davepickering

Nature walks spark big conversations at Cramond nursery

Children at Bright Horizons Cramond Early Learning and Childcare are enjoying weekly visits to the nearby beach and woodland areas, supporting learning through exploration, conversation and shared experiences outdoors.

The visits give children time to explore their surroundings at their own gentle pace, encouraging curiosity and helping them build confidence beyond the nursery environment. Experiences from their adventures are then revisited back at nursery through discussion, further exploration and play.

The approach comes amid growing national discussion about screen use in the early years. Recent UK research reported by Nursery World has highlighted the increasing role screens play in very young children’s daily routines, prompting renewed focus across the sector on real-world, hands-on experiences.

Yvonne, Nursery Manager at Bright Horizons Cramond, said: “Exploring the local area together supports children’s sense of belonging and helps them make sense of the world around them.

“When they return from visits to the beach and forest, they collect natural materials such as shells, leaves and pinecones, alongside ideas and questions to talk through back at nursery.

“This reflects our Nurture Approach, where emotional wellbeing, strong relationships and shared reflection are at the heart of how children learn.”

Practitioners use children’s observations and conversations from these outings to shape learning back at nursery, supporting communication skills, emotional wellbeing and meaningful connections with the world around them.

By prioritising outdoor exploration, time for talk and shared reflection, the nursery aims to offer young children rich learning experiences rooted in relationships and real environments, rather than digital distractions.

Bright Horizons Cramond Early Learning and Childcare is holding an Open Day on 13 June, giving families the opportunity to visit the setting, meet the team and find out more about early education and childcare.

Registrations are now being taken for 2027. Further details are available via the Bright Horizons website.

Bands 4 Hope gig set to raise funds for The House of Hope

Talented local musicians Annie and the Jays, Heads Up, Ben Lauder and Cora Manchester are joining forces for a Bands 4 Hope gig at Cold Town House on 9th May, to raise funds for Edinburgh based The House of Hope, Scotland’s first dedicated support and wellbeing centre for people impacted by breast cancer.

Inspired by their mum Cat MacLean’s breast cancer journey, Annie (31) and George Liddle (27) – from Annie and the Jays – wanted to give back and say thank you to The House of Hope for the incredible support their mum receives and felt a live music gig was a fitting way to do this, given their family’s musical talent.

Annie and George’s dad, Gordon Liddle, was the drummer in chart topping 1970s band Bilbo Baggins and George followed in his footsteps as the drummer in Annie and the Jays, with Annie as the lead singer.

Mum of three, Cat MacLean aged 59, from Edinburgh was diagnosed with primary breast cancer in 2013 and went through chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a lumpectomy. A keen runner, Cat kept up her training all the way through chemo and successfully ran a half marathon that year.

For the next nine years Cat largely forgot that she’d had cancer; however in 2022 she developed a slight niggle in her back, which wasn’t painful but bothered her from time to time. Following a chest X-Ray, Cat was sent for a CT scan which showed a lesion on her lung and after further examination it revealed a large lesion in her vertebral spine and was eventually given a secondary breast cancer diagnosis.

Cat has spent the last three years undergoing treatment, but is living well and leading a fulfilled life. She can no longer work, but took up jewellery making, choir, and wild swimming, which were absolutely brilliant for her from a mental and physical health perspective.

In 2023 Cat was diagnosed with brain mets and began having regular MRI scans, targeted radiotherapy and then last year she was moved onto oral chemotherapy and is currently managing the challenging side effects of this treatment.

Cat has been using the wellbeing services at The House of Hope since it opened its doors in June 2025, which she describes as ‘a real lifeline and a fantastic space to meet like-minded people and unwind while going through treatment.’

Annie Liddle said: “My mum is a true inspiration and the support she has received from The House of Hope has been fantastic during her treatment, so we wanted to give back and say thank you.

“Music is in our blood, so it was a natural way for us to help raise funds by collaborating with other local talent to put on a live music gig to help raise funds and awareness and celebrate my mum’s courageous journey.”

The Bands 4 Hope gig takes place on Saturday 9th May at Cold Town House and tickets are available on The House of Hope website, with all proceeds going directly to fund wellbeing services for those impacted by breast cancer.

Visit houseofhope.org.uk for further information.

St Columba’s: Walking Stories

Did you know that May is National Walking Month? While you’re walking or wheeling this month, why not consider contributing details of one of your favourite walks to our Walking Stories project?

Our Community Artist is currently curating a guide of walks across Edinburgh and East Lothian, so if you have a walk that’s helped you, we’d love to hear about it.

You can submit your stories at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/walkingstories

The Celebrity Traitors series 2 line-up confirmed

Host Claudia Winkleman will welcome ‘an exciting and eclectic mix’ of people and personalities to The Traitors castle

The RTS and BAFTA Craft Award winning The Celebrity Traitors will return to BBC One and iPlayer later this year with its biggest celebrity cast to date.

Made by Studio Lambert Scotland, The Celebrity Traitors will see twenty-one famous faces head to The Traitors castle, ready to play the ultimate game of deception and betrayal in the hope of winning a cash prize of up to £100,000 for a charity of their choice.

Host Claudia Winkleman will welcome an exciting and eclectic mix of people and personalities. Ranging from BAFTA and BRIT award winners, through to social media stars plus some of the UK’s most cherished actors, comedians, presenters and beyond. As celebrities will question who can they trust, who deserves to be banished and who is secretly plotting murder under the cover of darkness?

Heading to the Scottish Highlands are:

Amol Rajan – Journalist and Broadcaster
Bella Ramsey – Actor
James Acaster – Comedian and Podcaster
James Blunt – Singer/Songwriter
Jerry Hall – Model and Actress
Joanne McNally – Comedian
Joe Lycett – Comedian
Julie Hesmondhalgh – Actor
King Kenny – Content Creator
Leigh-Anne Pinnock – Singer/Songwriter
Maya Jama – Broadcaster and Entrepreneur
Michael Sheen – Actor and Presenter
Miranda Hart – Actor and Author
Myha’la – Actor
Professor Hannah Fry– Broadcaster and Mathematician
Richard E. Grant – Actor and Author
Rob Beckett – Comedian
Romesh Ranganathan – Comedian
Ross Kemp – Actor and Presenter
Sebastian Croft – Musician and Actor
Sharon Rooney – Actor

Series One of The Celebrity Traitors debuted on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in October 2025 and has been a runaway success with an average audience of 14.9m across the run with a peak of 15.4m for the finale.

The series has seen unprecedented growth, making it the top entertainment episode across the whole market since 2016 and the number one series across all genres and platforms in 2025.

Meanwhile the fourth series of The Traitors, which had the nation hooked in January 2026, achieved a 12.5m 28-day average, this is up +22% on Series Three (10.3m).

The majority of viewing has been driven by BBC iPlayer, making up 6.6m of the audience (53%), and increasing +28% on the third series. This is the second biggest series across the market since the start of 2025, only behind The Celebrity Traitors

The Celebrity Traitors will be coming to BBC One and BBC iPlayer later in 2026.

The Celebrity Traitors series two (10 x 60) will be produced by Studio Lambert Scotland for BBC One and BBC iPlayer and has been commissioned by Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment Commissioning for the BBC.

The Executive Producers for Studio Lambert Scotland are Mike Cotton, Sarah Fay, Lewis Thurlow and Katy Fox with Production Executives, Lynette Woods-Reynolds, Gemma Scholes and Faye Donaldson. The Commissioning Editors for the BBC are Neil McCallum and Michael Jochnowitz.

The Traitors (Dutch title: De Verraders) was created and developed by IDTV in cooperation with RTL Creative Unit. All3Media International is global partner for The Traitors and handles format and tape sales worldwide. Studio Lambert is part of All3Media

Puppy Paradise: Care Home hosts ‘pawfect’ Dog Show!

Residents and staff at Strachan House care home in Edinburgh were delighted to welcome back furry friends for their annual dog show.

Residents at the home are all keen animal lovers and were delighted to host the dog show a yearly event in the home.

Canine fans at Strachan House were on the edge of their seat as the winners in each category were announced. Residents and staff joined in judging and couldn’t wait to see who won the award for best in show.

Daisy the beautiful Lhasa Apso won this prize but no one was left out with residents also giving away prizes for the waggiest tail, most perfect pedigree and best trick.

Fran Fisher General Manager at the home, said: “Our residents all love animals, we have lots of visits from different therapy pets which always cause a great deal of excitement.

“The dog show is absolute heaven for our canine-loving residents here, they absolutely love seeing all the different breeds and seeing which one comes out on top!”

Resident, Janet commented: “I have always been a huge fan of all sorts of different animals but these dogs are all just so wonderful.”

Janet even gave up her spot on the judging panel as she just loved them all so much!

Strachan House is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering high-quality care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides nursing care, respite care and dementia nursing care for 83 residents.

Four major parties make manifesto commitments on tenement reform

In a first for a Scottish Parliamentary election, the majority of major parties have endorsed tenement law reform.

Ahead of the Holyrood election, the SNP, Liberal Democrats, Labour, and Greens have explicitly mentioned supporting reforms to help tenement flat owners organise repairs in their 2026 manifestos.

This follows campaigning work from the Tenement Action Group (TAG), which asked each party to make a commitment to support the three recommendations made by the Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Tenement Maintenance Working Group:

Establishment of compulsory owners’ associations
Obligation for tenements to be inspected every five years
Establishment of building reserve funds

TAG members, whose membership includes architects, surveyors, flat owners, and other housing professionals from across the sector, believe that enacting these recommendations will result in well-maintained buildings providing warm homes, affordable maintenance bills, and enhanced resilience to deal with future repairs.

BEFS, the umbrella body for organisations working in Scotland’s built environment and TAG member, has published a party manifesto round-up which summarises the positions of each major political party on issues related to BEF’s 2026 Manifesto for the Built Environment. 

The SNP have committed to reform the Tenements (Scotland) Act, while the Liberal Democrats specifically mention support for the introduction of mandatory owners’ associations, building reserve funds, and building inspections.  

Scottish Labour have promised to speed up progress on tenement maintenance reforms, and widen eligibility for financial help for retrofit, and the Scottish Greens have committed to make it easier for tenement flat owners to manage repairs, maintenance and retrofit, specifically supporting mandatory owners’ associations.  

Mike Heffron, Chief Executive of Scotland’s tenement charity Under One Roof and TAG member, said: “The successful work of the Tenement Action Group to get a majority of Scotland’s major political parties to make explicit commitments on tenement law reform is an excellent outcome for the 900,000 tenement flat owners in Scotland.

“These flat owners will be expecting reforms to be quickly enacted to ensure their homes are warm, and their buildings well-maintained, for many decades to come.”

Hazel Johnson, Director of Built Environment Forum Scotland said: “Across the new term of the Scottish Parliament BEFS will continue to advocate for tenement reform and the recommendations of the Tenement Maintenance Working Group – and how these can deliver cross cutting benefits in addressing the climate emergency, achieving net zero, and keeping Scotland’s homes warm, comfortable, and wind and watertight.

“We look forward to supporting further cross-party efforts to leverage the value of the built environment and deliver tangible positive outcomes for our people and places.”

Beltane Fire Festival is ‘great success’

Copyright Zhi Kang Chua for Beltane Fire Society. All Rights Reserved. www.beltane.org

THOUSANDS of revellers gathered on Calton Hill to mark the turning of the seasons and reconnect with nature through this year’s re-wilding-themed Beltane Fire Festival.

Just over 9500 people joined in celebrating this powerful Edinburgh tradition, immersing themselves in a vivid, elemental journey of fire, rhythm, and transformation.

Calton Hill was lit up with roaring fires and performers as story and ritual brought us together once more to mark the season of growth, connection, and renewal. It was a beautifully clear and hot evening to bring in the start of the warmer months!

Copyright Sébastien Lemaire for Beltane Fire Society. All Rights Reserved. www.beltane.org

Jenny Bloom, Beltane Fire Society’s Chair said: “Thank you to the thousands of Witnesses and the hundreds of Volunteers who wove another beautiful Beltane story this year. Renewed alongside the Green Man and inspired by the May Queen, we can all lean towards the new Summer in joy and community – even as we stand in readiness for the hard work we must do.”

The modern Beltane Fire Festival has been running since 1988 and is the spring and summer counterpart to Samhuinn Fire Festival, which is also held at Calton Hill on 31 October. The events are immersive experiences, which involve modern re-imaginings of ancient celtic festivals to mark the turning seasons.

Copyright Kitt Bunney for Beltane Fire Society. All Rights Reserved. www.beltane.org

The Beltane Fire Society is a charity run by volunteers, dedicated to marking the fire festivals of the ancient celtic calendar and keeping traditional Scottish skills of street theatre, music and pageantry alive.

PICTURES: Zhi Kang Chua, Sebastian Lemaire & Kitt Bunney

Multrees Walk hosts Exhibition: Coordinated – a unique Edinburgh College of Art Fashion Showcase

Multrees Walk, Scotland’s leading luxury shopping destination, is proud to announce an exciting showcase event Exhibition: Coordinated celebrating the conclusion of its collaboration with students from Edinburgh College of Art (ECA).

The fashion exhibition, which will take place at Genesis Studio Edinburgh on Multrees Walk from 1^st to 3^rdMay, unveils a stunning collection of fashion designs created by Edinburgh College of Art’s talented second year students.

The event spotlights several of the students’ final works in a celebration of creativity, craftsmanship and collaboration. Visitors can expect an engaging experience of fashion installations and behind-the-scenes storytelling and design journeys from the students themselves.

Launched at the start of their second-year programme, this unique collaboration has seen Multrees Walk mentor and sponsor ECA fashion students throughout their academic year, from early design concepts to commercial recognition.

Over the past several months, students were tasked with creating a commercially minded co-ord garment, exploring themes of sustainability, customer profiling and commercialisation. The students have gained invaluable experience working with Multrees Walk and luxury retailers such as Harvey Nichols and Johnstons of Elgin.

Professor Mal James, Programme Director, Personal Chair of Fashion Design, BA (Hons) Fashion at Edinburgh College of Art, commented: “Having our students’ designs and final garments exhibited within Multrees Walk is a rewarding opportunity for our students.

“By taking their ideas out with the college studios and directly into the city’s heart of fashion, this allows their creativity to be seen in the same space as some of the world’s leading brands.

“This event is truly a celebration of their hard work, talent and creativity- we are thankful to Multrees Walk for this fantastic opportunity, and to our fashion lecturers and technicians who worked closely with them on the project.”

Dr Patricia Wu, Year 2 Fashion Lecturer and academic project lead, added: “Collaborating on this project has been a delight.

“It has provided students with an enriching experience, teaching them the importance of commercial design and the relationship between designers and real-world customers beyond fashion shows.

“This project encouraged students to consider consumer preferences while allowing them to express their unique design identities”

Leigh Aitchison, Centre Manager at Multrees Walk, said: “Over the past academic year, and through mentorship and real-world insight from our retailers, the students have developed a real understanding of the commercial world of fashion.

“We have all been truly impressed and inspired by the students’ creativity, their passion for research and the original ideas they brought to life through their final designs.”

Adam Stone, Head of European Retail Leasing Strategy at Nuveen, added: “Supporting second-year fashion students from Edinburgh College of Art has been central to our vision for Multrees Walk.

“This collaboration has connected students with leading international brands and we can see first-hand how beneficial this project has been. We’re thrilled to be able to showcase the students’ designs in this impressive and illustrative exhibition.”

Exhibition: Coordinated will take place between 1 May and 3 May at Genesis Studio Edinburgh, Multrees Walk, Edinburgh. The free event will be open to the public from 10:00 to 16:00 each day.

Author: davepickering