Porty Podcast

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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