We get so much from our communities: connection, a sense of belonging and purpose, and protection from mental health problems.
One of the ways to get involved with our community, and boost our mental health, is by giving back. 
Taking part in community activities, like volunteering, boosts our self-esteem, confidence and overall wellbeing.
Find out more about ways to get involved in your community: https://bit.ly/4kcDalm
SATURDAY 24th MAY from 10am – 5pm
Join us for Elmer Day on Saturday 24th May between 10am-5pm!
We will have a host of fun free events including a special Elmer Bookbug, a fun-filled treasure hunt, Elmer crafts, colouring and more…
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has announced they will be touring the Show The Heroes Who Made Us in Australia and New Zealand in 2026.
The dazzling spectacle, a key part of the Scottish events calendar, will be performed in Brisbane and Auckland in February next year, and will include performances by national military forces from Australia and New Zealand as well as from the UK.
2025 marks the 75th Anniversary of the organisation and these events further extend the international reach of the Tattoo that traditionally takes place on the stunning Edinburgh Castle Esplanade every August with a global cast.
The Shows will take place 12 and 14 February at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium and in Auckland’s Eden Park, home of the All Blacks national rugby team, on 19 and 21 February. The Australian Defence Force will play a key role at the Brisbane Show, and the New Zealand Defence Force will do the same in Auckland.
The Shows will incorporate elements of this year’s Tattoo theme, The Heroes Who Made Us, spotlighting the individuals who have shaped and supported the iconic performances over the past 75 years. Top Secret Drum Corps will join the line-up, alongside other performer groups from New Zealand, Australia, the UK and from throughout the globe.
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has previously travelled down under to delight audiences with performances in Wellington, Syndey and Melbourne in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2016 and most recently in 2019 at the ANZ Stadium in Syndey. This tour will be the first time the spectacular event has been performed to Brisbane and Auckland audiences.
While The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Show has been screened at more than 150 cinemas across Australia and New Zealand in recent years, in 2026 people across the countries have the opportunity to once again truly experience the iconic spectacle in person.
If down under is too far to travel, tickets for The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2025 75th Anniversary Show at Edinburgh Castle Esplanade are available at edintattoo.co.uk/tickets or by calling 0131 225 1188. For the Australia and New Zealand 2026 Show, tickets can be purchased tickets can be purchased from 21 May 2025 from Ticketek.
Jason Barrett, Chief Executive of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, said: “We are thrilled to be bringing The Royal Edinburgh Military to Australia and New Zealand once again in 2026.
“Throughout the 75-year history, the Tattoo has proudly crossed oceans, continually reaching new audiences and connecting Tattoo fans in the unique Tattoo spirit. This upcoming tour will blend our Scottish traditions with the distinctive military heritage of Australia and New Zealand all set against the backdrop of two spectacular venues.
“We eagerly anticipate hosting new audiences and welcoming back Tattoo fans to witness a truly remarkable spectacle.”
Six mums from the Midlothian area are climbing the Kelpies to raise funds for Scotland’s national children’s charity.
The brave mums are taking on the challenge of a lifetime, having had first-hand experience of the life-changing difference the charity can make to children and their families.
Children First provides practical, emotional and financial support to thousands of children and families across Scotland through its national support line and in their homes, schools and communities.
The Children First Midlothian support group, which helps families move on together from a range of challenges has been a “lifeline” for the mums and their families.
The group focuses on wellbeing activities and the power of community support to help parents having a tough time to overcome challenges like isolation, make friends and gain confidence.
Rachel, who used to come to the group with her mum before she sadly passed away last year has recently returned for support. Now she is excited to take on the amazing Kelpies Challenge with her friends and Charles Graham, a Children First support worker.
Rachel said: “The group has been a lifeline to us and helps me get out of the house.”
Donna shared: “We love the group – it means the world to me and to all of us. It’s amazing and so are the Children First team who run it.”
Georgina says: “Children First means a lot to me and my kids. This group has been great for me, it’s encouraged me to get out and about and the ladies have been such a great support.”
Lyndsay added: “When I think about climbing the Kelpies I get nervous but then I remind myself that it can’t be worse than all I’ve been through!”
Laura shared: “I enjoy coming to the group to get connection with other women who understand.”
Margaretrose Graham from Children First who runs the group with colleague Charles shared: “I used to attend a support group like this a few years ago and now I’m running this one in Midlothian.
“I’ve seen the group thrive through thick and thin, and it has been an incredible support to so many families over the years. At Children First we believe when parents do well so do children and that’s why we run support groups like this one.
“When life is tough and you are feeling isolated and alone, being supported by people in your local community can really make all the difference. This group has helped so many parents and carers to build their confidence and emotional wellbeing so that they and their families can thrive.
“If you can, please support Children First to help us give children and families across Scotland a brighter future.”
Four of the women are also running in the Edinburgh Marathon Relay Race later this month to boost funds further for Children First.
To sponsor these brave mums and support the charity’s work to protect Scotland’s children, please donate here: Laura Stacey is fundraising for Children First
If you’re interested in conquering the world’s largest equine sculptures, there are still limited places available!
You can sign up here and find out more about how to get involved in Children First’s fundraising events here: www.childrenfirst.org.uk/events or call 0345 10 80 111.
We’re extending the closing date of our survey about your experience with Social Security Scotland over the last year. The survey will now close on Friday 30 May. It takes around 10 to 15 minutes to complete.
If you have already taken part please ignore this email and accept a huge thank you from us for your help.
If you haven’t yet done so, you can take part in the survey online.
A dark mode-friendly version of the survey is also available.
Who can take part?
The survey is open to everyone who works with our clients or works in partnership with Social Security Scotland.
We would like to hear from as many people as possible. Please feel free to share the survey with others who deal with Social Security Scotland or work with our clients.
Confidentiality
Taking part is voluntary and your responses will be confidential. No one will be able to identify you in any of the reported results. Only people working in the research team will be able to see your responses.
What do we do with the results?
Your views are very important to us. They help us to understand if we are delivering the commitments of Our Charter and what improvements we can make. After the survey closes, researchers will analyse the results and publish a research report. We also survey our clients and our colleagues and all of this contributes to the Charter Measurement Framework results that we publish annually.
Further questions?
If there’s more we can do to help you take part, please let us know. You can contact us by emailing research@socialsecurity.gov.scot or you can phone our research helpline for free on 0800 029 4974, Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm.
Yours sincerely,
Charter Measurement and Client Panels Team, Social Security Scotland
Edinburgh Leisure invites brave young adventurers to join Emma, Fox, and Squirrel on an epic journey through the newly reimagined Tumbles Soft Play at Portobello, Edinburgh.
The lucky adventurers will be among the first to discover the exciting new world that awaits within Explorer Island.
Ashliegh Murray, Manager at Tumbles at Portobello, said: “Our Explorer Island is a whole world of fun.
“An island where anything is possible, and adventure awaits! We’re looking to our customers to be part of the excitement when we reopen.
“Our new play frame will feature Emma, an adventurous redhead with a baseball cap and torch, alongside her trusty companions Fox and Squirrel. These young explorers are searching for brave new friends to join their quest for play and discovery.”
“We’re inviting parents and kids to unleash their creativity and to send us a photo of their little adventurer with a sandcastle they’ve built, (even if it’s with a little help from their friends, siblings or parents), and a short description explaining why their little adventurer should be part of this grand adventure.
“The Edinburgh Leisure team will select their favourite 15 explorers to join us at the exclusive reopening party, date and time still to be announced.”
As the latest of Edinburgh Leisure’s three soft plays to receive a makeover, Tumbles at Portobello is undergoing an exciting transformation.
The renovations include:
How to Enter:
All entries must be received by 5pm, Tuesday 27th May 2025.
The Tumbles team will select 15 children from across age groups to be their special “star guests” at the grand reopening celebration, where they’ll join other young adventurers in being the first to explore the reimagined play space.
Edinburgh Leisure is a charity dedicated to creating opportunities for everyone to lead more active, healthy lives. They operate over 30 sports and leisure facilities throughout Edinburgh, including three soft play centres designed to inspire active play and imagination in children.
Drivers are being told they have been using the air conditioning in their car all wrong as the weather heats up across the UK.
The motoring experts at LeaseLoco.com have revealed that air conditioning for short car journeys is actually ineffective and have shared six ways to use the feature efficiently.
Using air conditioning on short journeys can actually increase a car’s fuel consumption by up to 10%.*
This is because air conditioning can take a while to circulate properly as the system needs time to cool down the air that is going to be pushed through the vents.
If your car has been sitting in the sun it can take even longer to cool everything down due to the warmer temperatures.
The experts state that when driving at speeds under 40mph on short journeys, rolling down the window is the best and quickest way to cool down in the car and won’t use up any fuel.
Going faster than 40mph with the windows open can create a lot of drag, causing your car to work harder.
John Wilmot, CEO of LeaseLoco.com said: “When you turn the AC on in your car it can take a while for the system to get going because it needs to make the refrigerant cold. This is the fluid that is used to cool the air.
“Once the fluid is cool, it’s then blown through the vents to cool the car down but replacing all of that warm air can take some time. It can take even longer if your car has been parked in the sun previously.
“This makes your car hotter and means the air conditioning has to work even harder in cooling the car down which is why it’s best to park in the sun or use sunshades.
“If you’re on a short journey and you’re driving under 40mph, you’re actually better off just opening the window to cool down rather than waiting for the aircon to kick in. It’ll be much more efficient and you won’t be using any more fuel.
“If you’re driving in an area that exceeds 40mph then you’ll want to switch to using air conditioning. Driving at higher speeds with your windows open can create a drag which will make your engine work much harder and will ultimately cause your car to use more fuel.”
SIX ways to use your air conditioning efficiently:
Air out the car first
If you have been parked in the sun and your car is particularly warm, consider rolling the windows down for a bit first before putting your air conditioning on. This will cool down the car, which means the aircon will have less work to do and will begin to fill your car with cool air quicker.
Start driving
Aircon works best when your engine is running so start the car up and begin driving for a few minutes before turning it on.
Use the recirculation button
Pressing the recirculation button in your car while the aircon is on will mean that your car will reuse the cool air already inside instead of constantly pulling new, hot air from outside.
Don’t set it to maximum straight away
When you’re hot and bothered, it can be tempting to turn up the aircon on full blast in the hopes of cooling down, but this is actually much less efficient. Instead, start the aircon on medium and gradually increase it.
Keep the windows up
If you’re driving with the aircon on then it’s important to keep your windows closed. Having them open means that all of that cool air is escaping, which makes your aircon less effective and causes your car to use more fuel.
Park in the shade if possible
Where possible, try to park your car out of the sun and in a shady spot instead. This will help keep your car cooler so that when you get into it, the aircon has less work to do. If your driveway naturally gets a lot of sun, consider using a sunshade on your car.
LeaseLoco is the UK’s biggest car lease comparison website, making it super quick and easy for drivers to filter and compare millions of deals from the UK’s leading car leasing companies to best suit their needs.
Nurses, midwives and other healthcare staff across Scotland have voted to accept an 8% pay increase, over two years, that will ensure they continue to be the best paid in the UK.
The deal, which benefits almost 170,000 NHS Agenda for Change staff – including nurses, midwives, paramedics, allied health professionals, porters and others – guarantees the pay increase will be one percentage point above inflation over same period.
It will see pay rises of 4.25% in 2025-26 and 3.75% in 2026-27 and involves an investment of more than £700 million over a two-year period.
The pay rise will be backdated to 1 April 2025.
Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “I welcome the fact that union members have accepted this pay offer. Delivering a renewed and stronger NHS is a key commitment for us and at the heart of that are our hard-working healthcare staff.
“We want to ensure they feel value and rewarded and I’m very pleased that they have agreed to accept a strong two-year pay deal. Staff will see the benefit of this pay uplift in their pay packets from next month.
“The deal, which is both fair and affordable, is guaranteed to remain above CPI inflation and will ensure Scotland’s nurses, midwives and NHS staff have the best reward package in the UK.”
Edinburgh University’s Formula team will race at Silverstone this year as part of the Formula Student global engineering competition thanks in part to a valuable Gold-level sponsorship by Greenwheel Electric.
Greenwheel Electric is the innovative and ambitious new provider of much-needed electric vehicle charging facilities. Their unique proposition combines 100% green energy at industry-leading prices direct from the point of generation, ultra high-speed charging facilities, and integrated sites providing a high quality traveller experience built on local produce and refreshments. It is a division of Muirhall Energy, Scotland’s largest independent renewables business.
The renewable energy charging facility firm, which launched in 2024, is providing the Formula team with a gold level of sponsorship. The funding will enable the team to test their theories for improving the car and to buy additional required parts.
Jason McCall, Managing Director at Greenwheel Electric, said: “We share the passion of Edinburgh University’s Formula Student team as they continue to push the boundaries of innovation in motorsport.
“EUFS has consistently demonstrated excellence in engineering and automation, setting a high standard for the future of driverless technology.
“Our sponsorship is not just about providing funding; it’s about fostering the next generation STEM professionals who share our passion to lead the way in sustainable and renewable energy solutions. We look forward to seeing the team race at Silverstone and are proud to be part of their journey.”
EUFS has set the benchmark for driverless teams in the UK, winning the inaugural FS-AI class in 2018 and maintaining an unprecedented seven-year winning streak ever since. In 2024, the team achieved another milestone, becoming the first in the British competition to pass both technical and safety scrutiny with its cutting-edge ADS (automated driving system) car.
Leia Wilson, Sponsorship Lead at EUFS, said: “Edinburgh University Formula Student (EUFS) is a multidisciplinary team of students from various cultural and academic backgrounds.
“EUFS comes together each year to construct an F1-style race car and we participate in Formula Student UK at Silverstone with teams from all around the globe.
“We offer students the ability to put their knowledge to practice, to be part of a model company and for some – to achieve a dream.”
Scottish Opera has won the prestigious Classical:NEXT Innovation Award for its ground-breaking project Breath Cycle.
Started in 2012, it helps those with lung conditions, such as Long Covid, using breathing techniques in singing and songwriting workshops. It beat competition from across the world to pick up the award at a ceremony in Berlin on Wednesday (14 May).
The Classical:NEXT Innovation Award is decided by nominations from renowned international journalists and leaders in the arts and is selected by the Classical:NEXT community. It recognises organisations and projects that ‘push the boundaries of classical music through innovative approaches, audience engagement, and artistic excellence’.
Breath Cycle was praised for its pioneering work supporting people with respiratory conditions, which included its innovative response to the COVID-19 pandemic by bringing the project back to life through the lens of Long COVID.
Since then, the project has relaunched to include new video and audio resources, one-to-one song writing sessions exploring the participants’ experiences of living with Long COVID – resulting in The Covid Composers Songbook – and a series of intimate performances showcasing these heartfelt and emotive songs in 2023 and 2025, including A Story of Healing:Breath Cycle on Stage.
Jane Davidson MBE, Director of Outreach & Education at Scottish Opera, and composer Gareth Williams, travelled to Germany for the award ceremony.
Jane Davidson said: ‘Voice is such an integral part of what makes us human. Your voice is yours and yours alone, and to lose control over it can be devastating. We’ve learnt so much about how loss of voice through lung conditions of all types, attacks the very core of one’s identity, often leading to profound loneliness and isolation.
“So, from the beginning, the challenge for us was twofold: to help alleviate the physical symptoms of their illness, and to help participants regain their self-worth through the song-writing programme. Hearing these authentic voices ‘singing’ out is an artistic and a human experience that speaks to us all.’
Breath Cycle began in 2012 as a partnership between Scottish Opera and Gartnavel General Hospital Cystic Fibrosis Service in Glasgow. The programme has since worked with nearly 2,500 people, with participants reporting improvements in mental and physical health and wellbeing.
The 2025 Breath Cycle sessions have shown remarkable results, with participants reporting significant improvements in their wellbeing, physical and mental health, as well as reductions in stress levels and increases in energy and motivation.
Classical:NEXT 2025, the world’s largest networking event for classical music professionals, featured over 220 contributors and delegates from 54 countries.
Scottish Opera shared the Innovation Award spotlight with two other recipients: OPERA APERTA (Ukraine) and Clásica No Convencional (Chile).
Scottish Opera’s Outreach & Education department is the oldest outreach and education unit of any opera company in Europe, forming in 1971 under the leadership of Scottish Opera’s founder Sir Alexander Gibson.
Breath Cycle will continue throughout Scottish Opera’s 2025-2026 Season with support from The Scottish Government, Cruach Trust, The Murdoch Forrest Charitable Trust, WM Mann Foundation, Souter Charitable Trust, and Scottish Opera’s Education Angels.
For more information about Breath Cycle, visit Breath Cycle | Scottish Opera
For full details about Classical:NEXT, visit Innovation Award – Classical:NEXT
