School pupils put learning into action
Art deco building at risk of demolition claims Marchmont coffee shop worth the detour Adult learners lose out to new festival hub
Go-kart star aims to make the grid
By PHYLLIS STEPHEN
TRADITIONAL DANCE will take centre stage during the Pomegranates Festival which showcases international dance as a teaching, learning and performing platform. The still new festival is on at The Scottish Storytelling Centre and other Edinburgh venues from 25-30 April.
New dance commissions and residencies will be performed, with live music, poetry, and art and the festival invites audiences to take part in ceilidhs, workshops (both in-person and live-streamed), tours, and talks about traditional dance.
Some of the highlights include a family day with a ceilidh for all led by Caroline Brockbank of CeilidhKids, and a matinee showcase by traditional dance artists who are in residence at Edinburgh primary schools, and Bulgarian and Ukrainian language schools in the capital.
Iliyana Nedkova, Festival Producer and Curator of the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland said: “It is so satisfying to see that the pomegranate ruby seeds of traditional dance that we planted for the first time in spring 2022, once again blossom into Scotland’s springtime festival for world trad dance.
“As a new festival born in times of uncertainty, displacement and border restrictions, we were inspired by a poem by Ian McMillan that captured the zeitgeist.”
I BELIEVE there is still a sign on Queensferry Road heralding your arrival into Edinburgh - The Festival City. And that means much more than the Edinburgh International Festival or The Fringe (Although Lìam Rudden already has a couple of Fringe suggestions for you on 18-19). It was a wee bit of a surprise to hear of Pomegranates Festival and also obvious to put them our front page to draw them to your attention. The festival takes place later this month.
Edinburgh the royal burgh is 900 years old this year and it has also been surprising how little has yet been organised to celebrate it. The council allocated £500,000 to the festivities, but there has so far only been one meeting of the steering committee in March to draft what sound like vague plans for events. I hope I am proved wrong and that the celebrations get underway soon. It is also (and quite separately) the 900th anniversary of St Giles’ Cathedral. Founded as the High Kirk in 1124 the 1124 Society of St Giles’ has been founded to encourage financial support for the cathedral to ensure it is still in existence for the next 900 years. If you join with a donation of £1,124 you will receive a medal and plaque with your name on it.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society is one organisation which does have cash. It received £7 million from the UK Government Levelling Up Fund in April 2023 for a capital project. It decided along with council officers to set its sights on the South Bridge Resource Centre on Infirmary Street. Read more about the recent emotional committee meeting on Page 4. Tourist tax legislation is making its way through the Scottish Parliament - we bring you up to date on Pages 4 and 5. Thank you for reading The Edinburgh Reporter - if you can please support us by taking out a subscription or by making a donation - many of you do and I am grateful to everyone who does.
Phyllis
Stephen, Editor
PLANNING PERMISSION has been granted for the conversion of the former Scottish Equitable Life Assurance Company offices at 28 St Andrew Square into a 167 Clayton Hotel by Hawkins/Brown. Later additions to the A listed building will be removed as part of the redevelopment. 21/04284/FUL
A 1930s villa on Cammo Road will be replaced by eight semi-detached homes if planning permission is granted. 24/01279/FUL
Plans have been submitted for Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) on Ratcliffe Terrace replacing Causewayside Garage and the former Causewayside Lads’ Institute 1907 currently used as offices. 24/01092/FUL
Steven Robb who is a historian and “heritage watchdog” said on X that this would be a sad loss of an interesting building. He pointed out that the institute was for “wholesome recreation and amusement to keep boys off the street and improve their religious and moral principles”.
Forth Ports has lodged an application to create Harbour 31 “an exciting new housing, commercial and retail development” on a 4.7 acre waterfront site in the Port of Leith.
The new neighbourhood will include 337 new homes - one, two and three bedroom apartments, in line with the council’s
affordable homes policy. There will also be 244 square metres of commercial space.
The flats will be in four plots and will range from five to eight storeys high along with communal green spaces and “integrated sustainable travel options”. Given the proximity to public transport the car parking provision will be 20%, will include accessible spaces and the development will be EV ready. At this stage the planning is an application for Planning Permission in Principle (PPP) right
This is an image supplied by the Living Memory Association of The Kirkgate at the Foot of Leith Walk and was taken in April 1951. Queen Victoria is in place along with at least one phone box and The Gaiety Theatre. See more on Edinburgh Collected the online community photo archive which is managed by Edinburgh City Libraries.
next to the FirstStage film studio, perhaps the perfect spot for some star spotting. Listed building consent will also be required to improve surface drainage in the historic port.
There are already several new and newish hotels on St Andrew Square and now there will be a 167-bed Clayton Hotel (Image above) following a grant of planning permission. The A-listed number 28 formerly housed Scottish Equitable Life Assurance Company for almost one hundred years.
Summerhall, Art & Craft Collective, EICC, LifeCare on Cheyne Street, Coffee Angels, the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Western General Hospital.
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By PHYLLIS STEPHEN
PUPILS AT AN EDINBURGH PRIMARY
SCHOOL cut out coach travel in favour of more environmentally friendly train and boat trips on their annual outdoor learning outing to Benmore Centre near Dunoon.
Inspired by head teacher Rebecca Favier’s plan to use her electric car to reach the destination, 30 Craigroyston Primary pupils devised an alternative plan which favoured rail tracks and wave power instead of eating up road miles on the bus.
For some pupils it was the first time they had been on a train and for others it was their first experience of a boat, but they all embraced the opportunity to put classroom learning on the environment into practice.
Head teacher Rebecca said: “The pupils plan to feed back to the government about how easy the travel was and also recommend any improvements to the infrastructure as part of real action to make real change based on their real experiences.
“We got really good support from our outdoor learning service and they offered us a tool where we could input different methods of travel, and work out how many emissions we could potentially save.
“It was really worthwhile because the children loved being on the train and the ferry and it didn’t take us any longer to get there. We went a completely different way, and what an amazing experience.
“It also brought the learning in the classroom into the real world and it’s saying actually we don’t just learn about these things in books or on iPads, and actually we can all do something that makes a big difference.”
One pupil, Anmol, said : “If we don’t take these types of actions our planet won’t be the same. We studied the pollution that we are causing to our planet”, while classmate Adam
the train take the
added: “We can use electric cars to make sure none of the greenhouse gases affect the climate. I really liked the train. You get four seats and I could sit with my friends and talk to them.”
Since Craigroyston took their trip by train their idea has been adopted by other Edinburgh schools including Colinton Primary School who
tweeted their journey as it unfolded.
The activities at Benmore include making beds on arrival, followed by night walks, cross-country, canoeing, caving, gorge walking, biking. The week always sets team and individual challenges to take pupils and teachers out of their comfort zone.
FILMHOUSE EDINBURGH the charity behind reopening the cinema closed since 2022, are rejoicing that their application to the UK Government Levelling Up fund has been successful. The UK Government has awarded £1.5 million to refurbish the former church which will pay for new comfortable seating and a small fourth screen. Director Ginnie Atkinson said the award was “beyond her wildest dreams”. She said: “We hope to get underway in May and it will take around five or six months to do the work. Our small team could not have done this without support from Screen Scotland and Edinburgh Council.”
THE EDINBURGH REPORTER was “Highly Commended” in The 2024 Newspaper Awards in association with Fujifilm.
Up against 20 other contenders in the Hyperlocal Newspaper of the Year category, the judges said: “To succeed, hyperlocal community newspapers have to be tenacious and innovative and are looking to constantly evolve.
“The category received entries from all corners of the country and judges were impressed with the high-quality of some of the titles that rivalled more established traditional, long-established weeklies.
“The Edinburgh Reporter does not cram its pages, leaving space to breathe and has a stunning front page format. You can really feel the character of the community through its pages.”
NATIONAL LOTTERY funding has been secured for Oxgangs Neighbourhood Centre, which was founded in 1995. The charity awarded the sum of £150,000 from their Community Fund in Scotland.
Sue Webber MSP said: “I know
Oxgangs Neighbourhood Centre very well and have attended many good events there from Quiz Nights to celebrations such as the Coronation. But more importantly, it is a vibrant hub in Oxgangs which provides a place that is welcoming
to those in our community who may feel vulnerable, isolated, or lonely. It really does live up to its motto as ‘A Centre For All’.”
Centre Manager, Dom Heslop, said: “This is a great achievement. It wouldn’t have happened without the
hard work of my staff and volunteers who dedicate so much of their own time to making such a success that the Centre is for the community.”
Local Councillor and Chair of the Centre, Jason Rust, added: “The National Lottery has given our
Centre a much-needed financial boost, so we are very grateful for that, especially as we receive no funding from local or national government. It is a tribute to the volunteers who have clearly impressed our funders.”
By SARAH BOYACK MSP
EDINBURGH’S INTERNATIONAL
RENOWN brings many benefits to our great city. Its cultural impact can be felt the world over. With this reputation great numbers of tourists visit every year to see what Edinburgh has to offer. The recent Netflix show, One Day, has already brought in a boom of new tourists to Edinburgh.
However, local residents know that this influx of tourists, adds pressure on local services. We cannot allow Edinburgh to become unliveable for its residents. That is why I am supportive of a modest Tourist Visitor Levy (TVL) to help reinvest into our great city.
The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill is currently making its way through the Scottish Parliament. If passed, local councils will finally be able to implement a visitor levy, which will be applied to hotels and other similar establishments.
It will also ensure that Edinburgh is a sustainable city. We are all proud of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, but it is no secret that the millions of attendees place enormous pressure on many aspects of our city’s infrastructure. With a TVL, we can ensure Edinburgh garners maximum benefit from the Fringe.
The benefits of a modest TVL are incredibly varied. It could help support our invaluable arts, culture and heritage. It could contribute
to our tourist offer and could also be reinvested into transport, and waste collection, ensuring key services are able to cope with the huge numbers of visitors to our capital city.
Edinburgh would not be unique in employing a TVL, as many major cities around the world utilise similar schemes. In Europe, Brussels, Berlin, Vienna and many others employ a TVL style scheme. No one can claim that any of these cities have suffered as a result. We can learn from those positive lessons.
It is no secret that Edinburgh Council is facing severe financial pressure. Edinburgh is the lowest funded council in Scotland, despite being the second biggest city and the capital. So, a TVL is not going to solve our longstanding housing emergency and see significant capital investment in the raft of new affordable housing the city urgently needs. But a TVL would allow Edinburgh Council to open many doors. It could help the Council ensure enough police and security for major football and rugby matches and support safety in the city at night. A properly implemented TVL could be a great opportunity for our city.
The First Minister, himself, even highlighted its ability to give local authorities added flexibility. I and my Scottish Labour colleagues are working hard to ensure that
the bill works for Edinburgh when it is passed by the Parliament. The Scottish Government’s normal slap dash approach to legislation must not lead to a TVL that harms Edinburgh, rather than helps our fantastic city.
By IAN MURRAY MP
It’s something that we have all taken for granted for decades - the fact that you can get registered with a GP and get an appointment.
The frontline of our NHS is so important for diagnosis and treatment, but also reassurance and advice for patients.
Our GP practices work extremely hard in often challenging circumstances but the system is stretched to breaking point.
The consequences are felt by all parts of the system from patients to the front door of A&E at the Royal Infirmary.
There is no place more acutely experiencing this than in South Edinburgh.
Thousands and thousands of new residents have moved to the new estates in the area, but there has been no commensurate increase in public infrastructure and, in particular, GP services.
New and existing residents are subsequently losing out on access to GPs.
This was highlighted as an imminent problem by NHS Lothian back in 2012 when they asked The Scottish Government (who had approved most of the new estates on appeal) to provide funding for new services.
A decade later, in 2022, an updated report said that without significant intervention and the provision of at least 10,000 new places, GP services would “fail”.
NHS Lothian and I subsequently identified two potential sites for new GP practices. Both sites at the new Liberton High School Campus and Gilmerton Gateway were given business plan process approval by NHS Lothian, but when it came to writing the cheque to deliver them The Scottish Government said no.
In fact, the government pulled funding from all NHS capital
projects across NHS Lothian, including the promised new Eye Pavilion and others.
The news that new GP facilities would be ditched came as a hammer blow to both local people and NHS Lothian.
I believe the people of Scotland should not have to pay the price of SNP chaos and more broken promises.
That’s why I will fight tirelessly to get the basic NHS provision that local people deserve.
Almost 17 years of SNP devastation and broken promises of our NHS must end. Patients and our hard working NHS staff deserve better than a Scottish government whose ambition only extends to managed decline at best. In NHS Lothian’s words the local service is “failing”.
It’ll be up to the next Labour government to do what it always has to do in power and save the NHS.
By PHYLLIS STEPHEN
EUAN HYSLOP councillor
for Drum
Brae/
Gyle Ward has been chosen as the SNP candidate in the next UK General Election for Edinburgh West, the seat which Liberal Democrat Christine Jardine took in 2019 with a majority of 3,769 votes. Hyslop is a businessman owner of two cafés in Roseburn Park and St Margaret’s Park along with his partner, having set up the first during lockdown in 2021. During winter the cafés are opened as free and accessible warm spaces and took that suggestion to the council for public buildings to be used in this way when residents are struggling to pay their heating bills.
The couple live in Craigmount with their four-year-old who attends nursery locally. Previously, Euan worked as a support assistant in local schools and as a support worker for care experienced young people with a local charity. He said: “More needs to be done to support our local high streets and improve the economic context for businesses looking to invest here. Our town centres could offer so much more than they do with the right economic strategy. My local high street, St John’s Road, has seen better times. I’d like to see a renewed strategy for improvement here and across West Edinburgh. My SNP colleagues and I will be demanding powers in Edinburgh to tackle the immediate pressures facing communities.”
By PHYLLIS STEPHEN
MORE THAN 1,000 ADULT LEARNERS are the losers after being made “homeless” as councillors agreed to hand over the city’s only adult learning centre to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society (EFFS).
The Adult Learners’ Forum accused the city council of “tokenism” engagement with learners who attended 85 classes each week at the South Bridge Resource Centre in Infirmary Street and who have been turfed out without any clear indication of where they will be housed.
The council has agreed a 99-year lease with EFFS which will spend £7 million of a so-called “levelling up” award by the UK Government funding to refurbish the building - which is now in need of considerable repair - to create a “year round Fringe community hub”.
The Forum said after a council meeting when the details of the lease were approved, that no meaningful engagement has been carried out in the last year by the council, and they believe that “no decision could or should have been taken at the meeting” when the future of the city’s only adult learning centre was decided.
Only Canongate Youth will have guaranteed space which will be sublet by EFFS. Councillors were told in a report that the “majority of groups and classes using the building suitable alternative locations have been identified and that engagement has commenced to implement the proposed moves”.
The Forum said: “This is completely at odds with our experience of this process and we are baffled as to how council officers can have identified locations which are ‘suitable’ if they have not taken the time to find out what the learners need from those locations.
“Any engagement that has been undertaken has been instigated by the Adult Learners themselves. Any Council activity has been very last minute and tokenistic.
“We are all fully aware that as the building has been allowed to deteriorate over the years it now needs millions spent on it to make it safe and fit for purpose. We are also fully aware that CEC is in a dire financial position and therefore not in a position to renovate South Bridge.
“The Festival Fringe Society is in a position to carry out renovations having obtained money from the Westminster Levelling Up fund.”
Shona McCarthy, CEO of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said delays meant the UK Government investment was “now massively at risk” so immediate action was needed. She said: “Even though we can’t house everything in the building, our entire intent is for this building to be publicly accessible. And if we get approval to take on the building, I’d
love to be able to work with the adult learners forum to explore how can we continue to make that a home for them.”
Cllr Mandy Watt said the council always has to strike a balance, but that the council does not have the funds to put the building into a good condition and had to take a decision on the future use of the building.
The SNP finance spokesperson, Cllr Lesley Macinnes, said they did not want to delay the project, but wanted to reinforce some points made by current tenants and that they sought reassurance that every effort would be made to find suitable accommodation for everyone.
City centre councillor Finlay McFarlane said that he regretted not having been able to do more in the last year, and that while the Fringe taking the building over is a “brilliant proposal”, the focus now needs to be really
By PHYLLIS STEPHEN
TOURISM EXPERT Pete Irvine said Edinburgh can handle a tourist tax like many other major European destinations. The Scotland the Best author is firmly in favour of the proposed Visitors’ Levy. He said: “I’m a tourist and I advocate for tourists and visitors and I know that mostly they would not complain.
“Anyone that travels knows that nowadays there are often tourist taxes - not everywhere but certainly in cities like Amsterdam, Barcelona, or Dublinyou expect it. I gave evidence about tourist tax to a Select Committee in The Scottish Parliament a couple of years ago, and while it may not be right for everywhere in Scotland it is definitely right for Edinburgh.
“Let’s face it all these expensive hotels in Edinburgh if you add a couple of quid then nobody would really notice. The price of that room changes every day - it’s called dynamic pricing which has been with us for years now.”
Irvine is not alone. Edinburgh has been aiming to be the first city to introduce the new tourism levy for at least the last decade.
The possibility of extra income for the council from over night stays have been mooted by various administrations and progressed with discussion at several council committees during that time, as well as an engagement exercise with the public which has just concluded.
The council has agreed to instigate a formal consultation process whenever the government legislation reaches the appropriate stage hopefully by August this year.
“drilling down” and continuing the engagement work, meet as many needs as possible and “ensure that no service is dropped as part of this process”.
He particularly welcomed the creation of a Changing Places facility outside the building which will be a unique facility in the city centre.
A council officer, Peter Watton, apologised to both the committee and the users of the building for “what has clearly been poor communication and poor engagement”.
He did, however, say that moving into new premises might result in a good outcome and quoted the scenario ten years ago when youth group 6VT were being moved out of their premises.
He said the young people are now very happy in their new location a decade on.
The council estimates that it will cost around £250,000 to set up the scheme and afterwards around £500,000 to run it each year, but this will be paid for from the revenues raised. MSPs are expected to vote on the proposed tax in June.
By PHYLLIS STEPHEN
A former Art Deco cinema in Portobello could be “demolished by default” according to a local MP.
The George Cinema, which is at the centre of a tussle between developers and local residents, could pass the point of viable renovation claims Edinburgh East MP Tommy Sheppard.
Mr Sheppard said: “Local people are understandably concerned about the George falling into dilapidation and ending up being demolished by default.
“This is a listed building in a conservation area. Planning enforcement officers need a clear steer from councillors here to act as the custodian. Why Labour and the Tories weakened a motion which would have given them this is quite frankly beyond me.
“I’ll be keeping up the pressure alongside local SNP councillor Kate Campbell – the George could have an amazing future if it can be saved.”
The cinema designed in the 1930s by architect Thomas Bowhill Gibson who also designed the Dominion in Morningside.
Cllr Campbell had raised the matter asking for action on the building which has been empty for almost a decade. She said after the meeting: “I’m glad we got a motion passed highlighting the desperate need for enforcement action to save this precious building which means so much to the community.
“But I am really sad that Labour and the Tories voted together to water down the wording, ultimately leaving the decision on enforcement completely up in the air. Local people are really worried that the building is at risk, and getting the council to take action is urgent.”
Buckley Building UK Ltd lodged an appeal
in January this year asking for the C-listed property to be delisted. But the Planning and Environment Appeals Division refused this saying that the owners had no legal right to ask Historic Environment Scotland to do so.
Friends of the George (FoTG), the group hoping to save the cinema and bring it back into use, said they were disappointed that the amendment does not appear to set out a specific timeframe, which is frustrating given the time that this building has already been left to deteriorate.
However, they welcomed the commitment that officers would continue to press for action to preserve the building.
Mikey Davidson of FoTG said: “We have a positive plan to bring this building back to life but the dilapidation of the building has every appearance, as local people have repeatedly
pointed out, of demolition - by neglect - in plain sight. Let’s not forget, the building was in daily use, right up until the point the current owners bought it.
“We have been assured that there will be ‘speedy updates’ to the Planning Committee via business bulletins from Officers and that councillors share our aim that there should be genuine and substantive action taken to save this building. We expect to meet with our local councillors very soon, to discuss how best to achieve this and to ensure that the owner now fulfils their legal responsibility to halt the building’s continuing deterioration.”
But not everyone agrees it should be saved. One local said: “It has been an eyesore for the last five years and more due to a vanity project by a bunch of folk who have no realistic way of funding their fantasy.”
By MARY WRIGHT
HOLYROOD’S TOP OFFICIAL has been called on to investigate after a woman complained she was told could not wear a “Scottish Lesbian” badge while visiting The Scottish Parliament.
Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, wrote to Presiding Officer, Alison Johnstone, saying a constituent was “discriminated against whilst attending the Scottish Parliament”. He insists it was a “straightforward matter of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation”.
Mr Balfour said Jenny Willmott, co-founder of the campaign group Scottish Lesbians, was asked to remove a badge with the wording
“Scottish Lesbians” as it was a “partisan message”.
He said: “It has been raised that there are many staff and elected representatives who wear rainbow lanyards, ironically, this is supposed to include lesbians. It does seem unacceptable that a lesbian making her sexual orientation public was considered an unacceptable political statement.”
Ms Willmott was visiting Holyrood for a Women’s Right Network round table event hosted by Tess White, MSP, when she was told by security staff that she couldn’t wear her badge because it was “too political”. She has submitted a formal complaint.
Ms Willmott said: “After being told
I couldn’t wear the badge, when I then got into the foyer, the staff member who checked me in was wearing a rainbow lanyard, as were several other staff members.
“Not only was it hypocritical for me to be asked to remove my badge when staff members were openly wearing rainbow colours, we have been advised that it constitutes discrimination on the grounds that I was prevented from expressing my sexual orientation and showing support for other lesbians.”
Ms Willmot said she had received advice and backing from Joanna Cherry, KC, MP for Edinburgh South West.
She added: “Joanna Cherry said I should complain on the grounds of
By STEPHEN RAFFERTY
EDINBURGH’S NEWEST PIZZERIA
- offering the chance to sample pizza that aims to be the most authentic possible outside of Italy - has opened in Portobello’s Brighton Place.
Michael Notarangelo has combined detailed research to find the best ingredients from across Italy, exhaustive trials to perfect the dough and evoked childhood memories of his Italian heritage to launch Pronto Pizza.
He said that while there are plenty of pizza places in Edinburgh, his goal - stemming from a love of pizza that started on holidays to his family home in Italy - has been to make Pronto as near an authentic as you’d find in Naples.
Michael said: “I grew up eating great pizza during trips to my grandparent’s home in Italy and my aim is to emulate that nostalgic taste in all the pizzas we do. ”The key to getting that authentic flavour is all down the ingredients. Every core component has been carefully sourced using specialist Italian importers who find the very best ingredients from all regions of Italy where there are lots of variations of pizza but the Neapolitan style was always a favourite of mine and that’s what we will specialise in.”
@theprontopizza
being prevented from expressing my sexuality and my support for other lesbians, while employees of the Scottish Parliament are allowed to express support for protected characteristics (under the Equality Act).”
A spokesman for The Scottish Parliament said: “We can confirm that a visitor was asked to remove a badge and we are currently investigating this.” He added that “the Parliament endeavours to investigate all complaints within 20 working days”.
The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has also recently banned staff from wearing rainbow
lanyards, pins or badges showing support for social movements or campaigns.
Maggie Chapman MSP, said she feared the ban goes against years of anti-discrimination work. She said: “This is a disappointing decision that sends the wrong message to parliament staff and visitors, and particularly to members of the LGBTQIA+ community and other marginalised groups. Nobody stops being the person they are when they go to work, and wearing different coloured lanyards, such as rainbows, can be a simple gesture of self expression and of an inclusive workplace.”
HAPPINESS SEASON has launched at Jupiter Artland with a selection of activities and workshops to inspire “hope, lightness and joy”.
Book wild swimming or artist workshops, take part in laughter yoga with the resident goats, meditate or simply explore nature in the landscaped garden until 29 September.
www.jupiterartland.org
By GEORGE MAIR
A CEREMONY WAS HELD at Edinburgh Castle formally marking the transfer of the Stone of Destiny to Perth where it will be the centrepiece of the new Perth Museum - returning there after 728 years.
Following a short speech by the First Minister Humza Yousaf in the Great Hall, pipers led a procession to the castle esplanade, where the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland performed a Beating Retreat. The weather was misty and rainy, but the band played on.
The ceremony included, Dr Joe Morrow the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Rt Hon Lord Provost of Edinburgh Robert Aldrdige, and The Governor of Edinburgh Castle, Major General Alastair Bruce, as well as other invited guests representing the “People of Scotland” including pupils from
Strathallan School near Perth.
Piper Lance Sergeant Macrae from the Scots Guards, led the procession from the Great Hall playing the specially composed tune “The Return of the Stone”.
The Stone of Destiny - also known as the Stone of Scone - was used for centuries as a coronation stone for Scottish monarchs. It was taken from Scone near Perth in 1296, and built into the throne of King Edward I at Westminster Abbey. The Stone was officially returned to Scotland in 1996 and installed in the Crown Room at Edinburgh Castle, alongside the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish Crown Jewels.
The Lord Lyon said: “Aside from its journey to and from the Coronation in 2023, it has been housed within the Castle since 1996. It will soon make the journey to its new home in Perthshire.
“I pay tribute to the staff, past and
present, of Historic Environment Scotland who have worked tirelessly to protect, care for, and showcase the Stone for the enjoyment of many millions of visitors to this Castle.”
In December 2020 the move to Perth was announced by then First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on behalf of the Commissioners for the Safeguarding of the Regalia, advisers to the late Queen who in turn gave her approval for the
Stone’s relocation.
The Stone will only leave Scotland for a coronation in Westminster Abbey, as happened when it was transported back to London last year for the coronation of King Charles under the supervision of the Lord Lyon.
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) which cares for the Stone, said over 35 million people had visited Edinburgh Castle since it went on display there in 1996. An HES
spokesperson said: “We’ve been delighted to house the Stone at Edinburgh Castle for over 25 years, and we’re sure visitors will enjoy this new chapter in its long history.”
HES has been working on a new display of the Honours of Scotland - the Crown of Scotland, Sceptre, and Sword of State - which are amongst the oldest crown jewels in Europe, alongside the new ceremonial “Elizabeth Sword” created ahead of the Coronation.
By PHYLLIS STEPHEN
FIFTY YEARS OF WORK by a charity which helps 2,000 women a year was marked with a civic reception at the City Chambers.
Edinburgh Women’s Aid (EWA) opened its first refuge in 1973 and is established as a crucial support service for women escaping domestic abuse.
The reception marked a year of activities during which the charity reflected on its work and also discussed how to make changes so that domestic abuse becomes history.
Usually longevity is a cause for celebration, but some have remarked that it would be only a good thing if the organisation was not needed in another half century’s time.
The charity now has 31 refuge spaces in the city with the latest added last year. The funding for the property came from the charity’s reserves built up over the years, but it will now create an income for the charity at least some of whom will be entitled to housing benefit.
The properties enable the work EWA does to cover all four localities in Edinburgh providing safe spaces where women with or without children can escape abusive situations. The latest refuge will be aimed at one family or one person with children only, but the charity is responding to the desires of its clients many of whom would rather live in their own home.
The EWA staff of 50 help around 2,000
women a year, with some requiring refuge and others a different range of support needs. The help can be as simple as going to the supermarket with the client for the first time and helping them to settle into a new home. All refuges are classed as temporary accommodation but will be home for at least several months.
The charity has marked the five decades with a string of activities in the past year, including a seminar when they discussed how to change
the landscape against domestic abuse.
At the civic reception the Rt Hon Lord Provost, Robert Aldridge, welcomed the charity board and supporters, some of whom began their association with EWA as clients, to an evening in the European Room. He said: “We are here to celebrate the life-changing and mitigating impacts of Edinburgh Women’s Aid and the tens of thousands of women and children who have been supported into new lives over the past 50 years.”
By PHYLLIS STEPHEN
STEPHEN SALTER who died on 23 February aged 85, was Emeritus Professor of Engineering Design at the University of Edinburgh and known as the Father of Wave Energy. He worked on many diverse projects during his career, including some to address the effects of climate change using geo-engineering.
One of these took John Latham’s theory of marine cloud brightening and applied an engineering solution to how it would work. The basic premise was to change the reflectivity of clouds by reflecting more solar energy back up to space - by spraying sea water up in the air above the sea. Salter told The Edinburgh Reporter in a 2019 interview: “This can be done anywhere in the mid-ocean
where there is clean air and some sunshine and some wind.
The energy is coming from the wind and is used to move ships through the water to make energy to filter the seawater to pump it through spray nozzles.
It is then distributed through the bottom of the atmosphere by the turbulence of the wind blowing over the sea.”
This idea may yet attract the investment he so much desired to set the unmanned ships complete with Flettner rotors on a course to save the world.
Salter said with only 300 at sea he believed that the Antarctic ice could be saved.
There are several exhibits in the National Museum of Scotland bearing his name. (although he once told me: “I really don’t want my designs only to end up in a museum!”).
One of these, the Salter’s Duck,
was a wave power device which was a first and promised to offer a source of renewable energy for everyone.
Stephen set up the Lothian School of Technology in Loanhead in 2023 to give young engineers the chance to get hands on experience of making things.
He met his wife, the late Professor Margaret Donaldson, a specialist in Development Psychology after consulting her about building a robot with the capabilities of a child . Their long marriage ensued with many sparky conversations. Both particularly enjoyed the stir that their secretive wedding produced when Margaret posted a notice in the university that henceforth her lectures would be delivered by Professor Salter.
Sadly Margaret died in 2020 when funerals
By STAFF REPORTER
THINKING ABOUT what would happen in the future if we, or our loved ones, lose capacity to run our own affairs can be stressful and worrying, according to LifeCare Edinburgh.
The local charity advises that these situations can be daunting and complex and is going to host a free information event next month. Information will be given to help people put the right practical support in place to ensure someone trusted can quickly make decisions if needed.
A Power of Attorney is a legal document by which someone – while they still have mental capacity – nominates a trusted friend or relative to look after their affairs if they later lost capacity. This document then comes into effect in the event of an emergency, illness or accident. It is not limited to those who are older or unwell, and LifeCare recomment that everyone considers granting a Power of Attorney at any stage of their life to avoid any future complications. For example, it might be necessary to use it if the granter has had a stroke, serious accident or dementia or is otherwise incapacitated.
were restricted to only invited guests.
These wonderful people added immensely to the lives of their students and wider society through their work.
I greatly miss the opportunity to visit them in their garden in Blackford where I almost never left without a rose, no matter what the season.
Delivered in partnership with solicitors and experts from law firm Lindsays LifeCare will host its first information sharing event designed to encourage everyone to stop and think about what they need to put in place to help simplify their own future.
Sarah van Putten, who is Chief Executive of LifeCare said : “Unfortunately at LifeCare we are well aware of how stressful life can be when people don’t have the right documents in place. No one can predict when they may face an unforeseen illness, accident or other debilitating event that may render them incapacitated.”
LifeCare’s ‘What is a Power of Attorney’ information event, will be delivered in partnership with solicitors Lindsays, beginning from 2pm on 1 May in the charity’s fully accessible community café in Stockbridge CafeLife at 2 Cheyne Street, EH4 1JB where free tea and coffee will be available along with the opportunity to find out more about LifeCare’s vital services which are available for older people and the community.
www.lifecare-edinburghorg.uk/ or call 0131 343 0940 to register interest in attending the free information event.
By CHARLIE ELLIS
THE OLD EDINBURGH CLUB
has a mission to uncover and capture “vanishing evidence of Edinburgh’s history” and table tennis is a clear example of a portion of Edinburgh’s history in danger of disappearing.
There is little awareness that Edinburgh produced, in Helen Elliot, a women’s doubles world champion or that a keenly contested league structure has existed since 1935. The history of table tennis also includes political intrigue, the role of incomers to the city and unusual episodesincluding a match featuring a team of convicted murderers.
Despite many thousands of people in Edinburgh having played the sport over the last 100 years, it has gone on largely unnoticed and but thanks to support from the Old Edinburgh Club and the Edinburgh and Lothians Table Tennis League (ELTTL), some of this vanishing history is now being captured At a competitive level and
despite a dip in participation due the pandemic lockdowns, ELTTL currently comprises 63 teams in six divisions and several Edinburgh & Lothians clubs also take part in the Scottish National League, where almost 150 players compete.
Since getting involved in the sport in 2009, I’ve become aware of the sport’s rich history within the city, however, I’ve also noticed
an absence of a proper historical record and a general dearth of documentation.
In many cases, the historical information is largely lodged in the heads of the senior figures in the game. In an attempt to document this, I’ve conducted interviews with some of these ex-players and officials, such as ex-Scottish champions Eddie Still, Johnny Campbell, and the late Bert Kerr. But time is pressing –last year one of Scotland’s greatest ever players, Malcolm Sugden (who spent much of his early life in Edinburgh) died, his memories largely unrecorded.
For the last few years, I’ve been trying to collate as much material as possible, from a variety of sources. This helped me in writing a history of Murrayfield Memorial Club - established in 1922 as a recreational and meeting place in
memory of locals who died in the First World War - and table tennis is the last surviving part of the club. With the aid of a Jean Guild Grant, my intention is to extend this historical examination to table tennis in the city more broadly and to do further digging into the records to see what further documentation exists.
At present, much of the Edinburgh table tennis archive exists as piles of yellowing papers and photographs in my cupboards. A focus of this project is to digitise the most important parts of this archive and, in due course, find a proper home for it where it can be properly catalogued and available for others to use.
Read more of this story online www.theedinburghreporter. co.uk
NEARLY HALF A CENTURY of treading the boards by Forth Children’s Theatre (FCT) will be marked by a 45th Anniversary Gala performance running through some of the most notable musicals performed by the company.
Current FCT members and alumni are gearing up to celebrate at The Church Hill Theatre with the production running from Thursday 4 April to Saturday 6 April. In the repertoire are Thoroughly Modern Millie, Anything Goes, Little Shop of Horrors, 13 The Musical and Hairspray which will vie alongside more modern musicals including Mary Poppins, School of Rock and a sneak-peak at FCT’s up-coming Fringe production Everybody’s Talking about Jamie. This production is co-directed and co-choreographed by FCT alumni Taylor Doig and Jack Nixon, who between them have 20 years of musical production experience, while a rich pool of volunteers are working in the background to create the showbiz magic seen in every production.
Mark McLauchlin joins Doig and Nixon as Musical Director with CoMusical Direction from Jack Gardner. The quartet of creatives take on some of the biggest numbers in musical theatre history and will be joined by a live band.
Show times are: 7.30pm Thur, Fri, Sat and 2.30pm Sat, tickets priced £15 full price and £12 concessions. www.forthchildrenstheatre.org
Debbie Anderson invites you to take yourself back to your childhood with traditional jars of sweets in her shop. Chewits and fudge will take you back a decade or two. Open from 10am except Mondays. Handy for the tram.
102 Leith Walk EH16 5DT 0131 554 1401
Subscribe today and have your own copy of The Edinburgh Reporter delivered to your front door from next month - in its own compostable envelope. Or donate a subscription to a friend as a wee present. The gift which keeps on giving all year long ter.ooo.subscribe
Vlad has a unique style at 48 Thistle Street with great coffee and above average chat . He may even play chess with you. The city centre micro roastery is increasingly the place to go. Coffee also available to order online if you are working from home. cobbledroasters.co.uk
Donate any unwanted items to this shop on Gilmore Place knowing that they will find a loving new home. Very little ever goes to landfill. Visit the shop to pick up a copy of our latest paper and also to admire their innovative and ever-changing window displays. birthlink.org.uk
Love Your Business networking club is relaxed, informal and good fun, and held at Black Ivy on the last Thursday of the month with a host of inspiring speakers sharing their entrepreneurial journeys and invaluable business tips. www.lybnetworking.com Facebook/howtolyb
Di Giorgio’s have a variety of cakes and slices, coffee with a smile and pasta and lasagne to go. Morning rolls and ciabattas are also available, but this is brownie heaven. And ask about their very special birthday cakes. Open 7 days 10-4pm 1 Brandon Terrace EH3 5EA
The gallery focuses on original paintings, prints and fine crafts inspired by nature. Wide price range to accommodate various budgets. Jurgita warmly welcomes you to Dundas Street. Open Tuesday to Saturday 11am-4pm. birchtreegallery.co.uk
Party on down to the junction of Heriot Row at the top of India Street for a coffee and fine chat with mine host and local resident, Fleur Woolford. Open on weekday mornings until 12.30pm with handy EV charging right next to the former police box. Opposite India Street on Heriot Row
Very reasonable rates allow start-ups to use the small pop-up space as the first rung on the ladder. From food to political parties and all manner of organisations in between. Have a look at their pop-up garden when you visit. Croall Place EH7 4LT hello@leithwalkpolicebox.com
Invisible Cities is a social enterprise that trains people who have experienced homelessness to become walking guides of their own city. This is the alternative tour for locals and tourists alike. Book tours in Edinburgh, York, Manchester and Glasgow. invisible-cities.org
Subscribe today and have your own copy of The Edinburgh Reporter delivered to your front door from next month - in its own compostable envelope. Or donate a subscription to a friend as a wee present. The gift which keeps on giving all year long. ter.ooo.subscribe
Subscribe today and have your own copy of The Edinburgh Reporter delivered to your front door from next month - in its own compostable envelope. Or donate a subscription to a friend as a wee present. The gift which keeps on giving all year long. ter.ooo.subscribe
Subscribe today and have your own copy of The Edinburgh Reporter delivered to your front door from next month - in its own compostable envelope. Or donate a subscription to a friend as a gift. The gift which keeps on giving all year long. ter.ooo.subscribe
Bespoke tailoring for men. Craig’s focus is on making the highest quality personally tailored attire that others will aspire to. His pyjamas and dressing gowns will make your video calls or working from home very stylish. 0131 226 7775 • 45 Thistle Street EH2 1DY • craigbankstailoring.com
A unique gallery and gift shop in Edinburgh’s Southside - a cornucopia of all forms of art. Buy handmade art and craft from independent artists. Linsay says: “If we don’t have it, we can probably find it for you.” artcraftcollective.co.uk 0131 629 9123
Manda and her team will look after all your beauty requirements from massage to manicure. Perfectly located to offer you treatments during your busy work schedule. www.beautyhqedinburgh.co.uk 0131 556 3610 22a Dundas Street EH3 6JN
Heriot Gallery features exciting work by established and emerging contemporary artists. Exhibitions change regularly and there is always new work to view. Have a look at their website and add your email to the mailing list for Private Views. www.heriotgallery.com
Do go to this beautiful wee shop filled with Italian handmade goods. Bag a bargain in store at 44 Dundas Street or online -and all will be beautifullyparcelled up with gorgeous turquoise ribbon and tissue for a friend if you can bear to give it away... www.salentoshop.co.uk
A neat wee café and deli, Rotonda sells imported Mediterranean goods, as well as home baked goods, both sweet and savoury. Everything is home baked and cooked by owner Rebecca in house. 23c Dundas Street EH3 6QQ rotondaltd@gmail.com
Clydebuilt Sailmaker winner of the Master medal at the Scotch Whisky Masters encompasses hand-selected sherry casks from Lowland, Speyside and Highland distilleries. This and the full range of independent bottlings can be found in specialist stores. ardgowandistillerycom/stockists
Andy Arthur explores the history of a house that thread built and which was home to a volatile character dubbed the “Fortunate Duellist”
An old Georgian villa in the east of Edinburgh called Marionville which lends its name to the district, a few streets and a fire station is quite unremarkable in the capital - until you find out about the place’s history.
It was built between the 1760s and 1780s by the Misses Ramsay of Old Lyon Close, milliners renowned in the burgh for their ribboned hats, and about 1786 it passed to one James Macrae of Holmains Esq. who liked to be known as Captain Macrae on account of his service in the 6th Dragoon Guards (Irish Carabiniers).
By all accounts he was both a sophisticated, cultured charmer and an arrogant, pompous “Goth” and it was Macrae who renamed the house, calling it after his wife, Maria Cecile le Maistre. With a quick temper and an overinflated sense of his own status, Macrae was nicknamed “The Fortunate Duellist” on account of his propensity to call for satisfaction - and on not being dead as a result. He practised by firing at a barber’s block kept specially for the purpose.
The Macraes soon built up a reputation as a home of the “gayest private theatricals, perhaps in Britain“ and they had a 150-seat private theatre built, complete with stage, curtain and scenery in the house where the couple themselves took the starring roles. The great and the good of Edinburgh were invited and the shows were a hot ticket in town, being well reviewed in the papers.
Macrae was highly regarded in the right circles, but his pomposity and temper would be his unravelling. After an incident in which he threw a messenger of the law over a stairwell as he tried to arrest his debtor cousin, the Reverend John Cunningham, Earl Glencairn, Macrae had to make an apology and paid 300 guineas compensation to settle the matter.
On 7 April, 1790, Captain Macrae had been out at the Theatre Royal, which stood opposite the General Register Office. He was helping a lady to get a sedan chair to convey her home (the principal form of public transport for the moneyed classes) when a liveried footman appeared and seized one of the poles of the chair to reserve it for his mistress. The outraged Macrae rapped the impertinent servant’s
knuckles with his cane.
The footman denounced Macrae as a scoundrel and punched him in the chest. Macrae responded by striking him across the head with his cane. An almighty fracas ensued, before the conflict was defused and the lady was spirited to safety. There it might have ended until Macrae learned the footman in question was an employee of his dear friend, Sir George Ramsay. Ramsay informed him that the servant was recently engaged by his wife and he felt that he had no hand in the matter. Macrae insisted that he would apologise to the lady at once and hurrying to Ramsay’s house on St Andrew Square, he found her sitting for an up and coming artist, one Henry Raeburn. Theatrically
going down on one knee, Macrae begged forgiveness for having chastised her servant.
Later at Marionville, an anonymous letter arrived stating that Macrae had meddled with the “Knights of the Shoulder Knot” (the name given to footmen for their elaborate uniforms) and they would have their revenge for the insult to their brother, while the footman in question, James Merry, made it known he would take legal proceedings against his assailant.
Piqued, Macrae wrote to Ramsay and demanded that Merry be put in his place and discharged but Ramsay refused and their relationship quickly soured as the two engaged in a protracted series of increasingly intemperate letters. This culminated in Macrae having his messenger inform Ramsay that he was not a gentleman, but a scoundrel.
Macrae had overstepped the mark, Ramsay was a proper gentleman, with a title, not someone you could go around insulting. The intermediary, one Captain Amory, arranged a meeting of both parties in Bayle’s Tavern at which “rough epithets were exchanged“. The outcome was inevitable and satisfaction was demanded by Macrae.
The time and place was set for the shore outside of Musselburgh at noon the next day.
The two gentlemen, each with another in tow as second, met at Wards Inn off of the Musselburgh Links, with a surgeon, Benjamin Bell, sensibly in place.
A parlay took place to see if things could be settled amicably but both sides were intransigent.
Each man took a pistol and made his way to the allotted spot, walked 14 paces away from the other, and the duel commenced.
Ramsay shot first and nicked the collar of his former friend, grazing the neck. For a sure shot like Macrae, the outcome was inevitable and Ramsay was mortally wounded.
Edinburgh society was outraged and it was the lower status Macrae that they squarely blamed for this calamity. Being a proper class scandal, the detail was all printed at the time and Macrae was immortalised as “The Fortunate Duellist” by Edinburgh caricaturist John Kay.
Facing a potential murder charge, Macrae abandoned Marionville and his family and fled to Paris accompanied by his second, Captain Amory. A summons soon arrived from Edinburgh to return and face the law. Ignoring
it, both were declared outlaws and consigned themselves to live out their days in exile.
Macrae stayed in Paris until the coming of the French revolution compelled his to flee further, this time to Altona in Italy. He had hoped that the passage of time would allow him to return home to Marionville, but society and the law were resolved against it. Soon forgotten by Edinburgh’s chattering classes, he died alone in Paris on the 16th January 1820, 30 years an exile from his home, wife and two children.
The gayest house in town fell into “an air of depression and melancholy such as could barely fail to strike the most unobservant passenger“. It was advertised as being to let in 1793 and the following year it was for sale. The house was repeatedly for sale and let throughout the 19th century and from approximately 1858 to 1869, it was being used by Dr. Guthrie’s “Original Ragged Industrial School”
In 1932, Marionville was purchased by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Edinburgh and St Andrews for use as the manse for St Ninian’s & Triduana’s Church, which was built in the grounds at this time. Its last occupant before the church took it over would appear to be one Miss W. Crawford Brown and the house was sold back into private use within the past few years.
This is an abridged version of a thread first published by Andy Arthur on his website threadinburgh.scot
By STAFF REPORTER
A REPORT COMMISSIONED by the owners of Edinburgh Airport concludes that aviation is critical for the Scottish economy and to reduce flights would be damaging to most industries.
The report’s author, Professor Duncan Maclennan, Emeritus Professor of Urban Economics at the University of Glasgow, also found that the capital’s airport is lagging behind when it comes to a wider connectivity and infrastructure strategy.
Professor Maclennan found that a barrier for Edinburgh Airport is the lack of ways of getting to and from the airport by sustainable means. He said: “There are great decarbonised transport options to and from Edinburgh Airport and the city itself. However, unlike other cities that have better connectivity
strategies, Edinburgh hasn’t developed good transport links to the surrounding metropolitan areas. Through my interviews and research, I’ve found this to be because our decision-making here in Scotland is too localised and not joined-up enough.”
As an example although Edinburgh to London by train is around four hours or so, the paper states the journey from the Highlands to Wales is not well connected by rail or other sustainable transport options.
Maclennan writes in his report: “The Edinburgh focussed City Deal improved road access around the airport. The main rail lines connecting west and north-south from Edinburgh speed, unhalting, past the western and eastern ends of the Airport runway....
“The Scottish Government, Edinburgh, and surrounding municipalities, need to refocus,
urgently, on how new geographies of mobility, infrastructure and economic activity could flatten the trade-offs in simultaneously achieving net zero, economic and wellbeing objectives. This would involve considering how the airport could be better connected to the metropolitan suburbs and regional rail network..through decarbonised mobility systems. In some scenarios for technological change in aviation, expanding the airport may be the solution and not the problem. The
By BUSINESS REPORTER
FASHION DESIGNER AND BUSINESSMAN JEFF BANKS popped in to Morningside to open a new Specsavers opticians and audiologist shop. He cut the ribbon alongside retail director Joe Alubaid, clinical director Michael O’Kane and audiology partner Jonathan Bell.
Specsavers which have been in the area for 15 years have invested £750,000 in the new store at number 85. Mr O’Kane said the new store responds to local demand, particularly for early diagnosis of treatable eye disease. He said: “There is an ageing, yet independent and healthy population, in the south of Edinburgh, however
age-related conditions such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, and hearing loss are all more common.
“Myopia (short sightedness) is also becoming more prevalent in children within the UK. That is why we have designed our new store specifically to address these emerging needs of our local community.”
Scottish Government should be exploring the options for maintaining the connections of Scotland’s thriving, new patterns of spatial development, to the wider world.”
He also said: “Enhanced high speed rail capacity is now unlikely to be supplied to Edinburgh by 2050, as made evident by the UK government’s late 2023 decimation of the HS2 proposal. That will become a barrier to investment and jobs in important sectors of the Edinburgh economy.”
By PHYLLIS STEPHEN
RELATIONS COMPANY
SPEY which has an office in Leith is helping clients who are already B Corp registered by acquiring the certification themselves.
Spey say they have also launched the industry’s first carbon tracking tool which will measure the environmental impact of the company’s business activity. It is hoped this will help clients to calculate their own footprint and reduce the impact on the planet.
Spey have launched the tool just as they themselves reached the end of a two year journey to become certified as a B Corp. This is the gold standard for companies becoming both environmentally and socially responsible. Spey now include hours for employees to
volunteer for example as well as counting emissions attached to travel or production.
Founder Jennifer Robertson said: “Companies spend a lot of time and resources making their products and services as environmentally friendly as possible, but the carbon impact of the PR activities used to promote their brand and products is often overlooked. That’s where we come in.
“There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes of a PR agency beyond media relations. We will now calculate the carbon footprint of these activities and recommend ways in which our clients can make simple changes like slow travel and recyclable packaging to using local content creators, all of which reduces carbon footprint.” spey.scot
By PHYLLIS STEPHEN
THE KING’S GALLERY has opened with a new exhibition exploring life in 18th century Britain through the fashions of the day.
The gallery has been closed since October 2022 for maintenance works and is now renamed after the coronation of King Charles.
Style & Society: Dressing the Georgians brings together around 100 works from the Royal Collection a small manageable exhibition up on the first floor. The basis of the exhibition is to show what people wore in real life, by displaying some clothing and accessories and how they were portrayed in paintings.
In the small exhibition the Sir David Wilkie portrait of George IV looms large over the staircase. The King is dressed in Highland dress of Royal Stewart tartan, making a statement of the unity between Scotland and England. He was heir to both the Hanoverians and the Jacobites following a century of fighting. His outfit is completed with accessories provided by Edinburgh firm George Hunter & Co. who then sent them to David Wilkie’s studio to allow the artist to make an accurate depiction of them.
Style & Society: Dressing the Georgians at The King’s Gallery, The Palace of Holyroodhouse until 22 September www.rct.uk or Tel 0303 123 7306
By PHYLLIS STEPHEN
THE PUBLICATION OF THE 14TH EDITION of Scotland the Best will help those looking for ideas on how to spend days in Edinburgh or further afield.
Author Pete Irvine admits that he cannot go back to every single place for each edition of the book which he has compiled for three decades now, but he certainly makes every effort to check that all the entries remain current.
This led to the discovery that “hardly anywhere answers the phone these days” mainly, he imagines, because they just don’t have the staff. And often places have a mobile number which is not answered either, which meant in some cases he had to use Booking.com to secure an overnight stay when planning his trips. The logistics of the journeys alone is enormous, making sure he fits in as many places as possible en route.
Peter was scathing of Instragrammers and influencers during an interview with
Stephen Jardine to launch the book. His really is a book of personal recommendations. He said: “Scotland the Best has sought out the artisan, innovative and unique, where individuals have taken the plunge and risk and set up their stall in a still uncertain marketplace. It has been a challenge to keep track of the cornucopia of new bakers, coffee shops, tea rooms, diners and restaurants that have sprung up. Scotland the Best is not a comprehensive, list-of-options guide; it is highly selective. I firmly believe that some places are just better than others and deserve to be recognised and encouraged.”
EDINBURGH AUTHOR Susan Tomes has written a new book Women and the Piano. She asserts that even the modern piano is designed with men’s hands in mind without considering women’s typically smaller hands. She traces fifty women through the history of the piano with famous names such as Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn as well as some less well-known in this timely testament to women
LORNA BROOKS has a new album out now. Since Life Stood Still is very much about living during the pandemic and afterwards, and every track has a story attached.
She has in the past shared a stage with musicians such as Eric Bibb, Eleanor McEvoy, Shawn Colvin, Iris de Ment and Janis Ian and in the last ten years has worked as a session musician, composer and voice coach - at one time at The City of Edinburgh Music School.
Lorna said: “I’m back and sanguine at last. This album has culminated into, I believe, my best work - let the music speak for itself.“
lornabrooks.com
By Charlie Ellis
A CONSISTENT THEME of this column is that good coffee is not easily made. While specialty coffee culture and language (artisanal, third wave etc) has spread quickly in the last 15 years or so, only a select number of cafés really have the art to produce high quality espresso on a consistent basis. In the last few years, many places have found it difficult to recruit and hold onto capable baristas. During the Covid lockdown of 2020 and 2021, many moved into other jobs and have not returned. There is, in the city, a considerable shortage.
Good baristas focus on the job in hand. A barista I saw in a chain recently, tried to combine checking his phone, chatting to colleagues about his weekend and making espresso. This lack of focus and seriousness (as well as technical know-how) is why the coffee served by most of the chains is so inconsistent - and generally mediocre. With the beans and machines they have, they should be able to produce much better.
Detour Espresso in Marchmont is certainly a place with a serious attitude to coffee. On a recent visit, the two baristas were discussing the fact that the espresso wasn’t flowing with the smoothness they desired; it wasn’t quite ‘dialled in’. So, they took time to make the necessary
adjustments rather than just continuing to serve something below their usual standards. When customers are paying well over three quid for their coffee, they deserve something well made that makes the best use of the beans. While serious about the coffee, the atmosphere at Detour is not austere and overly cool.
In fact the place has a very chilled vibe, with lots of warm, friendly interaction between the customers and the baristas. In many ways Detour is representative of the way that cafés have, in recent years, taken over some of the social roles previously associated with pubs. Increasingly they are becoming social spaces.
On my last visit, there was lots of chat involving Detour’s boss Matt Rees about the music choices. When I entered, they were playing some early Tom Waits which helped create a chilled, jazzy vibe. Later the music became distinctly more up-tempo.
The music isn’t just in the background but is a talking point, helping to create the right atmosphere. In the corner of the café, an engaging science lesson for kids was taking place. It all added to a friendly, community feel with a range of people of different generations.
Detour serves coffee by Machina,
one of Edinburgh’s leading coffee suppliers - who roast their coffee at Peffermill. Machina, launched in 2013, is one of the most renowned names in specialty coffee in Edinburgh. They now have their own large, stylish café in Marchmont. Along with Argyle Place a few yards away, Detour faces plenty of local competition. However, the number of students and young professionals in the area means there is space in the market.
There’s a nicely curated selection of books on sale (they also host a New Writers Group), again adding to the sense that the place isn’t merely a place to drink coffee, but also a place to study, work, discuss music or lose yourself in a good book. The work of artists and photographers hang on the walls - nice exposure for local creatives. The high, corniced ceiling gives the place a airy feel, while simple furniture helps it feel uncluttered even when busy.
Food wise, Detour offers toasties, quesadillas, soups, smoothie bowls and a selection of baking. They also sell Machina’s beans - and also those and the excellent James Gourmet Coffee, based in Ross-on-Wye.
Detour Espresso, Argyle Place, EH9 1JT
OUTBOARD run by Scotts next door to its bar and restaurant at Port Edgar, has opened for the summer season. The restaurant is dog-friendly and
By Aldhelm
Reece Wood,
IN THE HEART OF LEITH lies a gem of ethical entrepreneurship: Lind & Lime Gin. With a recent achievement of B Corp accreditation, (demonstrating the company’s social and environmental performance) Lind & Lime has not only raised the bar in the spirits industry but has also crafted an experience that embodies the essence of sustainable and socially responsible business practices.
My visit to Lind & Lime with two old school friends provided me with the perfect tonic to my culinary and drink-inspired weekend, showing them the best Edinburgh has to offer.
As we embarked on the tour, led by our bubbly thespian guide, Georgia Lee, it became apparent that this wasn’t just a typical gin tour—it was an immersion into the world of conscientious craftsmanship.
B Corp Certification is a designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials. The distillery joins only 19 gin distilleries worldwide that hold the title, becoming only the fourth Scottish gin distillery to attain the certification, alongside Botanist Gin, North Uist and The House of Botanicals.
Ian Stirling, Co-Founder of Lind & Lime said: “The B Corp certification felt crucial for us. It validates our commitment to sustainable and responsible business practices but perhaps more importantly, it provides us with a credible and recognised framework to measure our social and environmental impact..
‘Being a B Corp aligns with our core values and mission, serving as a guiding principle for
everything we do. It’s not just about being a profitable business - it’s about using our platform to drive meaningful change and contribute to a better future for all.”
From sourcing materials to engaging with stakeholders, every decision the business makes reflects a commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. It’s not just about making exceptional gin - it’s about doing so with integrity and purpose.
The story behind Lind & Lime is one of local pride and historical revival. Founded in 2018 by Edinburgh locals and friends Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher, the distillery stands as a testament to Leith’s rich distilling heritage. Their dedication to restoring this legacy is evident not only in the exquisite gin they produce but also in their innovative approach, as seen in the UK’s first vertical distillery, Port of Leith, where we indulged in a pre-dinner cocktail later.
Lind & Lime is a classic London Dry Gin, produced using just seven botanicals, with juniper at its core, complemented by fresh lime peel and pink peppercorn.
The name is inspired by Dr James Lind, an Edinburgh educated Royal Navy surgeon who is recognised for developing the theory that citrus fruits, i.e. limes, could prevent scurvy.
The tour itself is a delightful blend of education and indulgence. Georgia Lee expertly guided us through the intricacies of gin-making, sharing insights into Lind & Lime’s unique process and the history of this beloved spirit. The highlight, undoubtedly, was the opportunity to bottle our own gin—a personalised memento of an unforgettable
experience.
But the indulgence didn’t end there. We savoured samples of Lind & Lime Gin and their equally impressive tawny port, gaining an appreciation for the distillery’s diverse offerings. And what better way to conclude than by crafting our own Gin Gimlets, under Georgia’s expert guidance?
The Lind & Lime Gin Tour offers more than just a tasting experience. It’s a celebration of ethical entrepreneurship and the art of fine craftsmanship.
Whether you’re a gin enthusiast or simply seeking a unique Edinburgh adventure, Lind & Lime delivers an experience like no other—a true tonic for the soul.
Cheers to Lind & Lime for setting the standard in ethical excellence.
lindandlime.com/ www.leithdistillery.com/the-distillery-bar
THIS IS A SHAMELESS
PLUG for food writer (and dear friend)
new book Seafood Journey, which includes a foreword by Gary Maclean, the National Chef of Scotland.
The very modest and understated Ghillie Başan lives in the Highlands in a beautiful remote cottage. She is also one of Scotland’s Food Tourism Ambassadors, championing local produce.
She has written more than 50 books on different culinary cultures which, in the last 40 years, have been shortlisted and have won awards. Her recent book, on Lebanese cooking, won Best in the World in the Gourmand International Cookbook Awards 2021 and A Taste of the Highlands was shortlisted for the Guild of Food Writers Award 2022. Her food and travel articles have appeared in a huge variety of newspapers, including the Sunday Times and the Daily Telegraph, and magazines such as BBC Good Food and Delicious.
Being allergic to fish and seafood, I won’t be able to indulge in any of the recipes, but everyone needs to know more about Ghillie, a very talented food writer, who despite her impressive literary catalogue, remains relatively unknown.
Scotland produces some of the best fish and shellfish in the world. In her latest book, Ghillie embarks on a journey around Scotland’s long and varied coast and across to the islands. As she meets a host of people whose lives revolve around the sea – fishermen and women, salt producers and seaweed harvesters as well as seafood chefs, shellfish farmers and boat builders – she learns about age old traditions and modern innovations.
Featuring almost a hundred recipes, from traditional favourites such as Champion Cullen Skink and Creamy Fish and Leek Pie to more adventurous dishes such as Singapore Spineys and Monkfish Tagine, this is a wonderful celebration of Scotland’s culinary association with the sea.
Seafood Journey, £25 hardback –ISBN 9781780278322
Hamilton is here, Pretty Woman is on its way, and although it’s only April, the Edinburgh Fringe and Festival will soon be taking centre stage
Have you seen Hamilton yet? The biggest show to visit Edinburgh this year had its glittering press night last month with the great and the good of the city in attendance for a pre-show reception at which producer Cameron Mackintosh was in ebullient form.
It’s been a while since we chatted, in fact, the last time Cameron and I caught up was the after show for Mary Poppins’ Dublin opening at the Bord Gáis Theatre.
“I’m bringing Mary Poppins back to the Festival Theatre, soon, very soon,” he confided, and sure enough, a day later the news broke that the magical nanny flies back into the Nicolson Street theatre from 22 January to 15 February, 2025. Definitely one to look forward to. Hamilton’s Scottish season finishes on 27 April and is a complete sell out. Check out my review on The Edinburgh Reporter website.
While Hamilton is wowing them at the Festival Theatre, over at The Playhouse, Pretty Woman: The Musical (2-13 April), which seems to be plastered across every other Lothian bus at the moment, checks in.
Set in the Eighties, with music by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, Pretty Woman is the
story of wealthy businessman Edward Lewis and escort Vivian Ward. When he hires her to accompany him to a series of functions, little did either of them expect the business arrangement to take an unexpected turn.
If you loved the 1990 romcom starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, get ready to be swept up in Edward and Vivian’s unlikely romance once more. Featuring Amber Davies as Vivian, Oliver Savile as Edward and Ore Oduba, last seen in Edinburgh as Brad in The Rocky Horror Show, as Happy Man/Mr Thompson.
Running time 2 hours 30 minutes including interval. Tickets £13-£99.50 www.atgtickets.com/shows/pretty-womanthe-musical/edinburgh-playhouse/
April finds The Royal Lyceum looking to Edinburgh author Muriel Spark for inspiration, though not to Jean Brodie, that woman in her prime, on this occasion. The Girls of Slender Means (13 April-4 May), based on Sparks’ 1963 novella, is set in the summer of 1945 in the May of Teck Club, a hostel for the ‘Pecuniary Convenience And Social Protection of Ladies
of Slender Means Below The Age Of Thirty Years’, who are obliged to ‘reside apart from their families in order to follow an occupation in London’.
Despite the ending of WWII, the girls do their best to act as if it never happened; practising their elocution, jostling one another over suitors and debating whose turn it is to wear a Schiaparelli gown when the occasion demands. Not far beneath the surface, however, tensions are rising.
Running time 2 hours 20 minutes including interval. Tickets £16-£38 lyceum.org.uk/events/the-girls-of-slendermeans
90 Days (12-14 April) by Kim Millar, is the story of 90 days that changed women’s rugby forever. Premiering at The Traverse, 90 Days whisks us back to the Nineties and, through the eyes of the players, reveals how Scotland’s first women’s rugby team was created only to have their dream of playing against the best teams in the world dashed… before becoming the unlikely saviours of the 1994 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
Lifting the lid on the challenges and prejudice the women’s game faced in the early years, 90 Days reveals, for the first time, the events that led to the last minute cancellation of the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
Running time 60 minutes. Tickets https:// www.90daysplay.co.uk www.traverse.co.uk/whats-on/event/90days-spring-24
If you managed to get a ticket for and were enthralled by Ian McKellen in his sell out 2022 Fringe production of Hamlet, you might want to take a theatre break to catch him as Sir John Falstaff in Player Kings (1 April-22 June), at London’s Noel Coward Theatre. A
The highlight, however, is sure to be Prince Hal’s misadventures in the pubs of London with drunken knight, Falstaff. Can their friendship survive the pressures of kingship?
Running time 3 hours 20 minutes plus a 20 minute interval. Tickets £35-£287
www.londontheatre.co.
uk/show/37071-playerkings
If it’s a Tony® and Grammy® winning musical with a smoky, sensuous, jazzy, bluesy vibe you’re looking for, you might want to check out Hadestown (booking through to December) at The Lyric Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. Drawing on the Greek myth telling the tale of the ill-fated Orpheus and Eurydice, Hadestown transports the ancient legend to a post-depression industrial underworld where the poverty stricken are forced to become another’s property to survive, signing away their life, if not their soul. It’s a sinister, sexy, sassy tale of love and
despair, power, corruption, rebellion and trust; a multi-layered retelling that makes it worth reading the programme notes before viewing.
Running time 2 hours 30 minutes including interval.
uk.hadestown.com
Now, it might seem a lifetime away right now, but Edinburgh’s Festivals season is already ramping up with tickets on sale for Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) and some Fringe productions. From what have been announced so far, here are my Hot Tickets.
From the EIF programme, National Theatre of Scotland’s The Fifth Step (21-25 August) at The Lyceum is a thrilling new play from the brilliant David Ireland, starring Jack Lowden as Luka. Luka has joined AA and is searching for a sponsor. James has been in the programme for years and looks like the ideal man to shepherd Luka through the 12 steps. However, the road to recovery isn’t that simple…
Running time 1 hour 10 minutes. Tickets from £20
www.eif.co.uk/events/the-fifth-step
Fringe-wise, it’s Miriam Margolyes and her one woman appreciation of Charles Dickens that caught my eye. Margolyes & Dickens: The Best Bits (7-15 August), will play at the EICC, daily at 4pm. Combining her infectious love for Dickens, the unstoppable 82-year-old, (she’ll be 83 by the time the Fringe comes around), will bring Dickens’ most colourful characters to life before opening the floor for a no holds barred Q&A. Explosive stuff, I reckon.
Running times 70 minutes. Tickets £25 www.pleasance.co.uk/event/margolyesdickens-best-bits
Until next time, read my Edinburgh reviews via The Edinburgh Reporter website and subscribe (free) for all my other reviews at liamrudden.substack.com
Enjoy your theatre, folks.
WHEN ALEX STEWART
first Scotland’s women’s rugby cap in a 20-8 victory over Wales in Cardiff her selection spanned a 49-year gap.
The last time Liberton High produced an internationalist was in 1975 when Bruce Hay, subsequently a double British Lion, played against New Zealand in Auckland.
One person well placed to link the pair is Eric Jones who, as a young player, absorbed Hay’s promptings at Boroughmuir before going on to coach Alex Stewart as a Corstorphine Cougars flanker. He sees many parallels beyond the school connection. He said: “Some of Bruce’s values and character have certainly helped shape Alex’s rugby.”
“When I turned up at the Boroughmuir club in 1998 as a 17-year-old, Bruce took a lot of the young players under his wing overseeing sessions maybe not the most technical but “character building”. Fast forward 12 years and I had taken up a position with Inch Park Community Sports Club as a Multi-Sport Development Officer with a specific focus on rugby development within an area including Liberton where there were a mere three rugby players.”
Bruce was the inspiration, showing it was possible to progress from there to
the Lions. He passed away in 2007 but his sessions in the late 1990s shaped Eric as a coach.
Eric said: “Alex has similar characteristics to Bruce. She’s tough, demanding and will put her body on the line. From primary school she has excelled in a number of sports, the closest you’re going to get to being able to say that from an early age “she’s going to go to the top”.
“At 14 Alex asked for her next block of conditioning, she completed the Developing Player Programme by attending sessions before school, out on the pitch at 7am. She worked on her fundamental skills and understanding of the game.
“At 15 she wanted to play Premiership rugby and two years later made her debut for Corstorphine Cougars. As Alex got older we had detailed discussions on what she needed to do within her role technically, tactically, physically and mentally.
“We set a number of goals and one was to produce an international player. I thought “This school has done it” before “Let’s do it again”.
“Steven Kelly, former head teacher, probably thought I was mad but I’m glad to say that that was the last thing to be ticked off the development plan.”
BOROUGHMUIR RUGBY have broken new ground by fielding a team of under-16 girls known as “The Banshees”.
The Meggetland club chose International Women’s Day to launch the new outfit drawn from schools in Edinburgh and the Lothians and although some guested from other clubs the majority of players were from Boroughmuir. They played three games at an Evolution Series event hosted by Leith RFC.
‘Muir official Andrew Cochran said: “Having a girls’ team out in Boroughmuir’s famous blue and green strips is something the whole club is delighted to see - and look forward to seeing more often going forward.
“This season we have teamed up with our sister club Murrayfield Wanderers to enable our players to take part in full team games at an increased level. We have played in their strip until now with the intention of supporting both girls’ squads and driving player participation forward.
“We have seen player numbers increase at this age level over the past six months with continued investment into recruitment and player development.”
Another official, Gillian Nimmo, added: “Since August, when I became Director of Girls Rugby, our ambition has been to build up age group team rugby for girls at Boroughmuir.
“Girls’ rugby is a really positive
destination we’ve taken into schools, and we work hard to ensure players are happy and valued. I’m so proud of each player’s commitment and dedication, and delighted that so many young girls are growing and developing skills, friendships and are having fun as Boroughmuir Banshees.”
The growth in the girls’ game was discussed with Daniel Johnson MSP during a recent visit to Meggetland.
Mr Johnson said: “I’m delighted to see the success Boroughmuir have had in growing the girls’ game.” particular by engaging in schools across south Edinburgh and beyond. I was impressed by the community outreach work that the club does, their focus on youth and their ambition for the future.”
THE EAST OF SCOTLAND men’s tennis team achieved a hard fought victory against the All England Club in London. Each year The Wimbledon Championship hosts invite a county to field a team against them. East have challenged strongly for top honours in the prestigious Inter-County event in recent years. Flying the flag for the East were Scott Duncan, Euan McIntosh, James MacKinlay and Sam Macneil who went up against an AELTC select led by former world doubles top 20-ranked Colin Fleming of Linlithgow, a Davis Cup performer. The matches were played on Wimbledon’s new indoor tennis courts, with a number of friends, family and club members invited to attend. Ahead 2-0 after the first round of doubles matches skipper Alan MacDonald entered the fray with Scott Duncan, recovering from recent illness, rested. East momentum was maintained culminating in a three set win for James MacKinlay and Sam Macneil.
is up and running
THE ANNUAL ‘VARSITY AMERICAN FOOTBALL game between Edinburgh Napier Knights and Edinburgh University Mavericks went down to the wire before the latter retained the trophy with a 14-6 win at Meggetland.
The twelfth instalment attracted a bumper crowd with many claiming that a midweek date under floodlights and with free entry for under-16s had re-energised the fixture.
The Knights provided the Mavericks with early scoring opportunities including two turnovers deep in their own territory on their opening series. Game MVP A.J.Rushing opened the scoring with a three yard dive to create a 6-0 lead. Napier hauled themselves back into the game as rookie running back
Archie Inglis ripped off a dazzling 72 yard touchdown run that had the crowd on their feet.
Approaching half-time it looked like the Knights would kneel out the clock but instead opted for a daring pass to try to catch their opponents out. Unfortunately for them the plan backfired as Napier quarterback Aritz Araoz was intercepted and Alexander Duncan ran the ball home from 23 yards and a 14-6 lead for the Mavericks.
With time running out the Knights launched an all or nothing 30-yard pass from Araoz that cruelly slipped through the hands of wide receiver Lucas Armes and left their supporters lamenting what could have been.
ENCOURAGEMENT from three times F1 champion Max Verstappen 16-year-old Trinity Academy student Rachel Robertson is revving up to take the traditionally male world of go-karting by storm.
Rachel, who began racing go karts competitively just over 18 months ago, has made such rapid progress that on 21 April, at the PF International Circuit, Lincoln, she will contest her first British Championship race in the Senior Rotax class.
That will mean crossing swords with fellow competitors who have been behind the wheel for up to 10 years but Rachel is unfased.
She said: “I’ll be one of the only girls and I’ll be racing against some incredible drivers but I know I’m fast enough to compete near the front.
“I know I’m going to keep getting better and I’d love to progress to race professionally at the highest level.”
It is an indication of her talent and swift progress that Rachel was identified as part of a group invited to meet Verstappen at a collaboration between Red Bull and Honda Europe.
Dad Colin explained: “The call came out of the blue and I was
asked if Rachel was okay to come down to Formula Fast Karting in Milton Keynes, and help Red Bull Honda Europe tell the story of how things start for many drivers.”
British world champion Lewis Hamilton started in go karting and has hailed Larkhall, where Rachel races, as his favourite track.
“A non-disclosure contract was initially involved, and when Rachel arrived Max Verstappen was there to offer words of encouragement.”
Now Rachel has hopes that she might follow in the tyre tracks of fellow Scot Susie Wolff, from Oban, who progressed from karting to Formula 3 and is now managing director of the F1 academy.
But how did this remarkable journey start for Rachel?
“I always loved scooters, bikes and driving games growing up and when I was aged 8 I remember asking my dad to take me gokarting. He took me to a place called Race Land near Tranent which was great but after I went a few times it shut down and we didn’t find anywhere else.
“When I turned 14, I asked my dad to take me again. This time we went to Xtreme Karting at Newbridge. I loved it. The team there said I should
try outdoor rental karts at Larkhall and, after a few months, I was winning competitions against drivers much older and experienced than me.
“The next big jump was to get my own kart and start racing in the owner kart competitions in Scotland. My dad and I didn’t really know what we were doing at first but we learned quite fast and joined a team, LM Motorsport.
“I started podiuming in some of the Scottish races after only a few races so we made a decision to start competing at a UK level. I joined an English team, Guy Cunnington Racing, and, less than a year after I got my own kart, I competed in the British Kart Championships against some of the best drivers in the world my age.”
One opponent was Thomas Bearman, younger brother of Oliver, the 18-year-old who debuted for Ferrari in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, finishing seventh.
Colin Robertson is well aware of the pitfalls to be overcome, not least financial, but the Edinburgh accountant has willingly joined in the quest by serving as mechanic, driver, etc.
“It shouldn’t be possible for
Rachel to compete as well as she does after such a short space of time but she is getting better all the time in trying to create awareness and attract sponsorship because it is an expensive sport.
Colin has also had to invest in a van and added: “A new kart can cost around £4,000 with the engine about £2,500. Tyres are also expensive – about £200 – and on occasions we have had to practice with used tyres which can take a few tenths of a second off lap times whereas wealthier rivals are much better placed with budgets of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
“Before taking the plunge there were plenty of assurances from experienced people in go karting
that Rachel was exceptionally quick from the start so she is giving it a go with a back-up plan in place.”
If a professional career doesn’t follow then a job as a mechanic holds appeal to the extent of undertaking work experience last month with local garage Doig Motor Engineers, Leith, where she impressed owner Robert Doig, who says:
“It’s been great being able to support Rachel on her motorsport journey. She’s obviously a very talented driver but we’ve been really impressed at her mechanic-ing skills while she’s been with us for work experience. She picks things up so quickly and I’m sure she could be a top mechanic as well if she wants to be.”
By NIGEL DUNCAN
MACAULAY TAIT made a 20-minute appearance for Hearts against Celtic in the 2-0 victory at Tynecastle, mixing it with the defending cinch Premiership champions who include some of the biggest names in Scottish football in their squad.
However, this ambitious young player has set his sights higher and would love to take what he calls, “the next step”, playing against some of the biggest names in Europe.
The 18-year-old, who has been described as “a long-time standout for the club’s B team”, recently signed a long-term contract which will keep him at Tynecastle until 2028.
And he broke through into the first team with a debut in Hearts’ 2-0 victory at Celtic Park just before Christmas, taking over from Jorge Grant with five minutes remaining of normal time and helping secure the club’s first win at Celtic Park since 2007. That was ironic as he was once spotted by a Celtic scout playing in a seven-a-side game at Lochend Football Academy.
The former Balerno High School pupil has since made a number of substitute appearances for the first team since that red letter day at Parkhead and the talented teenager told Hearts official match magazine that he has had to be patient.
Tait complements the club’s head coach, Steven Naismith, who has given young players the chance to show what they can do in training and in bounce games.
He said: “It is up to us to show him that we can deal with that pressure. For me, personally, he has helped me a lot, shown faith in me, given me a lot of confidence and has certainly helped me improve as a player along the way.”
Tait listens when Naismith speaks to him and the young talent is learning from a man who has played at a high level on England and Scotland. He admitted: “I’m not the tallest, I know I’m not going to bully many players, so he (Naismith) has always told me that I need to be quicker on my feet and in my brain and that takes the physical aspect out of it.”
Of course, Naismith was involved with the B Team and knows all about Tait’s ability and the rising star admitted that playing for the B team and being placed in “uncomfortable
situations” helped him make the step-up to the senior side
Naturally, he wants to start rather than being a substitute but logging minutes is his aim between now and the end of the current season and Tait plans to continue to develop his game with guidance from the leading players at Gorgie.
The prospect says he has worked hard to get where he is after progressing through the age-groups at Riccarton.
However, his horizons are further afield and his appetite for European fooball was whetted by travelling with the Hearts party to Fiorentina.
Tait now wants to play in a European game, but added: “I’ve still got a long way to go.”
By OLIVIA THOMAS
EDINBURGH LEISURE’S flagship climbing arena at Ratho has benefitted from a major funding investment from sportscotland’s Sport Facilities Fund. The Edinburgh International Climbing Arena (EICA) has received £100,000 towards bouldering redevelopment which will improve opportunities to progress at all levels of the sport. The redevelopment will ensure that Ratho becomes the only climbing centre in the UK with Olympic standard facilities for all three climbing disciplines (lead climbing, speed climbing and bouldering). This investment has been made possible thanks to National Lottery players, who raise £30 million each week for good causes across the UK.
Emma Ogilvie-Hall, Head of Operations at Edinburgh Leisure said: “We’re delighted and very grateful to receive the sportscotland funding that means we can replace our outdated bouldering facilities at the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena (EICA).
“With indoor bouldering now the most widely practised form of climbing it will ensure that the EICA can continue as a world class venue for all three climbing disciplines – lead, speed, and bouldering – while continuing to provide climbers of all ages and abilities with access to opportunities to participate”
By NIGEL DUNCAN
KENNETH VARGAS may shiver in Edinburgh, but there is no doubting the warmth of welcome the Central American-born striker has received at Hearts.
The Tynecastle club look set to trigger an option to sign the forward from Club Sport Herediano as coaches believe the 21-year-old can develop his game further to become a real asset. Vargas is from rugged, rainforested Costa Rica with Caribbean and Pacific coastlines, so it is no surprise that he is cold, but the highly-talented player is currently on a season-long loan and he has made over 30
appearances for the Men in Maroon, with recent displays providing fans with an insight into his talent.
Steven Naismith, Hearts’ head coach, has been impressed with the young talent and said: “I am a big fan. When we identified him and we thought he was somebody to bring in what you see is good but you do not really know the full outcome until you work with them day in and day out.
“Every aspect is amazing. His English, his willingness to learn, his willingness to understand not just the language but tactically, not just in a training facility, not just as we are on a match-day, in preparation.
“He has taken it on board and his
football knowledge is beyond his years. He is intelligent and his out-and-out attributes are brilliant. So, from us getting him in, that was positive, and he has put the hard work in.”
Naismith said Vargas was played a lot at the start of his career with the Tynecastle club without getting the personal reward of goals and assists but the coach added: “For us, I knew he was valuable and then latterly he has managed to find the net and is receiving more plaudits.
“He is a brilliant talent and he is somebody who has a drive and a determination because he wants to be a regular in the Costa Rican team and go as high as he can.”
By CALLUM NAPIER
MYZIANE MAOLIDA has enjoyed a successful start to his Hibs career since joining on loan in January.
After finding himself out of favour at German side Hertha Berlin, the 25-year-old has flourished in Scotland, scoring six goals in twelve games, and looking like a player Hibs will do well to keep beyond the impending summer.
At Hertha, Maolida was banished to the B side, with their coach, Pal Dardai, claiming he didn’t train hard enough.
With his career requiring a swift turnaround, Nick Montgomery swooped in and offered the forward the chance of redemption at Easter Road.
A chance that Maolida has grabbed with both hands and the people closest to him have noticed a vast difference.
He said: “I spoke with my family and my friends. They said you are enjoying your football; you are happier. Also, your body language is much better.
“The people (in Scotland) are very welcoming, I like the city, and the fans.”
Perhaps, the “bad trainer” tag that Maolida was tarred with by his former coach isn’t accurate at all, certain players just need the right environment and a manager who trusts them to deliver, which the forward certainly has.
Maolida is currently observing Ramadan, where those taking part don’t eat or drink whilst the sun is up, for professional football players - who cover vast distances weekly – this may prove challenging.
Not for the 25-year-old, he said: “I have done it for a long time…I did it already in Lyon, so it will not be difficult for me to make Ramadan, because it’s usual for me.
By NIGEL DUNCAN
STEVEN NAISMITH’S view on VAR has not changed. He believes it will ultimately help the game.
Hearts’ head coach said: “There were always going to be teething problems at the start of it.
“There have been instances which have affected us which, at first hand, are wrong decisions. For me, that is not down to VAR, it is down to the wrong decision makers at the time.
“It (VAR) is new. There is an element of time and mistakes will be made.”
What has not helped, he argued, is that there has been “a lot of noise on the outside, soundbites, if you like, that stoke the fire” that have been unjust for the VAR operators and officials.
But the former Scottish international striker said: “Every club knows the process, every club knows what the process is for every decision, but it does not suit everybody and it can deflect away from what has maybe been a bad performance or a bad result.”
Naismith does not believe Scottish Football should go back to where we were a few years ago and said: “The stats indicate that there are more decisions right than wrong.
“I want us to get the best decision, the right decision. It (VAR) has a place in the game it is about being more consistent and getting better decisions. That does take time. There have been some decisions that have been wrong, and we are one of the teams which have been impacted.”
“You just have to wake up early in the morning to eat, and to be good for the day until the sun goes out.”
For Maolida, breakfast is typically at four o’clock in the morning, he then fasts until around six in the evening but remains at the peak of his powers.
He said: “Every time I do Ramadan, I feel very good. For me it’s not difficult, the most difficult it just not to drink.”
It would be difficult to disagree with him, Maolida scored in the recent 3-0 victory over Livingston whilst fasting and looked as quality
By CALLUM NAPIER
AFTER A LENGTHY nine-month stint on the sidelines, right-back Chris Cadden has made his return to the Hibs first team.
The 27-year-old suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon on the final day of last season against Hearts at Tynecastle, and as a result, had to go through a lengthy rehabilitation process.
Ever the professional, Cadden worked relentlessly off the pitch and finally returned in the Scottish Cup tie away to Inverness in February.
An occasional cameo off the bench followed that, including a standing ovation from the home crowd in his first game back at Easter Road against Ross County.
Then, after an injury to Lewis Miller, head coach Nick Montgomery handed Cadden his first start since his return in one of Hibs’ biggest games of the season, the quarter-final with Rangers. Hibs lost the game 2-0 after being reduced to nine men, and Cadden played the duration of the
as ever as Hibs put the game to bed within half an hour.
His recent form meant he retained his place in the Comoros national side for games against Uganda and Angola. Following that, he will return to Hibs for the crucial closing stages of both the season and potentially his stint with the club. No doubt Nick Montgomery will be interested in retaining his services, but a player who has accumulated transfer fees of 14 million euros in his career already will attract interest from all over.
action-packed 90 minutes, looking back to his best with his trademark bombing runs down the right flank.
Cadden said: “For me personally, it was great to be back out there. It’s been a long, long journey, just over nine months.
Despite the occasional substitute appearance, the former Scotland international always had his return to the starting eleven as a target he said: “I didn’t think it would go that long.
“But no, it was great. The first start was the milestone. I think that was the milestone I thought I would be truly back.
“I know I came on a couple of times, but I always say my first start is the real one, that I’ll be back. It didn’t end the way I wanted it to. But no, personally it was good to get back out there.
“I’ve just been working really
hard, so hopefully the hard work pays off. It was a pretty hectic game to get thrown into as well. Aye, it was madness to be honest, it was madness.”
A concerning moment during the game was fan favourite, Martin Boyle, getting stretchered off the pitch after a nasty clash with Rangers defender John Souttar. Boyle was rushed to hospital and after undergoing tests was released the next day, suffering from a concussion.
The Australian international was unable to play until he displayed at least six days of concussion-free symptoms.
Hibs will hope that Cadden and Boyle can reconcile their rightwing relationship soon enough, as they approach three crucial games ahead of the Scottish Premiership split.
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