Porty Podcast

Send us Fan Mail The singer, Mairi Campbell, is preparing a new show for this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It's called "Mairi Campbell - Auld Lang Syne" and explores her relationship with one of Scotland's favourite songs and how it's been used (and abused) around the world. The show is the middle part of a trilogy she's working on with a world-class team fr...

Send us Fan Mail Today could be a milestone in the history of Portobello – or at least in the recording of that history! If you look for information about the area on Wikipedia, you’ll find there are huge gaps - there's nothing about the story of the George Bingo Hall for instance, its former life as a cinema and the current controversy about the plans for its redevelopment. However, Wikipedi...

Send us Fan Mail Karl Stern's apartment on the Prom is stuffed with works of art - mainly from artists he admires. They include some works of massive proportion, taking up much of the space on one whole wall! As for his own work, much of that is on display in galleries. In particular, he currently has a one-man show at the Upright Gallery in Edinburgh.

Send us Fan Mail Sing in the City, founded eight years ago, now has over a dozen choirs in Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife. Its founder, Kirsty Baird, is organising another - this time in Porty! Find out more here!

Send us Fan Mail Many older people suffer social isolation. The Royal Voluntary Service, which celebrates its 80th anniversary this year, is setting up a group in Portobello which may help. This first group will focus on crafts - but others will follow. The RVS held a "Welcome Event" this week at the Cake and Candy Tearoom. Its first official meeting will take place there on Monday the 9...

Send us Fan Mail Former social worker Roz Walker took a leap of faith when she decided to set up the Velvet Easel Gallery in Portobello High Street. Today, she runs a successful operation, part business, part hobby, in which local artists mingle with those from further afield, vying for space on the gallery walls.

Send us Fan Mail The Portobello Timebank has been operating for a number of years. Its aim - to help people share their skills with others in the community. So if you need help, for instance, in the garden, then, if you are member of the Timebank, you can find someone to take on the tasks you can't. Here's how it works.

Send us Fan Mail It's an idea that's been around for some time - but last weekend, Porty People were invited to share their vision of Porty Prom and the Beach! Friends of Porty Prom, to be set up on a similar model to the Friends of Figgate Park, will be a place where people who care about the Prom can share their ideas and help make it a great place for sport and play now and in the fut...

Send us Fan Mail It's almost a year since we last spoke to the community police in Portobello. You can find local people's worries about antisocial behaviour, for example, on online forums. Here, PC Matt McPherson talks about this and other issues being handled by himself and his colleagues.

Send us Fan Mail After the very successful public meetings, Action Westbank is now working on a report to give to the City of Edinburgh Council. The aim is to make sure that Councillors and officials understand that their existing proposals are not acceptable to the people of Portobello.

Send us Fan Mail There's a colourful new addition to Porty High Street. For years, the shop at Number 239 was home to RACE Couriers. But now, its grey exterior and empty interior - apart from a reception desk - have gone, replaced by bright blue paint and an array of goods for sale inside. So what prompted the change?

Send us Fan Mail It's been several months since Action Porty received the keys to the former Bellfield Church and became the proud owner of what will become a wonderful community resource. But from the outside, nothing much seems to be happening. The gates are locked for instance! However, work is under way to ensure the building is indeed ready by summer.

Send us Fan Mail Prostate Cancer has been in the news a lot recently - Stephen Fry is its latest victim! It's also one reason why the Porty Podcast has been missing for several months! The figures are alarming. In Portobello alone, more than 600 men and boys living here today can expect to get the disease at some point in their lives. And yet, most don't know much about it. Time to learn...

Send us Fan Mail Time to meet another of our new Councillors - Callum Laidlaw of the Tories. He was elected back in May along with Kate Campbell of the SNP, Mary Campbell for the Greens and Maureen Child, the long established representative of Labour.

Send us Fan Mail The Indian Summer we enjoyed in September may have gone but people still come to Portobello Beach whatever the weather. However, until now those with disabilities weren't really catered for - you certainly can't push an ordinary wheelchair along the sand. The arrival of the Beach Wheelchairs at the West end of the Prom (in the Tumbles Car Park) solves that. Book and find...

Send us Fan Mail About six months ago, Mary Campbell moved from being a local green activist to being one of Portobello's elected representatives. In this podcast, she reflects on her new role, the challenges and frustrations that go along with it.

Send us Fan Mail September has been a busy month in the Portobello Swim Centre - and indeed in other pools across the city. 'Jump In' is a campaign to raise money to help young children from the poorest backgrounds to learn to swim. There's still time to join in by donating money to the cause. The simplest way is by texting to EDLS65 £3 to 70070

Send us Fan Mail According to local people, the land at Westbank Street where the 5-a-side pitches and Tumbles are located was guaranteed to remain as a public amenity facility. But the council has put the land up for sale to pay for the refurbishment of the stadium at Meadowbank. Many developers have expressed interest - and (as far as anyone knows) they all want to build housing or retail units...

Send us Fan Mail The Porty Podcast began with the campaign to save the church at Bellfield for the Community. The Podcast had to take an enforced break over the summer; however it seems appropriate that we return once again with a story about Bellfield because, this week, the keys (a very large bunch of keys) were handed over to Action Porty. Now, the real work begins and money is being raised to...

Send us Fan Mail Edinburgh Tool Library is coming to Portobello. For the first time, local people will be able to borrow those expensive tools they might otherwise have to buy. The first session will be this coming Monday.

Send us Fan Mail There's a growing movement in which communities around the country grow their own food - in allotments, local orchards or just spare pieces of land. In Edinburgh, this is celebrated by the Power of Food Festival which takes place this weekend. Here's the programme: http://bit.ly/2rDoAc1And a video from last year: https://vimeo.com/217994404

Send us Fan Mail It may be fun on the beach - but Ultimate Frisbee is a serious sport.

Send us Fan Mail To mark the 50th episode, Bob Jefferson from Portobello Online grabs the microphone and turns the tables on David Calder, who created the Porty Podcast back in November.

Send us Fan Mail If you've ever been to the Comedy Nights at the Dalriada, you'll have seen the host Steven Davidson in action. However, there's another side to his professional life as a performer that he's developing in the form of a podcast - "Looking back on a Life the Didn't Happen".

Send us Fan Mail There's a new 'open mic' evening in Portobello. Hosted by local songstress Rosie Nimmo, it's held on the first Thursday of the month at the recently opened venue - the Jaffle Joint - in the High Street.