Duddingston magazine
Editor: Benjamin Cowdy
Publisher: EHDirect Ltd
Advertising Prices: From £60 per month
See website or ask for more info, discounts and premium pages.
www.ehdirect.co.uk
Distribution: 5,000 - 10,000 homes
Email: christopher@ehdirect.co.uk
Phone: Mob: 07979530447
Post:
49 Warrender Park Road, EH9 1EU
Duddingston magazine & Portobello magazine are published by EHDirect Ltd. The publishers cannot be held liable for any errors, omissions or misprints. Nor can they accept responsibility for the accuracy of claims made by the advertisers or the opinions expressed in advertisements.
Printing: Cowan Print, Kilsyth 01236 821177
Distribution: CBLeaflet Distribution 0330 133 3966
Website: www.ehdirect.co.uk designed by www.hrdigitaldesign.com
If you have been paying attention you will know my father started an initiative to donate £5,000 to local charities, split between the Duddingston/Portobello area and the Barnton/Blackhall area. The geography being the catchments for the 4 local magazines we publish.
Having run the first initiative in 2013 there were breaks for COVID, business expansion and when my Father was elected as a Councillor to City of Edinburgh Council so we hope this may be the start of a more regular annual feature.
This year’s initiative launched in the January and February issues where we asked readers to spread the word amongst local charities so they could apply by the 15th February deadline.
That done, the March and April issues focus on introducing the applicant
charities to readers who have the chance to vote for the one they feel most deserving. The plan is that this information will help us decide which we will then donate to.
I suspect not all will receive something from us, but each local charity receives a Full Page in this issue, and the next, as a way of promoting and raising awareness. Readers may then decide to donate directly themselves. If you do want to get in touch with any of the charities but can’t find contact details in the magazine, or online, just email us and we will provide contact details.
For now, I urge you to read more on Page 4 and then take some time to familiarise yourself with each of the charities before letting me know which.
Ben Cowdy Editor
christopher@ehdirect.co.uk
£5,000forlocal charitiesofyour choice
We had a great response to our promise to donate to local charities. With the addition of Giftaid from the UK Government there is £5,000 available in total. The first part of the initiative was to ask readers to get the word out and encourage local charities to apply. By the closing date on 15th Feb we had 16 applications, 9 through the Duddingston and Portobello magazines, 5 on the other side of the city through our Barnton and Blackhall magazines, and a further 2 lying outside the catchment of all 4 magazines.
Over the next 2 months we are asking for readers to vote for which they think should get donations. On 15th April we will be counting the votes for each charity to decide how the money should be allocated before announcing in the May and June issues.
As the response was so good we have decided to dedicate this and the next issue of Portobello magazine to the charities from this catchment so dedicate a page to each of the charities that have applied.
We ask you to work your way through the magazine and take time to read about each one. They all offer a great local service and deserve our attention.
Votes should either be emailed to:
christopher@ehdirect.co.uk or posted to:
Christopher Cowdy, 49 Warrender Park Road, EH9 1EU
christopher@ehdirect.co.uk
We scour the internet for interesting things that you could do or see locally and list them here.
16 Bellfield Street
Jo Myles Soundbath
Friday 14th March, 19:00-20:30
Let Jo Myles guide you through a journey of soothing sounds and vibrations that will help you unwind and find inner peace. Immerse yourself in the calming atmosphere as the sound waves wash over you, melting away stress and tension. This in-person event is a great opportunity to take a break from the hustle and bustle of daily life and focus on your well-being.
5 Old Church Lane
Wild Woman Spring Equinox Gathering
Sunday 23rd March, 10:30-13:00
As the earth awakens from her winter slumber, the Spring Equinox invites us to embrace balance, renewal, and the blossoming of our wild spirits in a sacred day of connection, celebration, and grounding in the beauty of spring’s arrival. This gathering offers wild-hearted women a space to honour the changing season and reconnect with themselves, each other, and the earth through intentional rituals and meaningful practices. More details can be found on Eventbrite.co.uk
If you know of a local community event to promote, drop us a line.
Duddingston Kirk Manse
Storyteller and Door Person Accredited Training
Friday 21st March- Sunday 23rd March
This is a weekend, non-residential course designed to give people a better understanding of both the theory and practice of Godly Play. The course explores each of the main types of story – sacred, parables and liturgy. We concentrate on the core stories that people usually tell at the beginning of their Godly Play journey. Alongside the stories and wondering, are workshops that explore the theology and theory behind
Thomson’s Tower
Paintings Exhibition: Evie Jamieson & Lorna Balmer
Saturday 22nd -Sunday 30th March
The first of this year’s tower exhibitions features Evie Jamieson whose current work has been exploring mixed media, acrylic paint, collage, ink and crayon on board from sketches and photography, along with Lorna Balmer who works within the negative random shapes created with the use of collage and mixed media on board, canvas and card. Lorna enjoys the sense of abstract and serendipity both processes bring to her paintings.
Why are we in existence?
To support young people in the East of Edinburgh to develop into the best version of themselves through the sport of rugby. Specifically?
To offer an elevated level of training which supplements regular rugby training and matches. To provide the kind of additional training that the private schools provide as standard.
How do we approach everything? (behaviours)
Inspire
Parents to help; Kids to attend; Teachers to volunteer; Businesses to sponsor; People to point at us and say ‘wow, I
wish I was part of that’ or ‘wow, that’s the model to copy’
Educate
Kids on rugby, behaviours, values, success, failure, life, social mobility through sports teams; All our stakeholders on our ambitions and how they can help;
Develop Relationships such that we develop a community which grows and self-builds; attitudes which are infectious; one another; sustainable future for rugby at Portobello High School /Portobello Rugby Club.
What the money will be used for : We are looking for £480
which will provide balls for all four years that we currently have attending (S1 - S4) One back of training balls is £120.
Portobello Town Hall is the community managed venue in the heart of Portobello and we welcome people from across east Edinburgh and beyond.
We are a SCIO with more than 300 members and our charitable purposes are:
• Advancement of citizenship or community development
• Advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science
• Provision of recreational facilities, or the organisation of recreational activities, with the object of improving the conditions of life for the persons for whom the facilities or activities are primarily intended.
Re-opened in Summer 2023, our aim is to have a wide enough variety of events to benefit everyone.
In our first year almost 30,000 people passed through the doors to one of 186 events. We’re on track to smash that in year 2. Events range from private parties, weddings and celebrations to an annual pantomime and other musical theatre, gigs, live music, community markets, ceilidhs, school events, exercise classes and more.
What would we do with the money?
CHARITY
Our current project is to enhance accessible toilet facilities.
We have raised over 50% of the cost to refurbish the ground floor bathrooms to include a 2nd accessible toilet. The original, which is still fully functional, was installed years ago and this important project will mean our toilets are easily accessible and available to anyone when the building is staffed, not just during events.
When we took over the building it had been closed for over four years and hadn’t been invested in for many years prior to that.
We secured funding to improve bathroom facilities, repaint the foyer, bring the
kitchen back into use with new equipment, repair balcony seating, replace lights with LED bulbs, improved light and sound and refresh smaller rooms.
In scheduling our refurbishment we’ve made some hard prioritisation decisions. This has enabled us to create a small operating surplus so, alongside our fundraising, we continue to upgrade the building and its facilities.
2025/26
Summer Term 3 (45 days): Tue 22nd AprilThur 26th June
Autumn Term 1 (86 days): Wed 13th AugFri 19th Dec
Spring Term 2 (58 days): Mon 5th Jan - Thur
2nd April
Total: 189
7th Apr - 21st Apr (11 days) 5th & 6th May (2 days)
19th May (1 day)
27th June - 12th Aug (33 days) 15th Sep (1 day)
13th - 17th Oct (5 days)
22nd Dec - 2nd Jan (10 days) 16th - 20th Feb (5 days)
Total: 68 days
Distribution of Duddingston magazine covers 6 Primary school and 2 High School catchments. I have given contact details for each including Phone number and websites, email, Twitter plus where they have a Facebook Page. There is a whole range of info available on their online Pages but let me know if you think any else specific should be mentioned here.
Parsons Green PS - 661 4459
Parsonsgreenprimaryschool.co.uk admin@parsonsgreen.edin.sch.uk
Duddingston PS - 669 5092 duddingstonprimaryschool.wordpress.com admin@duddingston.edin.sch.uk Twitter: @DuddingstonPS
Brunstane PS - 669 4498
Brunstaneps.com admin@brunstane.edin.sch.uk @BrunstanePS Facebook
The Royal High PS - 669 3200
Royalhigh-pri.org admin@royalhigh-pri.edin.sch.uk rhpsparents@gmail.com
Portobello HS - 669 2324
Portobellohighschool.org.uk
Non-Denom Primaries
Holy Rood RC HS - 661 5871
Holyroodhighschool.co.uk @holyroodRCHigh
St Ninians RC PS - 661 3431 ninians.edin.sch.uk admin@st-ninians.edin.sch.uk @StNiniansRCPS Facebook
St John’s RC PS - 669 1363
Stjohnsportobello.com admin@st-johns.edin.sch.uk @Porty_StJs Facebook
Here is a summary of some of the main articles reported by a range of media outlets and posted on our Facebook Page that relate to our local area including Duddingston, Brunstane, Portobello & Willowbrae.
A proposal has been submitted to Edinburgh Council to convert a historic Duddingston building into a 26-room hotel. The application, filed by Format Designs on behalf of Scothouse Ltd, seeks to change the building's use from industrial units to a hospitality establishment. Located at 146 Duddingston Road West and formerly part of Drybrough Brewery’s Brewhouse Bridge, is expected to be incorporated into a broader development that may also include residential and business spaces.
The Portobello Older
People’s Project (POPP), a long-running lunch club and day care centre, is at risk due to proposed funding cuts by the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board. The EIJB plans to reduce its £900 million budget by £4.5 million, impacting over 60 third-sector organizations, including POPP, removing essential funds they rely on. POPP provides transport for members to enjoy social activities like bingo, music, and heritage talks.
Arthur’s Seat has been named one of the UK’s top 10 spots to watch the sunset by experts at Nationwide Vehicle Contracts, ranking ninth and the only Scottish location on the list.
From its summit, visitors can enjoy panoramic views of the city, countryside, and Firth of Forth. Nearby attractions include St Anthony’s Chapel, Duddingston Loch, and the historic Sheep Heid Inn.
christopher@ehdirect.co.uk
Sam's Fry, a popular Duddingston chip shop on Milton Road West, is up for sale after 40 years in business.
Despite a steady turnover of over £8,000 per week, the owners are ready to retire, with 11 years left on the lease. The leasehold is priced at £130,000, with an annual rent of £27,000. The shop sits in a prime location in Edinburgh’s eastern suburbs.
Portobello couple Craig and Debbie Stephens renewed their vows on This Morning in a Valentine’s Day special, surprising hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary with a dramatic kiss. Celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary, the Portobello pair took part in the live TV ceremony, arriving on set aboard a vintage London bus alongside other couples.
Independent store Trade has opened on Portobello High Street after relocating from Morningside Road to a larger space. Specializing in fashion, homeware, coffee, and pastries, the new shop near Portobello Beach offers fresh flowers, bread, and plans for workshops and wine nights. The grand opening took place on February 15-16, following a busy launch weekend.
Rock face inspections and maintenance work will take place above Duddingston Low Road from 1st-12th February, requiring road closures. From the 3rd-7th, the road and pavement will be fully closed to all users, with pedestrian access available via High Road and Jacobs Ladder. The Innocent Railway path will also close daily from the 4th-6th February, with a signed diversion for cyclists.
2 of the Largest
12 Ulster Crescent
Cairn Lodge, Duddingston Rd West
2 of the smallest
28B/2 Piersfield Terrace
1 bed, 1st floor flat - 393 Sq.ft.
Fixed Price £145,000
DJ Alexander
33/1 Baileyfield Road 1 bed, Upper flat
Offers Over £170,000 McQueen Legal
On the local market
• Semi-detached bungalow
• 5 bedrooms
• 2 bathrooms
• 2 spacious floors
Offer Over £485,000 Warners
• Detached house
• 5 bedrooms
• 3 bathrooms
• 4,063 Sq.ft.
Offers over: £1,100,000 Savills
Some of the properties on the market at the time of sending to print (according to Rightmove.com)
£1,050,000 3rd June 2024
£48,000 Aug 2024
Righmove.com produce maps of house prices and I count 1 in our area for over £1Mil in the last year (darkest brown circles) and 28 for less than £200k (lightest yellow circles) The remainder were all “mid level”.
Our club has over 250 members, ranging from preschoolers at our Bunny Hops sessions, to 80 year old veterans at our Walking Basketball initiative.
Most of our 26 weekly training sessions take place at Portobello High School and Holyrood High School and we work closely with these schools and their associated primary schools to ensure young people get to experience the fun of basketball with taster sessions and after school clubs, leading to lots of pupils joining and progressing through our various age groups.
Teams compete at a range of levels with Under 12s taking part in local leagues while Under 14’s upwards compete on a national level (often as well as local leagues) with away fixtures leading to trips across the central belt and as far as Ayr or Inverness
Under 16 & Under 18 men’s high performance squads compete in the English
Basketball League providing additional competition and exposure for our most talented and dedicated players.
Playing and competing in a sport is great for both mental and physical health but lots of our young people report the fun and camaraderie from car and bus journeys are real highlights, demonstrating some of the less obvious benefits of team sports too! Members also can develop as coaches and officials which provide skills that can transfer into other aspects of life and benefit the community.
Basketball is a growing sport in the UK with City of Edinburgh one of the biggest clubs in the country.
We have a great history of developing girls in the sport with Rose Anderson, Scotland's first female basketball Olympian coming from our club, and this
tradition continues with initiatives focussed on driving girls participation.
However, all of this activity obviously comes at a cost. Our main expense is hall hire. Additionally, we have registration and league entry fees, equipment, officials, expertise and travel.
While we do fundraise, the majority of costs are covered by membership subscriptions. We are committed to allowing everyone to participate regardless of financial circumstances and operate a scholarship fund.
In order to run taster sessions in schools, we guarantee up to 5 free places for anyone who could not afford. A donation of £5k would be used specifically to this next season.
CHARITY
Application by Northfield & Willowbrae Community Council – jointly with Edinburgh & Lothians
Greenspace Trust (“Tree-time Edinburgh”): ‘Street trees for the Northfield & Willowbrae area’.
Northfield & Willowbrae Community Council (N&W CC) are keen to green our neighbourhoods.
In early 2024 every street in the community council area was walked and potential spaces for street trees in grass verges alongside roads, or in greenspaces, were identified.
The Community Council linked -up with Edinburgh & Lothians
Greenspace Trust, an environmental charity who help communities deliver a wide range of greenspace projects across the city.
E&LGT have an initiative, ‘Tree -Time’ which aims to plant 6,000 new trees in the city each year. The scheme is part of the ‘Million-Tree-City’ initiative which aims to have a million trees in Edinburgh by
2030.
‘Tree-Time’ works to plant large, prominent trees in streets and parks, to plant replacement landmark trees before the old ones die, as well as trees in other public places and urban woodlands,
Street trees provide a number of benefits including an improved appearance, increased biodiversity as well as helping to mitigate against climate change. Trees are estimated to be worth a great deal to the local economy, but need to be cared for future generations and the Council will maintain them.
In Northfield & Willowbrae, in January 2025, E&LGT planted a dozen street trees in Abercorn Crescent, by the Abercorn Sports Club, helped by Ward Cllrs and pupils, with donations from local people and ‘Tree-Time’ donations from across the city. Both E&LGT and ‘Tree-Time’ embrace Gift Aid
However, there remains space for more street trees at
Abercorn Crescent. If successful in our bid, N&W CC proposal is that £2,500 would be used to re-plant 4-5 missing street trees at Abercorn Crescent. This donation would be overseen and administered by E&LGT, who are eligible for Gift Aid, on behalf of the Community Council.
Another option would be to plant trees at Duddingston Avenue – south end / green triangle – to link with the ‘Duddingston” title.
An event would be held where local residents and pupil representatives from local primary and secondary schools will be invited to assist with the tree planting at either site.
For years I presented puzzles from the MENSA but thought it was time for a bit of a change, so here is a selection of slightly different puzzles to tease your brain.
Draw 3 straight lines so all circles are in their own area
Draw 2 boxes so each pig is in its own pen
A rebus is a puzzle device that combines the use of illustrated pictures with individual letters to depict words or phrases. What’s this word?
Q1: 16 routes from home to school
Q2: The missing vowels are: e and a Q3: Eiffel Tower (I FELL TOWER)
Last month’s answers:
COUNCIL
Lochend Community Growing Project (registered charity SC044024) is located at Lochend Quadrant in the "Lochend Secret Garden". We also look after two small community orchards on the corner of Lochend Quadrant and Lochend Drive. The charity has a Steering Group of six people (all volunteers).
We formed in 2013 with the aim of encouraging the local community to grow their own fruit and vegetables, spend more time outdoors which improves physical and mental health, and to promote local community inclusion.
We have approximately 45 members who each have a small raised growing bed in the Secret Garden. We also have communal beds for herbs and fruit trees, and a communal polytunnel and shed with tools they can borrow. The small income from our members (£25 per year) pays for ongoing running costs including hosting events .
We host 6-8 events in the
garden throughout the year which are free to non members. The events include food - a lot of which is produce from the garden e.g. pizzas made in our homemade pizza oven, curry or soup, or a barbeque. We have no electricity on site but we have a kelly kettle for making hot drinks.
We also regularly join forces with other local community groups, such as the Ripple or Edible Estates, so they can host free outdoor events in our garden including events that don't have a garden theme such as tai chi, and a silent disco. Every year we're lucky to have a member of staff from the Botanics come and deliver a free pruning workshop in the garden.
The community orchards have apple trees, plum trees, raspberries, rhubarb and herbs that any passers-by can help themselves to.
If we were successful in our application, we would spend the money on materials for
the following (we would do all the work ourselves):
1) Replacing the shed roof, fence posts and children's toybox chest that were damaged last month by Storm Eowyn (see facebook for photos).
2) Replacing some of our raised beds with sustainable recycled plastic beds. All our beds were made with wooden sleepers in 2013 and some are now needing replacing as the wood has rotten. We received a donation in 2022 to replace some of the worst beds and the recycled plastic beds were a great success.
We provide extra support to children with additional needs while they are enjoying respite care at the Seaview Centre on Bingham Avenue.
There are around 70 families benefiting from the centre.
We have a beautiful, safe garden which is exclusively for use by the children in the centre.
A therapeutic gardener and a small group of volunteers help children engage with the following:
• Learning about garden plants and animals
• Planting, nurturing and harvesting fruit and veg
• Healthy cooking and eating
• Understanding the seasons
CHARITY
and
enjoying seasonal festivals
• Using natural items from the garden for arts and crafts
• Enjoying the outdoor space and exercising.
Our main cost is approx. £10,000 p.a. for the gardener.
In addition we spend around £2,000 on essentials (e.g. seeds, garden materials, craft
materials etc.).
As with all charities, funding is extremely challenging so if you were able to provide any sort of donation it would be very welcome.
And, given our size, we can guarantee every penny goes straight to activities which directly benefit the children.
Guide Dogs is seeking volunteers to raise a puppy for a year
Puppy walkers start puppies on their journey to fully-fledged guide dogs, caring for them until they are ready for training school. Like all puppies, they start off as little bundles of fluff and mischief and you get to see them develop and grow. Volunteers teach basic obedience and socialise them while Guide Dogs covers all feeding and vet costs. The puppy will normally be placed at 7 weeks old and will leave for formal training at 12-14 months. It is still possible to become a puppy walker even if you have a pet dog. To find out more, call Emma Murton on 0345 143 0203 or visit www.guidedogs.org.uk/volunteering.
Explanation of what the charity does:
The Ripple Project is based within the community of Restalrig, Lochend and Craigentinny working with local people to help people to help themselves.
The Ripple Project works with all ages, through our wide range of activities which include but are not limited to our older people’s services (lunch club, 55+ men’s clubs, weekly shopping trips and Friday social events), wellbeing services (community yoga, cycling group, wild swimming and an 8-week wellbeing course), community action (participatory budgeting project, local husting events) and a community café providing local volunteering opportunities and affordable nutritious meals.
Youth services has 4 sections;
1. Open access to youth and children’s group/clubs for P1S6’s.
2. Our referral-based group’s called Ripple Buddies.
3. Social basketball programme.
4. Mental health and wellbeing school’s workshops programme.
All our youth services provide children and young people with a safe and nurturing environment to thrive in, whilst building positive relationships with fellow children and young people and staff whilst taking part in a variety of activities such as arts and crafts and gamesbased activities, etc.
What would the money be used for: (£700.00)
The Ripple Youth Services
would use the money/funding to put towards our summer holiday programme, which is currently not funded.
Our young people would like to attend this year’s youth work games after hearing and seeing the photos from the group that went last year. Therefore, we would use the money to pay for two teams (a total of 10 young people) to go to the youth work games. The fee for teams to enter the youth work games is £250 per team which includes all activities such as canoeing, cross-country running, tug of war, etc, sleeping bags, tents and meals. The extra £200 would pay for our transport and snacks.
provides 40 full day places for people living with dementia each week, operating 51weeks of the year.
The Cottage is a beautiful and relaxing place. It is selfcontained with two cosy sitting rooms, kitchen, fully accessible toilets and surrounded by grounds.
Graded ‘excellent’ by the Care Inspectorate, a small team of four professional registered care workers manage the full service and all activities. Ten clients attend each day.
Activities combine mental, physical and social stimulation, including reminiscence, quizzes, arts & crafts, falls prevention, wellbeing activities including hair and nails, music therapy, group interaction, word games and trips out and about to the beach, for afternoon tea and even on canal boats.
The full Cottage service delivers practical and considerate support:
• Door-to-door service with practical support to safely leave and return home.
• We aim to be affordable to all thanks to fundraising.
• Provide a safe space to connect with others.
• We encourage new friendships, activities, fun and eating with others.
• Provide a freshly cooked, hot and nutritious two-course meal.
• Organised outings to the beach, galleries, gardens etc.
• We ask for suggested activities so all are involved, connected to, and motivated.
• We help share the load of pressures on unpaid carers.
The support offered by The Cottage has never been needed more:
We have a rapidly growing older population with more complex needs earlier, and living more isolated lives.
Older people have been disproportionately affected by the covid, health and costof-living crises.
More older people are living alone (85% of our clients live alone), with families geographically distant.
We experienced 67% increase in referrals through the costof-living crisis
We know our support works
Our recent (Dec 24) Cottage survey showed:
100% were very happy or delighted with the service.
92% experienced improved physical health and emotional wellbeing
100% reported they can get out and about more 77% feel more socially connected
92% report improved confidence and motivation which helps them feel better equipped to maintain routines at home.
All dedicated unpaid carers feel better equipped to maintain their caring role.
Our Financials: are affected by the well-publicised cuts that City of Edinburgh are making to the Health and Social Care budgets. We received a cut of 10% to our day services with a further 10% anticipated. This is alongside the National Insurance hike affecting all organisations.
Any support offered will help us reach a greater number of people to benefit from our transformational care.
What Dr Neil’s Garden Trust does
DNGT manage Dr Neil’s Garden which covers 2.5 acres behind Duddingston Kirk and down to the Lochside. We open the garden to the public every day of the year and it is managed and maintained by a team of volunteers and one paid gardener.
We now manage the garden to improve it for biodiversity and visitor access, so that more people can enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the garden and it’s great views of Duddingston Loch and Arthurs Seat.
We host various students on placements, provide training for our volunteers and have a workshop where they can shelter and get tea & coffee. We have also hosted groups from local schools, donated items for fundraising and allowed use of the garden by other charities for promotional photography. What the money will be used for
Although most of the garden
is on a steep slope with steps, we are improving the path network to make access easier for a wider range of people. We are hoping to make some of the site wheelchair accessible in the future.
Our funding bid is for ecogrids to level out 100m of path that currently cuts across a slope. These grids allow us to create paths that remain covered in grass while also coping with the increasing number of visitors. The work to lay the grids will be carried out by our gardener and volunteers but the cost for them is around £10/m2 (so about £1000 for materials). Made from recycled plastic, they are much lighter to move and install than gravel, and will be more permeable to rain. I have used them previously and they are very durable and should not require much
maintenance, often being used for carparks and other hardstanding areas they are suitable for mobility scooters and wheelchairs.
History
The Drs Nancy and Andrew Neil first started cultivating this patch of wasteland in the 1960’s and it is now considered by many as a place of inspiration and a quiet oasis for meditation and contemplation.
The garden was recently featured in ‘Monty’s Gardens of the UK’ which highlighted the Drs passion for helping those with mental illness by gardening. Both Andrew and Nancy died in 2005 and the garden has been managed by the Garden Trust since then.
The 180th Brownies pack meet in St Johns Primary School, Portobello.
Brownies are aged between 7 -10. years old.
Our Brownie pack is made up of 24 girls with a large waiting list. Most of our Brownies stay in the Portobello area but there are a few girls from further afield as other units are closing due to lack of volunteer leaders.
We meet once a week and do different activities every week.
We work towards Badges where the girls learn life skills they hopefully will use later in life.
In addition, we take part in the local community activities. Recently we did a beach clean on Portobello beach and we also did Carol Singing in the local Christmas craft fair in Portobello Town Hall.
We try to keep our subscription payments from
the parents/guardians to a minimum so that all girls are able to take part in Brownies if they wish. Due to the rising cost of living that everyone is experiencing, we are finding it a financial struggle to cover all our outlays for Brownie.
We have to pay for the let of the school hall and Edinburgh Council have changed that you have to pay for this in advance when previously it was in arrears, and this has made a large impact on the Brownie finances.
We have a Brownie holiday booked for May 2025 and if we were lucky to get the donation this would help towards this Brownie holiday cost which we can keep to a minimum for the parents/ guardians.
