Looking for something to do towards the end of Fringe? This is an ECCAN member outing to see “A Citizens’ Assembly” on Wednesday, August 20th at 1:30 PM. This is a fantastic opportunity to engage with a thought-provoking piece of theatre and connect with fellow ECCAN members.
About the Show: “A Citizens’ Assembly”
This isn’t just a play; it’s an immersive experience where we are the citizens, and this is our assembly! Part of the “Plays For The People” series, this new work invites the audience to become the actors in the story. The central questions revolve around the climate emergency: What are we doing? What are we not doing? What more could and should we be doing? Be prepared to join the debate and be part of the story!
We also have a limited number of tickets available, email edinburgh@eccan.scot to book your spot.
Back-to-school season is here, and Fort Kinnaird has teamed up with its very own Chief Fun Officer, six-year-old Ruari, to reveal what children really want in their school bags this August and help make back-to-school shopping trips that much easier.
Tasked with testing trends and giving his official stamp of approval, Ruari has rounded up the coolest must-haves for the new term.
From school shoes with football charms to fun pencil cases, his edit of back-to-school buys is packed with personality – and available now at Fort Kinnaird from stores including The Works, M&S, Clarks, Next and Primark.
Here are Ruari’s favourite picks:
Pencil cases featuring Nintendo favourites and bold designs – fun, functional and guaranteed to stand out on the school table.
Cool stationery sets – from gaming-themed rulers to funky pens.
School shoes with a football theme – built for comfort and perfect for playtime goals.
Fresh uniform staples and comfy shoes – perfect for all-day comfort and classroom confidence.
Personalised keyrings and backpack tags – the little extras that make school bags harder to loose.
Ruari said: “I had so much fun getting ready for back to school at Fort Kinnaird. There were loads of new school shoes with footballs on them – they were my favourite!
“There was also lots of cool stationery to choose from, like colourful pens and fun pencil cases. I loved choosing it all, and we had such a great day – now I can’t wait for the new term to start so I can use it all!”
Liam Smith, centre director at Fort Kinnaird, said:“We know back-to-school shopping can feel like a big task, so we’ve made it easy, enjoyable and all in one place. With Ruari’s help, we’ve captured the trends kids are genuinely excited about – turning the trip into something families can enjoy together.”
Families can make a full day of back-to-school shopping this weekend, with a whole host of entertainment, dining and exclusive discounts on offer at Fort Kinnaird.
Kids eat for less at family-friendly favourites including Pizza Express and Frankie & Bennys. And when it’s time to wind down, head to Odeon for a bit of movie magic to finish the day in style.
To find out more about Ruari’s back-to-school essentials, visit here.
For more details and to plan your day at Fort Kinnaird, please visit:
Applications for wholetime firefighter roles will open on Thursday, 14 August
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) will open applications for wholetime firefighter roles on Thursday, 14 August, and is encouraging anyone interested in applying to start preparing now.
In the lead-up to the recruitment launch, SFRS will be sharing real-life stories from firefighters across Scotland, giving potential candidates first-hand look at what it means to be part of the Service.
Assistant Chief Officer Jon Henderson is the SFRS’s Director of Prevention. He said: “We want people to understand what the role truly involves, from emergency response to prevention work in our communities.
“This is more than a job, it’s a commitment to helping others, working as a team, and protecting the communities of Scotland every single day.”
We strongly encourage anyone interested to take time to ensure their application reflects their motivation, understanding of the role and suitability and apply as soon as it opens.
We have a limited number of places available in this campaign, so there will be a cap on the number of applications and the advert will close when we reach that point.
Being prepared is key; in the coming weeks those considering applying are encouraged to:
Visit the SFRS career section on our website to learn more about the role, application process and eligibility criteria.
Attend one of our engagement sessions where they can meet serving firefighters and recruitment staff and ask questions.
Follow our social media channels to hear directly from the people who do the job, their experiences, challenges, and why they love what they do.
You can access the full details on how to apply and where to access support:
Successful candidates will follow a structured selection process that includes physical assessments, an interview, and medical evaluation.
SFRS is committed to building a workforce that reflects the communities it serves and welcomes applications from all backgrounds, particularly from women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds, and members of the LGBTQ+ community, who are currently underrepresented in the Service.
Applications officially open on Thursday, 14 August, and will close when we reach the application limit.
We are hiring across Scotland, but some areas do not have job openings right now. Before applying, candidates should think about where they would be willing to work.
We will have more recruitment in the next 6 to 12 months. Check the career section on our website and social media for updates.
Recruitment engagement sessions
We are encouraging anyone interested in applying to attend one of our upcoming engagement sessions to learn more about the role, the recruitment process and what it’s like to work for the SFRS.
We will be hosting a mix of online and in-person events over the coming weeks.
Spaces are limited, so early registration is encouraged.
A flagship community culture fund that supports people across Scotland to take part in the creative arts has opened for new applications.
Backed by £320,000 from the Scottish Government, the Creative Communities Scotland fund is open to organisations delivering activities such as dance, filmmaking, creative writing, music-making and storytelling.
At least ten new projects are expected to benefit with a focus on reaching those who face barriers to taking part in creative activities and grants of up to £35,000 available.
Funding will be managed by Inspiring Scotland which will also provide project support to successful organisations while they plan, deliver and assess the impact of those activities.
Previous examples of projects delivered through the fund include work by Promoting a More Inclusive Society (PAMIS), which used art, drama, music and photography to support children and young people in Aberfeldy and Angus with complex disabilities to come together and tell their stories.
Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said:“Taking part in the creative arts can transform lives, improve wellbeing, strengthen relationships between people and create a distinct sense of place, belonging and confidence within communities.
“In this latest round of funding, our focus is on groups and charities helping people who face challenges to taking part and reaping those benefits. We are looking for applications from diverse groups all across Scotland with projects that engage communities in the creative process.
“The Creative Communities Scotland fund forms part of a £34 million increase in support to the culture sector this year and will enable communities to drive forward creative activities in their areas. This is about making sure that everyone has the opportunity to take part in and benefit from the creative arts, no matter their background or location.”
Creative Arts Director at PAMIS Maureen Phillip said:“Our project has enabled family carers to gain and enhance their skills, build their confidence and support their wellbeing by easing isolation and loneliness.
“It has also widened knowledge of the benefits of working with story to enhance learning for children with profound and multiple learning abilities.
“Both the Aberfeldy and Angus programmes clearly demonstrate the benefits of having a programme led by families as experts by experience. They know the children and young people they support and understand how much it means for them to feel part of their communities.”
Inspiring Scotland Chief Executive Celia Tennant said:““We know the vital role that cultural activities play in bringing people together, improving wellbeing and strengthening communities.
“We are pleased to be managing the Scottish Government’s Creative Communities Scotland fund and we look forward to supporting organisations that are making a real difference in their local area through participatory arts.”
We are excited to share a delicious community meal with you tomorrow. We do our best to have a variety of options, including vegetarian and often a delicious pudding. What’s on the menu tomorrow:
Carrot and lentil soup
Chorizo and sweetcorn pasta
Cauliflower and sweetcorn pasta (V)
Garden salad
Banana bread
Please check the board or ask our volunteers about allergens. And just a heads-up, our food is served until it runs out! Do come along and enjoy. Thank you!
£10 million fund opens to support people with complex needs
Over 25,000 people in Scotland with complex needs and disabilities, and their families, could benefit from a £10 million Scottish Government investment in community toilet facilities.
The Changing Places Toilets Scotland Fund will support the provision of up to 150 specialist accessible toilets to meet the needs of disabled people who require carer support and equipment to use facilities.
There are currently 270 Changing Places Toilets in Scotland, an increase of 30% since 2019 when new legislation required these accessible spaces to be included in large new buildings with public access.
£10 million will be allocated across 2025-26 and 2026-27 and the Fund, administered by Inspiring Scotland, is now open for applications. Priority will be given to areas which do not currently have adequate provision of Changing Places Toilets.
Mental Wellbeing Minister Tom Arthur said: “Access to toilet facilities is a fundamental human right. Changing Places Toilets offer vital facilities for people with disabilities and their families and carers whose needs cannot be met through standard accessible toilet provision.
“I am very pleased the Fund has now launched. This £10 million investment in Changing Places Toilets will make a huge difference to thousands of disabled people and their families and carers, enabling them to participate fully in society and access community resources.”
Around 25,000 people in Scotland with complex needs and disabilities are set to benefit from a £10 million @scotgov investment in community toilet facilities.
Funding for up to 150 Changing Places Toilets is now open.
Jill Clark, a Glasgow-based Changing Places Toilets user, said: “By having lots of Changing Places Toilets, I have more freedom to go places without worrying if I get to the toilet.”
PAMIS (Promoting a more inclusive society) CEO Jenny Miller said: “This investment and opportunity to dramatically increase the number of Changing Places Toilets across Scotland will make an enormous difference to the lives of some of the most excluded people within our society.
“Filling the gaps in the provision of this essential facility will open up the whole of Scotland and ensure everyone has the same opportunity to travel, access public spaces and engage in their communities.
“We are proud to be working alongside both the Scottish Government and Inspiring Scotland on this important project over the coming months, helping to ensure that new Changing Places Toilets are thoughtfully planned, well supported, and sustainably delivered across the country.”
Changing Places Toilets (CPT) are larger accessible toilets, with specialist equipment. They are designed to meet the needs of disabled people who need carer support and equipment to use the facilities. CPTs ensure people have their personal care needs met, fulfilling this basic human right for them.
CPTs offer a vital facility for disabled people and their families and carers whose needs cannot be met through standard accessible toilet provision.
This includes people with profound learning and multiple disabilities, people with muscular dystrophy, older people, veterans, people who require the use of a larger wheelchair and people who require a calm and quiet environment.
CPTs have key features which distinguish them from standard accessible toilets as they:
offer adequate space (at least 12m2) for a disabled person, as well as space for their wheelchair to turn, and one or two carers.
have an adult-sized, height-adjustable changing bench to allow people to lie down to have their personal care needs met.
have a ceiling hoist to lift people out of their wheelchair safely
have a centrally placed peninsular toilet which provides access for people who require support on both sides.
The GHF-run food distributions in Gaza, Palestine, have become sites of “orchestrated killing and dehumanisation”, not humanitarian aid.
A new MSF report documents the horrors witnessed by MSF staff at two clinics that regularly received mass influxes of casualties following violence at sites run by the GHF.
MSF calls for the immediate dismantling of the GHF scheme and the restoration of the UN-coordinated aid delivery mechanism.
An analysis of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical data, patients’ testimonies, and first-hand medical witnessing at two MSF clinics in Gaza, Palestine, point to both targeted and indiscriminate violence by Israeli forces and private American contractors against starved Palestinians at food distribution sites run by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
MSF calls for the immediate dismantling of the GHF scheme; the restoration of the UN-coordinated aid delivery mechanism; and calls on governments, especially the United States, as well as private donors to suspend all financial and political support for the GHF, whose sites are essentially death traps.
A new MSF report, This is not aid. This is orchestrated killing, documents the horrors witnessed by MSF staff at two clinics that regularly received mass influxes of casualties following violence at sites run by the GHF, an Israeli-US proxy that has militarised food distribution.
Between 7 June and 24 July 2025, 1,380 casualties, including 28 dead, were received at MSF’s Al-Mawasi and Al-Attar clinics in southern Gaza, located near the GHF-run distribution sites.
During those seven weeks, our teams treated 71 children for gunshot wounds, 25 of whom were under the age of 15. Faced with no alternatives to find food, starved families frequently send teenage boys into this lethal environment, as they are often the only males in the household physically able to make the journey.
In May 2025, the genocide in Gaza, Palestine, took a further disturbing turn as Israeli authorities sought to dismantle the UN-led humanitarian response and replace it with a militarised food distribution scheme run by a previously unknown entity — the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). All four distribution sites operated by the GHF are located in areas under full Israeli military control and “secured” by private American armed contractors.
MSF’s report ‘This is not aid. This is orchestrated killing’ draws on medical data, patient testimonies and first-hand medical witnessing to demonstrate that what has been branded as “aid distribution” is in fact a system of institutionalised starvation and dehumanisation.
MSF calls for an immediate cessation of the GHF distribution mechanism and urges states and private donors to refrain from funding what is essentially a death trap.
This is not aid. This is orchestrated killing.pdf — 2.63 MBDownload
MSF operates two primary healthcare centres in southern Gaza located in close proximity to the GHF distribution sites. Between 7 June and 24 July 2025, these health centres received 1,380 injured people, including 28 dead bodies from the GHF sites.
This represents only a fraction of the total number of people killed and injured at the distribution sites. MSF’s two health centres — due to their sheer proximity to the GHF sites — now place biweekly orders for body bags.
Over a seven-week period in June and July 2025, MSF staff treated 174 people for gunshot wounds originating from the GHF sites. The vast majority of those injured — 96 per cent — were young men. This reflects a grim survival strategy: families are sending the youngest and fittest to retrieve food.
The injured who arrive in our clinics are normally covered in sand and dust from time spent lying on the ground while taking cover from bullets.
A significant number of injured patients coming from the Khan Younis distribution centre (SDS3) had gunshot wounds to the lower limbs. The anatomical precision of these injuries strongly suggests intentional targeting of people within the distribution sites, rather than accidental or indiscriminate fire.
Of the 28 dead bodies received in our health centres, all but one were young men (aged 20–30 approximately) with gunshot wounds to the upper body.
A single donation can change a school year for a child whose family is struggling to make ends meet.
By donating £15 you’ll help us buy a new school bag and pencil case for a child who otherwise will start school without these basic items. Help us give children the tools and confidence they need to thrive this school year.
81-year-old co-founder embarks on a 25-mile walk from Leith to Tantallon Castle East Lothian, to celebrate the charity’s anniversary and raise £50,000 for neurodivergent children and families
On Saturday 2 August, Robin Dow, co-founder of the Salvesen Mindroom Centre (Mindroom), once again embraced his experience as a marathon enthusiast for a deeply personal and inspiring fundraising event to commemorate 25 years to the day since he and journalist and author – and Robin’s wife – Sophie Dow, founded the charity.
At 81 years old and recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, Robin walked 25 miles (40 km) from Mindroom’s office in Leith to the dramatic cliffs of Tantallon Castle, East Lothian – a symbolic and powerful act to raise much-needed funds to support the charity he co-founded with Sophie in 2000, inspired by their daughter Annie, who lives with a unique and rare chromosome deletion (now informally known as “Annie’s syndrome”).
Robin Dow said: “I’m incredibly fortunate to have a wonderful wife and four caring and considerate children: Fiona, James, Annie and our Charity, Mindroom.Sophie and I brought Mindroom into the world on 2nd August 2000.
“During the past 25 years, it has developed from an infant with unknown potential to a mature entity with a heart, a soul and a spirit which has positively impacted the lives of tens of thousands of neurodivergent children, families and those who support them.
“Mindroom is now an adult, personified by an excellent team of Trustees, run by a multitalented and dedicated staff team and funded by a broad base of statutory, trust, corporate and individual donors. My 25-mile walk, taking place on the day that the Charity was founded, is my thank you to everyone who has contributed to the upbringing of this amazing organisation.
“Advancing years and the big C mean that this is my last major endeavour on behalf of Mindroom and those whom we help. Please show your support by donating to a fundamentally important cause, while also spurring me on as I walk 1 mile for each of the 25 years of the life of Mindroom. And let’s hear it for the next 25!”
It seems a long time ago that Robin and Sophie sat at their kitchen table in Inveresk (East Lothian) and registered Mindroom with one vision: No Mind Left Behind. A quarter of a century later, that vision has flourished into an influential organisation now supporting neurodivergent children, young people and families across Scotland and beyond.
An Epic Walk
Robin set off from the Mindroom office at exactly 08:02am on 02 August (a nod to the official birthday of the charity) with the aim of reaching Tantallon Castle exactly 8 hours and 2 minutes later.
He was joined by family members, friends and supporters, and by Mindroom’s CEO, Alan Thornburrow, along the way.
The walk aims to raise a bold £50,000 – that’s £25,000 for each co-founder, another nod to the history of the charity, and they are well on the way to achieving their goal, thanks to some initial generous donations. Every donation will help Mindroom provide direct, life-changing support to neurodivergent children and young people who often also face serious mental health challenges.
Sophie added: “Robin’s unwavering dedication towards Mindroom’s vision of making sure that no mind is left behind, is yet again expressed in his inspirational actions and initiative, this time in a 25 mile walk.
“Let’s walk with him – in spirit or in person – all the way!”
Alan shared: “When I first met Robin and Sophie during the interview process to become CEO of Mindroom in December 2021, I was immediately taken with their passion, energy and vigour.
“I already knew Mindroom was a cause I wanted to work in service of, but I also knew this was a very special organisation whose co-founders were still so dedicated to realising the vision they set out with in 2000.
“Fast forward to the present day, our 25th anniversary, and Robin’s determination, courage and commitment are nothing short of remarkable. As fellow marathon runners, we both know what it is to suffer, but also to believe that we are capable and can overcome pain by continuing to move forward in pursuit of our goals. Robin’s walk is both inspiring and significant. How could I not take part!
“I’m honoured to be sharing some steps of the journey with him on his “Big Walk”, but even more so to have shared the last 3 years as CEO, working with two remarkable co-founders, an excellent Board and a highly respected and motivated team – and to continue working to address the fundamental injustice neurodivergent young people, adults and families face every day – we need your help!”
Mindroom also created some useful resources, which can be downloaded here:
Mindroom 25: Anniversary Menu – 25 powerful ways your donation will help change lives.
Mindroom 25: Introduction – A snapshot of the charity’s work, their impact, and the challenges faced by the 29 specialists who deliver support every day.
For donations to the charity and to sponsor Robin’s incredible initiative, please visit this link, including the opportunity to donate anonymously.
Every pound matters — no donation is too small, nor too substantial!
For more information about Mindroom and the work they do, please visit:
How You Can Help:
Donate uniform items via our online wish list, Give Today. 
Donate funds and we will do the shopping for you. 
Spread the word – every share helps!
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