Dear All,

Have the post office delivered your Action Porty ballot paper yet, so we can Save Bellfield for the whole community? Over 5,500 letters have been sent through the post, so it is entirely possible that not all ballot letters arrived at the same time. However, Electoral Reform Services would expect all letters to be delivered well before now. If your ballot paper has not arrived and (a) You may have been missed off the Electoral Register (check by phoning the Electoral Registration 0131 344 2590) (b) You might not live within the designated Action Porty geographical boundary, which is more restricted than they would have liked.  If you fulfil (a) and (b) and still have no Ballot please do contact Electoral Reform Services on 020 8889 9203. The Ballot forms must be returned by 3rd April to be counted, so they need to be posted by the 1 April at the very latest! There is just a ballot paper, no other identifier paper to sign as you would as a postal voter in a Local, Scottish or UK Election.  More here: https://www.bellfield.scot/

Lothian Buses plc service changes were not flagged up to local Councillors before they were advertised in the media.  We used to get written notification in advance with some time to try (usually unsuccessfully) to influence the decision which is taken on Lothian Bus plc’s own commercial terms.  The changes will be implemented from Sunday 23 April 2017.  Any complaints to CEO Richard Hall Managing Director email : customerservices@lothianbuses.co.uk. The four Lothian Council owners get a substantial dividend from our very successful and popular bus company, which we re-invest in the transport service.  But it bears repeating:  the Councils are not permitted – by law – to dictate how where and when the buses run.  Scottish Government do have the power to re-regulate the buses and to allow us (as your local representatives) to have more of a say in how the buses are run, but so far have not chosen to take that route.  I wonder – why not?

Bob Jefferson has been busy updating the Porty Online website and it looks great.  See here: http://porty.org.uk/home/about/

Portobello Market is this coming Saturday 1 April from 9.30am until 1.30pm at Brighton Park, Portobello. A good way to kick-start the Easter Holidays! They have 24 traders coming along, plus BG Cycles with their free bike check. Check out the website for a full list of all the traders. The next market is on Saturday 6 May.

The amazing Portobello Timebank is running round two of the clean up in Magdalene Glen having cleared further downstream in the Brunstane Burn. This time the volunteers will be targeting the area around Asda at The Jewel, who are again providing additional volunteers and refreshments. Please do share with all those who use the path or who may be interested.  I can testify that it makes for a very rewarding afternoon and it would be really great to have more local residents join us and come and help – even for a wee while – with this daunting task!

Take part in the Mile of Memories, on Portobello Promenade, get your mile of memory stick to decorate in  memory of those who have died and help raise funds for Richmond’s Hope which will all go towards supporting more children who are not coping after the death of a significant person in their lives. They need to have 1500 sticks to be decorated to reach a mile.  For more information please call 0131 661 6818 or email info@richmondshope.org.uk For more about what this fabulous children’s bereavement charity does, see their website: http://www.richmondshope.org.uk/

Craigmillar’s Men In Sheds meet every Tuesday from 10am – 2pm in Thistle’s garden suite. Men In Sheds get involved with a range of community activities, from painting a bench for a local community group to reclaiming stone from Wighton House to helping develop a wildlife garden at Castle View Community Centre.

It’s a space to come together and have a chinwag over a cuppa. The group welcome any new members and is a safe place to meet and have a chat.  And they have a new project worker, Jamie.  More about him here:

http://www.carrgomm.org/our-stories/men-sheds-and-their-new-community-project-worker?back=node/64

Edinburgh Leisure and Craigmillar Community Sports Hub is offering free sport and healthy eating sessions during the Easter holidays aimed at 6-12 year olds. Sessions will run from Monday, 3 April to Friday, 7 April 2017 from 10.30-12.30 at Jack Kane Sport Centre. Each day will have a different one hour sport of physical activity followed by a one hour healthy eating session and meal. On Friday 7 April, a multi-sport event will kick off at 10.00 until 12.00 noon with a range of different sports to try out. More here: https://www.edinburghleisure.co.uk/news/fitandfed?platform=hootsuite

The Lord Provost Donald Wilson is running two marathons this year, fundraising for one of the good causes close to his own heart – the OneCity Trust.   Grant applications open now: .http://www.onecity.org.uk/grants/apply-for-a-grant/  Donald’s fundraising page is open once again for OneCity donations:  http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=LordProvost

Council Bulky uplifts now cost £5 per item (down from £25) More detail here: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/bulkywaste

With apologies to Hibs fans, who may find this paragraph distressing…. Big Hearts are launching a new Football Memories Group at Craigmillar Hearts Community Club, starting on Monday 3 April. This new “on the road” group is the first of its kind run by Big Hearts and aims to make the project accessible for even more elderly people who face isolation and/or are at the risk of dementia. The group will meet every first Monday of the month,1pm – 2:30pm at 201 Craigmillar Castle Avenue, Edinburgh EH16 4DZ. Delivered in partnership with Alzheimer Scotland and the Scottish Football Museum, Football Memories is a simple concept which uses old football pictures, memorabilia and match programmes to encourage interaction between group participants as they recall fond memories and stories from our national game. The project has been in place at Tynecastle since 2013 and Football Memories sessions at Craigmillar Hearts will be led by a team of trained Big Hearts volunteers. All sessions are free and include a half-time break with refreshments and a pie. Do you know someone who could benefit from attending the group? Would like to get involved as a volunteer or donate football memorabilia? Please do contact Big Hearts: Phone 0131 200 7225  or mail: communications@bighearts.org.uk More on their website: http://www.bighearts.org.uk/news/football-memories-at-craigmillar-hearts/

Responses to the following question from the Edinburgh People’s Survey in 2012:  To what extent would you support or oppose 20MPH speed limits being applied on the following types of road? Only 19.8% stated actual opposition to the limits.  All  the rest either support, strongly support, neither support/oppose or don’t know. And a substantial majority in favour is sustained in the latest survey too.  It’s not as unpopular with residents as some very vocal people would have us believe!

On that note, I will swiftly exit stage left….

Kind regards

Maureen