Category: Blackhall

Beavers visit Blackhall Care Home

RESIDENTS AT STRACHAN HOUSE CARE HOME ENJOY CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES WITH BEAVER VISITORS  FROM LOCAL CHURCH

Residents at Strachan House care home, in Edinburgh recently enjoyed Christmas bingo, card making and carol singing with a visiting group of local Beavers from Davidson’s Mains church.

The event, which took place on evenings throughout the week welcomed the group of Beavers to enjoy music, games and activities with residents at the home.

The children and residents were supplied with plenty of Christmas snacks whilst they enjoyed their games and activities and the home now have a beautiful display of hand-crafted Christmas cards to enjoy throughout the season. 

General Manager, Frances Fisher of Strachan House care home said: “The residents at our home had a great time enjoying this intergenerational activity.

“The Beavers were able to share with us their stories, crafting abilities and their beautiful singing voices. This event brought so much joy to residents, staff and the Beavers alike”. 

Strachan House care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. 

Strachan House provides residential care, nursing care and dementia care for 83 residents from respite care to long term stays.

PEP buses vandalised: Appeal

As some of you are aware, almost all of our much loved PEP buses were vandalised over last weekend, having their fuel tanks drilled and emptied.

This sadly resulted in having to cancel our transport commitments, which we are extremely sorry and sad about. Thank you to those individuals, family members and organisations for understanding the need to cancel, which has resulted in many of your vital services being cancelled or delayed and additional pressures experienced.

We will stay in touch with all of those involved as things move forward.

Our amazing team here at PEP sprung into action to create our action plan to get us back up and running, which hopefully won’t be too much longer. We will also be looking for more secure, long term parking facilities, if you know or anywhere, please share!

This vandalism has of course been reported to the police, but if anyone knows any information about who may have done this please do get in touch.

I don’t think they realise the conquences and impact of their actions, after all we are a Charity delivering vital services to many vulnerable people, not to mention the financial impact this has caused.

Thank you to everyone who has reached out to support PEP, offering help in many ways. The local community are amazing and we are proud to serve you.

We appreciate that Christmas is just around the corner and wish we were not asking, however any donations to help us recover from the recent vandalism to our buses would be massively appreciated by ourselves as well as the organisations we work alongside 🙏🏻

https://localgiving.org/charity/pep…

#wearestrongertogether

#communityfirst

#helpingpeopletoparticipate

Strachan House launches initiative to help combat loneliness at Christmas

DON’T DINE ALONE ON CHRISTMAS DAY

Local care home Strachan House in Blackhall is opening its doors to members of the community in a bid to help tackle loneliness this Christmas.

Older community members, who might usually eat alone, are invited to join staff and residents at the home on Christmas Day from 12.30 pm onwards for a free three course meal and a good old natter.

Diners will be treated to a tasty Christmas lunch in the home’s dining room. Guests will have a chance to mingle and get into the festive spirit with music and tales of Christmas’s gone by as well as taking part in the festive cheer throughout the day.

The ‘Don’t Dine Alone’ initiative was launched by Barchester Healthcare as a way to reach out to isolated or vulnerable members of the local community.

The company has its own Charitable Foundation, a registered charity that gives grants to older people and other adults with a disability or mental health problem to help combat loneliness and enable people to connect with their local communities. 

The home’s talented Head Chef Paul Dow will be creating an array of delicious dishes all cooked from scratch using fresh produce for diners to enjoy. 

Fran Fisher, General Manager at Strachan House said: “Loneliness and isolation can have a huge impact on people, especially older members of the community. 

“We want all our neighbours to know that they are welcome to come and dine with us here at Strachan House,, we very much hope that anyone feeling lonely will join us for a hot meal on Christmas day”.

Strachan House care Home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides residential care, nursing care and dementia care from respite breaks to long term stays.

Bravo, Blackhall Brownies!

RAINBOWS AND BROWNIES RAISE £3600 FOR MISSION CHRISTMAS

Huge well done to the Blackhall Rainbows and Brownies who raised more than £3,600 for Mission Christmas by ‘growing £1’.

This meant each girl was given £1 and had to come up with a fundraising idea to help “grow” it. They then took the money they had fundraised to B&M and spent it on gifts for children living in poverty, which they then donated to Mission Christmas with Cash for Kids.

Thanks to a 10% discount from B&M Edinburgh, the group was able to donate more than £4,500 worth of gifts – which equated to four jam-packed car loads!

Strachan House welcomes a pair of unusual vistors!

Strachan House care home in Blackhall was full of animal mischief when a group of Miniature ponies came to visit the home recently.

Residents at Strachan House were pleasantly surprised to see their new furry friends roaming around their home as the beautiful Willow and Sparkles from Happy Hoofbeats theraponies Ltd paid a visit.

General Manager Fran Fisher said: “Our residents have really enjoyed their unusual visitors today.

“We knew that having the farm here would be a bit of fun for all our residents, especially as some find it difficult to go on many outings in our minibus. 

“We are always looking for new activities for the residents and today we have seen the seen the enjoyment and the therapeutic influence animals can have on people.”

Resident Bernard Lennon was very excited to see Willow and Sparkles: “As a child I used to love all the animals on the nearby farm. Today was very enjoyable and it was wonderful that the animals were free to roam amongst us.”

It was also great to see the home taking onboard our feedback from our recent meeting where we all requested more animal visits.

Strachan House care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides residential care, nursing care and dementia care for 83 residents from respite care to long term stays.

Strachan House staff win regional Great British Care Award

 A number of staff at Strachan House were recently honoured to be nominated in different categories at the Great British Care Awards.

Staff from Strachan House, residents and their loved ones had nominated staff to be recognised for the amazing work that they do.   

Those nominated for awards were:  

Fran Fisher General Manager entered into the Registered Manager of the year

Anju Raju nominated for Care home worker

Tsering Chokey entered into the Frontline leader award. 

Team award nomination for the Strachan House memory lane team. 

Marta Aurzecka Zuchkle nominated for a dignity in care award. 

The team were over the moon when Marta won the Regional Award in her category. Marta was thrilled beyond belief and can’t wait to attend the Nationals in February. 

The prestigious Great British Care Awards aim to celebrate excellence in social care. 

Fran Fisher General Manager  for Strachan House said: “We are so proud to have not one but 5 members of staff recognised at this stage of the judging process.

“At Strachan House we employ dedicated and experienced people who consistently provide a high standard in quality of care for our residents. Marta winning the award was overwhelming for all of us but so very well deserved.”

The National Awards will be held in February 2026 at the ICC in Birmingham. 

A trip to Modern One for Strachan House Care Home residents

Strachan House care home in Blackhall have recently enjoyed a day out to the Modern One art gallery following the request of some art savvy residents. 

Residents on the Ground Floor community were desperate to flex their creative muscles and attend an art gallery before returning to the home to create their own contemporary art. 

Art is something that the residents feel crosses divides, it allows everyone to be creative and really gives everyone something to talk about. Favourite exhibitions from the day included the Rhythm display and Connection which the residents really loved especially with the links this display had to their own lives. 

Zoe our activities coordinator said: “Art is very popular with everyone who lives here at Strachan House values it very much, we love an outing and this one was a real highlight, we can’t wait to visit Modern 2!” 

Strachan House care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides residential care, nursing care and dementia care for 83 residents from respite care to long term stays.

Specsavers Edinburgh team highlight importance of eye health this National Eye Health Week

Specsavers at Shandwick Place in Edinburgh is celebrating it’s over two decade long commitment to promoting better eye health in the local community this National Eye Health Week (22nd – 28th September). 

As a locally owned and run store, Specsavers Shandwick Place is dedicated to supporting the health and wellbeing of people in the area. The high street retailer is keen to raise awareness about the importance of regular eye checks this National Eye Health Week, which runs from 22nd – 28th September 2025. 

With figures from the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) revealing that one in five people will experience sight loss in their lifetime*, Specsavers Shandwick Place is urging locals to prioritise their eye health. 

Store director, Aly Uka says: ‘Many people don’t realise that sight loss can often be prevented or treated if a condition is caught early.

“Regular eye tests are essential for everyone, even if you think your vision is fine. Eye tests are not just about glasses, they can detect serious conditions like glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and even high blood pressure or risk of stroke.’

National Eye Health Week highlights how preventative care and early diagnosis are crucial in reducing unnecessary sight loss.

According to RNIB, 250 people in the UK begin to lose their sight every day, and this number is expected to rise as the population ages*. 

Eye health can also be affected by screen fatigue, especially as more people spend time on devices. Specsavers recommends following the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break to look at something 20 feet away to help reduce strain and preserve vision. 

As a long-standing part of the Shandwick Place community, Specsavers is focused on highlighting that essential health services must be accessible and visible to everyone. 

For more information on Specsavers Shandwick Place or to book an appointment, call the store on 0131 240 8860 or visit:

https://www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/shandwickplace.

Specsavers have several other stores in and around Edinburgh, including:

  • Leith
  • Blackhall Sainsbury’s
  • Nicolson Street
  • Gyle Centre
  • Fort Kinnaird
  • Straiton Sainsbury’s
  • Cameron Toll
  • Morningside
  • Edinburgh Home Visits

Appeal after cyclist assaulted on Blackhall cycle path 

Police are appealing for information and witnesses, following the serious assault of a cyclist on Blackhall Cycle Path, near to Davidson Mains.

The incident took place around 6.05pm on Tuesday, 2 September, 2025. The cyclist, a 46-year-old man, was cycling away from the Drylaw area on his green vintage-style Dutch bike.

The suspect was riding an offroad dirt bike and is described as white, around 5ft 10 and slim build, but their gender is unknown. They were wearing a black full-face helmet and black puffer jacket.

Detective Sergeant Rob Finch said: “We are appealing for anyone who was in the area or witnessed this attack to please come forward.

“Enquiries have established that two members of the public provided aid to the victim, so would ask them to contact police as soon as possible.

“Anyone with information should call 101, quoting incident 1961 of 3 September, 2025. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, if you wish to remain anonymous.”