SATURDAY 29th NOVEMBER from 12 – 3pm
at SALVATION ARMY 36 WARDIEBURN DRIVE
It’s that time again
– Our annual Christmas fair!
This year at the Salvation Army. We are looking for donations if anyone can help with anything.
We need raffle prizes, tombola items and alcohol for our pick a bag stall. If anyone has anything lying about nothing is too big or too small it’s greatly appreciated 
Menu for Friday the 17th of October 
We are excited to share a delicious community meal with you today. We do our best to have a variety of options, including vegetarian and often a delicious pudding.
What’s on the menu today:
Root vegetable soup
Chicken pasta bake
Veggie pasta bake
Garden salad
Carrot cake
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!
TUESDAY 21st OCTOBER
WARRISTON CREMATORIUM – LORIMER CHAPEL at 1pm
The funeral service for Billy Fitzpatrick will be held at Warriston Crematorium, Lorimer Chapel, on Tuesday 21st October at 1pm.
All are welcome, family flowers only.
Post service the wake will be held at Tanfield Bowling Club, Inverleith.
BILLY FITZPATRICK HAS DIED AFTER A PERIOD OF ILL HEALTH
Billy’s family posted this very sad news on Facebook yesterday:
This morning he passed away at the Western General surrounded by loves ones.
He asked that friends, family, acquaintances, people from his beloved North Edinburgh, and old comrades were given the news when the time came, and in his own words he had a good kick at the baw.
When funeral arrangements are made we’ll update again, thanks x
A proud trade unionist and a popular local councillor who fought for his community, Billy went on to share his negotiating skills and vast experience when he retired from front-line party politics.
Billy supported a number of important community projects, including Granton Information Centre, Royston Wardieburn Community Centre (he chaired both of these long-established community organisations) and North Edinburgh Arts.
Proud ‘Roystoner’ Billy featured in the recent ‘Quiet Heroes‘ exhibition at Madelvic House granton:hub.
Billy wasn’t always so quiet – it’s fair to say that oor Billy could be passionate, fiery even, and he had his fair share of brushes with the Labour Party hierarchy! – but Royston’s very own Quiet Hero fought North Edinburgh’s corner loyally for over forty years.
A genuine working class community stalwart, they just don’t make politicians like Billy Fitzpatrick any more. And our communities, our cities and our country are all the poorer for that.
Farewell, Billy, my dear old Comrade. We shared many good times together, and some dreadful ones too. Throughout all that time, you never changed: loyal, steadfast and honest to the very end.
How we will miss you.
WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY – 10th OCTOBER 2025
• Three community centres in Scotland have been listed with a “protest price” of £500 million each to highlight their true value, and call for urgent investment to stop closures
• Over a third rely on shared community spaces for their mental health and wellbeing
• Ahead of World Mental Health Day (10th October), a new campaign from Crown Paints and Mind spotlights the role of shared spaces on the nation’s wellbeing
In the lead up to World Mental Health Day (10th October), Crown Paints has listed three community centres with a £500 million price tag on these overlooked mental health lifelines.
These properties, complete with online estate agent listings, include shared spaces for the community in Granton:hub, located in North Edinburgh, Boomerang Community Centre in Dundee and Craigrothie Village Hall in Fife.
It comes as a nationwide survey revealed that over a third (37%) of Scots say these spaces help them escape loneliness, while 34% say having access to community spaces has a positive impact on their mental health and wellbeing.
The campaign spotlights buildings in regions among the hardest hit by local authority cuts, drawing attention to the real value of the Scotland’s shared spaces. The warning is clear. Unless the UK unlocks the funding needed for shared spaces at pace, libraries, youth clubs and community halls will disappear, and with them, the beating heart of our communities.
In a bid to get policymakers to recognise the value of shared spaces, the campaign, launched in partnership with mental health charity, Mind, saw listings of the five community centres across the UK hijack property websites, feature in classified ads and even popping up in an estate agent’s window for sale.
The study also found that nine in ten Scots (91%) say vibrant community spaces are important, with 35% expressing concerns for future generations if these places disappear altogether.
Amanda Bolton, a spokesperson for the campaign at Crown Paints said: “When we talk about mental health, we often overlook the walls that quietly hold us up.
“These are the spaces where real life happens. The toddler groups, the art classes, and those evening drama clubs.
“Places that offer comfort, connection and community. By listing them as Britain’s Most Valuable Buildings, we’re shining a light on the everyday spaces that hold our communities – and wellbeing – together.”
Andrew Berrie, Head of Corporate Partnerships at Mind, added: “Community spaces are important for our mental wellbeing. They provide accessible, welcoming places to connect with others and help reduce loneliness, which can have a negative impact on mental health.
“Crown’s research shows the public feel their loss deeply, with many worried about the impact on future generations. Protecting these spaces must be part of the national conversation on mental health.”
As part of the campaign, Crown Paints has launched an online hub with fundraising tips for community centres. This forms part of Crown’s wider Project Possible commitment to supporting communities through the power of paint, with the ambition of donating 50,000 litres of paint or more to support community projects nationwide.
Amanda continued: “From creating more joyful paces through the power of colour, to supporting community regeneration with uplifting murals and paint projects, we’re helping communities to grow and thrive.
“This campaign builds on our Project Possible commitments, showing how we can play a meaningful part in the places that matter most.”
For more information visit:
https://about.crownpaints.com/projectpossible/campaigns.
CASE STUDY LISTINGS – SCOTLAND’S MOST VALUABLE BUILDINGS
Boomerang Community Centre, Dundee listed for £500m at https://fliq.co.uk/offers/boomerang-community centre-dundee
This 8,305 sq ft hub has been the beating heart of Stobswell since 1987. Its true value lies in the hot meals shared around its tables, the youth clubs that give young people a safe place to grow, and the support groups that carry people through grief and loneliness.
From toddlers learning to bake to a 98-year-old still teaching tea dances, Boomerang shows how belonging is built – through food, friendship and generations coming together under one roof.
Granton:hub, Edinburgh listed for £500m at https://www.gumtree.com/p/property-for-sale/grantonhub edinburgh/1504285170
Housed in historic Madelvic House, this volunteer-run hub is where culture, memory and community converge. From affordable artist studios to yoga classes and local history archives, it offers opportunities for learning, creativity and connection.
Its true value lies not in its rooms, but in the spirit it preserves and the belonging it creates.
Craigrothie Village Hall, Fife listed for £500m at https://www.gumtree.com/p/property-for-sale/craigrothie village-hall-fife/1504284690
A modest four-room hall, but priceless to the people it serves. For half a century, Craigrothie has been the stage for weddings, ceilidhs, clubs and community suppers. Its walls hold the history of a village, its kitchen fuels friendship over food, and its true value lies in the role it plays as the heartbeat of rural life.
Wildflower Planting in East Pilton Park this Saturday 10.30-1 (11th October) with Granton Community Gardeners. Free, family friendly activity.
Join us to add wildflower seeds and spring bulbs to the long grass patches of East Pilton Park (around the new tree plantings).
As well as looking beautiful, we hope to improve the area for pollinators and also increase the number of invertebrates (insects and other wee bugs) for our local birds to eat.
We are particularly hoping to help increase the food supply for our nearby swift colony and this project goes hand in hand with plans we have to give the swifts more good local nesting sites by adding swift boxes to buildings.
Amazingly, the council’s ecologists have found that long grass areas can have as much as 90 times more life than short grass. Let’s add flowers to make them even better!
Please get in touch if you’re planning to come so we can bring a sensible number of tools: email katie@grantoncommunitygardeners.org
(Also dress for the weather, and bear in mind that the closest public toilets are in Ainsley Park Leisure Centre).
You can also check out more about our ‘Nature in Granton’ project via new page on our website:
Is there a songbird in there, just begging to burst free? Do you know a few chords on the guitar, or keep a beat with a bongo?
Get yerself down to our Open Mic Night on Friday 24th of October, hosted by the marvellous Majik Mojo.
Musicians, singers and groups all welcome.
6-9PM in our indoor market area, be there or be square!
Free entry, NO TICKETS REQUIRED.
Tracy Gilbert MP has welcomed significant UK-wide investment in community renewable energy projects, which will deliver tangible benefits for local communities in Scotland.
The Great British Energy initiative is backing a total of £4 million into the UK’s community energy sector, supporting 48 community energy projects across Scotland, including two major developments in Edinburgh North and Leith.
Tracy Gilbert MP said: “These investments demonstrate the UK Government’s commitment to renewable energy and to supporting communities across the country. I am pleased that two of these are in my constituency in Edinburgh North and Leith, which is becoming a true renewables hub.
“The projects will not only generate clean energy but also empower local communities with long-term benefits. Initiatives like these are helping to build a greener, more sustainable future for everyone.”
The Great British Energy investment is part of a wider effort to drive community energy generation growth across Scotland and the UK, ensuring that local areas can take an active role in the renewable energy transition.
| Edinburgh Community Solar Co-op | Edinburgh Solar Co-op phase 3 | £484,500 |
| Granton Project CIC | Harnessing solar power for community growth | £70,043 |
NATURE IN GRANTON: WE WANT YOUR VIEWS!
More or less trees, foxes or gulls? Get that grass cut or let the wildflowers grow? Is nature helping with your mental health, or helping kids let off steam? Are there ways we could help nature thrive more, or should we tarmac the lot?!
Would you be up for chatting about nature in Granton for an hour for a £10 voucher (for Morrisons or Granton Garden Bakery – your choice)?
We’ll be running focus groups: Tuesday 7th October: 10-11am or 11.30am-12.30, at Pilton Community Health Project, 73 Boswall Parkway. (tea/coffee and biscuits provided).
Places limited: to sign up please email: tom@grantoncommunitygardeners.org
We’re also launching an online survey, and would be grateful if anyone local could spend a few minutes filling it in (as much or little as you like):
COMMUNITY LUNCH – RETURNS TODAY!
Menu for Friday the 3rd of October
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:
Roast pork with parsley sauce
Cauliflower cheese (v)
Herby vegetables
Spiced apple cake with custard
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!
