part in 

the event, raising more than £1.6 

million. So, will readers in Lothian 

help us to beat this total in 2019? 

Everyone and anyone can take 

part in wear it pink. Some people 

will choose to hold a cake sale, 

while others will opt to organise a 

raffle, and some will arrange a pink 

fancy dress day at school, work, or 

in their community. 

However you choose to 

fundraise, you will be helping 

Breast Cancer Now make a huge 

impact on the lives of those 

affected by breast cancer. 

We would love to see everyone 

Spartans Community Football 

Academy will get £101,472 to 

help them with their work with 

young people from disadvantaged 

backgrounds in youth groups and 

sports sessions. These sessions 

help build confidence and offer 

opportunities for the young people 

to make friends. 

Florence Burke, Impact Senior 

Manager of Scotland at BBC 

Children in Need said: “We're 

absolutely delighted to be 

awarding funding to such brilliant 

charities and projects like these, 

and I'm looking forward to seeing 

the difference that they will make 

to young lives in the community. I 

also want to say a huge thank you 

to everyone who supported BBC 

Children in Need in 2018. Without 

your generosity, the amazing work 

that these charities and projects 

do in creating a brighter future for 

disadvantaged children and young 

people wouldn’t be possible.” 

1DB and Holyrood Rd 

The Hideout Cafe 40-42 Queen 

Charlotte St EH6 6AT 

Leith Walk Police Box Pop Up 

Croall Pl EH7 4LT 

Maialino 34 William St EH3 7LJ 

Milk & Honey 

78 Queen Street EH2 4NF 

Ocean Terminal Ocean Drive EH6 

6JJ 

Scottish Arts Club 

24 Rutland Sq EH1 2BW 

@EdinReporter 

theedinburghreporter.co.uk 

It is completely unjust and needs 

addressed ASAP. 

yours sincerely, 

Duncan McCafferty 

in Lothian ditching their everyday 

colours and digging out their 

fabulous pink outfits, to help make 

a difference this Breast Cancer 

Awareness Month. 

So, what are you waiting for? 

Register to claim your free 

fundraising pack at wearitpink. 

org mark Friday 18 October in 

your diaries, and join us in helping 

to fund life-saving breast cancer 

research and life-changing support 

for those affected by breast 

cancer. 

Summer Kendrick 

Wear it pink Manager, Breast 

Cancer Now 

222/2 Leith Walk 

Edinburgh 

EH6 5EQ 

The money comes from the huge 

£58 million raised last year during 

the 2018 Appeal. 

Across Edinburgh, BBC Children 

in Need is currently funding 49 

projects to a value of more than 

£2.9million. 

Volunteering 

Fair in Leith 

The Leith Volunteering Fair 

will be held on 10 October 2019 

at Leith Community Centre 12a 

Newkirkgate EH6 6AD. It begins at 

4.00pm and runs until 7.00pm. 

There is a volunteering 

opportunity for everyone and you 

are invited along to find yours. 

There will be many organisations 

at the event who need one-off, 

occasional and regular volunteers. 

St Bride’s Community Centre 

10 Orwell Terrace EH11 2DZ 

Strumpets 

35 William Street EH3 7LW 

Summerhall 

1Summerhall EH9 1PL 

The Queen's Hall Box Office 

Clerk St EH8 9JG 

The Royal Scots Club 

29-31 Abercromby Pl EH3 6QE 

Like to become one of our 

stockists? 

Then get in touch. 

/EdinReporter 

edinburghreporter

@EdinReporter /EdinReporter edinburghreporter theedinburghreporter.co.uk NEWS 3 

Unanimous Supreme Court judgement goes against 

the government 

Joanna Cherry QC MP was lead 

petitioner in the case of Cherry 

and others v Advocate General for 

Scotland. This case was decided 

in favour of the petitioners in 

the Court of Session in early 

September. 

The UK Government then appealed 

the decision to the UK Supreme 

Court. 

On 24 September 2019 the UK 

Supreme Court handed down 

a unanimous decision that the 

prorogation or suspension of 

parliament was unlawful. The 

Prime Minister said he did not 

agree with the decision and that 

he would continue to deliver Brexit 

on 31 October. 

Joanna Cherry writes: 

"I am delighted that the UK 

Supreme Court has followed the 

lead of Scotland’s Supreme Court 

and ruled that Boris Johnson’s 

shut down of parliament was 

unlawful. The effect of the ruling 

is that Parliament should never 

have been prorogued in the early 

hours of the morning of Tuesday 

10 September 2019. Therefore, 

parliament is technically still 

sitting and it could resume 

immediately and get on with the 

job of holding this minority Tory 

Government to account. 

The Scottish constitutional 

tradition, dating back to the 

Declaration of Arbroath and the 

Claim of Right, is that neither the 

Monarch nor the Government 

is above the law. This is in line 

with the modern principles of 

Constitutional democracy and 

I am glad that the UK Supreme 

court agrees. 

Some will no doubt persist in the 

fallacy that by making this ruling 

the UK Supreme Court has strayed 

into the field of politics. In the 

Scottish court, Lord Drummond 

Young had the perfect riposte to 

this nonsense when he said: 

“The courts cannot subject the 

actings of the executive to political 

scrutiny, but they can and should 

ensure that the body charged with 

performing that task, Parliament, 

is able to do so.” 

The UK Supreme Court has made 

the ruling necessary to restore 

democracy and the rule of law. 

Now politicians must make sure 

that ruling is respected. 

Boris Johnson’s behaviour is 

wholly lacking in integrity. It is 

pretty clear he lied to MPs about 

the reasons for the prorogation 

and misled the Queen. He was 

forced to give documents to the 

Scottish court, which showed 

disdain for parliamentary 

democracy and a desire to lay a 

false trail as to the real reasons 

for the prorogation. No doubt 

that is why he refused to swear 

a written statement on oath in 

support of his position and why 

no other minister was prepared to 

do so either. It also explains the 

Government’s refusal to release 

the further documentation ordered 

by Parliament as it would probably 

give the game away completely. 

MPs must now return so we can 

scrutinise what this Government 

is up to and if necessary, hold the 

Prime Minister and his ministers 

in contempt of Parliament. I 

along with my colleagues across 

Parliament will be tabling Urgent 

Questions to try to force Ministers 

to come to the despatch box to 

answer." 

"It follows that Parliament has 

not been prorogued and that this 

court should make declarations 

to that effect. 

We have been told by counsel 

for the Prime Minister that he 

will “take all necessary steps to 

comply with the terms of any 

declaration made by the court” 

and we expect him to do so. 

However, it appears to us that, 

Joanna Cherry outside the Court of Session last month with the court’s 

decision. PHOTO © 2019 The Edinburgh Reporter 

From The UK Supreme Court Decision 

as Parliament is not prorogued, 

it is for Parliament to decide 

what to do next. 

There is no need for Parliament 

to be recalled under the Meeting 

of Parliament Act 1797. 

Nor has Parliament voted to 

adjourn or go into recess. 

Unless there is some 

Parliamentary rule to the 

contrary of which we are 

unaware, the Speaker of the 

House of Commons and the Lord 

Speaker can take immediate 

steps to enable each House to 

meet as soon as possible to 

decide upon a way forward. 

That would, of course, be a 

proceeding in Parliament which 

could not be called in question in 

this or any other court."

4 

NEWS 

Her Majesty the Queen bestowed 

the Queen's Award for Voluntary 

Service on two Edinburgh-based 

charities recently. 

At a ceremony in the City 

Chambers there was a packed 

house as the Lord Lieutenant, 

Frank Ross, presented 

representatives from the charities 

with the prestigious award in the 

form of a crystal decanter and a 

certificate. 

The charities are It's Good 2 Give! 

which provides a support network 

for children with cancer and the 

second is PF Counselling Services 

which provides a free counselling 

service. 

Established in 2002 to mark the 

Golden Jubilee and to recognise 

the outstanding contributions 

made to local communities 

by groups of volunteers, the 

Queen’s Awards are the highest 

public recognition afforded to 

UK charities, which the Lord 

Lieutenant explained is a charity's 


Queen’s Awards for Voluntary Service 2019 

Lynne McNicoll MBE who founded It’s Good 2 Give with Marion 

Donaldson Senior Volunteer 

Edinburgh is turning 

purple 

Some iconic Edinburgh 

landmarks will take on a different 

hue on 24th October, with 

locations such as Jenners being lit 

in purple, marking World Polio Day. 

Why purple? Polio immunisations 

in vulnerable countries are 

organised on a mass scale, and 

children’s little fingers are dipped 

in purple dye to indicate they have 

been vaccinated – the “Purple 

Pinkie”. Edinburgh Rotary Clubs, 

like most Rotary Clubs in the 

world, raise money to support 

this, and you will see many areas 

where clubs have planted purple 

crocuses to raise awareness, from 

the approach to the Forth Crossing 

through Corstorphine and Currie 

out to Dalkeith and Musselburgh. 

Edinburgh Rotarians have also 

travelled to help in these National 

Immunisation Days. Last year a 

staggering 173 million children 

were vaccinated in a single day. 

Rotary started the campaign to 

eradicate polio from the world over 

thirty years ago when, in 1985, 

there were over 350,000 cases of 

polio each year worldwide. With 

the involvement of Rotary, the 

World Health Organisation and the 

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 

this year there have been only 

71 cases, in two countries, 

Afghanistan and Pakistan. We are 

near our goal of making polio only 

the second disease to have been 

completely eradicated from the 

planet. 

If you would like to know more 

about Rotary or End Polio Now 

please contact secretary@ 

rotary1020.org 

equivalent to an MBE. The 

Lord Lieutenant is the Queen's 

representative in the city. 

He said : "It affords you the 

opportunity not only to feel 

very proud of what the award 

recipients have achieved and the 

national recognition by our Head 

of State but also that this award 

is importantly the highest public 

recognition award provided in the 

UK." 

He explained that he had to visit 

each of the charities in December 

2018 and January 2019 and 

then offer a citation and report 

of the volunteers involved in the 

nominated organisations. 

The Lord Lieutenant said : "I was 

highly impressed and indeed in 

many instances humbled by the 

work of each of the organisations 

and the dedication and passion 

of the volunteers involved. It 

was clear to me that all the 

nominations were outstanding 

contenders for Her Majesty the 

Queen's recognition. 

"Edinburgh continues by far 

to be Scotland's leading hub for 

volunteering and active citizenship 

with 160,000 people regularly 

volunteering and committing over 

600,000 hours every week in a 

volunteering capacity." 

Daniel Johnson MSP hosted 

Professor Stephen Salter at 

Holyrood recently for a discussion 

about his engineering solutions 

and how they can prevent the 

effects of excessive global 

warming. 

His latest project which he has 

already worked on for twenty 

years, involves building unmanned 

ships which would ‘patrol’ the 

oceans spraying sea water into the 

air above the sea surface. 

The deceptively simple idea 

would make the clouds whiter and 

so more reflective, sending the 

sun’s energy back to space. This 

will have the effect of cooling the 

earth beneath, and may lead to 

complete reversal of the melting 

polar ice caps and other aspects 

of global warming. 

Professor Salter believes that 

more commitment is needed 

from governments everywhere, 

and demonstrated to MSPs how 

his unmanned spray vessels 

could arrest the effects of global 

The Lord Lieutenant with two representatives from It’s Good 2 Give 

The Lord Lieutenant with Alison Hampton of PF Counselling and John 

Dickson volunteer psychotherapist 

Talking about Climate Change and 

how to fix it 

warming across the world. 

He asserts that 300 of his 

unmanned spray vessels could 

save the Antarctic ice and the 

Great Barrier Reef. 

Daniel Johnson said : “It was 

a real pleasure to welcome 

Professor Salter and hear all about 

his solutions to combat climate 

change. 

“Surely it is now beyond doubt 

that we are grappling with a 

climate emergency and need 

real action from all levels of 

government to reduce greenhouse 

emissions and improve our 

environment. 

“While they are important to raise 

awareness, the cost of hosting 

large scale Climate Conferences 

could easily fund the practical 

solutions mentioned by Professor 

Salter. It’s time The Scottish 

Government looked at following 

practical solutions. 

“Interventions from pioneers like 

Professor Salter is exactly what 

we need to pressure The Scottish 

Government into doing more.” 

Professor Stephen Salter with Daniel Johnson MSP at Holyrood 

PHOTO ©2019 The Edinburgh Reporter 

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Sign up for The World’s Big Sleep Out 

Sleep in the Park will take place 

this year on 7 December 2019 

in around 50 places around the 

world, but it will now be called The 

World’s Big Sleep Out. 

Founder of the event Josh 

Littlejohn MBE aims to raise $50 

million to fight homelessness. 

It has gone global but here in 

Edinburgh it will take place in West 

Princes Street Gardens with live 

acoustic music performances 

from musicians to be announced 

soon. 

Social Bite, the charity which 

Littlejohn co-founded will receive 

half of funds raised. 

The other half will be given to 

global homelessness charities for 

people displaced as a result of 

conflict or poverty. 

You are urged to register now 

for an official event or to organise 

your own in your back garden or 

office car park. 

Josh Littlejohn said: “I am blown 

away by the response to The 

World’s Big Sleep Out so far and 

incredibly excited to have 50 cities 

all over the world taking part. It 

Tinkling the ivories 

The Centre, Livingston has 

launched an appeal this month. 

They want to find budding 

musicians who can help showcase 

their talents by becoming 

its resident piano player and 

entertaining shoppers who come 

from all over the country. 

Their recently installed piano has 

been a huge hit with shoppers of 

all ages and levels who stop by to 

play a tune or enjoy the sounds of 

the keyboard as other shoppers 

take centre stage. 

This has led to the management 

team appealing for its own 

resident piano player to entertain 

shoppers on a regular basis. 

Whether your style is classical, 

jazz, pop or rock and your idol is 

Ludwig van Beethoven or Lewis 

Capaldi - this is your big chance. 

Send your demos to enquiries@ 

thecentrelivingston.com to be in 

with a chance of becoming the 

mall’s resident piano player. 

Open to everyone, all ages and 

all levels, however under 16s must 

have parental/carer consent and 

be accompanied by an adult if 

chosen. 

Ashley Bisland said: “We have 

had fantastic feedback on some 

of the great tunes being played on 

our piano. Many customers say 

that it really adds to their shopping 

experience. 

"That's why we’ve decided to run 

an appeal to find our own resident 

pianist.We are encouraging people 

to send their demos in to us, with 

their favourites tunes.We are really 

looking forward to listening to and 

picking a rising star who will have 

a regular platform to perform.” 

doesn’t matter if you are taking 

part in Times Square or in your 

back garden with your family, by 

sleeping out for one night on 7th 

December we can simultaneously 

express our compassion for 

homeless people who have no 

other choice and raise lifesaving 

funds to make a difference. 

We can also send a message 

to the world’s political leaders 

that urgent action is required to 

address the human suffering that 

There’s stIll tIme! 

The Scottish Government-funded scheme 

to help you install cavity or internal wall 

insulation at a reduced cost has been 

extended for Edinburgh residents*. 

CALL US FREE on 0808 808 2282 or email 

insulation@se.homeenergyscotland.org 

to register your interest. 

we each witness on our streets 

every day”. 

Last year there were sleep outs 

in Edinburgh, Dundee, Glasgow 

and Aberdeen when 18,000 people 

slept out and raised almost 

£8million. This year there may be 

as many as 50,000 people taking 

part to help around 1 million 

people around the world who are 

displaced or homeless. 

www.bigsleepout.com 

*Subject to funding and confirmation by technical survey. Eligibility criteria apply. 

The Centre Livingston are looking for musicians to use their new piano

6 

NEWS 

Seeing the light 

Lighting in the Assembly Rooms 

has been switched over to LED 

bulbs to save energy and carbon 

emissions. 

Throughout the building the 

council has conducted an energy 

efficiency project with upgrades to 

heating and water systems too. 

It is estimated that around 

75,000 kWh of electricity and 

50,000 kWh of gas consumption 

have been saved. That is a 

whopping 5,000 days of energy. 

Council Leader, Councillor Adam 

McVey, said: “Reducing carbon 

emissions across the city is a key 

priority for the Council - we have 

now cut emissions by nearly 35% 

as part of our Sustainable Energy 

Action Plan. Projects like this 

being carried out by the Assembly 

Rooms not only show the benefits 

of reducing carbon in terms 

of using less energy, but also 

demonstrate the financial savings 

that can be made for the venue 

itself. Building on these projects 

will be really important as we 

move to a net zero carbon target 

by 2030.” 

Shaggy dog stories wanted 

‘Tell Your Tail’ asks primary 

school aged children to write a 

short story (100-200 words) on 

any topic of their choosing and 

then submit it to Edinburgh Dog 

and Cat Home. 

A panel of judges will choose a 

winning ‘Tail’ each month. 

The author will be invited to 

Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home so 

they can record the winning writer 

reading it. 

This recording will then be 

played through the sound system 

installed in the rehoming kennels, 

as a special bedtime story, to 

help the dogs relax and become 

accustomed to multiple human 

voices while they wait for their 

new forever home. 

Kennels can be a noisy and very 

busy environment, and human 

interaction is a key part of the 

Home’s work with the dogs in their 

care. 

"They think that reading to dogs 

can help reduce stress and anxiety 

levels and also hope that reading 

to dogs could help increase 

literacy levels in children. 

EDCH’s Education Officer, Daniel 

Tipping, said: “We see ‘Tell Your 

Tail’ as a great way to connect 

young people to the animals in our 


PHOTO © Jane Barlow 

care, provide a fun challenge for 

young writers, and enhance even 

further the enrichment we provide. 

“Our sound system has been of 

enormous benefit to our dogs – 

and we hope to expand this to our 

cats in time. 

"There’s great research showing 

some genres of music can be 

very calming to animals, and 

we’re excited to add some local 

storytellers to the mix too.” 

Entries are now open to young 

people across Scotland. 

Full details can be found at www. 

edch.org.uk. 

Community Council 

Elections 2019 

By the time we go to press all 

new community council members 

will have been nominated. 

Now what happens depends on 

the number of nominees in each 

ward. 

If there are not enough people 

nominated then there will be no 

need for a poll. 

If there is a need for a poll in any 

community council area then that 

will be published on 10 October 

2019. 

News in Brief 

From 12 October Scottish Gas 

Networks and their contracting 

firm Kier will start work on a major 

gas main renewal project which 

will involve full closure of Bridge 

Road at Colinton. The roadworks 

will not finish until May 2020 

ending at Dreghorn Link. 

Marie Curie, Sue Ryder and 

Reform Scotland are organising 

a free event to discuss 

bereavement and carers will be 

held in Edinburgh this month. 

The conversation will hear from a 

range of voices on how Scotland 

can become more bereavementfriendly. 

It will be an interactive 

event and hopes to produce 

further policy and identify research 

areas so that ultimately people get 

the support they need and want. 

10 October 2019 2.00 to 5.00pm 

Scottish Storytelling Centre 43-45 

High Street EH1 1SR Register on 

Eventbrite. 

The Edinburgh group of The Civil 

Service Retirement Fellowship 

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. 

A new benefit to support young 

people starting a new job after a 

period of unemployment will be 

introduced next Spring.The Job 

Start Payment is a new payment 

to help young people with the cost 

of starting a new job. The £250 

payment, or £400 for people with 

children, will help towards travel, 

clothing, lunches or other costs 

associated with work. In its first 

year, around 5,000 young people 

could benefit from this financial 

support. 

The Home Office will send 

a million text messages to 

passport holders who may need 

to renew their passports early. 

New passport rules will apply to 

European travel if there is a no 

deal Brexit. Text messages will ask 

If a poll is required, polling day 

will be on 31 October 2019. Voting 

in a contested election will be a 

combination of e-voting and postal 

voting. 

If the number of nominees is 

anything between half of members 

permitted and the maximum 

number then the candidates will 

simply be declared as elected. If 

fewer than half of the number of 

permitted members are nominated 

then there will be no community 

council in that area. 

people to check that passports 

meet new rules for travel to Europe 

after 31 October. 

Travellers will need to have 

at least 6 months left on their 

passport. Secondly, any extra 

months on a passport over 10 

years may not count towards the 

6 months needed. A passport may 

have extra months if the holder 

renewed their previous passport 

before it expired.The texts will be 

sent to those who provided their 

mobile number when they applied 

for their current passport. 

Niddrie Medical Practice,106 

Niddrie Mains Road, host Citizens 

Advice Bureau every day providing 

free confidential advice on welfare 

benefits, money and debt, housing, 

employment issues and much 

more. An adviser is available on 

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and 

Friday mornings and in Tuesday 

and Friday afternoons. Just ask 

at reception for more details to 

make an appointment or phone 

0131 652 2004. The CAB also hold 

a session at The White House, 

70 Niddrie Mains Road every 

Monday from 9.30am. To book an 

appointment there, call 0131 652 

6320. 

A total of 60 life-sized and four 

mini Oor Wullie sculptures went 

under the hammer at Prestonfield 

House last month to help raise 

vital funds for Edinburgh Children’s 

Hospital Charity (ECHC), which 

supports children and young 

people in hospital. 

The sculpture of Tom Gilzean 

raised a staggering £13,000. 

Tom Gilzean was designed by 

Chris Rutterford and sponsored 

by Central Taxis and The Golden 

Keys. 

A replica is to be made for Tom’s 

family after a crowdfunder was 

set up. 

Further top sellers were 

Thistle Do Nicely by artist Billy 

Hutchinson, which sold for 

£10,000 and Oor Tiger by Donna 

Forrester which sold for £8,000. 

Editor: Phyllis Stephen 


07791 406 498 

We write about news relating to Edinburgh and the immediate area. 

We welcome contributions to our website and newspaper. 




edinburghreporter


Riding of the marches 

continued from front page 

The Captain Connor Geddes and 

Lass, Rose Hessell were welcomed 

at the Mercat Cross by the Rt Hon 

Lord Provost, Frank Ross and an 

official party of High Constables, 

his Bailies and the Incorporated 

Trades of Edinburgh, the Lord 

Dean of Guild and the Deacon- 

Convener of Trades. 

Upon arrival there,, the Edinburgh 

Captain dismounted and ascended 

the Mercat Cross, accompanied 

by the Edinburgh Lass.The 

Edinburgh Captain then lowered 

the City Banner followed by the 

Blue Blanket, all the flags of the 

Incorporate Trades of Edinburgh, 

The Merchants of Edinburgh and 

the Edinburgh Exiles, during which 

a bugler played the Last Post. The 

assembled crowd was then invited 

to observe a one minute silence 

for the fallen of Flodden and all 

wars. 

To complete the mark of respect, 

the bugler played 'Reveille', 

the flags were raised and the 

Captain delivered a short speech, 

declaring the boundaries of the 

City of Edinburgh to be safe and 

intact. He then presented the 

Lord Provost with the City Banner, 

unsullied and unstained. 

by Adam Zawadzki 

From 10.00am the relatively 

small group of protesters had 

steadily, stealthily grown into 

hundreds, then thousands in The 

Meadows. Suddenly, swarms of 

people had arrived from every 

direction. Two children held a 

megaphone, chanting in support of 

their cause. One marcher arrived 

armed with a boom box strapped 

to his back, up-tempo music filling 

the air with already heightened 

anticipation. 

From the green of Middle 

Meadow Walk, the front of the 

march passed at 11.40am. A 

seemingly endless conveyer 

belt of passion and purpose, the 

end could not be seen until an 

hour later. Peaceful protesters 

clutching placards, waving flags 

and beating drums moved as one. 

The crowd roared, the piper played, 

the mass was on a mission. It 

was truly an impressive sight to 

behold. 

All the young people I spoke to 

made it clear that while it was 

important that their age group 

show initiative, all ages must 

share the responsibility to help 

a cause that will affect everyone 

Waving to the crowds on the Royal Mile PHOTO 

Martin P McAdam 

Young people take to the streets 

eventually. Police and specially 

hired security staff darted to and 

fro among the throng of people. 

Wave upon wave of signs and 

slogans migrated along the leafy 

walk as audiences assembled 

on the sidelines watching the 

spectacle while clapping and 

cheering them on. 

Some messages were inspired. 

'Do it for David', with a 

photograph of Attenborough, was 

just one among many. The young 

were politically engaged and 

socially aware while the older were 

taking them seriously, guiding and 

supporting - and some even taking 

part. 

Take it E-zy with Just 

Eat Cycles 

PHOTO © Greg Macvean 

The news we have all been 

waiting for… 

Just Eat Cycles will shortly 

include some electric bikes at their 

75 hire stations across Edinburgh. 

The first batch of 30 e-bikes 

will be tested out in the coming 

months and then 168 electric 

bicycles will be offered for public 

use in the spring. 

The electric bikes will have a 

maximum speed of 15mph with 

a constant electric assist,. This 

should allow you to whizz up 

The Mound or any of the other 

steep slopes in Edinburgh which 

may make your cycle route too 

Thousands of young people took 

to the streets across Scotland and 

other cities across the world last 

month to highlight their call for 

action on climate change. 

Scottish Youth Climate Strike’s 

demands are: 

1) The Government commit to 

achieve net zero greenhouse gas 

emissions by 2030. 

2) The national curriculum be 

reformed to address the climate 

crisis as an educational priority. 

3) The Government communicate 

the severity of the climate crisis 

and the necessity to act now to 

the public. 

The Youth Strikers said that 

daunting. 

You will be able to use the same 

app to unlock the e-bikes and they 

will be located across the existing 

hire points with the other 500 

ordinary bikes. 

They will have a slightly different 

frame and colour scheme, but 

otherwise they will be made by 

Pashley as the existing bikes are. 

The slim battery pack and motor 

is designed by German automotive 

manufacturer Continental. 

The first time you will be able to 

get your hands on one this month 

is at the Open Streets event on 6 

October 2019. 

Calling for action on 

Climate Change 

today’s overwhelming public 

support has reinforced their 

message, the demands are 

straightforward and are key to 

stopping climate breakdown. 

Dylan Hamilton who is a member 

of SYCS said : “We are making 

history by standing up for our 

future. The people have protested, 

we marched and then we rallied. 

We have made our position clear; 

the government needs to act for 

the future of humanity. Politicians 

have spent decades sitting around 

talking, but if your house is 

burning down you wouldn’t stop to 

talk about money, you would act. 

All those protesting have shown 

that action has an impact.” 

Advertise your business in 

The Edinburgh Reporter from only 

Email editor@theedinburghreporter.co.uk to book your space!

8 

POLITICS 


Council ‘not doing enough for hockey’ 

At the recent full council meeting 

Cllr Phil Doggart raised hockey 

success in Scotland, and asked 

the council to admit it had not 

done enough for the sport. He said 

there is a lack of investment in top 

quality pitches. 

The administration refused 

to accept that, saying that 

there are pitches including 

one at Meggetland which is 

of international standard. The 

matter will be debated later this 

year at Culture and Communities 

committee when they set the 

Physical Activity plan. The Culture 

Convener agreed to work with Cllr 

Doggart on this matter. 

Cllr Doggart writes : “Summer 

2019 has been a bonanza for 

Scottish hockey. National teams 

have succeeded at a number of 

tournaments across Europe. The 

Caledonian Thistles Under 15 

and Under 17 teams performed 

superbly at the annual Futures 

tournament in St Albans with each 

team winning medals. 

Over 50 and 55 teams, male and 

female, performed highly with 

pride of place going to the Over 

55 Ladies who won a silver medal 

in the European Cup. The national 

men’s team has now broken into 

the top 20 of the world rankings 

after some excellent results in 

a tough pool at the European 

Championships. Both Under 21 

teams gained promotion after 

winning gold in their respective 

European championships during 

the summer. 

But pride of place must go to 

the National Ladies team who 

won Division 2 of the European 

Championship in Glasgow in 

August. A massive well done to 

them. 

All these teams require a 

dedicated team of people to make 

it happen. The coaches and staff 

all contribute to the success and 

are also deserving of our praise. 

Within their numbers are many 

who have learned to play hockey 

across the city, or who continue to 

play or coach their club hockey in 

the city. They are great examples 

to all in performing their respective 

roles. 

While we can congratulate all 

involved, especially those from 

Edinburgh, we must recognise that 

the council has done very little 

in promoting top level hockey. 

We have one council-run water 

based pitch that allows men and 

women to play top division hockey. 

Without the willing co-operation 

of the University of Edinburgh 

and Fettes College, clubs in the 

city would be unable to play 

premiership hockey in the city. 

That is not good enough and if the 

sport continues to grow as quickly 

as it has, The City of Edinburgh 

Council must invest in more of 

these facilities.” 

Sick Kids hospital faces further 

remain closed for another year. 

delays 

by Jeremy Balfour MSP 

Jeane Freeman, health 

secretary, announced last week 

that the Sick Kids hospital will not 

be opened until at least Autumn 

2020. This is yet another delay to 

the opening which was originally 

planned to take place in 2012. 

£150 million has been spent on 

building the hospital facility at 

Edinburgh’s Little France site, yet 

further delays mean that it will 

It is estimated that it will cost 

the taxpayer £35 million to 

compensate for the hospital being 

out of commission for another 

year. 

As a result of the delayed 

opening, hundreds of thousands 

of children have had to go to 

outdated facilities for accident 

and emergency treatment and 

outpatient appointments. 

This is fundamentally a result of 

the SNP's inability to manage the 

NHS well. 

Government ministers have 

neglected their duty to know 

if there were issues with 

construction and timescale and 

to do everything in their power to 

solve this. 

While the First Minister 

appears to be aware that this is 

a catastrophic failure she has 

refused to let her party take 

responsibility. 

It is time that the SNP take 

accountability for their failings 

and ensure that there will not be 

further delays. 

First aid for the future 

To celebrate World First Aid 

Day, Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP 

was joined at Holyrood by 

representatives from the British 

Red Cross and pupils from Royal 

Mile Primary School with their 

newly acquired first aid skills. 

Alex and the team at the 

British Red Cross have been 

campaigning for the inclusion of 

first aid education as a nationally 

set statutory requirement for all 

schools in Scotland. 

The Edinburgh West MSP told 

The Edinburgh Reporter : “Skills 

learned at a young age could save 

lives twenty or thirty years from 

now. 

"We want every child in Scotland 

to have that opportunity.” 

Jackie Baillie MSP, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman and Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP with children from 

Royal Mile Primary School. PHOTO ©2019 The Edinburgh Reporter 

Stopping Brexit 

by Ian Murray MP 

At the end of this month, we are 

due to leave the EU. 

Along with Labour colleagues 

and other opposition politicians, I 

have been working hard to ensure 

that doesn’t happen. 

Given the twists and turns in 

this extraordinary saga, I cannot 

predict what the situation will be 

by the time you read this. 

But I do know that this mess 

needs to be resolved. 

In September, I addressed the 

European Movement in Scotland 

March in Edinburgh. I made the 

point that the only way to pull the 

country back from the brink and 

end this saga is to put any deal 

parliament approves back to the 

people for a final say - with the 

option to remain in the EU. 

That has been my long-held view 

and it has never altered. 

I’m delighted it is also now 

Labour Party policy. 

That is the way to cut through 

the childish games Boris Johnson 

is playing before it is too late. 

We must act in the national 

interest, not party political 

interests. 

Miles Briggs MSP 

0131 348 5946 

Miles.Briggs.msp@parliament.scot 

Milesbriggsedinburgh 

MilesBriggsMSP 

www.milesbriggs.scot 

M2.15, 

The Scottish 

Parliament, Edinburgh, 

EH99 1SP

@EdinReporter /EdinReporter edinburghreporter theedinburghreporter.co.uk POLITICS 9 

The blame for the Sick Kids lies 

with the SNP 

by Miles Briggs MSP 

The scandal surrounding 

the construction of the new 

Sick Kids hospital has come 

to symbolise this Scottish 

Government’s incompetence and 

mismanagement of our Scottish 

NHS. 

From the off, the saga that 

is the construction of the new 

Sick Kids hospital, has in my 

view been badly managed by 

SNP Ministers with the hospital 

originally scheduled to be opened 

in Winter 2012. Since then, more 

than 300,000 children in A&E 

alone have been denied access 

to the new hospital they and their 

parents were promised. 

A total of 312,441 local 

youngsters have received 

accident and emergency care at 

the outdated facility in Sciennes 

in this time. That’s in addition to 

the estimated 34,000 outpatient 

appointments which take place 

at the hospital each year. I want 

to take this opportunity to pay 

tribute to the NHS staff who 

have supported families and who 

continue to provide the care and 

love and support to the children 

and families throughout this 

process. I know they feel incredibly 

let down and disappointed by the 

mismanagement of the new Sick 

Kids. 

The Health Minister has 

emphasised the point that the 

new hospital will not open until 

fully satisfied of patient safety, 

something that I completely agree 

with. Patient safety must always 

come first. However, this does 

not hide the sheer ineptitude of 

consecutive Health Ministers in 

the oversight of NHS Lothian in 

constructing the new hospital. 

From the statement made in 

Parliament last month it now looks 

like SNP Ministers are attempting 

to use NHS Lothian management 

as a shield for the “catastrophic 

failings” in the construction of 

the new hospital, in a desperate 

attempt to dodge any personal 

responsibility for the fiasco. 

It is also important to remember 

that is not just the new Sick Kids 

hospital that is being impacted on, 

but also the adjacent Department 

of Clinical Neurosciences, 

which may not open until spring 

2020. All this begs the question 

as to what impact this will have 

on finances of NHS Lothian. As 

things stand today the Board are 

Cheering on the team 

by Christine Jardine MP 

On the whole sport is a unifying 

force. Rugby, perhaps more 

than any other because of the 

way it demands respect for your 

opponents on, and off the pitch. 

Our politics could learn so much 

from it. 

So when the 2019 Rugby World 

Cup kicked off in Japan last 

month, I saw it as an opportunity 

for our, let’s say somewhat divided 

country, to pull together as a 

family of nations. 

While on a radio panel the other 

week, we were asked whether 

any family or friend relationships 

had been strained or even lost 

as a result of our stances on the 

two referenda. We all agreed that 

we cherished these relationships 

more than anything, and how 

important it is to make sure 

they are protected from political 

differences. But there cannot 

surely be anyone in Scotland who 

Vital inquiry into Sick Kids 

Daniel Johnson MSP recently 

challenged the Health Secretary, 

Jeane Freeman, over her handling 

of the new Royal Hospital for 

Children and Young People. 

He cited the findings of the 

KPMG report and the newly 

announced review into the new 

hospital building process, as 

evidence of a lack of ministerial 

responsibility from the Health 

Secretary. 

Mr Johnson said : “The Health 

Secretary has finally admitted that 

an inquiry is needed to get to the 

bottom of the problems affecting 

predicting a £29.5 million shortfall 

this financial year, so are clearly 

not in a financial position to pay 

for these significant addiction 

costs. SNP Ministers will have to 

use funding that was earmarked 

for other projects to pay for these 

failures. What impact will this now 

have on the funding and delivery 

of health services for patients 

across NHS Scotland ? 

As I write this it is clear that 

there is still a long way still to go 

before we can have confidence 

in the opening of the Sick Kids 

what and when SNP Ministers 

knew, and why we have seen such 

incredible mismanagement and 

incompetence must be answered 

. I know NHS staff and families 

alike who have been promised 

– year after year – that new 

timescales will be adhered to, 

will be incredibly sceptical about 

this latest promise having been 

repeatedly let down. 

Children and families across 

Lothian and the East of Scotland 

deserve a new Sick Kids hospital 

we can all be proud of. 

I look forward to the day, I hope 

soon, when that can be realised 

and we can begin to rebuild trust. 

has not struggled to maintain 

at least one friendship or family 

connection amidst the tension of 

the two votes. So as the Scotland, 

England, Wales and Ireland squads 

continue their fight for glory in 

Japan, let’s cheer each other on, 

and hope that one of the home 

nations brings back that trophy. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I want 

that team to be Scotland. But I’ll 

also be cheering on my English, 

Welsh and Irish neighbours 

because I firmly believe that we 

are a family, and that their victory 

is our victory. 

the new Royal Hospital for 

Children and Young People. This 

is a massive U-turn after weeks 

of pressure from me and fellow 

Scottish Labour colleagues. 

“The need for an inquiry is the 

clearest sign yet that the Health 

Secretary has dropped the ball on 

In the doghouse 

At the end of last month, Ash 

Denham Edinburgh Eastern MSP 

was preparing to take part in the 

annual Edinburgh Dog and Cat 

Home fundraiser. 

This involves being locked up 

in one of their kennels until you 

raise enough money for the 136 

year-old charity. 

The MSP was allowed to have 

a phone and laptop to help with 

fundraising. 

Ahead of the event Ms Denham 

said : "I'm delighted to be taking 

part in this year's In The Dog 

House event to raise money 

for one of the capital's longest 

running charities.I recently 

visited Edinburgh Dog and Cat 

Home to see what goes on 

behind the scenes and they really 

are a fantastic charity with so 

many hard-working employees 

and volunteers providing the 

Golfing from Leith to 

Culloden 

by Deidre Brock MP 

John Rattray has returned to 

Leith. Jacobite and one time 

personal surgeon of one Charles 

Stuart, he was imprisoned after 

Culloden and rescued by Culloden! 

He was a member of the 

Gentlemen Golfers of Leith (who 

later moved to Muirfield), wrote the 

rules of golf for a competition on 

Leith Links in 1744, and won the 

Silver Club under those rules (the 

first Open?) before following the 

Blackbird in the ’45. 

In prison after the Battle of 

Culloden he was rescued by 

his golfing buddy, and noted 

Hanoverian, Forbes of Culloden 

who happened to be Lord 

President of the Court of Session 

– golf, it seems, trumped politics 

and the law. 

Thanks to The Leith Rules Golf 

Society and a campaign driven 

this. 

“Jeane Freeman had previously 

informed parliament that the 

recent KMPG and NSS reports 

were enough and no inquiry was 

required. 

“The KPMG Report begs the 

question of whether ministers 

should have known sooner and if 

best possible care for the lost 

or abandoned dogs and cats 

which are brought in from across 

Edinburgh and the Lothians. 

"The Home has also very 

recently become a real living 

wage employer ensuring their 

staff are paid a salary that has 

been independently calculated 

to meet the costs of living, which 

management said ensured the 

staff are valued as much as their 

animals. It's vital more employers 

follow the charity's example 

by signing up for this scheme 

- supported by The Scottish 

Government - to help us tackle 

in-work poverty. 

"I look forward to the event and 

would ask constituents to donate 

what they can to this worthy 

cause to help the charity meet 

their annual running costs which 

exceed £2m." 

L-R Ben Macpherson MSP with Pat Denzler 

Chair of the Leith Rules Golf Society statue of 

John Rattray and Deidre Brock MP 

forward by Pat Denzler and others, 

there’s now a statue of Rattray on 

Leith Links where the first hole of 

the old course was. History lies in 

great thick layers on our old town. 

Here’s Pat with me and Ben 

Macpherson MSP just after the 

unveiling of the great man’s 

statue. Fore! 

they did, could have stopped the 

scandal earlier. 

“That’s what this inquiry has to 

answer and what Jeane Freeman 

has to take responsibility for. 

“The conclusions of the inquiry 

are vital and will determine if 

people can have confidence in her 

to look after Scotland’s NHS.”

10 

POLITICS 

Hospital TV charges to 

be scrapped 

by Gordon Lindhurst MSP 

I warmly welcome the fact that 

extortionate charges for patients 

to watch television in the Royal 

Infirmary are set to be scrapped 

once the contract with Hospedia 

ends. 

With patients being charged 

£17.50 for two days use of their 

services, this was grossly unfair. 

Having access to a bedside 

television can often be helpful to 

patients staying in our hospitals, 

yet they were having to pay out 

huge sums for the privilege. 

With Wi-Fi now finally installed at 

The Royal Infirmary, the timing on 

this is welcome, with the contract 

set to end next August. 

However, simply saying Wi-Fi is 

the solution, is far too simplistic 

especially when many patients 

do not have access to mobile or 

tablet devices which would give 

them access to Wi-Fi. 

During this period ahead of the 

Hospedia contract ending, we 

must ensure that further solutions 

are looked at so patients can enjoy 

entertainment services while they 

are in hospital. 

The needs of all patients must 

be considered in this change and 

I hope NHS Lothian will explore 

every option in good time, to 

ensure patients can access 

essential services easily and at 

affordable prices. 


Council to examine 

free parking in quad 

Green Councillor Claire Miller 

demanded a ban on cars in the 

City Chambers Quadrangle at last 

month's full council meeting. She 

pointed out that it was closed 

during the summer without any 

apparent difficulty. She thought 

this arrangement should continue 

and that all parking should stop. 

Cllr Miller said the council had 

only that day agreed the city 

centre transformation plans 

which will remove around a 

quarter of vehicles from the city. 

She suggested this was at odds 

with the free car park outside the 

council's own front door where 

some vehicle drivers use the 

quad as a personal car park for 

lengthy periods. 

Striking for action on climate change 

by Tommy Sheppard MP 

I write this having just come 

back from the climate strike. 

Huge numbers of school pupils 

from across our city and beyond 

have gathered to march. Many 

adults came, like me, to lend their 

support. Estimates put the number 

of protesters at over 15,000. 

From the Editor 

It was exciting to be in Edinburgh 

in September when the ‘Brexit 

case’ was heard at the Court of 

Session.There was a frisson of 

excitement when the three judges 

of the Inner House handed down 

It’s impossible not to be 

enthused. So many young people 

engaged and fired up to make 

the world a better place. But we 

have to acknowledge that the 

situation we’re now facing is very 

serious. The stakes could not 

be higher. Those of us who are 

currently adults need to face up 

to the reality that we could end up 

a judgement in the appeal case in 

favour of the 70+ politicians who 

had raised it, asking whether the 

prorogation of parliament was 

lawful. Then the caravan moved 

off to London. 

frittering away the futures of the 

school children marching. 

Our Scottish Government is 

leading the way internationally. 

Scotland was the first country 

in the world to declare a climate 

emergency. We have the most 

ambitious statutory targets on 

emissions reduction in the world. 

The case was paid for by 

crowdfunding through the Good 

Law Project directed by Jolyon 

Maugham QC. 

Edinburgh South West MP 

Joanna Cherry QC has been at 

the forefront of the Scottish court 

action as lead petitioner. 

Even as we go to press we only 

just received Ms Cherry's article 

to complete the copy in this print 

issue - and it all depended on the 

Get in touch today! 

For editorial and advertising 

enquiries please email 


Although supported by elected 

members across the chamber, 

it was felt that some legitimate 

and reasonable use might be 

acceptable and criteria should be 

set. Cllr Louise Young proposed 

that some investigation to find 

out who is using the quad. She 

said : "“I am concerned that the 

Green motion seeks to implement 

a blanket ban on all motorised 

vehicles. 

“It does seem to me to be a 

knee-jerk reaction to an issue 

we don’t actually know the scale 

or the source of the problem.” 

Councillors agreed to an 

investigation on usage and setting 

criteria and proposals for future 

use. 

But we need to do more – and by 

we, I mean you and me. We need 

to make changes to our lifestyles 

and demand as consumers that 

companies change the way they 

do business. Every act, no matter 

how small, makes a difference. 

As Edinburgh’s very own Patrick 

Geddes almost said: Think 

globally. Act locally. 

judgement of the 11 judges of the 

Supreme Court - a unanimous one! 

Led by Lady Hale President of 

the Supreme Court of the UK, 

the judges heard evidence in the 

Scottish case alongside Gina 

Miller's case over three days, and 

issued their judgement within 

days. All this shows that when 

the legal systems in Scotland and 

England & Wales are pushed they 

can actually move fairly quickly.. 



edinburghreporter 


New school 

for Currie 

by Gordon Macdonald MSP 

Currie Community High School 

is set to be upgraded and 

modernised in the First Phase 

of The Scottish Government’s 

New Learning Estate Investment 

Programme. 

As part of a nationwide £1 

billion investment programme, 

new schools will be built from 

Aberdeenshire to Ayrshire. 

The Scottish Government will 

contribute funding of between 

£220 million and £275 million in 

partnership with local authorities 

across the country to replace 

26 schools, with a further phase 

of investment to be announced 

within 12 months. 

I am delighted to see that Currie 

Community High School is going 

to be part of the first phase of new 

schools and campuses across 

Scotland. We need to make sure 

that our schools are inspirational 

and nurturing places for learning 

and this investment will have a 

real impact on the experience 

of pupils, teachers, and parents 

at Currie, as well as the wider 

communities they serve. 

It’s clear that the Scottish 

Government is committed to 

improving educational standards 

and understand of the significant 

role that quality facilities play 

in children’s learning and 

development. 

The new Currie Hugh School 

will be a world-class learning 

environment – and I look forward 

to seeing the WHEC, Balerno and 

other schools across the city 

being included in the future rounds 

of expenditure. 

The proposals also incorporate 

measures to tackle climate 

change. 

Lessons have been learned from 

previous education infrastructure 

projects and used to develop 

construction methods to create 

low carbon, digitally-enabled 

schools and campuses. 

These principles are central to 

Scotland’s new Learning Estates 

Strategy, with Scottish Futures 

Trust will manage the programme 

on behalf of the Scottish 

Government. 

The first projects in this phase 

could open as soon as 2022-23.

@EdinReporter /EdinReporter edinburghreporter theedinburghreporter.co.uk POLITICS 11 

Explaining what City Centre Transformation really means 

by David Bol Local Democracy 

Reporter 

Councillors have agreed a final 

strategy for a 10-year project 

to overhaul how people move 

around the city centre. The city 

centre transformation project will 

put more emphasis on walking, 

cycling and public transport in an 

attempt to improve air quality and 

reduce the number of car journeys 

through the city centre. 

What are the plans? 

The ambitious strategy includes 

creating a large pedestrian priority 

area in the city centre – as well as 

improving infrastructure on key 

routes for cyclists. 

There are proposals to close 

Waverley Bridge to traffic and 

create a car-free plaza, shut off 

some roads in the Old Town to 

traffic and build a new bridge 

for pedestrians and cyclists, 

connecting the Old Town and the 

New Town. 

Cars would be treated as 

“guests” in the city centre, 

Lothian Road could be turned 

into a “boulevard”, Princes 

Street transformed into a more 

friendly area for pedestrians and 

six public transport hubs are 

proposed. 

Will roads be closed to cars? 

Proposals include closing 

several roads to cars. Bank Street 

at the top of The Mound will be 

closed to traffic, except cars 

and taxis and Candlemaker Row 

will only be accessible to buses. 

Cockburn Street, Victoria Street, 

Forrest Road, the High Street 

between North Bridge and St 

Mary’s Street and Lawnmarket will 

also be closed. 

As well as Waverley Bridge 

being turned into a pedestrianised 

plaza, other streets in the south 

side of the city in the future, such 

as West College Street may be 

pedestrianised in future. 

Traffic lanes will be reallocated 

on Cowgate, The Bridges corridor, 

Calton Road, Johnston Terrace, 

Lothian Road, Morrison Street, 

Ponton Street, West Approach 

Road, Princes Street, Charlotte 

Square, St Andrew Square and 

Lauriston Place. 

Why do the council want to 

change the city centre? 

The case to overhaul the city 

centre is social, economic and 

environmental. The authority has 

already committed to becoming 

carbon neutral by 2030 – with 

transport playing a big role in the 

transformation. 

The proposals will sit alongside 

the proposed Low Emission 

Zone (LEZ) to tackle air pollution 

by reducing the number of car 

journeys in the city – while chiefs 

say a joined-up public transport 

and active travel network is vital 

with the Capital’s population 

expected to increase by 15 per 

cent by 2041 to around 600,000. 

When will the changes happen? 

The final strategy includes a 

draft timetable for delivery. Next 

year, work will begin to develop 

an integrated operations and 

management plan for the city 

centre – as well as a public 

transport plan. 

Car-free streets in the Old Town 

could start from 2021, while the 

closure of Waverley Bridge is 

expected to happen between 2022 

and 2023. 

A trial of a free city centre 

hopper bus could take place in the 

first half of 2023 – while a new 

pedestrian bridge could be built 

over the Waverley Valley by 2023 

to 2024. 

It is thought that an integrated 

ticketing system won’t be in 

place until 2025 or 2026 – while 

transport hubs and interchanges 

will not be finished until 2030. 

How much will it all cost? 

Funding has already been 

secured for phase one of 

the project, which includes 

modernising and improving 

George Street and other parts 

of the New Town as well as key 

cycling routes. 

But, the costed proposals 

will need £314m of funding 

over the 10-year project for all 

measures to be implemented in 

full. Council estimates that the 

transformation will bring £420m 

of quantifiable benefits to the city 

over a 25-year period. 

What about the buses? 

The Transport Convener insists 

that buses will be key to the city 

centre transformation and will 

be given a positive platform to 

embrace change – Lothian Buses 

have raised concerns the project 

could lead to increased journey 

times, while the free hopper bus 

could impact on revenues for the 

company, which is owned by the 

council. Lesley Macinnes is also 

Chair of Transport for Edinburgh 

and says that the bus company is 

well able to cope with change. 

The number of bus stops, 

particularly on Princes Street will 

be reduced in a bid to speed up 

journeys, while buses are set to 

benefit from a reduction in car 

traffic in the city centre. Proposals 

are also being drawn up for all 

bus lanes to be in operation seven 

days a week from 7am to 7pm – 

while licence plate cameras could 

be used for enforcement. 

Is everyone happy with the 

plans? 

Despite the SNP-Labour 

administration and Green and 

Liberal Democrat councillors 

backing the final strategy, 

Conservatives have called for the 

overall strategy to be put on hold 

until funded projects, such as 

the George Street improvements 

have been successfully delivered. 

Lib Dems have also called for 

more certainly over the viability of 

buses, a concern also shared by 

the Tories. 

A second round of 

public consultation, which had 

more than 3,000 responses, 

indicated that around 80 per 

cent of people expressed “slight 

or strong agreement” for the 

proposed vehicle-free streets, 

pedestrian priority zone, public 

realm enhancements, fully 

connected central cycle network, 

city centre hopper bus and public 

transport interchanges. 

David Bol is the Local Democracy 

Reporter covering Edinburgh. 

The Local Democracy Reporting 

Service (LDRS) is a public service 

news agency : funded by the BBC, 

provided by the local news sector, 

and used by qualifying partners. 

Local Democracy Reporters cover 

top-tier local authorities and other 

public service organisations. 




12 

BUSINESS 

Back to paper bags in 

Livingston 

The Centre Livingston will 

become the UK’s first mall to 

launch its own reusable paper 

carrier bag for shoppers. 

The Mall owners hope that 

this will help reduce plastic 

pollution. The initiative responds 

to feedback from customers who 

want an alternative to plastic 

shopping bags. 

The paper bag is recyclable, 

biodegradable, compostable, 

tear and water resistant and 

holds up to 16kgs in weight. They 

are also sustainably sourced 

and manufactured using 100% 

renewable energy, sending zero 

waste to landfill. 

Patrick Robbertze, Centre 

Director at The Centre, Livingston 

said: “We are really excited 

to be launching our reusable 

paper carrier bag to help reduce 

the amount of plastic in the 

environment, which is in response 

to customer demand. 

“As plastic pollution continues to 

be high up on everyone’s agenda 

Kuldeep Badesha has been 

appointed general manager at 

Hotel Indigo. 

Kuldeep started her career in 

hospitality in Edinburgh some 

15 years ago and has since held 

senior roles in hotels throughout 

the UK for the past five years. 

This new appointment overseeing 

the 60-room hotel in the heart of 

Edinburgh enables her to return 

to the city following two years in 

Glasgow. 

Kuldeep said : “It is great to be 

back in the heart of Scotland. 

Having started my hospitality 

journey 15 years ago here in 

Edinburgh, the city has always 

held a special place in my heart. 

“As the general manager of Hotel 

Indigo, Edinburgh, I am excited to 

reconnect with many contacts and 

collaborate with local businesses 

which share the same ethos and 

values as we do. The hotel holds 

a special place in the heart of the 

community and the team and I 

wish for this to continue. With 

a growing number of hotels in 

the city, Hotel Indigo, York Place 

remains a preferred hotel for so 

many and, in a similar fashion 

to the skyline of Edinburgh, is 

evolving to provide wow moments 

to our guests.” 

Leith Walk Police Box Pop up space 

www.leithwalkpolicebox.com 

we felt it was important to listen 

to our customers and offer them 

an alternative environmentallyfriendly 

carrier bag. 

"Introducing paper bags into the 

mall not only gives shoppers a 

choice and a solution if they visit 

without their own bags but also 

represents our shopping centre's 

environmental policies. 

“We’re absolutely delighted 

with the positive feedback we’ve 

already received from both our 

shoppers and retailers.” 

Centre director Patrick Robbertze and Ashley 

Bisland, Deputy Centre Director 

PHOTO Greg Macvean 


Legal firm Gilson Gray continue 

to grow by acquiring the letting 

company Coulter Lettings. 

The firm now adds Sam Paulo 

and Marcus DiRollo the founders 

of the letting firm along with their 

staff to the Gilson Gray family. 

Sam Paulo said: “This exciting 

merger represents the culmination 

of significant efforts over the last 

eight months to establish the 

best partner for our business and 

clients. 

“Joining such an upwardly 

mobile team will allow us to offer 

the very best of service and gain 

greater market share across 

Scotland.” 

Marcus DiRollo added: “This 

move allows us to develop 

significantly our letting operation 

and footprint of operations, while 

affording our clients access to 

the impressive breadth of Gilson 

Gray's award winning services.” 

Matthew Gray, Managing Director 

of Gilson Gray Property Services 

said: “Marcus and Sam are well 

New manager for Hotel Indigo 

Saturday mornings from 10:30am 

Edinburgh Tool Library 

Thursdays 12noon to 7pm En Elladi Greek 

honey, olive oil and feta cheese 

Gilson Gray give Coulter Lettings a 

new home 

Kuldeep Badesha is the new General Manager 

known experts in their field and we 

are delighted to have them come 

on board with their talented pool 

of staff.” 

Glen Gilson, Managing Partner of 

Gilson Gray and Chairman of the 

Group commented: “We identified 

lettings as a relevant strategic 

element of a developed property 

services operation a few years 

Howard calls it a day 

Howard Bridges, Chief Executive 

at Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, 

has announced he will retire at the 

end of this year. 

He has been in charge at 

Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home for 

five years, and leaves an 

ago yet it took some time to find 

a suitable high quality target that 

would provide a strong enough 

foundation for further expansion in 

this field. 

“We have already agreed terms 

to take over further lettings 

operations across Scotland and 

will make further announcements 

as these initiatives develop.” 

Matt Gray, Sam Paulo, Marcus DiRollo and Glen Gilson are 

now in business together 

Howard has rehomed thousands of animals. 

impressive legacy behind him. 

Howard has increased 

fundraising, improved the life and 

welfare of the animals in the care 

of the home and has ensured 

that thousands of animals are 

rehomed. 

Wednesdays and Fridays 11am to 6pm 

ish Tipico Sicilian Confectionery 

Last Saturday of the month 2pm - 4pm 

Invisible Edinburgh Street Barber 

Taking bookings for Christmas now.

@EdinReporter /EdinReporter edinburghreporter theedinburghreporter.co.uk BUSINESS 13 

Meeting Dennis Jones at Ocean 

Terminal (soon to be PORTA) 

With the residential development 

just beginning to take shape 

across the road, Centre Manager, 

Dennis Jones, says this is the 

best time for Ocean Terminal. 

Under new ownership since 2011 

when it was bought by Resolution 

Property from Forth Ports, the new 

management company KLM is 

about to rename the shopping and 

leisure development and change 

tack just a little. 

Some of the developments were 

in the minds of the original owners 

right from the start, but it has 

taken this long to make them gel, 

and it will cost Resolution around 

£1 million to make the changes 

they feel are now just right - 

including changing the name to 

Porta at the end of this month, and 

the branding to reflect the Dazzle 

ships painted in Leith during the 

First World War. 

Jones said : "The main thing is 

the rebrand with a sharper name. 

Porta works better - port is Italian 

for gateway and we are in the Port 

of Leith. A key part of the mall will 

now be the outlet shopping offer. 

"The hardest business at the 

moment is the retail. People 

always need to eat, so companies 

like Starbucks, Nando's and 

Wagamama do well here. VUE 

Cinemas invested over £1 million 

in new recliner seats throughout 

the cinema here and the prices 

are now £5.99 for every film with 

an enhanced experience. Our free 

underground car park works well 

for Ocean Terminal and all those 

businesses do well. It is a little 

harder for retailers.” 

Jones who arrived here from 

the US almost two decades ago 

now showed me a plan of the 

area drawn up about then which 

included housing and retail and 

The Scottish Office building just 

a hop across the road, but not 

a distillery which is the most 

surprising ingredient in the mix. 

Dennis explained : "It is a rare 

thing for someone to be in a 

position to start up an £11 million 

distillery and it is entirely down 

to the drive and talent of the 

business partners, Ian and Patrick. 

Not many people would be able to 

create this multi-storey distillery. 

It is most exciting, and was never 

contemplated 18 years ago.” 

The distillery plans a tasting 

room and function area on 

the ninth floor of their vertical 

building. This will look out to the 

Forth and must have one of the 

best sea views in town, no doubt 

quickly becoming an iconic sight 

on the shoreline. 

The tram will be a welcome 

public transport addition, but what 

Jones finds most interesting and 

fulfilling is the fact that the spaces 

next to Ocean Terminal which have 

been empty for so long will at last 

be occupied by new buildings and 

developments finishing off the big 

picture always in the back of his 

mind. 

Ocean Terminal may have 

lost tenants over the years but 

Jones pointed out that these 

have often been companies like 

British Home Stores who have 

gone into administration, rather 

than companies set on moving 

elsewhere. He explained that 

one of the important features of 

managing Ocean Terminal is to 

remain open-minded, and that is 

why the former BHS store has now 

become a roller skater's paradise. 

Whether that remains in place 

when new retailers arrive is always 

open to question, but it is a good 

holding action for now and Dennis 

says he will certainly help them 

out if and when they ever have to 

move. 

Ocean Terminal, Leith, , EH6 6JJ. 

0131 475 9400 

Mon-Fri 10.00am-8.00pm Bars, 

restaurants and cinema open later. 

Sat 10.00am-7.00pm 

Sun 11am-6.00pm 

A longer version of this article is 

online. www.theedinburghreporter. 

co.uk 

Dennis Jones Centre Manager at Ocean Terminal PHOTO ©2019 The 

Edinburgh Reporter 

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14 

NEWS 

Rotary donation to Multiple 

Sclerosis Society 

Duncan Law, a member of the 

Rotary Club of Currie Balerno, 

together with his friend Bob 

Motion, raised funds for the 

Multiple Sclerosis Society by 

making and selling nest boxes and 

planter barrows from scrap timber. 

The Rotary Club invited Mark 

Colley-Davies, Area Fund Raising 

Manager for the MS Society, to 

tell the Club about the work of the 

Society but primarily to receive a 

cheque for £2000, making a total 

of £3000 raised by Duncan and 

Bob over 2 years. 

Mark explained that the Society’s 

primary role was to fund research 

into MS and to lobby governments 

to act on that research. 

He described MS as a condition 

affecting the brain and spinal 

cord causing symptoms ranging 

from physical mobility, fatigue 

and pain to memory loss, ability 

to think and blurred vision. The 

causes of MS were still unclear 

- for example why it affects 3 

times more women than men. 

Nor can geographical variation 

be explained as yet. Scotland has 

a very high incidence and it gets 

higher as you go north but there 

are anomalies. 

For example South Queensferry 

records quite a high rate whilst 

North Queensferry records very 

few. 

Mike Rowe thanked Mark on 

behalf of the Club for a fascinating 

presentation. Mike looked back 

to an earlier initiative by former 

Club President Robert Menzies 


which raised £25,000 for the MS 

Society by the production and 

sale of a cookbook. This, however, 

had involved the whole Club and 

partners. Today the Club was 

offering a donation from one Club 

member. Duncan Law was then 

invited to present the cheque for 

£2000. 

Seen below from left to right are 

Bob Motion, Duncan Law, Mark 

Colley-Davies and Club President 

Lindsay Craig. 

www.cbrotary.org 

Edinburgh house 

prices highest 

The most expensive place 

to buy a property in Scotland 

is Edinburgh according to the 

provisional figures released in the 

UK House Price Index (HPI). 

Prices in the Capital average 

£263,894 against the average in 

Scotland of £153,968 and that is 

an increase of 1.4 per cent on July 

2018. 

In contrast, the lowest-priced 

area to purchase a property was 

East Ayrshire where the average 

price was £96,482. 

Overall, house prices in Scotland 

have risen by 0.7 per cent between 

June 2019 and July 2019. 

The UK average house price was 

£232,710, an increase of 0.7 per 

cent on July in the previous year 

and an increase of 0.5 per cent on 

the previous month. 

The volume of residential sales in 

Scotland in May 2019 was 9,540, 

an increase of 19 per cent on the 

original provisional estimate for 

May 2018. 

This compares with an increase 

of 2.6 per cent in England, 3.7 per 

cent in Wales and a decrease of 

1.8 per cent in Northern Ireland. 

Kenny Crawford, business 

development director, said: “The 

UK HPI shows that house prices in 

Scotland grew twice as fast as the 

UK average in July 2019. 

“They have been growing faster 

than the UK annual rate in all but 

three months since December 

2017. 

“On average, Edinburgh is still the 

most expensive place in Scotland 

to buy a home and house prices 

have risen almost £8,000 in the 

city over the past year. 

“Areas such as East 

Dunbartonshire and Stirling have 

shown large increases too. By 

contrast, between July 2018 and 

July 2019, the average price of 

residential property in the city of 

Aberdeen fell by around £10,000. 

In Scotland, detached houses 

showed the largest increase, rising 

by 3.2 per cent in the year to July 

2019 to £266,304. 

Flats and maisonettes showed 

the largest decrease, falling by 0.4 

per cent in the year to July 2019 to 

£110,607. 

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A Range of family favourites, including: 

Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf 

and Bach’s Toccata & Fugue 

Thurs 28 th Nov. 

at 7:30pm 

usherhall.co.uk : Box Office 0131 228 1155

Re: birth 

WHAT’S ON IN SEPTEMBER 

At Edinburgh Palette ‘re: birth’ is 

the second annual showcase of 

work by Spilt Milk members. The 

exhibition features over 40 artists 

both local and international, and 

includes sculpture, photography, 

painting, video art, performance 

and installation. It continues until 

12 October 2019. 

This year’s theme ‘rebirth’ or 

‘regarding birth’ has resulted in 

a diverse collection of artwork 

exploring in a range of mediums; 

representations of birth and the 

maternal body, contemporary 

narratives of the mother and child 

relationship, abstract reflections 

on the domestic realm as well as 

work exploring adoption, loss, and 

the cycle of life. 

Spilt Milk was founded in early 

2018 as a pioneering Scottish not 

for profit enterprise committed to 

promoting the work of artists who 

are mothers. They aim to break 

down barriers faced by mothers 

in the arts, increase opportunities 

for women in the arts, and tackle 

stigma surrounding artwork 

which focuses on the maternal 

experience. 

Spilt Milk operates a membership 

network open to artists who are 

mothers located anywhere in the 

world. They promote the work of 

our members through their online 

gallery as well as curating regular 

pop-up exhibitions, events and 

childcare-supported workshops in 

Edinburgh throughout the year. 

Exhibition Open 29th September 

- 12th October (Mon-Sun 11-5pm) 

Free Entry. Gallery One, 

Edinburgh Palette St Margarets 

House 151 London Road EH7 6AE 

Theatre Art Music Shows Festivals 

New at The Scottish 

Arts Club 

As a new venture the Club is 

proposing an evening of French 

cinema on Tuesday 22 October 

2019 at 7.00pm in the Reading 

Room. Enjoy a drink at the bar 

before the show and feel free to 

bring your glass into the show. 

"The Beat That My Heart 

Skipped" - "De Battre Mon Coeur 

s'est Arrêté" 

Director Jacques Audiard with 

Romain Duris, Neils Arestrup. 

French with English subtitles. 

102 minutes. France 2005 

October films with big 

names 

by Adam Zawadzki 

A harem of scary films are 

coming to a cinema near you this 

Halloween. 

Released on 4 October 2019, 

Joaquin Phoenix (Walk The 

Line) makes his debut as 

the eponymous character of 

‘Joker’. Following in the footsteps 

of the Oscar-winning turn by 

Heath Ledger will certainly be 

challenging, but the film has 

already won the Golden Lion, 

the top honour at the Venice 

International Film Festival. Robert 

DeNiro (Raging Bull) provides 

support to a Joker very much in 

the leading role. 

Swooping onto the silver screen 

on 18 October 2019 is ‘Maleficent: 

Mistress of Evil’ with Angelina 

Jolie (Girl, Interrupted) reprising 

her role as the iconic wicked 

witch from the 2014 fantasy film 

Maleficent. 

Tom Seyr (Romain Duris), a 

violent thug with a heart, grows 

weary of cracking heads for his 

smarmy, mediocre gangster father, 

Robert (Niels Arestrup), and longs 

for a chance at something else. 

A fortuitous encounter prompts 

Tom to renew his classical piano 

playing, like his mother before him, 

and he begins to study with piano 

teacher Miao Lin (Linh Dan Pham). 

But when he starts a passionate 

affair with Aline (Aure Atika), the 

wife of one of his cronies, his new 

happiness may be short-lived. 

Tel 0131 229 8157 for details 

While its predecessor grossed 

over $750million worldwide, 

expect big box office for the return 

of this antagonist, with Chiwetel 

Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) and 

Michelle Pfeiffer (Dangerous 

Liaisons) joining the cast. 

After one decade, Woody 

Harrelson (The Messenger), Jesse 

Eisenberg (The Social Network), 

Emma Stone (The Favourite) 

and Abigail Breslin (Little Miss 

Sunshine) reprise their roles in the 

comedy ‘Zombieland: Double Tap’, 

also released on 18 October 2019. 

If you require a reprieve from the 

other frightening films featured 

here, this may help you sleep 

again. 

But not for long. On All Hallows’ 

Eve comes a sequel almost 40 

years in the making. Succeeding 

the 1980 film ‘The Shining’, ‘Doctor 

Sleep’ follows Ewan McGregor 

(Moulin Rouge!) as Dan Torrance 

from the previous film with 

Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: 

Impossible – Rogue Nation) as the 

villain of the piece. 

Comedy and music on 

at the Gilded Balloon 

This autumn at the Gilded 

Balloon Basement on Rose Street 

there is comedy, theatre and music 

to entertain you. 

Every weekend there will be 

comedy from some up and coming 

acts including Helen Bauer a 

nominee in the Dave's Edinburgh 

Comedy Awards for her show 

Helen Bauer : Little Miss Angel 

Baby Face. 

Fred Macaulay in Conversation 

on 13 October and 8 December 

2019 will feature stars from the 

worlds of sport, entertainment, 

business and politics. His past 

guests have included Craig 

Ferguson (who made a masterful 

return to stand up in his one-night 

only show during the Festival). 

Glasgow comedian Scott 

Gibson will be appearing along 

with his pals to try out new jokes 

on real audiences. There is a 

show especially for parents and 

Edinburgh Cocktail Week has 

revealed all the cocktails that you 

can enjoy for £4 each at over 70 

bars, plus a week-long programme 

of unique events and experiences 

taking place across the capital, 

Monday 14th - Sunday 20th 

October. 

Over 70 of the city's top bars 

are taking part this year, each 

creating a bespoke signature 

cocktail, which wristband holders 

can enjoy exclusively for £4 each 

with an ECW wristband - £6 for 

a weekday band (valid Monday 









babies in Katie Mulgrew's Mum's 

the Word. You are invited to get 

comfortable, feed your baby and 

enjoy the comedy. 

The music includes Rootsbase 

the resident Trad and Folk 

night each Tuesday and also a 

literary rave with poets, rappers, 

musicians and comics hosted by 

Cat Hepburn. 

Katy and Karen Koren, Directors 

of Gilded Balloon, said: “You 

know what they say: there’s no 

rest for the wicked! We’ve barely 

had time to put our wee feet up 

since the Fringe finished and 

already we can’t wait to bring the 

residents of Edinburgh the best 

in live entertainment over the 

coming autumn months. It may 

be an old adage, but there really 

is something for everyone at the 

Gilded Balloon Basement – so 

‘mon down, pals!” 0131 622 6552 

gildedballoon.co.uk 

Edinburgh Cocktail 

Week 2019 

What’s Your Story open for entries 

Scottish Book Trust has opened 

applications for their What’s 

Your Story? programme. Now 

in its fifth year, the scheme has 

helped around 30 young Scots to 

develop writing, illustration and 

performance projects. 

14 – 17 year olds living in 

Scotland are encouraged to 

apply for an all expenses paid 

opportunity to learn, grow and 

create as a writer or illustrator. 

Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish 

Book Trust, said : “Nurturing 

new young talent in the Scottish 

literary scene is so important and 

Scottish Book Trust is proud to 

launch the fifth year of What’s 

Your Story, focused on supporting 

young people. The programme 

Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival 

At the Edinburgh Spanish Film 

Festival there will be a screening 

followed by a selection of the best 

of Spanish wine and tapas. 

The film will be Chef’s Diaries: 

Scotland which shows the 

renowned and ‘ever-hip’ Roca 

brothers (Joan, Jordi and Josef). 

They are behind the 3 Michelin 

starred El Celler de Can Roca 

in Barcelona and are shown 

travelling around Scotland 

discovering great cuisine. 

After the film tapas created 

by chef Michael Innes who has 

worked with the Roca brothers at 

El Celler de Can Roca. 

Date: 5 October 2019 

Venue: University of Edinburgh 

G4, 50 George Square 

Time: 5.30pm 

Price;£30.00 

Tickets: 

edinburghspanishfilmfestival.com 

offers a truly unique opportunity 

and we urge parents and teachers 

to encourage the teens in their 

lives with a passion for writing or 

illustration to apply.” Applications 

close on 27 November, and can be 

made online at thestoryis.co.uk/ 

storyboard 

to Friday) and £8 for a weekend 

band (valid Saturday and Sunday). 

New bars taking part this year 

include Cold Town House, Cask 

Smugglers, Smoke & Mirrors, The 

Barologist, Camera, Damm 27 and 

The Garden, as well as returning 

favourites The Refinery, Harvey 

Nichols, Tigerlily, Tonic, Copper 

Blossom, The Voodoo Rooms and 

Brewhemia. 

GD Jam at St 

Bride’s 

Make music on a Monday on 7 

and 28 October 2019 with an open 

community music group from 

7.00pm to 9.30pm. Join Tinderbox 

Collective, Edinburgh’s premier 

youth music project, & composer, 

arranger and band leader Mike 

Kearney (The Katet) as they lead 

a brand new, all ages,all abilities 

band. 

Learn new skills, improve your 

playing Monday in this open, 

welcoming and most importantly 

have fun every community 

ensemble in the stunning 

auditorium of St Bride’s Centre, 

Dalry. £2 a session on the door.

16 

WHAT'S ON 


What’s happening? 

African Connections CIC 

presents the newest event on 

Edinburgh’s festival calendar - the 

Edinburgh Multicultural Festival 

from 4-6 October 2019 

Music, dance, storytelling, films 

and audio visual celebration 

of Edinburgh’s multicultural 

communities 

African Connections CIC (an 

Edinburgh-based community 

interest company promoting 

diversity through performing 

arts) is delighted to announce the 

very first Edinburgh Multicultural 

Festival, on 4-6 October 2019.The 

Bristo Community Concert Band 

will be leading a special Songs 

of Praise service at St Nicholas 

Church Sighthill on Sunday 5 

October from 7.00pm. This is part 

of the church’s 80th anniversary 

celebrations. 

The Scottish Album of the Year 

shortlisted Fergus McCreadie 

Trio will play at Jazz at St James 

in Leith on Saturday 26 October 


The series of concerts will 

feature award winning musicians 

in a venue which allows the 

audience to see the music being 

created up close and personal. 

And in November pianist Euan 

Stevenson and saxophonist 

Konrad Wiszniewski reprise their 

Classical Connection presentation 

on Saturday 16 November 2019. 

Tickets for the Jazz at St James 

concerts cost £12 each, with a 

reduced price of £8 for under 16s, 

and are available from 07849 

509407 or from jazzatstjames18@ 

gmail.com 

Little monsters can actively 

enjoy Halloween this year and 

have a frightfully good fun at 

Edinburgh Leisure’s three soft-play 

centres across the city. 

Where: Clambers at Royal 

Commonwealth Pool, 21 Dalkeith 

Road EH16 5BB 

When: 4.00-6.00pm – Thursday, 

24 October 2019 

What: Soft play, games, face 

painting arts and crafts, disco and 

a fancy-dress competition. 

Cost: £10.00 – non-members; 

£7.50 – members; £5 - 0 – 11 

months 

To book: 0131 667 7211 / 

enquiries@edinburghleisure.co.uk 

Glenmorangie Annual Lecture: 

Simone ten Hompel 

10 October 2019 

19:00 – 20:15 

£7, £6 Members, £5 Students 

Silversmith Simone ten Hompel 

discusses her commission 

from National Museums 

Scotland and The Glenmorangie 

Company to create a new piece 

of contemporary metal artwork 

inspired by the museum’s early 

medieval collections. 

nms.ac.uk/glenmorangielecture 

The Luxury of Time: Clocks from 

1550 – 1750 

Opens 4 Oct 2019 until Sun 26 

Jan 2020 

Exhibition Gallery, Level 1 Free 

Explore the history of early 

British clock making in this small 

display. Featuring beautiful 

objects from the golden age 

of British clock making in the 

17th century, these exquisitely 

decorated pieces were at the 

cutting edge of technology and 

many were the ultimate status 

symbol of their day. nms.ac.uk/ 

clocks 

Through the Shortbread Tin: An 

Ossianic Journey 

11 October 2019 19:00 – 20:30 

£7, £6 Members, £5 Students 

A new work inspired by the 

poems of Ossian and by the 

story of James Macpherson who 

‘discovered’ the poems in the early 

1760s. Join theatre maker, poet 

and Gaelic learner Martin O'Connor 

for a performance of spoken word 

and song, which explores the 

Halloween at Edinburgh Leisure 

Where: Tumbles at Portobello, 20 

Westbank Street EH15 1DR 

When: 4.30 - 6.30pm, Monday, 

28th October 2019 

What: Soft play, magic show, face 

painting, games, prizes, spooky 

transfers 


£7.50 – members; £5 – 0 – 11 

months 

To book: 0131 669 0878 / info. 

tumbles@edinburghleisure.co.uk 

Where: Scrambles at EICA: 

Ratho, South Platt Hill, Newbridge 

EH28 8AA 

When: 3.30 – 5.30pm, Friday, 

25th October 2019 

relevance – past and present – of 

these epic tales. nms.ac.uk/ossian 

Spotlight On: Pompeo Batoni 

Portrait 

12 October 2019 14:00 – 15:00 

FREE ticketed 

Discover the stories behind one 

of the key paintings featured in the 

Wild and Majestic exhibition with 

speakers Professor Viccy Coltman, 

Georgia Vullinghs chaired by 

curator Stuart Allan. 

nms.ac.uk/pompeoportrait 

October Half Term at the 

National Museum of Scotland 

14 – 19 October 2019 

12:00 – 16:00 Free 

Taking inspiration from our 

museum collections, join us for 

some weird and wonderful daily 

activities themed around gods, 

myths and legends. nms.ac.uk/ 

halfterm 

At the Church Hill Theatre, 

Morningside, on 5 October 2019, 

for one night and One Night 

Only, come and count with the 

Edinburgh Gay Men's Chorus 

through songs with numbers! 

Forget about working 9 to 5, don't 

you wish there could be One Fine 

Day that you can make A Million 

Dreams come true? Marching 

with Seventy Six Trombones and 

singing in One Voice, they will give 

you that One singular sensation 

with every step you take. In this 

Season of Love, come along and 

enjoy a night of fabulous music. 

You can COUNT on them! 

The Sunday Classics season 

at Usher Hall begins again this 

month. The concerts take place 

What: Soft play, disco, games, 

face painting, prizes, making 

spooky biscuits. 


£7.50 – members; £5 - 0-11 

months 

To book: 0131 333 6333 / info. 

ratho@edinburghleisure.co.uk 

Tickets are now on sale. Book 

early to avoid disappointment. 

Entry is for ticket holders only. 

Please present tickets at the 

venue’s welcome desk. Each 

venue will close to ‘pay as you 

play’ entry half an hour before 

the start of the party. Children 

are under the supervision of their 

parent/carer at all times. 

in the afternoon beginning on 13 

October 2019 with the Moscow 

Philharmonic Orchestra when 

you can enjoy some Tchaikovsky, 

Rachmaninov and Shostakovich 

The second concert is on 27th 

October 2019 with the Flanders 

Symphony Orchestra featuring 

guitarist Miloš Karadaglić and 

young Spanish conductor José 

Luis Gomez. The programme 

includes Rossini’s Barber of Seville 

overture and Rodrigo’s Guitar 

Concerto Aranjuez. 

www.usherhall.co.uk/sundayclassics 

This autumn Blackhall Library 

has a series of free author 

events with two chances to join 

acclaimed local author Ricky 

Monahan Brown on Wednesday, 9 

October at 2:30pm and again on 

Tuesday 15th at 6.30pm. Ricky's 

book "Stroke: a 5% chance of 

survival" describes his journey 

when the day after losing his job, 

Ricky suffered a catastrophic 

stroke aged just 38. Unconscious, 

he was wheeled into hospital with 

his girlfriend Beth by his side. The 

book details the story of their love, 

his recovery and their return home. 

The Edinburgh Dungeon dials up 

the seasonal scares with a host of 

new experiences from 5th October 

– 3rd November becoming the 

official Home of Halloween with 

a packed programme of scary 

fun including a new ghost show, 

a new ‘Dungeon Lates’ adultsonly 

experience and partner 

competitions. 

‘The White Lady – Bloody 

Revenge’ is a new ghost show 

running as part of the standard 

actor-led Dungeon tour exclusively 

during Halloween. Sightings of 

her blood-spattered ghost at 

Corstorphine dovecot continue to 

this day (so we are told!). 




@EdinReporter /EdinReporter edinburghreporter theedinburghreporter.co.uk WHAT'S ON 17 

It's all about books in 

Craigmillar in October 

The Craigmillar Book Festival is 

an annual event that takes place 

in nurseries, schools, Craigmillar 

Library and other public spaces 

around Craigmillar. 

The Craigmillar Book Festival 

aims to inspire everyone in 

Craigmillar to enjoy the pleasures 

and benefits of reading, writing 

and other literacy activities. They 

foster and support a lifelong love 

of reading, writing and sharing 

stories to help establish and 

strengthen these essential life 

skills. 

The Book Festival is brought to 

you by The Craigmillar Literacy 

Trust and is operated through the 

Creating and Learning Together 

project which works with children, 

young people and families aged 

4+, building upon the strength of 

their long established ‘Books For 

Babies’ programme. This crossgenerational 

learning project 

delivers stimulating and fun 

informal learning opportunities 

that will increase enthusiasm 

for ‘reading for pleasure’ and 

strengthen literacy practices in 

everyday lives. 

The 2019 Book Festival will take 

place from 6 – 16 November 2019. 

Full details of the programme, 

including visiting authors and 

events will be available from early 

October 2019 at http://craigmillar. 

org.uk.gridhosted.co.uk/ 

craigmillar-book-festival/. 

October events at Topping & Co 

Topping & Co is the newest 

independent bookshop in town. It 

opened without too much fanfare 

at the end of last month, and the 

events list for October is already 

looking pretty good! 

Author Event: From the Lion's 

Mouth Launch Party 

Tuesday, 1 October, 7.30pm 

Topping and Company 

Booksellers of Edinburgh 

£9.99 including book 

Celebrate Edinburgh author Iain 

Campbell's fascinating account of 

his journey following the course 

of the Indus River, from its mouth 

in Karachi through to its source in 

Ladakh, where it springs from the 

'Lion's Mouth' on Mount Kailash. 

Engrossing and eye-opening, this 

will appeal to travellers, trekkers, 

wilderness enthusiasts, anyone 

interested in the culture and 

history of Pakistan, and fans of 

great travel writing. 

Author Event: Launch Party for 

The Coorie Home 

Thursday, 3 October, 6.30pm 



£8 or £14.99 includes book 

The Coorie Home is a celebration 

of authentic Scottish home life, 

and the age old Scottish concept 

of coorie (or còsagach in Gaelic) 

– the feeling of warmth and home 

comfort. 

Author Event: Kate Kirkpatrick 

on Simone de Beauvoir 

Thursday, 10 October, 8.00pm 



£8 or £20 including book 

In Becoming Beauvoir, the first 

biography of Simone de Beauvoir 

since publication of her letters 

and early diaries, Kate Kirkpatrick 

draws on previously unavailable 

sources. The new personal details 

about her life revealed can only 

deepen our fascination with this 

great thinker. 

Author Event: Dan Jones on the 

Crusaders 

Monday, 14 October, 8.00pm 

Greenside Church, 1b Royal 

Terrace, EH7 5AB 


Dan Jones has the priceless 

ability to write page-turning 

narrative history underpinned by 

authoritative scholarship. Never 

before has the era of the Crusades 

been depicted in such bright and 

striking colours, or their story told 

with such gusto. 

Author Event: Shaun Bythell, 

Confessions of a Bookseller 

Thursday, 17th October, 8.00pm 



£10 or £16.99 including book 

Shaun Bythell introduced us 

to the joys and frustrations of 

a life lived in bookselling in his 

best-selling Diary of a Bookseller 

(soon to be a major television 

series). Now he reunites us 

with the characters we came to 

know and love. Confessions of a 

Bookseller will reunite readers with 

the characters they’ve come to 

know and love. 

Author Event: Performance Poet 

Olivia Gatwood 

Monday, 21st October, 8.00pm 



£9.99 

At times blistering and riotous, 

at times soulful and exuberant, 

Olivia Gatwood’s new book, Life of 

the Party is about what it means 

to be a girl and a woman in today’s 

world and the challenge of briefly 

being both. Don't miss the only 

Scottish event in her UK tour this 

autumn. 

Author Event: Jung Chang 

Tuesday, 22 October 8.00pm 




Big Sister, Little Sister, Red 

Sister is a gripping story of love, 

war, exile, intrigue, glamour and 

betrayal, which takes us on a 

monumental journey. In a group 

biography that is by turns intimate 

and epic, Jung Chang reveals the 

lives of three extraordinary women 

who helped shape the history of 

twentieth-century China. 

Author Event: Kim-Joy from the 

Great British Bake Off 

Monday, 28th October, 8.00pm 




Everyone’s favourite Great 

British Bake Off finalist, Kim-Joy, 

is coming to Edinburgh! Infuse 

your baking with a sprinkle of 

glitter, a rainbow of colours and a 

menagerie of woodland creatures 

with the help of this unique baking 

book. 

Author Event: A C Grayling on 

The History of Philosophy 

Tuesday, 29th October, 8.00pm 




With his characteristic clarity and 

elegance, A. C. Grayling takes the 

reader on a comprehensive and 

entertaining journey through the 

history of philosophy. Remarkable 

for its range and accessibility, this 

is a landmark work. 

Topping & Co 

2 Blenheim Place 

EH7 5JH 

t 0131 546 4202 

edinburgh@toppingbooks.co.uk 

We’re social! 

@EdinReporter /EdinReporter edinburghreporter theedinburghreporter.co.uk

18 

WHAT'S ON 


Fruitmarket pops up 

at Waverley Mall 

The Fruitmarket Gallery on 

Market Street is now closed for 

full refurbishment and extension 

and will re-open in 2020. 

Instead the gallery has taken 

space in Waverley Mall which is 

accessed through Williams and 

Johnson Coffee Co. just at the top 

of the Waverley Steps. 

The opening at Waverley Mall is 

another welcome addition to the 

mix of shopping there. 

The Fruitmarket Gallery has 

exhibitions with some of the 

best Scottish and international 

artists and runs a wide variety of 

cultural and educational events 

throughout the year. Aiming to 

'create a welcoming space for 

people to think with art in ways 

that are meaningful to them', the 

gallery believes that engaging with 

art in this way is enjoyable, leads 

to an improved quality of life, and 

revitalises our understanding of 

ourselves as individuals and as 

part of society. 

TG010672 259x156mm V1_ PRINTFILE.pdf 1 19/09/2019 17:01 

Good reason to get 

down to Portobello 

by Rosemary Kaye 

This October, take the bus down 

to Portobello and enjoy a weekend 

of wonderful words (and pictures). 

Some highlights will be Michael 

Faber, James Robertson,Catherine 

Simpson, Lisa Ballantyne, Michael 

Pedersen and Sandra Ireland. Oh, 

and Ian Rankin… 

Books by participating authors 

will be on sale from Blackwell’s 

Bookshop book stalls. 

And remember, events may 

be free but donations are much 

appreciated to help with the costs 

of this excellent event. 

The Portobello Book Festival will 

run 3-6 October 2019. 

There are sessions at Portobello 

Library, Portobello Baptist Church, 

Jameson Gate, Dalraida and The 

Portobello Bookshop. 

Gallus - the Scottish Jazz Weekend 

Offering a snapshot of the state 

of jazz in Scotland though the 

lens of guest programmer: Fergus 

McCreadie. Pianist McCreadie is 

the shooting star of Scottish jazz. 

Still aged only 22, he has won 

numerous awards, massive 

criticial and audience acclaim and 

is in demand for concerts all over 

Europe. 

He said: “To simply be a part of 

this scene is an absolute privilege, 

so I’m sure you’ll understand the 

great joy I’ve had in selecting a 

line-up that broadly represents 

Scottish Jazz as it stands today 

… a wide array of angles are 

presented in this programme, from 

new innovations to established 

projects, a younger vanguard of 

players rising up to sit alongside 

some of Scotland’s finest jazz 

exports”. 

Tickets are available from www. 

edinburghjazzfestival.com or 0131 

467 5200 

Full Programme is online or 

available at St Bride's on Orwell 

Terrace. 

Tickets are available from the 

library (14 Rosefield Avenue) 

during opening hours. 

Scan the QR code on the right 

hand side here to read the full 

version of this article with lots of 

suggestions for what you might 

see and do! 

www.portobellobookfestival. 

wordpress.com. 

Enlightenment at 

National Library 

Northern Lights: The Scottish 

Enlightenment 

18th-century Scotland was 

a place with many remarkable 

individuals, but the conditions 

that helped create the Scottish 

Enlightenment were the social 

and professional networks that 

allowed these great thinkers to 

share and develop their ideas. 

Intellectual Scots in the 18th 

century lived active and sociable 

lives with frequent opportunities 

to debate with their peers: at 

universities, churches, debating 

societies, libraries and laboratories 

to coffee shops, taverns, town 

Scan here! 

houses and printers' workshops. 

The Enlightenment was a 

phenomenon that operated across 

different levels of Scottish society. 

Northern Lights features books 

and manuscripts produced by 

the leading figures of the age 

including: David Hume, Adam 

Smith, William Robertson, Robert 

Adam and Robert Burns. 

Runs until Saturday 18 April 2020 

National Library of Scotland 

George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 

1EW 

Admission free

@EdinReporter /EdinReporter edinburghreporter theedinburghreporter.co.uk WHAT'S ON 19 

October at The Queen’s Hall 

Tickets & Information: www. 

thequeenshall.net | 0131 668 2019 

Clerk Street, Edinburgh EH8 9JG 

Thurs 3 at 7.30pm 

Scottish Chamber Orchestra with 

director/violin Pekka Kuusisto 

£6-£37 

Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No 

3, BWV 1048 

Hillborg: Bach Materia 

Bach: Partita in E major, BWV 

1006 

Sibelius: Symphony No 5 

Fri 4 / Sat 5 at 7.30pm 

Ben Elton £31.50 

Now, after a 15 year absence, 

the Godfather of modern stand-up 

returns to the medium he did so 

much to define. Back on the road 

with an all new stand-up show, 

Ben promises to try and make 

sense of a world which appears 

to have gone stark raving mad. 

Sun 6 at 7.30pm 

Lubomyr Melnyk: The Prophet of 

the Piano £20 

In the mid-1970s, while living 

in Paris, Lubomyr created 

Continuous Music - a totally 

new language for the piano, one 

that requires amazing technical 

abilities that use the full natural 

voice of the piano. Support is a 

rare solo set from award winning 

experimental composer, sound 

artist and musician Michael Begg. 

Mon 7 at 7.30pm 

Jojo Moyes £17 - £25 

A love letter to the power of 

books, words and friendship to 

change lives for the better, Jojo 

Moyes’ new book ‘The Giver of 

Stars’ is being described as her 

best yet. Copies of her book will be 

on sale after the event, and Jojo 

will be doing a book signing. 

Thu 10 at 7.30pm 

Armistead Maupin £18 - £28 

Don’t miss the chance to join 

America’s ultimate storyteller and 

author of ‘Tales of the City’, as he 

recounts his favourite tales from 

the past 4 decades, offering his 

own engaging observations on 

society and the world we inhabit. 

Armistead will be interviewed by 

Lee Randall. 

Fri 11, doors 6.30pm 

Art Gallery news 

Ingleby Gallery in Barony Street 

will be closed from 2 October - 11 

October whilst they install their 

upcoming show and a series of 

autumn events celebrating the 

recent work of the internationally 

renowned, camera-less 

photographer Garry Fabian Miller. 

A new book BLAZE, introduced by 

internationally acclaimed artist 

and writer Edmund De Waal and 

closed with a new poem by Alice 

Oswald (published by Ingleby this 

month) will document the end of 

an era as the artist battles with 

the extinction of the analogue 

materials in a digital age. 

Dwindling supplies of paper and 

chemistry and the increasingly 

fugitive nature of his life-learnt 

methods see Miller embracing 

the perversity of his position in 

a final blaze of picturemaking 

glory. The exhibition is at Ingleby, 

from 12 October – 20 December 

2019. Garry Fabian Miller will 

give the annual lecture of the 

Walter Trout plus special guest 

Dan Patlansky £27 

Five decades in the making; it 

is equal parts thriller, romance, 

suspense and horror; the veteran 

bluesman has seen and done it 

all - plays earth shattering blues 

rock music. Joining Walter is Dan 

Patlansky who has become one 

of the busiest and most respected 

blues artists to ever come out of 

South Africa. 

Scottish Society for the History 

of Photography on Friday 15 

November 2019 at the National 

Galleries of Scotland. 

At The Scottish Gallery from 

2 October to 26 October 2019 - 

Notes from the West - Hannah 

Mooney. This is the first solo 

exhibition at the gallery for 

Mooney who has a studio in 

Glasgow but splits her time 

between Co Mayo and Donegal. 

Her subject matter is principally 

the landscape. Growing Forms 

by Kate Downie. She has recently 

built a new studio and put it to 

good use during the build, finding 

it an irresistible subject. Beastly 

by Claudia Rankin will introduce 

visitors to an array of ceramic 

creatures with sculptures and 

functional works such as animal 

candelabras and platters. Rankin 

is back after the success of her 

first solo exhibition here in October 

2017. Constructing in Colour is a 

new collection of work by jeweller 

Sat 12, doors 7.00pm 

Lloyd Cole £22 - £27 

Lloyd Cole returns to The 

Queen's Hall as part of a 5-night 

Scottish tour. 'From Rattlesnakes 

to Guesswork' will present music 

from Lloyd's back catalogue, 

starting with ‘Rattlesnakes’ in 

1984, right up to his forthcoming 

album ‘Guesswork’ released in 

July 2019. 

Sun 13 at 8.00pm 

Cavern Beatles 

£26 - £28 

This show is a Magical History 

Tour through the works of the 

greatest pop music phenomenon, 

The Beatles. Replicating, in both 

sight and sound, the excitement 

and energy of Beatlemania, the 

psychedelic era of Sgt. Pepper, 

and the creative masterpieces of 

The White Album and Abbey Road. 


Tommy Smith Quartet: 

Embodying the Light £17 

Saxophonist Tommy Smith pays 

tribute to his greatest inspiration, 

jazz icon John Coltrane with the 

quartet he formed in 2017 to mark 

the 50th anniversary of Coltrane’s 

death and his own 50th birthday. 

Support is from the Alan Benzie 

Trio. 

Fri 18 at 8.00pm 

London African Gospel Choir: 

Paul Simon’s Graceland £27 

Emily Kidson who uses silver gold 

wood inlay and hand painted detail 

along with her colourful laminates. 

At &Gallery they will show 

work by Scottish artist Andrew 

Mackenzie who graduated from 

Edinburgh College of Art in 1993 

and lives in the Scottish Borders. 

He is the current President of 

Visual Arts Scotland. (they have 

moved up the street!) 

The Torrance Gallery will feature 

works by Dronma, Peter Foyle 

& Ian Elliot who they describe 

as three well-known and long 

established Scottish stalwarts 

from 12 - 26 October 2019. 

At The Union Gallery until 12 

October their exhibition is Out of 

India with a mixed and vibrant 

selection of works by Carol 

Read, Richard Ballantyne, Jenny 

Matthews, Sally Johns and a 

couple of artists new to them, 

Jackie Cartwright and Fiona 

Wilson. Then from 19 October 

they will feature the playful and 

distinctive work of wood sculptor 

Michael McManus. 

The London African Gospel 

Choir was co-founded by Crystal 

Kassi to help London’s African 

community to promote the gospel, 

create a platform of excellence 

for African gospel singers and 

musicians, and popularise the 

African interpretations of gospel 

music. Tonight they will perform 

the classic Paul Simon album 

'Graceland' in full live on stage. 

Sat 19, doors 7.00pm 

St Etienne: Tiger Bay 25th 

Anniversary £28.50 

The 'Tiger Bay' album will be 

followed by a set of hits and 

fan favourites also featuring 

orchestration, with 8-piece live 

band and 5-piece string section. 

Saint Etienne as you’ve never 

heard them before. 

Sun 20, doors 7.00pm 

The Unthanks: Emily Brontë Song 

Cycle £22 - £24.50 

The Unthanks invite us into the 

darkly passionate world of Emily 

Brontë, with a song cycle bearing 

all the quiet beauty they are known 

and loved for. 

Mon 21 at 8.00pm 

Hello Again, The Story of Neil 

Diamond £26 - £28 

Evocative imagery, video and 

narration enhance the magic, as 

the show takes you on a musical 

journey through Neil Diamond’s 

glittering 50 year career. 

Performed by Brooklyn Creed and 

his band. 


Scottish Chamber Orchestra £6 

- £37 

Mozart: Symphony No 36 ‘Linz’, 

K425 

Haydn: Keyboard Concerto in D, 

Hob XVIII 

Schumann: Piano Concerto in A 

minor 

Piotr Anderszewski: Director / 

Piano 

Alexander Janiczek: Director / 

Violin 

Sat 26, 7.30pm 

Big, Big Train £22 - £32 

Four times Progressive Music 

Award winning band, Big Big Train, 

reached No1 in the UK Official 

rock album charts with their 2017 

album, 'Grimspound' and No2 with 

their recent live album, 'Merchants 

of Light'. This is their first ever UK 

tour showcasing their forthcoming 

album. Support comes from Sweet 

Billy Pilgrim. 

Sun 27, doors 7.00pm 

Lissie £19.50 - £26.50 

American singer-songwriter 

Lissie returns to The Queen's Hall 

this autumn, showcasing her new 

album ‘When I’m Alone: The Piano 

Retrospective’. 

Thu 31, 7.30pm 

Scottish Chamber Orchestra £6 

- £37 

Suk: Serenade for Strings in 

E-Flat 

Janáček: The Fiddler’s Child 

Dvořák: Symphony No 5 

Joseph Swensen: Conductor 

Stephanie Gonley: Violin 

Got an event to share? 

Email editor@theedinburghreporter.co.uk with the details!

20 PHOTOS 


Out and about in Edinburgh 

This month there have 

almost been too many photo 

opportunities. 

There were 300 horses and riders 

on the Royal Mile in September 

to celebrate the Riding of the 

Marches. 

Then the Scottish Youth Climate 

Strike meant that Edinburgh joined 

global protests demanding action 

on climate change. There was a 

sea of young people (and slightly 

older people too!) who joined 

the march from The Meadows 

to The Scottish Parliament on a 

gloriously sunshiny day. At the 

end of September the Scottish 

Parliament was about to debate 

the Climate Bill for the final time. 

Colony of Artists 2019 took place 

with art, music and Campervan 

Brewery beer to enjoy down at 

Abbeyhill Colonies. Their murals 

are still there for all to see. 

In another artistic quarter of 

the city Art Walk Porty took place 

over a whole week, opening up the 

historic kilns on one of the routes. 

Have you seen the Roseburn 

mural which shows Air Raid 

Precautions (ARP) wardens and 

the cycle messengers in WWII? 

Riding of the Marches 2019 - the Rt Hon Lord Provost 

Frank Ross and dignitaries on top of the Mercat Cross 

Nick Gardner offered tarot readings at Colony of Artists 

Riding of the Marches 2019 - 

The Edinburgh Lad and Lass on The Royal Mile 

Colony of Artists - Lauren Bowman shows off her highly 

decorated miniatures 

This lovely mural is on the side wall at Cherry’s Café

@EdinReporter /EdinReporter edinburghreporter theedinburghreporter.co.uk PHOTOS 21 

Colony of Artists 2019 - Eddscape is a Graphic Artist 

Painter & Designer and a Twitter friend! 

John Rattray statue in Leith 

Links was unveiled recently 

The Singing Children of Africa visited Holyrood and 

sang for MSPs in the Garden Lobby 

The stars of the King and I which is coming to the 

Playhouse in October PHOTO© The Edinburgh Reporter 

The new mural in Roseburn Park was paid for by a 

£3,000 grant from the council 

Rosy Naylor top left with artists and organisers involved 

with Art Walk Porty 2019 inside Portobello Kilns 

ArtWalkPortyJenny Pope’s Material Land which flew 

from the lampposts ©2019 The Edinburgh Reporter

Melnyk 

Lubomyr 

Chamber Orchestra 

Scottish 

Moyes 

Jojo 

Maupin 

Armistead 

Trout 

Walter 

Smith Quartet 

Tommy 

Unthanks 

The 

Nights 

Liminal 

Cole Lloyd 

Big Train 

Big 

22 FEATURE 


Fundraising Lunch with an Old Bag 2019 

The organising committee with Fiona Donaldson Chair second from right 

This year’s Lunch with an 

Old Bag at Prestonfield House 

raised £760,000 for The Prince’s 

Trust Scotland. 

'Girl about town' Charlie 

Nicholsby was invited to go and 

she promised to tell all.... 

by Charlie Nicholsby 

Fridays usually consist of me 

doing the school run and all sorts 

of activities afterwards so it was 

great to get the glam on and 

attend the infamous Lunch With 

An Old Bag 2019 at the stunning 

Prestonfield House Hotel. 

It’s a fabulous fun-filled day of 

fundraising for The Prince’s Trust 

to help them transform the lives 

of young people in Scotland. 

And the glam was out as the fizz 

flowed , followed by a delicious 

lunch. (Thanks to James Thomson 

without whose wonderful 

generosity this event would not be 

possible.) 

Over 330 fabulous ladies (and 

a few brave men) took to their 

seats, and the afternoon really got 

going. Des Clarke and Grant Stott 

got the party started along with 

four Moulin Rouge dancers who 

were all from Scotland. With more 

entertainment to follow it was 

time to get serious and begin the 

auction . 

Starting with designer bags, 

donations came from Alexander 

McQueen, Dolce and Gabbana, 

Gucci, Valentino and even a rare 

Hermes Birkin Bag! 

Other spectacular auction prizes 

included holidays in Spain, France, 

NYC and the Norwegian Fjords. 

Acclaimed Scottish artist Gerard 

Burns offered a portrait. He is 

known for his realistic paintings 

of the likes of Brian Cox, Ewan 

McGregor and Elaine C Smith so 

this was a prize worth having. 

Fiona Donaldson, Chair of 

LWAOB, related the fabulous 

success that the charity has 

provided in Scotland. 

Helping vulnerable young people 

to believe in themselves and to 

live, learn and earn. 

After listening to some emotional 

stories from those whose lives 

had been dramatically changed 

by the Trust, an audio message 

appeared from non other than the 

man himself HRH The Duke of 

Rothesay! 

With the afternoon going up an 

octave and a staggering sum of 

over three quarters of a million 

pounds raised it was time to hit 

the dance floor and get a cheeky 

selfie with the legend that is 

Christopher BIggins. (I couldn’t 

resist). 

A huge thanks to Fiona and her 

committee for all that goes into an 

event like this - and probably the 

only time I didn’t mind being called 

an old bag! 

Chair Fiona said afterwards : 

“Every year we’re astounded by 

the generosity of our guests, 

and this year’s support has been 

exceptional. And it simply wouldn’t 

Charlie Nicholsby and Kathleen O’Sullivan 

happen without the incredible 

support of so many extraordinary 

people, including our loyal and 

enthusiastic sponsors. It just 

shows the difference a room full of 

“Old Bags” can make.” 

Founder James Thomson OBE, 

who has hosted the invitation-only 

event at Prestonfield every year, 

said : “Every young person should 

have the chance to succeed, 

and with the right support and 

understanding, this generation of 

young people, who face challenges 

which simply couldn’t have 

been imagined when LWOB was 

launched in 2009, will fulfil their 

potential..” 

Elaine Duguid centre committee member 

since the first LWOB lunch with her friends 

Helen Wallace and Michele Stewart 

Rob Hussey left and Johnny Bacigalupo 

at October 

Elton Ben 

Gallery and gift shop 

Open Monday – Saturday • 10am – 5pm 

Sunday 11am – 5pm 

Fifty artists in one gorgeous space: 

art, jewellery, fashion, homewares, 

gifts, candles, cards... 

and much more 

93 Causewayside Edinburgh EH9 1QG 

0131 629 9123 

www.artcraftcollective.co.uk

@EdinReporter /EdinReporter edinburghreporter theedinburghreporter.co.uk FEATURE 23 

Give a little to the Potter of Leith 

The Leith Community Pottery 

is a social enterprise which will 

give free access to working in 

clay and all the 'feel good' benefits 

that go with it. There will be 

classes and workshops on offer 

to those who have mental health 

issues, dementia, isolation and 

other physical health conditions. 

A crowdfunding page has been 

set up to raise £25,000 which is 

needed to buy all the tools and 

equipment such as a kiln and half 

a dozen potters' wheels. 

Andy Lang is the Potter of Leith 

and he is behind the project. 

Lang is a graduate of 

Jordanstone College in Dundee 

and has taught pottery at night 

classes for around thirty years. 

He has had his own mental health 

problems over the years and 

says that by combining all of his 

experiences he hopes to help 

others, and himself, at the same 

time. 

Contribute if you can at www. 

crowfunder.co.uk search for Leith 

Community Pottery 

Watch our video interview with 

Andy by scanning the QR code 

here. 

Scan here! 

Art & Craft Collective 

are two years old! 

Recently Art & Craft Collective 

on Causewayside celebrated their 

2nd birthday. There was cake (of 

course there was!) and fizz and 

a lot of chat among the invited 

guests. 

The gallery and workshop 

venue on Causewayside opened 

in August 2017 with around 20 

artists and crafters displaying and 

selling their work. 

Now they have expanded to over 

60 artists and the work on display 

is extensive, from watercolours to 

jewellery, pottery and handmade 

leather along with cards and 

wrapping paper. 

Their newest venture is to join 

artsy.net where you can buy 

online. On their birthday Lindsay 

of Art & Craft Collective invited 

local MP Ian Murray to join her in 

cutting the cake. 

Space saving ideas for small homes 

If you’re purchasing a flat or 

house for the first time, the 

likelihood is it’s not going to 

have bags of space to spare, so 

we’ve pulled together five easy 

to implement ideas to allow you 

to make the most of your smaller 

property. 

1. Use the walls 

Easy to fit wall space savers 

are easy to get hold of and are 

particularly useful in the kitchen. 

Why not try adding a magnetic 

strip to your kitchen wall for your 

chopping knives to stick to? 

2. Use racks 

Whether you’re trying to save 

space in the kitchen, hallway or 

bedroom, racks are fantastic for 

storage. Shelved shoe racks can 

keep a front porch or bedroom 

neat and tidy, saving on valuable 

wardrobe space and avoiding trip 

hazards. 

3. Create attractive displays on 

shelves 

If you have bright white or 

neutral walls in your kitchen, this 

can be treated as a blank canvas 

and used creatively to bring 

objects together as attractive shelf 

displays. Why not bring together 

colourful coffee, sugar and tea 

containers with a house plant? 

4. Use folding or multi-purpose 

furniture 

Collapsible tables can make a 

great desk in a living area, which 

can then be neatly folded away 

into a cupboard for when visitors 

are coming round. Ottomans 

are also a fantastic space saver, 

functioning as a seat, table 

or bench, as well as a storage 

container. 

5. Underneath the bed 

An obvious, but often 

underutilised, storage space is 

under the bed. There are many 

bedframe options that come with 

in-built drawers (called divans) 

that won’t break the bank or 

you could purchase inexpensive 

storage boxes that fit under the 

bed. 

For more ideas head to espc. 

com to search their whole range of 

houses and flats and get advice on 

buying a property. 

Get in touch 

today! 

For editorial and 

advertising enquiries 

please email 

editor@ 





theedinburghreporter.co.uk

24 

FOOD 

Recipe of the month 

Sundried Tomato & Duck Leg 

Risotto, Poached Duck Egg, Truffle 

This week’s recipe is by Glenn 

Roach, Executive Chef of the Surf 

& Turf Restaurants in Macdonald 

Hotels & Resorts. 

Chef Roach introduced the Surf 

& Turf concept to Macdonald 

Rusacks Hotel, St Andrews and 

Macdonald Holyrood Hotel in 

Edinburgh. 

Risotto Base Ingredients: 

1.1 litres organic stock, such as 

chicken, fish, vegetable 

1 large onion 

2 cloves of garlic 

½ a head of celery 

90 g Parmesan cheese 

2 tablespoons olive oil 

unsalted butter 

400 g risotto rice 

2 wine glasses of dry white 

vermouth 

50g sundried tomato 

Method: 

Heat the stock. Peel and finely 

chop the onion and garlic, trim and 

finely chop the celery. Finely grate 

the Parmesan. 

In a separate pan, heat the oil 

and 1 small knob of butter over 

a low heat, add the onions, garlic 

and celery, and fry gently for about 

15 minutes, or until softened but 

not coloured. Add the rice and 

turn up the heat – the rice will 

now begin to lightly fry, so keep 

stirring it. After 1 minute it will 

look slightly translucent. Add the 

vermouth or wine and keep stirring 

— it will smell fantastic. Any harsh 

alcohol flavours will evaporate and 

leave the rice with a tasty essence. 

Once the vermouth or wine has 

cooked into the rice add your first 

ladle of hot stock and a good 

pinch of sea salt. Turn the heat 

down to a simmer so the rice 

doesn’t cook too quickly on the 

outside. 

Keep adding another ladleful 

of stock, stirring and almost 

massaging the creamy starch out 

of the rice, allowing each one to be 

absorbed before adding the next. 

This will take around 15 minutes. 

Taste the rice — is it cooked? Carry 

on adding stock until the rice is 

soft but with a slight bite. Don’t 

forget to check the seasoning 

carefully. If you run out of stock 


before the rice is cooked, add 

some boiling water. 

Remove the pan from the heat, 

add 1 knob of butter, sundried 

tomatos and the Parmesan, then 

stir well. 

Place a lid on the pan and allow 

to sit for 2 minutes – this is the 

most important part of making 

the perfect risotto, as this is when 

it becomes outrageously creamy 

and oozy like it should be. 

Eat it as soon as possible, while 

the risotto retains its beautiful 

texture. 

(The recipes for the other parts 

of this dish are online. 

Once risotto is ready flake the 

duck leg through the risotto 

In a bowl add the risotto then 

place a soft poached duck egg on 

top, 

Place shavings on top of the 

egg and add some wild herbs for 

garnish. 

Sit down and enjoy your meal! 

Eating out on Princes 

Street 

by Juliet Lawrence Wilson 

With the new fandangled St 

James development galloping on 

a pace, talk has turned to what will 

happen to sad old Princes Street? 

Will we continue to dredge 

through the rain to Zara when a 

shiny shopping emporium will 

house all the brands we desire 

and more? Unlikely, it seems, and 

what an opportunity it would be to 

turn such a stunning street into a 

neighbourhood: prime real estate 

with restaurants, bars and a terrific 

view. Sign me up. 

For a taste of future Edinburgh 

living I met my chum Susie for 

lunch at Twenty Princes Street, a 

dramatic and elegant restaurant 

adjacent to the popular cocktail 

bar, Juniper and part of Indigo 

Hotel. Directly opposite Waverley 

station this was the perfect 

location for us as my chum was 

travelling in from Fife and we 

needed as much time as possible 

for wine and food before the 

dreaded school pick up. 

At a window seat soaking 

in the breathtaking views and 

sumptuous surroundings, we had 

a delightfully relaxing afternoon. 

We began with a glass of vino 

for me and a beautifully served 

G&T for Susie in a glass that we 

noted had a low centre of gravity. 

They must have form with boozy 

school mums. We opted for the 

three course at £20 set menu with 

Susie choosing the super fresh 

and zingy Asparagus Soup and 

me being mildly more adventurous 

with a Chicken and Whisky Brulée. 

Who had the brilliant idea to brulée 

super soft pate? 

The burnt caramel gave a punch 

to the soft creamy richness and I 

was delighted to see some melba 

toast on the plate. You can keep 

your sourdough loaf. Melba toast 

to pâté is Anthony to Cleopatra. 

Whilst I enjoyed my main dish 

of Sun Dried Tomato Tagliatelle, 

Susie hit the jackpot with 12 Hour 

Slow Braised Pork Belly. “Melts in 

the mouth!” she declares. 

But what’s this I see, Madame 

Susie, left on your plate? I’m 

ashamed to say my dear and 

lovely friend had left the crackling 

on her plate. Untouched. She may 

be the kindest, most thoughtful 

woman in the world but here I have 

reasons to question her character. 

(Ach, not really!) 

Boost your 

business 

here 

Tasting the spice of life, 

You don’t have to cross continents 

to find superb indian cooking. 

Winners of 

The Best Takeaway of the Year 

The Chef of the Year 

Email 


for advertising details! 

0131 334 4488 

St John’s Curry Club, 100 St John’s Road, 

Corstorphine, Edinburgh, EH12 8AT

@EdinReporter /EdinReporter edinburghreporter theedinburghreporter.co.uk FOOD 25 

Juliet's Food Diary 

“It all comes out as it’s ready.” 

A prize for how many profanities 

the innocent waiting staff’s words 

induce. 

The Silver Fox boyfriend and I 

decided our regular Tuesday night 

date, where we indulge in amazing 

cooking (mine) and fine wines (his) 

was getting a tad passé. So we 

opted to go to the pictures. Eating 

at the next door noodle chain, 

where serving dishes at the same 

time isn’t a given, is a very popular 

Deliveroo outlet. While one of us 

was eating, the other was waiting 

for their main to arrive for twenty 

hungry minutes. In that time the 

Deliveroo cyclists picked up at 

least five orders. (“It all comes out 

as it’s ready.” ) - Were they all going 

to the same destination? 

Apparently in London there 

are many ‘dark kitchens’. Sounds 

dodgy, but what’s wrong with 

people setting up remote outlets 

for takeaway businesses? Some 

of them might be offering amazing 

food by people who can’t afford 

This small Corstorphine 

restaurant team won two awards 

recently at the annual Scotland 

Asian Restaurant Awards. 

At a glitzy ceremony in Edinburgh 

last month, boss Sadiqur Rahman 

was really delighted to pick up the 

to set up a shop front business 

or a restaurant. I hear there are 

one or two listed on Deliveroo 

in Edinburgh who offer great 

food and perhaps every dish is 

delivered at the same time. It’s 

an odd world where takeaways 

behave more professionally than 

restaurants. 

Hair brushed and parted, I 

headed off to the anniversary 

party of Malmaison. The love 

story of boutique hotels began in 

Edinburgh, don’t you know? We're 

all agreed that Mals are delightful. 

However when the M.D. gave a 

speech declaring all small hotels 

resembled Fawlty Towers before 

The Mal showed them how to do it, 

that seemed a tad Trumpish. But 

credit where it’s due, Malmaison 

do their remit of modern luxury 

splendidly. He also declared The 

Mal buffet was the best ever. 

He was right there, they fed and 

watered us most luxuriously. 

“We’re off to Dunfermline for the 

night,” I told the Silver Fox. Baffled, 

he was, knowing no golf course he 

desired conquering was nearby. 

“Dunfermline? Seriously?” The SF 

has recently been on a family trip 

to Monterey, Santa Barbara and 

L.A. and returned mildly snobbish 

about the restaurants of his 

homeland. 

Yet on driving into Garvock 

House Hotel, he declared: ” 

Wow, this is insane! Like, we're 

awards for both Best Chef and 

Best Takeaway in Edinburgh. 

Mr Rahman invited The 

Edinburgh Reporter along to St 

John's Road to find out what made 

the restaurant a winner. 

He said : "Our staff make an 

in the middle of the countryside! 

Gorgeous!” Almost like he thought 

of it himself… we both agreed we 

couldn’t have found a more cosy, 

comfortable and friendly place and 

felt immediately relaxed. Although 

the Garvock is owned and run by 

husband and wife duo Rui and 

Pamela Fernandes, Fawlty Towers 

it certainly isn’t. 

Dinner was an exceptionally 

traditional and civilised affair. You 

enjoy a drink at the bar while you 

peruse the menu. They then take 

your order there and escort your to 

your table when your food is ready. 

I don’t think I’ve experienced that 

in years so it was like going back 

in time in a very pleasant way. 

The menu was also a welcome 

effort to make a difference. We 

have the best chef, who works 

with fresh top quality ingredients. 

"Apart from his outstanding 

cooking everything ordered, 

whether for sit in or takeaway, is 

cooked fresh. 

surprise as there was plenty on it 

that sounded good. The kitchen 

definitely know how to please 

any palate and the top dish of the 

"We celebrated with a party 

for the staff and to allow our 

customers to celebrate with us 

we have been running a Facebook 

competition." 

Restaurants were judged by a 

panel of chefs and Asian cuisine 

evening was a perfectly presented 

venison fillet. 

Full review on the website www. 

edinburghreporter.co.uk 

St John’s Curry Club is the best takeaway in town 

L-R Masud Ahsan, Anor Ali, Sadiq Rahman, Vahir Islan and Vewer Ahmed PHOTO ©2019 The Edinburgh Reporter 

experts, including Michelin Star 

chef and Chinese Masterchef 

winner Bill Poon; award-winning 

author and food critic Ria Amber 

Tesia; former restaurant inspector 

for the Good Food Guide George 

Shaw; and chaired by founder 

of the Curry Club and editor of 

the Cobra Good Curry Guide Pat 

Chapman. 

Asian Catering Federation, (ACF) 

Chairman Yawar Khan said : “The 

Scottish Asian Restaurant Awards 

recognises the excellence of 

Asian and Oriental restaurants in 

Scotland,” said , who added, “They 

allow us to celebrate the many 

different cultures and cuisines 

that contribute so much to our 

economy.” 

The awards were presented by 

Samantha Simmonds who is a 

journalist and broadcaster. 

She has covered all the main 

programmes for BBC World News 

including The Briefing on BBC1. 

Over 70 Asian restaurants across 

Scotland were shortlisted through 

a series of public votes, to be 

narrowed down to just 16 winners, 

recognising the best Bangladeshi, 

Chinese, Indian, Japanese, 

Malaysian, and Nepalese 

restaurants and takeaways in the 

country. 

The Asian Restaurant Awards 

are organised by ACF, the trade 

body which represents the 

nation’s 30,000 Asian and Oriental 

restaurants.

26 

FEATURE 

Edinburgh Collected 

Edinburgh Collected is an 

online community photo archive 

managed by Edinburgh Libraries. 

You can add your own photos to 

help preserve the city’s history for 

the future. It is also a good way 

for organisations to preserve their 

archives in scrapbooks online. 

www.edinburghcollected.org 

by Charlie Nicholsby 

With the seasons changing and 

my skin feeling it needed a make 

over (and another birthday recently 

passed), l was delighted to be 

invited to receive the new Guinot 

Hydradermie Cellular Energy Facial 

at Skin and Beauty Therapy in 

Stockbridge. 

This award winning electrical 

facial, with pulsing double 

ionisation, is one of the most 

October Crossword 

Across 

7. Mere vibes lasting for 2 minims (9) 

8. Rag us about returning 

sweetener (5) 

10. So, import a fraudulent 

character (8) 

11. Innate way to create red bin (6) 

12. Sliding window-frame made from 

part of this ash-tree (4) 

13. Each clip relates to part of the 

head (8) 

15. Ungrateful person in great 

torment (7) 

17. Sanction from electorate to 

provide meat and cocktail (7) 

20. Curt poem about this piece of 

equipment (8) 

22. Number in some of our pages (4) 

25. Edit an unusual book and hold it 

back (6) 

26. Copies us in plausibly deceptive 

manner (8) 

27. Measure, in some terrible way (5) 

28. Speech went wrong, so I 

cursed (9) 

Crossword by David Albury Answers on page 29 

Here Ludovic Farine explains 

his photo : "I had the chance for 

a walking photo tour with Dark 

Edinburgh, a renowned poet in the 

city. 

"We had a spooky Plague doctor 

to take into dark alleys of Old 

Town." 

Beauty news - Skin 

Deep 

popular anti -ageing and results 

driven facials on the market today. 

Guinots new upgraded machine 

uses dynamic ionisation, thermal 

energy and lower frequency to 

receive ultimate results . 

In the safe hands of Lisa-and 

taking a scary before selfie - the 

treatment began. I’m always 

a little sceptical about one off 

procedures but l can honestly say 

within an hour the results were 

instant! 

My skin was visibly firmer , 

tighter and smoother ( even the 

husband noticed ) . 

I’m delighted to have been 

introduced to this little gem of 

a salon. Run by Lisa Vastano 

and Heather Rafferty, the girls 

first worked together in the late 

nineties, both going on to open 

their own beauty businesses. 

Lisa at the Caledonian hotel and 

Heather taking on a busy salon in 

Corstophine. 

Almost 20 years later, they have 

come together again at Skin and 

Beauty Therapy, 25 Hamilton 

Place, Stockbridge where 

they specialise in anti-ageing 

treatments, skincare, intimate 

waxing. nails and LVL lashes. 

Currently offering 20% off the 

Hydradermie Youth Facial £75, 

please call 0131 332 1099 to book 

an appointment. 

Down 

1. Mates form organised groups (5) 

2. Upset mom as I pluck this plant (6) 

3. Technocrat without an inkling of 

musical note (8) 

4. Greed for exotic caviare (7) 

5. Do up crab and place it in this 

small storeroom (8) 

6. Stiff ? Alec suggests course of 

cosmetic surgery (4, 5) 

9. Walk unevenly in small, 

imperceptible manner (4) 

14. Rook needs to be moved, or it will 

be thwarted (9) 

16. Peered at various objects over 

and over again (8) 

18. Calf rose and moved into the cool 

air (2, 6) 

19. Playing cards ? It might appear 

extreme (7) 

21. Quality of sound affects note (4) 

23. In Cameroun I queue for 

something very special (6) 

24. Super sort of money container (5) 


PHOTO - Edinburgh Collected 

STR8TS 

1 2 3 4 5 6 

7 8 

10 11 

14 

2 8 

4 5 

6 

5 3 7 

8 

2 

6 

2 

5 6 1 7 

9 

9 3 

12 13 

15 16 17 18 

20 21 22 23 

19 

25 26 

27 28 

Medium 

How to beat Str8ts – 

Like Sudoku, no single number 1 to 9 can repeat in any row 

or column. But... rows and columns are 

divided by black squares into compartments. 2 1 4 5 

Each compartment must form a straight - 6 4 5 3 2 

a set of numbers with no gaps but it can be 

in any order, eg [7,6,9,8]. Clues in black cells 

4 5 2 1 

remove that number as an option in that row 4 3 6 2 1 5 

and column, and are not part of any straight. 

Glance at the solution to see how ‘straights’ 

are formed. 

3 5 

2 

2 

1 

1 

3 

4 

9 

© 2019 Syndicated Puzzles 

SUDOKU 

5 7 4 2 

3 2 6 9 1 

8 

6 7 5 

5 9 8 

6 

1 4 8 5 3 

8 7 2 6 

To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering 

numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 

box contains every number uniquely. 

For many strategies, hints and tips, 

visit www.sudokuwiki.org for Sudoku 

and www.str8ts.com for Str8ts. 

If you like Str8ts and other puzzles, check out our 

books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store. 

24 

Medium 

Get in 

touch 

today! 

For editorial and 

advertising enquiries 

please email 

editor@ 





© 2019 Syndicated Puzzles 

theedinburghreporter.co.uk

UNIQUE MODERN OFFICES TO LET 

WITHIN A STUNNING HISTORIC SETTING 

SPACE TO SUIT ONE PERSON OR OVER ONE HUNDRED PEOPLE 

Whether you’re just getting underway or have a team in excess of 100 people, we have competitively 

priced space to suit. From single desks, to small offices from 250 sq ft, to suites in excess of 10,000 sq ft, 

our flexible space options mean that as your business grows you can grow within Eskmills. 

WE CREATED ESKMILLS TO HELP TEAMS OF SMART PEOPLE SUCCEED IN THEIR CHOSEN FIELD 

Eskmills provides, in beautifully restored historic buildings, 

the basis for a dynamic working lifestyle. You will find modern 

workspaces, friendly 5-star service, the flexibility to grow, 

fantastic local amenities and an inspiring community with a 

relaxed and friendly atmosphere. 

Our management team is onsite to take care of everything so 

that you’re able to focus on running your business. 

The Eskmills community is made up of 400 people, across more 

than 50 companies, from a diverse range of sectors including 

technology, creative, finance, charity, education and more. 

We’d be delighted to introduce you to some of the organisations 

that have chosen to make Eskmills their home and give you a 

flavour of all that Eskmills can offer. 

FURTHER INFORMATION 

Gavin G Scott 

07982 716 633 

gavin@cuthbertwhite.com 

Neil McConnachie 

07818 062 736 

nmcconnnachie@eyco.co.uk 

Donald Gillies 

0131 285 5566 

donald.gillies@eskmills.com 

@eskmills 

@eskmillsbusiness 

eskmills.com 

The Agents for themselves and for the vendors and lessors of 

this property whose agents they are, give notice that: 1. The 

particulars are produced in good faith, are set out as a general 

guide only and do not constitute part of a contract, 2. No person 

in the employment of The Agents has any authority to make or 

give any representation or warranty whatsoever in relation to this 

property, 3. The images are correct as at the date of publication 

and 4. All floor areas and site areas quoted will be subject to final 

verification upon completion. Date of publication October 2017.

28 

READER'S PHOTO 


Reader's Photo 

The new HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier woke up to its first morning outside of Rosyth shipyard shrouded in a blanket of mist that had gathered around it during the night. As the sun 

rose and warmed the air the mist began to dissipate allowing Tom to capture the magical moment when he could see the full profile of the ship, but with the Forth bridges still mostly under 

wraps. Photographer Tom Duffin has a portfolio of images of Edinburgh, all of which are available as giclée prints, canvas, aluminium or even a full wall print. www.tomduffin.com 

Crossword Answers 

Across: 7 Semibreve, 8 Sugar, 10 Impostor, 11 Inbred, 12 Sash, 

13 Cephalic, 15 Ingrate, 17 Mandate, 20 Computer, 22 Four, 25 Detain, 

26 Specious, 27 Meter, 28 Discourse. 

Down: 1 Teams, 2 Mimosa, 3 Crotchet, 4 Avarice, 5 Cupboard, 6 Face lifts, 

9 Limp, 14 Snookered, 16 Repeated, 18 Al fresco, 19 Drastic, 21 Tone, 

23 Unique, 24 Purse. 





@EdinReporter /EdinReporter edinburghreporter 


The Edinburgh 

Sketcher would 

like to attend 

your wedding! 

Here Mark Kirkham explains why 

he would be worth the invitation…. 

Planning a wedding for 2020? I 

can capture your day in ink and 

watercolour sketches 

'As a wedding sketcher I attend 

the event and move around in the 

background drawing the details 

which catch my eye, like the 

flower arrangements, personal 

decorations, architectural details 

and colourful guests! Soon I have 

a sketch book full of original pen 

and watercolour illustrations 

which capture the day perfectly. 

A Wedding Sketcher package 

creates a personal, original 

memory of your special day, and 

also can be a perfect present for 

the bride and groom who have 

everything!' 

To discuss booking Mark to 

capture your day email 

contact@edinburghsketcher.com

@EdinReporter /EdinReporter edinburghreporter theedinburghreporter.co.uk SPORT 29 

Dione just misses! 

by Nigel Duncan 

Dione Roberts will fish in the 

Commonwealth team in New 

Zealand after just missing out on 

claiming the Scottish Ladies fly 

fishing title by only 5cms. 

The Edinburgh-based angler told 

friends and colleagues she would 

retire from international fly fishing 

if she won the Scottish Ladies 

Championship. 

It’s the only major prize in the 

sport that has eluded her, but 

Dione is still on the international 

scene after being pipped by the 

smallest of margins. 

Ayrshire angler Jean Ferguson 

won the title for the third time at 

the Lake of Menteith by only 5cms 

after both women landed the same 

number of fish. 

Dione Roberts in foreground on platform 

fishing during the Scottish Ladies fly 

fishing team fund-raiser at Bangour 

Fishery near Livingston. Picture by 

Nigel Duncan Media 

Bobby Prentice 

1953-2019 

by Mike Smith 

The news that Hearts legend of 

the 1970s, Bobby Prentice had 

passed away last month at the age 

of 65 saddened many Hearts fans 

of my generation. 

There are a couple of YouTube 

clips showing Rab terrorising 

the Dundee defence in a game at 

Tynecastle. 

Both show him leaving Dundee 

players trailing in his wake and 

while the second clip shows Rab 

dancing into the Dundee penalty 

box before ballooning his shot into 

the School End terracing, the fans 

knew what he was capable of and 

they appreciated him all the more 

for it. 

Prentice was on Celtic’s books 

as a youngster but he couldn’t 

displace the legendary winger 

The experienced Scottish 

international said: “Jean and I both 

had 11 fish and there was 5cms 

between us. That’s how it goes.” 

She added: “It’s the only trophy 

I have not won and I told people 

before the Scottish that I would 

retire if I won and when I didn’t win 

they all cheered.” 

Dione has, however, also secured 

her place in Scotland’s team for 

the Home International on May 28 

next year at the Lake of Menteith 

after two trials. 

She said: “I am not thinking of 

the Home International at the 

moment. having qualified for the 

Commonwealth team. 

“I’m going to one of the places 

I’ve never been to before and 

always wanted to go. It’s in New 

Zealand in March next year.” 

Jimmy Johnstone, so Hearts 

manager Bobby Seith snapped 

up the former Newtongrange Star 

player in the summer of 1973. In a 

struggling Hearts team, Prentice 

and Drew Busby were the stars. 

When Prentice left Hearts 

towards the end of season 

1978/79 for a new life in Canada 

it was another blow for the Gorgie 

supporters already devastated 

by the club’s relegation from the 

Premier Division. 

Prentice lit up the field when he 

was on song, and those of us who 

had the pleasure of seeing him 

play will never forget him. 

The Edinburgh Reporter sends 

its condolences to the family of 

Bobby Prentice - a man forever 

in the Hearts of everyone at 

Tynecastle. 

Angling - Les wins in Norway 


Edinburgh angler Les McBride 

and his English partner Kris 

Johnsen won the two man team 

prize during the Sandland Brygge 

UK event in Norway. 

They scored 1,846 points to 

beat English duo David Wright 

and Mark Ansel who accumulated 

1,491.5 points. 

Another Scot, Tony Voss 

from Lundin Links, who was a 

team-mate of McBride in the 

recent Mull of Galloway Sea 

Angling Festival event, was third 

with English angler Peter Muir. 

They scored 1,091 points. 

McBride, an Edinburgh cobbler 

with a shop in Gorgie Road, was 

seventh in the overall event with 

930 points. 

He was the third best Scot in 

the field behind fourth-placed 

Jason Nicol (1048.5 points) from 

Barrhead and Graham Paisley 

from Paisley, who was sixth, with 

985.5 points. 

Voss, incidentally, was ninth 

with 899.5 points and he also was 

joint top of the list in the coalfish 

category with a fish of 90.5cm. 

And Voss topped the wolfish 

section with a specimen of 83cm. 

This is the second similar event 

in three years and lures and fish 

bait were used. 

Winter golf 

Wrap up warm, fill up your 

thermos and grab your clubs. 

Winter golf at the largest club in 

town returns on 1 October. And 

with the unpredictable Scottish 

weather, you won’t have to rely on 

one course. 

For die-hard golf fans, who want 

to keep in the swing of it, even 

during the winter months, buying 

Edinburgh Leisure’s ‘winter golf 

membership’ can be bought online 

for just £22 per month. With 

minimal use of winter greens and 

Ice Skating Open Day 

Murrayfield Ice Rink is holding 

a FREE open day on Monday 

14 October to introduce a new 

generation to the joy of ice 

skating. 

Offering FREE admission and 

skate hire, this all-day event 

running from 10.00am through 

to 6.00pm, will be punctuated 

by showcases from figure skaters, 

junior hockey players, Murrayfield 

Les said: “The event was fished 

over five days with competitors 

starting at 7am and fishing for 12 

hours. 

“There was a stiff, east to 

no mats, it’s the ideal opportunity 

to keep your golf on par until the 

summer returns.The winter pass 

is valid from 1 October 2019 – 31 

March 2020 and allows access 

to Edinburgh Leisure’s six golf 

courses which iinclude Braid 

Hills, Carrick Knowe, Craigentinny, 

Silverknowes, Portobello, Braid 

Hills and The Wee Braids. The 

9-hole course has some closures 

over the winter and some of its 

holes are incorporated into the 

main Braid Hills Course then. 

Payable monthly by direct 

debit until March 2020, different 

Racers and their mascot, qualified 

coaches and much more. 

You can just turn up on the day 

or book your place online. 

Open Day Breakdown: 

9:50am - Doors open 

10am to 11:30am - 

Public skating session. 

11:30am to 12noon - 

north-east wind in the mid-teens 

which made it tough going for the 

28 men in the field who had to 

catch six species including cod, 

haddock, plaice and wolfish.” 

membership options are available 

including access to all the 

courses, seven days a week; 

and a five-day membership with 

access to all courses Monday to 

Friday. The membership also gives 

20% off other Edinburgh Leisure 

activities including the gym, 

swimming, racquet sports and 

climbing, at the various Edinburgh 

Leisure venues across the city. 

The Golf Membership is 

available to buy at any Edinburgh 

Leisure site and online - www. 

edinburghleisure.co.uk/ 

memberships/golf. 

Figure skating and ice hockey 

showcase. 

12noon to 1:30pm - 


1:30pm to 2pm - Figure skating 

and ice hockey showcase. 

2pm to 4pm - 


4pm to 4:30pm - Figure skating 

and Racers showcase. 

4:30pm to 6pm - 


We’re social! 

@EdinReporter /EdinReporter edinburghreporter theedinburghreporter.co.uk

30 

SPORT 

Murray coached to success 

sportscotland reported that their 

flagship school sport programme 

is doing really well with 7.3 

million visits to Active Schools 

sessions across the country. 

They also report great results for 

performance sport with 44 medals 

at the Gold Coast Commonwealth 

Games last year. 

Double Olympian Murray Buchan 

is a freestyle skier from Colinton 

who has added to those great 

results. Now he has made the 

move from competitor to coach 

with the help of sportscotland’s 

institute of sport. 

Murray, who is now national 

performance coach (free ski) 

at Snowsport Scotland (SS), 

admitted it was inevitable that he 

would remain in the sport he loves. 

Murray in action photo credit Team GB 

He said: “There was no real 

moment when I said, ‘I’m going 

to go and pursue coaching’. 

Throughout my whole career, I’d 

picked up little bits and pieces of 

coaching. I always kept my foot in 

the door with it because I enjoyed 

it.” 

Murray often helped at practice 

sessions at Bearsden Ski and 

Snowboard Centre in East 

Dunbartonshire when he was 

competing, and becoming a coach 

seemed a natural step to take. 

He explained: “I used to travel 

through [to Bearsden] once a week 

to ski. One of the guys who ran 

the freestyle nights also worked 

at Snowsport Scotland, so if there 

were ever any camps he would ask 

me to come along and help. 

Bowling - Baigrie wins 

title 


Balerno Bowling Club stalwart 

Maxie Baigrie is celebrating after 

coming from 13 shots down to win 

the Water of Leith seniors title for 

the first time. 

The Balerno-based bowler beat 

Brian Dingle 21-16 who was 

playing on his home rink at Gorgie 

Mills. 

And the former painter and 

decorator, who has been a senior 

bowler for two years, was 15-2 

behind early on. 

The 68-year-old said: “I was 

getting frustrated as I was playing 

well, but Brian had the weight and 

was getting results at each end. 

“However, I kept on playing the 

way I had been and he seemed to 

lose his weight and I capitalised.” 


“It was a case of getting a bit 

of experience and seeing what 

happened further down the line.” 

Murray’s role is jointly funded 

by sportscotland and GB 

Snowsports and he works with 

both the GB Park & Pipe athletes 

and the SS performance squad at 

home and abroad. The pathway 

promotes snowboarding and 

freeskiing alongside cross-training 

disciplines such as gymnastics, 

skateboarding and strength-andconditioning 

work. 

Chief Executive of sportscotland, 

Stewart Harris, said: “The progress 

we have made over the past 12 

months is a source of great pride. 

In school sport, our collaboration 

with all 32 local authorities and 

leisure trusts resulted in another 

record-breaking year for Active 

Schools. 

“We also launched the £1million 

Changing Lives Through Sport and 

Physical Activity Fund, with the 

Robertson Trust, Spirit of 2012 and 

the Scottish Government. These 

projects are already changing lives 

in neighbourhoods across the 

country – all thanks to effective 

partnerships and our commitment 

to people.” 


Balerno shocked overwhelming 

favourites Bainfield to claim 

the Top Ten title in the Water of 

Leith Bowling Association for 

the second time in five years just 

recently. 

They won the final 6-2 thanks 

to wins in the singles, pairs and 

triples but failed to claim a full 

house by a narrow margin when 

the rink was edged by one shot. 

The match was played in 

changing conditions on a tricky 

green at the neutral venue of 

Gorgie Mills. 

Never too early to get fit 

Inspire kids to get the active 

habit. With Edinburgh Leisure’s 

soft-play membership, children 

get to sample the world of sport 

and fitness from an early age. 

For those signing up to become a 

member in October, November is 

completely free. 

From only £16.00* per month, 

the membership offers incredible 

value, fantastic flexibility and 

of course will keep little ones 

entertained and burning off energy 

as they explore the amazing soft 

plays. 

Little adventurers can visit as 

many times as they wish, enjoying 

unlimited fun at any of Edinburgh 

Leisure’s three soft play venues 

across the city at Clambers at 

the Royal Commonwealth Pool, 

Tumbles at Portobello and the 

recently refurbished Scrambles at 

EICA: Ratho. 

And children visiting Clambers 

at the Commie on a Thursday 

between 13:00-14:00hrs, have the 

added benefit of joining in the new 

Messy Play sessions, which have 

recently been introduced. The 

product is free to members and 

is an additional activity as part of 

your soft-play membership. 

Balerno beat Bainfield 

In-form Maxie Baigrie, who 

recently came from 13 shots down 

to win the Water of Leith seniors 

title for the first time, cruised to a 

comfortable 21-13 success over 

his opponent. 

Hugh Gibson and Hugh Watt 

were successful in the pairs by 

18-12 while John Miller, Charlie 

Husband and Charles Dalton won 

the triples. 

The rink of skip Fergie McBeath, 

Bill Stark, Paddy Welsh and 

Gordon Cameron battled hard but 

the game went to the wire and 

they just lost out. 

Messy Play is an opportunity for 

children to get involved in sensory 

activities that lets them get messy. 

The benefit is that Edinburgh 

Leisure’s staff will clean up the 

mess after. Children will be given 

the chance to play with things they 

can’t normally get their hands on. 

There will be a different activity 

or theme each week and children 

will get the chance to do some 

arts and crafts with their parent/ 

guardian. The kids will be given an 

apron to keep their clothes clean. 

Edinburgh Leisure’s play frames 

are suitable for children up to ten 

years old and there are frames for 

babies, toddlers and juniors. Each 

venue has a café where healthy 

snacks and tasty treats can be 

enjoyed. 

With great member benefits 

including special offers, members’ 

events and free birthday party 

places, The Young Explorer is 

only available to buy in person 

at your nearest Edinburgh 

Leisure soft-play venue. www. 

edinburghleisure.co.uk 

*Costs for additional children 

*£16.00 for one child, £27.00 

for two children, £32.50 for three 

children 

Called up for 

Scotland 

by Thomas Brown 

Hibs Ladies striker, Lauren 

Davidson, has been named in 

the Scotland U19 squad for next 

months UEFA Championship 

Qualifying Round. 

The squad will travel to Poland 

play Bulgaria on Wednesday 2nd 

October before playing Croatia a 

few days later. The groups stages 

will finish when the play hosts, 

Poland, on Tuesday October 8th. 

PHOTO Thomas Brown 

Photo of Max Baigrie in action by Nigel Duncan 

Photo of the Balerno team by Nigel Duncan 




@EdinReporter /EdinReporter edinburghreporter theedinburghreporter.co.uk SPORT 31 

Civil crash out at Buckie 

by Thomas Brown 

Civil Service Strollers are out of 

the William Hill Scottish Cup after 

a 4-1 defeat at Buckie. 

The home side, who are sitting 

top of the Highland League took 

the lead in the opening minutes 

when a free kick from the edge of 

the box was whipped and Hamish 

Munro stroked the ball beyond 

Josh Donaldson in the Civil goal. 

Strollers new signing, Ryan 

Shanley, then forced a save from 

the Buckie keeper when Strollers 

made a quick attack, the loan 

player’s first time effort was saved 

well by Lee Herbert in the Buckie 

goal. 

Minutes later the home side 

doubled their lead when Andrew 

MacAskill picked up the ball and 

his stunning strike from a full 

twenty-five yards out nestled in the 

top corner. 

Before the interval Buckie got 

their third goal of the afternoon 

after Kevin Fraser pounced on 

the all after a terrific save from 

Donaldson, the keeper managed 

to get back on his feet but couldn’t 

get enough on the ball to stop it 

finding the net. 

Cammy Muirhead came on for 

Gary Jardine’s men in the second 

half and pulled one back for Civil 

from the penalty spot after Jack 

Hodge was fouled in the box. 

With fifteen minutes to go Craig 

Cowie sealed the win for the home 

side with a header from close 

range. 

Bowling - Balerno Bowling Club 

Invitational 


East Calder came through nearly 

11 hours of sport to win the annual 

Balerno Bowling Club Invitation 

rink competition. 

They edged a mixed Craigentinny 

and Mayfield team in a tense 

final watched by a large crowd as 

darkness began to descend on the 

green. 

And the rink took home a 

sizeable cheque (£800) in the 

popular tournament which raised 

£410 to help buy a defibrillator. 

The cash will also help towards 

setting up a memorial event for 

popular Slateford bowler David 

Ross who sadly passed away this 

year. 

The field included Castle Park 

from Prestonpans, Craigentinny, 

West End and Slateford from 

Edinburgh, plus East Calder, Ratho 

and Currie. 

And teams battled from 9.30am. 

There were blustery showers early 

on but the sun broke through the 

clouds and the event enjoyed good 

conditions leading into the tight 

semi-finals. 

The 12-year-old tournament is 

Balerno’s biggest event of the 

season and the home club, who 

had several teams involved and 

have won it on several occasions, 

Mens hockey update 


Stevie Grubb from Juniper Green 

and Callum Milne, originally from 

Ratho, make their debuts as 

co-coaches to Grand Slam winners 

Grange this season. 

The pair admitted it has been a 

hectic pre-season with a number 

of changes. 

However, Dan Coultas, a former 

Great Britain squad player 

and set-piece specialist, and 

experienced Scottish international 

Duncan Riddell remain. 

Will Shepherdson has returned 

from university and Scottish 

international goalkeeper David 

Forrester is included. 

Cammy Muirhead scored from the penalty spot for Civil Service 

Strollers during the First Round Scottish Cup tie between Buckie 

Thistle and Civil Service Strollers on 21 September 2019 at Victoria 

Park, Buckie. PHOTO Thomas Brown 

Final stages of the event at Balerno 

Bowling Club PHOTO by Nigel Duncan 

However, stalwarts Cammy 

Fraser, Frank Ryan, Todd Mills and 

Greg Hopkinson, and the return 

of Dylan Bean to Australia, plus 

youngsters Ritchie McCluskey 

and Ralph Wiessen moving to 

university, have weakened the 

roster.Australian import Josh 

McRae, a forward, has joined and 

is fitting in well. 

The coaching staff expect 

talented juniors such as Jamie 

Croll, Cameron Ede and Joel 

Davenport to be pushing for 

places in the squad. 

Milne is pleased to get the 

Premiership campaign under way 

and he said: “The team has worked 

hard and have pulled together to 

had to sit on the sidelines as the 

final stages were played. 

Organisers Stevie Watson and 

Stevie Wightman said it had been 

a tremendous success and the 

event raised £410. 

They thanked all those who 

attended and they will get first 

shout on places for next year. 

get through a difficult time at the 

club.” 

And Milne admitted: “I have no 

doubt the clubs will be gunning 

for us but we will take each game 

as it comes and not get ahead 

of ourselves as it's going to be a 

tough year. 

“All teams have been improving 

in the past few years so will be an 

open league this year which can 

only be great for Scottish hockey.” 

Grubb added: “We’ve trained 

well and we move forward with 

a philosophy that things are not 

broken so we don’t need to fix 

much. 

“We’ll develop as a team during 

the season and everybody is 

excited to get started in the 

league.” 

Conference for young 

volunteers 

by John Hislop 

Hibs are holding their second 

Young Volunteers Football 

Coaching Conference at Easter 

Road Stadium on Thursday 17 

October and Friday 18 October 


The course is tailored toward 

High School pupils and was 

developed by the club’s 

Community Foundation who hope 

to nurture young talent as well 

as promoting healthier and more 

active lifestyles. 

The conference aims to 

cover a number of relevant and 

stimulating topics pertinent to 

coaches looking to jumpstart their 

passion for football into a career 

and create an environment where 

Return to Easter Road 

by John Hislop 

Hibs’ fans were touched by the 

story of Rena Gardiner’s recent 

visit to the capital. Rena and her 

husband Alex emigrated to New 

Zealand in 1967 before settling in 

Australia, but they never lost their 

love for the club. 

Daughter Rachel and granddaughters 

Maddy and Ava were 

brought up in the Hibs’ tradition. 

Married for 54 years, Alex and 

Rena had been planning a family 

visit to Edinburgh and top of 

their agenda was a trip to Easter 

Road. Sadly, Alex passed away 

unexpectedly last year before that 

dream could become a reality. 

Undeterred, Rena, Rachel, Maddy 

and Ava made the long trek in 

his honour. Alex’s ashes were 

scattered at Edinburgh Castle in a 

poignant family service and when 

Hibs learned of the trip, staff went 

above and beyond to help make 

their stay even more memorable. 

Rena told The Edinburgh 

Reporter: “Hibs went beyond 100%, 

and everyone was marvellous. 

I only thought we were visiting 

Easter Road to collect tickets, but 


Scott Sutherland, a former 

Scotland international hockey 

player has joined Edinburgh 

University as a player/coach. 

Also included this season are 

Scotland under-21 player John 

Stephen plus two Scotland 

under-18 squad member, Ritchie 

McCluskey, and Guy Rowson, a 

former Scotland under-18 player. 

The students have, however, lost 

six players from their first team 

squad but head coach Graham 

Moodie believes that he has 

recruited strongly. 

Players who have left the team 

are Sam Robertson, Nigel Lucas, 

young people can learn and be 

relaxed as well as developing their 

CVs. 

On the first day those attending 

will go on a tour of Easter Road 

and will get to see behind the 

scenes of the stadium. 

This will be followed by practical 

sessions and workshops plus an 

opportunity to network and the 

chance to get involved in volunteer 

coaching. 

Day two will be especially 

beneficial for the attendees aged 

16 and over as they complete 

an SFA Level 1 Coach education 

Course. 

The inaugural event last year 

attracted nearly 100 Young 

Leaders and Sports Ambassadors 

from 19 High Schools throughout 

the community. 

we were given a tour including the 

dressing rooms and Hall of Fame. 

We were taken to the side of the 

pitch and had photos taken in 

the dugouts and Maddy and Ava 

were given Hibs’ strips with their 

nicknames ‘Crackerjack 1’ and 

‘Crackerjack 2’ on the back. 

“We all enjoyed the Hearts’ game 

and the atmosphere was fantastic 

despite the result. I thought Hibs 

were the better team and Daryl 

Horgan was brilliant. I had hoped 

to see the fans sing ‘Sunshine on 

Leith’ at the end but it was not to 

be. 

“The family would like to thank 

everyone at Hibs for making us 

feel so welcome.” 

Rena on her recent visit to Easter Road 

Sutherland on the 

move 

Leo Meinhold, George Simonds, 

Jock Breckenridge and Jack 

Henderson. 

Moodie, who is a former 

Olympian, said: “Although we have 

lost six players from our first team 

squad, we are very pleased with 

our new recruits and have a strong 

group of returning players. 

“Pre-season is always a bit of a 

challenge, but we have managed 

to get some games under our belt 

and our domestic aim for this 

season is to improve on last year. 

“We are also targeting promotion 

from the BUCS North Premier 

League which is very strong this 

season.”

The Report Back Page OCT 19.pdf 1 20/09/2019 12:50 

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The Edinburgh Reporter October 2019

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