Edinburgh Dance Academy, recently voted highest ranked dance school in the UK and Ireland are ENROLLING NOW!!!
All of our taster lessons are free to make sure that we are the right fit for any dancer, and this month we are offering …
TWO WEEKS FREE AT ALL EDA STUDIOS
We offer classes in: Pre School Dance, Teenie Toes (parent and child), RAD Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Competition Teams, Contemporary, Commercial, Acro, Turns, Limbering, Body Conditioning, Mini Musical Theatre, Progressing Ballet Technique, & our Everybody Dance Now (ASN class)!
We would love to have you join our amazing dance family!
For more information please get in touch.
Email hello@eda.scot to book your free taster lesson now!
NEN PUBLISHED OUR FIRST BLOG POST ON THIS DAY IN 2011
The very first NEN blog post was published on this day in 2011. The post read:
Hello, and welcome to the brand new NEN blog.
For those of you not already familiar with the newspaper, we are a local community paper serving the North Edinburgh community. We’ve been here for over thirty years.
This blog, along with our new Facebook page and Twitter stream, represents our first foray into the world of social media. We really want to encourage more participation, more questions and ideas from the North Edinburgh community – both online and offline – and hope that these new tools will help us to do that.
We already have a good website, where you can always find the latest edition of the printed newspaper. The blog won’t be replacing that, but will instead be there to show people the latest news about the area, and also to help us cover the current funding crisis we are facing as an organisation.
Above all, we want to include your input on the blog – be it ideas for stories, comments, pictures and events. So get in touch!
The NEN’s website was sadly deleted when funding ceased but our social media presence continues on both Twitter and Facebook and the blog is still going strong with 10 – 12 posts daily.
2025 was the NEN blog’s busiest ever year with 36,000 visitors. As I write this we’ve published more than 38,000 posts – all of these remain accessible online – and we’re currently on a run of publishing on 2749 consecutive days.
When the NEN office in Crewe Road North closed much of the NEN archive material was lost, but thankfully some of our picture library was salvaged and can now be found at granton:hub (Madelvic House), where the volunteer archive team has also collated all remaining hard copies of the North Edinburgh News newspaper.
Hopefully, between the physical archive and the NEN blog, you can find all you need to know about our community’s rich history – and we’re adding to that history every day!
Ronaq, one of Edinburgh’s leading Indian restaurants, is serving up a new year treat for customers with 50 per cent off its entire menu for the month of January.
Having introduced the offer last year, bosses have been inundated with enquiries from diners keen to know if there were plans to run something similar to kick off 2026.
The good news is that the big discount will once again be running from New Year’s Day at the Comely Bank eatery, which is also a BYOB.
Whether it’s fragrant biryanis, signature karahi dishes or Ronaq specials, customers can now enjoy it all at a fraction of the price.
“The name Ronaq means brightness and joy and we hope to bring lots of that to our customers in January with this offer,” said owner Mohammed Shoaib, who has been serving the finest Indian and Pakistani cuisine since opening in 2014.
“It was really popular last January and I lost count in recent weeks of the number of people asking if we were going to do the same this time.
“We want to give back to our loyal customers and what better way than by providing them with a memorable Ronaq dining experience at a memorable price?”
Opening times from 1 January are noon-2pm and 5pm-10pm, seven days a week
POLICE have released an image of a man they believe may have information that will assist their investigation into an incident that took place on Friday, 16 May 2025 at a premises on Comely Bank.
The man is described as around 6ft and of slim build with grey hair and grey facial hair.
Constable Michael Ross said: “We would ask the man in the image, or anyone that recognises him to contact officers by calling Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 1319 of 19 May 2025.
“Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111, where anonymity can be maintained.”
NorthEdinburgh-based social enterprise Scran Academy has announced the official opening of its exciting new youth empowerment café at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) – the New Sick Kids.
Scran Academy is an Edinburgh youth work social enterprise on a mission to help young people realise their full potential in learning, work and life. Set within the Edinburgh children’s hospital, the new Scran Café is a key milestone in its drive to open doors for young people in the region.
Building on four successful years running a popular café at NHS Lothian’s Comely Bank site, Scran Academy’s new café at RHCYP will provide employment and support for dozens of young people across Lothian, giving them opportunities to gain hands-on experience, develop valuable skills, and grow in confidence within a supportive work environment.
Initially employing six young people, the site will also provide a platform for hundreds of work placements and paid jobs.
The RHCYP offers world-class healthcare facilities for children and adults both locally and nationally with 600,000 staff, patients and visitors coming through its doors every year.
The bright youth-led space at Scran Café has been thoughtfully designed to offer a calm and comforting environment for both patients and their families navigating a hospital stay as well as staff taking a break from a busy shift.
Commenting on the opening, Will Bain, CEO of Scran Academy said:“Getting the keys to our Scran Café at the RHCYP is such huge step for us! We’ve got big plans to make this a brilliant, buzzing youth-led hub that brings young people’s voices and choices to life.
“Over the next 3 years our café at the RHCYP will provide work and training for over two hundred young staff and volunteers. Every one of these young people will access the opportunities, relationships and experiences needed to help them build their own futures.
“We’ve demonstrated our model through our partnership with NHS Lothian in the Comely Bank Centre, where we see dozens of young people step out of their café experiences proud, capable and ready for what’s next. Now we are ready to step it up a gear – and we are so excited to be doing it at the RHCYP, one of the most important places in our city.”
Aris Tyrothoulakis, Service Director for Women’s and Children’s at NHS Lothian said: ”We are thrilled to be welcoming Scran Café to RHCYP this summer. For our hard-working teams, patients and families alike, the new café will offer a bright and welcoming space to take some time out from the hustle and bustle of the hospital.
“NHS Lothian is proud to be an Anchor Institution. Our mission to deliver world class health and social care is complemented by our desire to make our buildings and service delivery work in ways that support community wealth building and stable, secure employment.
“Building on our partnership with Scran Academy’s successful café at our Comely Bank site, we look forward to working together to increase access to fair work opportunities for young people in the region.”
Councillor Jane Meagher said“What makes Scran and this cafe unique, is that they really live the principle that every young person has the potential, and the power, to thrive when given the right support. The young staff team here today are shaping their own futures.
“This is exactly the kind of innovative model we want to champion in Edinburgh, where employability goes hand-in-hand with wellbeing, and where young people are supported not just to work, but to feel happy, valued and confident while doing so.
“I am especially proud to know that Scran is fully integrated into the Council’s Accredited Pathways Framework for Schools, which means they are a key delivery partner in offering meaningful learning routes that equips young people right across Edinburgh with real-life experience, accredited training, and a strong sense of purpose.”
Everyone is invited to LifeCare’s free Summer BBQ tomorrow – Friday 20th June, from 12 noon to 4pm at theLifeCare Hub, 2 Cheyne Street, Stockbridge.
Come along for a fantastic afternoon of free food, a bouncy castle, delicious cakes (thanks to Soderberg!) and a wide range of fun activities for all ages.
This special event is part of the Love the LifeCare Hub campaign, celebrating 50 years of LifeCare supporting local people – from young children to older adults – through affordable, accessible community services. The hub welcomes over 47,000 visits each year and runs more than 80 weekly classes and activities. It’s a place where people connect, share, and thrive.
As LifeCare faces rising running costs, donations are being welcomed to help safeguard this much-loved community space. Every pound helps ensure LifeCare can continue to offer vital support and joyful connections for generations to come.
So bring your friends, family, and neighbours for an afternoon of summer celebration – and help support one of Edinburgh’s most cherished community hubs.
An early morning international remembrance service, to mark the 110th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign in the First World War, took place yesterday (Friday, April 25).
ANZAC Day, the annual Remembrance of all the Australian and New Zealand citizens who have served in conflicts and peacekeeping operations around the world, coincides with landings on Gallipoli during the First World War, in which the two southern nations were involved.
Representatives of Legion Scotland and Poppyscotland joined members of the Australian and New Zealand communities, as well as veterans and current servicemen and women in a touching wreath-laying ceremony at Comely Bank Cemetery, Edinburgh, at 5am.
The event was led by Rev Dr Karen Campbell and also featured Scots Guards piper Mark Macrae and bugler Iona Macfarlane. A similar dawn service took part at the same time at the Western Necropolis in Glasgow.
Later at 11am, Edinburgh’s Lord Provost Robert Aldridge and Government representatives from Scotland, the UK, Australia, France, and Turkey took part in Legion Scotland’s annual ANZAC and Gallipoli Day Service at the Scottish National War Memorial inside Edinburgh Castle.
The ceremonies take place to remember the events at dawn on April 25th, 1915, when the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), together with British, French, and Russian forces landed on the Dardanelles Peninsula (now part of Turkey) at the start of the Gallipoli campaign.
This ended in a stalemate, with troops withdrawing in January 1916, with a total of more than 100,000 soldiers killed over the nine-month period.
Dr Claire Armstrong, OBE, Chief Executive of Legion Scotland, said: “This annual event allows us the chance to remember the service and sacrifices of ANZAC servicemen and women through the years, as well as our own soldiers who fell during the Gallipoli campaign.
“It is our opportunity to also reflect on the extraordinary courage of our Armed Forces community, both past and present, as well as the enduring friendship between our countries.”
Everyone is invited to the LifeCare Spring Fair this Saturday 26 April, 1030-1330.
Come along to our fully accessible community hub on Cheyne Street in Stockbridge to enjoy a wander around our stalls, indulge in some delicious home baking, pick up some new plants or raffle tickets and help support our charity!
FREE Thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund
Teas, coffees and morning rolls will be available from our cafe.
Ronaq, one of Edinburgh’s most popular Indian restaurants, is spicing things up with the launch of a lunchtime tapas menu.
Available from this weekend (Saturday, 1 February), the new menu at the Comely Bank BYOB will feature four sections – starter, mains, accompaniments and afters.
The usual traditional classics such as pakora, chicken biryani, lamb jalfrazi and vegetable korma will all be featured alongside an array of other mouth-watering meals, while fans of fish curry won’t be disappointed by the Machli Balti, haddock cooked with green peppers, coriander, cumin, cardamoms, pimento and cinnamon.
Diners can choose one dish from each section for £9.95.
There is also a children’s menu offering chicken tikka, chicken curry, chicken korma and fish fingers from £6.95.
The tapas will be served from 12-2pm Monday-Friday, and from 2pm-5pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
“We’re excited to introduce this new lunchtime offering for our customers,” said owner Mohammed Shoaib.
“Tapas are a fun way to enjoy a number of different dishes and there is something for everybody on the menu. It’s an ideal way to taste a variety of the flavours which we are renowned for.
“They can also be served quite quickly, ideal for people who may be on their lunch break from work and a little short of time.”
TWO WEEKS FREE AT ALL EDA STUDIOS 
