What’s your Edinburgh? To celebrate Edinburgh 900, join Dr. Katie Ailes for a free poetry workshop inspired by your impressions of the city.
We’ll write short poems about places and experiences in Edinburgh that are meaningful to you. No previous experience writing poetry required; all are welcome-
Come along and join in Tuesday 21st of January at 6pm!
Workshop participants will be invited to submit their poems to the Edinburgh 900 bookmark competition, where winners will have their poems printed on 300 bookmarks and distributed at libraries across the city.
To take part in the workshops and bookmark competition, you must be resident in the Edinburgh (EH) postcode area.
Please note that you do not need to participate in a workshop in order to submit to the bookmark competition, and participation in a workshop will not be a factor that judges will consider.
POLICE are appealing to trace 33-year-old Marius Thuemmler who is missing from Leith.
Marius was visiting relatives in Edinburgh and was due to travel from Leith to Wester Hailes yesterday. He did not arrive, however, and as a result police were contacted.
Marius is quite distinctive in that he is 6ft 4 in height, has long dark blond hair, a beard and moustache, and numerous tattoos of various designs on his arms.
He is believed to be wearing black jeans, a black hooded top with a t-shirt underneath, and white and green trainers.
Inspector Kenny Robertson, Police Scotland, said: “Marius lives in England and was up visiting relatives over Christmas and New Year. Although he is familiar with Edinburgh, as he doesn’t stay here, he doesn’t have places that he tends to visit regularly.
“We have been checking CCTV and liaising with local bus and taxi companies, as well with as colleagues in British Transport Police, but so far there has been no sightings of him.
“We’d ask anyone who may have seen him, or who knows where he may be to get in touch. We’d also say to Marius to give us a call or return to family. We all want to make sure he is safe and well.”
Information can be passed to police via 101. Please quote incident number 1603 of Saturday, 4 January 2025 when calling
Citadel’s tour of McScrooge by Alan Mountford directed by Mark Kydd came to an end with a performance at Blossom Tree Nursery.
We took the mini-panto into a community centre, a school, two dementia clubs, Leith Dockers Club, two care homes, and the Dementia Arts Festival!
Thanks to People’s Post Code Lottery and Garfield Weston Foundation, Ashley Barlow, Jim Bryce, Mark Kydd and Roddy Simpson brought lots of festive joy to audiences aged from two to 102!
Commercial real estate investor, developer and asset manager, Firethorn Trust, has secured a £29.95million debt package from Leumi UK to deliver its first purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) scheme.
The financing will support the delivery of a 230-bed PBSA project in Leith, which Firethorn acquired in February 2024.
Forming part of the Leith Walk redevelopment scheme, the site has planning permission to deliver a six-storey building featuring high quality accommodation and generous amenities, including a fully-equipped gym, modern study spaces and student common rooms.
Edinburgh’s PBSA market is materially undersupplied, with a student-to-bed ratio of 3.13:1 and a limited development pipeline. The Leith Walk development will help to address demand by creating much-needed bed spaces, while a modern and sustainable design specification will contribute towards BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and EPC ‘A’ ratings.
Richard Whitby, Chief Financial Officer at Firethorn Trust, commented: “The Leith Walk project required a partner that could provide a tailored financing solution to meet our bespoke needs, which is precisely what Leumi delivered.
“We are delighted to be working with Leumi on this development and are excited about the potential for collaboration on future projects as we grow our Firethorn Living platform.
“With our established track record in developing high-quality assets and generating strong returns, we are confident that this development will play a key role in addressing the critical need for modern student housing in Edinburgh’s vibrant university district.”
Dan Whiteman, Relationship Director at Leumi UK, added: “In many ways, this transaction epitomises what sets Leumi UK apart, as we were able to complete this transaction with great focus on ensuring the lending solution met the specific needs of the sponsor.
“Firethorn Trust has a strong track record of creating attractive and sustainable spaces, and we look forward to expanding our relationship as it grows its Living platform.”
The Leith Walk development is expected to complete in time for the 2026/27 academic year.
Firethorn Trust was advised by Brotherton, BCLP and CMS. Leumi UK was advised by Osborne Clarke and MFMac.
Staff at Utilita’s Energy Hub, located at Leith’s Newkirkgate Shopping Centre, would like to thank all customers who entered into this year’s Christmas Raffle.
The team raises funds throughout the year and were able to kindly gift back to the local Leith Community, having bought items worth £250.00 to create a Christmas food hamper raffle.
In the spirit of festive giving, raffle tickets were gifted to the Hub’s regular customers in a free to enter draw and Natasha Baillie, Leith Energy Hub Supervisor, was delighted to present a beautiful hamper to the raffle winner, Mr. Potter, a regular customer who tops up and pays his bills at the Hub.
Natasha said: “Mr. Potter was so delighted with the news that he called us his angels! He popped down and was so happy and emotional at the win. Mr. Potter did tell us to choose what we wanted but we managed to convince him otherwise, so he’s going to share the hamper with his neighbours!
“It’s something we have very luckily been able to do each year – and our previous winners still visit our Leith Hub, which is lovely to see.”
Utilita’s high street hubs make it super simple to manage your energy – no phone lines or online dashboards, just a friendly face to speak to.
Whether you’re looking for account support, help to manage your spend or energy-saving advice, Utilita’s Energy Experts are on hand to help.
The countdown to the New Year has begun as Edinburgh’s Hogmanay prepares for four days of events to ring in 2025, running from 29 December to 1 January.
With only two weeks to go until New Year’s Day itself, this year’s First Footin’ programme boasts a packed line-up of free and ticketed gigs to kick off the New Year in iconic venues across the city.
Funded by the Scottish Government’s Festivals EXPO Fund, January 1st 2025 sees the First Footin’ programme go even further than before, with artists playing live sets in Portobello Town Hall and Leith Arches as well as historic landmarks St. Giles’ Cathedral and Greyfriars Kirk, and contemporary venues Greyfriars Hall and Eve at Virgin Hotel, Fruitmarket Warehouse and bars throughout the city centre, including Cold Town House.
This year’s programme includes an incredible line-up of Scottish artists including Valtos, DJ Hayley Zalassi, Zoe Graham, Dara Dubh, who gathered today at First Footin’ venue Cold Town House to mark two weeks to go until the gigs. First Footin’ also features Karine Polwart, NATI, Spyres, Mama Terra, Bee Asha, Broken Chanter, Eyve, Lewis McLaughlin, Grayling, Afterlands, and more.
On being part of First Footin’, Glasgow anti-punk band Dead Pony said; “We’re super excited to play this year’s First Footin’. We can think of no better way to start the New Year than to crank our amps up and blast some tunes at – possibly – weary revellers.
“Everyone’s hangover is about to get blown to smithereens by the Dead Pony Doof Wagon. Strap in!”
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay co-Director Al Thomson said: ‘We are so pleased to present another spectacular First Footin’ event on New Year’s Day.
“This year’s programme is bigger than ever and packed full of incredible artists from across Scotland and beyond. Audiences can explore the expanded event footprint, discovering their favourite new artists in spectacular venues, and start 2025 in the company of friends old and new. With so much to see, make sure you plan your day well to catch your favourite acts’
Acclaimed folk singer-songwriter Karine Polwart will host a stunning performance to mark the turning-of-the-year with ‘Come Away In’, a commissioned project welcoming special guest musicians Lori Watson and Corrina Hewat, along with 200 community choir singers, celebrating crossing the threshold of the New Year in the embrace of massed voices and song. Alongside Choir Director Stephen Deazley, Karine Polwart and the community singers will fill the stunning St Giles Cathedral with music on the 1st January.
The tranquil surroundings of Greyfriars Kirk will once again transform into a vibrant hub of Scottish music, featuring Skye natives Valtos, who have taken the Trad and Electronic music worlds by storm, artist and composer Kate Young, Edinburgh born indie artists Lewis McLaughlin and internet sensation NATI (solo).
A showcase of the very best in contemporary Scottish music at Virgin Hotel, presents artists nominated for the SAY Award 2024, featuring Dead Pony, Spyres, Broken Chanter and Edinburgh rap and spoken word artist Bee Asha.
Pictured: Dara Dubh
Scottish musical duo Norman&Corrie will welcome audiences to the St. Andrew Square Speigeltent, challenging traditional notions of folk and jazz with new pieces translated from ancestral melodies. Shetland pianist Amy Laurenson, winner of the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2023, and Glasgow artist Harry Gorski-Brown performing fiddle, pipes and vocals, are special guests.
For classical music-lovers, Fruitmarket Gallery presents a diverse programme of music for viola and cello performed by acclaimed Canadian cellist Christian Elliott and Fiona Winning, Principal Violist of the Royal Philharmonic and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestras.
New venue Leith Arches presents some of Scotland hottest new acts including Mama Terra; Glaswegian Pianist, Composer & Producer Marco Cafolla & Saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski, Mama Terra are hotly tipped by JazzFM, Loch Lomond folk-pop singer-songwriter Liv Dawn, Edinburgh rock band Low Tide, and grunge-fuelled rock from Dutch Wine.
Portobello Town Hall is home to a free afternoon of ceilidh dancing with Bella McNab’s Dance Band, with Brazilian and Cuban big-band flair from community street band Shunpike Social Club.
Pictured: Zoe Graham
In the evening, BBC Radio Scotland’s Vic Galloway and Andy Wake (The Phantom Band) bring their spectacular club night Vitamin C out to Portobello Town Hall on New Year’s Day featuring alt-rock legends The Vaselines, infectious indie-dance from Sacred Paws and Django Django’s Dave Maclean for an epic DJ set.
Meanwhile, Leith Arches hosts a celebration of House and Old Skool, with an all-female line-up led by DJ Hayley Zalassi, and special guests SWATT TEAM and Disco T*TS, Leith Arches is guaranteed to keep you dancing into 2025.
In the evening, the music continues with the First Footin Sessions with Cold Town Beer, live events throughout the Grassmarket and New Town bars, featuring a feast of music from foot-stomping trad from Eamonn Coyne & Friends, to a special set from SAY Award nominees Afterlands’ in Cold Town House.
First Footin’ is just one of the offerings available from the four-day Edinburgh’s Hogmanay programme. Local residents and visitors from across the globe will come together to bid farewell to the final few days of 2024 and welcome in the New Year with an unmissable programme of live music and exceptional entertainment, including the world-class Midnight Moment fireworks and a celebration like no other at Edinburgh’s Street Party.
The celebrations kick off on the 29th December with the spectacular Torchlight Procession and the 30th sees a host of events including Idlewild headlining the Night Afore Concert at Assembly Rooms, and Hot Dub Time Machine warming up New Year’s partygoers with the Night Afore Disco Party in West Princes Street Gardens.
On Hogmanay night itself New Year Revels and its all-night ceilidh makes a welcome return to Assembly Rooms, while Princes Street and Princes Street Gardens will host 55,000 party goers at the world-famous Street Party featuring Hot Dub Time Machine, BBC Radio 1 DJ Arielle Free, Peatbog Faeries, Valtos and much more.
The iconic Concert in the Gardens Hogmanay show this year will welcome Texas for a 35th anniversary greatest hits show joined by special guest Edinburgh’s own Callum Beattie and Carla Easton. There’s plenty for the whole family across the four-day festivities with the Bairns Revels, Sprogmanay Family Ceilidh at Assembly Roxy, Sprogmanay at Portobello Town Hall and more.
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 2024/25 is supported by Principal Funding Partners City of Edinburgh Council and Major Partners the Scottish Government’s Festivals EXPO Fund and Essential Edinburgh, all working together to create spectacular Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations for Scotland.
Further information and tickets for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 4-day celebrations are available now from www.edinburghshogmanay.com.
After becoming one of the most ‘popular’ big screen releases of 2024, Vue is excited to announce that an extra special sing-along version of Wicked is heading to the big screen this Boxing Day.
Based on the award-winning musical by Stephen Schwartz and now nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, Wicked tells the untold story of the wonderful land of Oz, exploring the unlikely friendship forged between green witch Elphaba and the popular Glinda.
Starring Emmy, Grammy and Tony-winning powerhouse Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and pop star Ariana Grande as Glinda, fans will now be able to join in as the lyrics appear onscreen to their favourite tunes such as Popular and Defying Gravity, along with follow Ozians.
To add to this musical spectacle, ahead of this special sing-along version of Wicked, stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have recorded a special vocal warm-up video, to get fans all set to join in with all of their favourite tunes.
Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba in WICKED, directed by Jon M. Chu
Ian Chester, General Manager at Vue in Edinburgh Ocean, said: “Wicked has simply enchanted audiences since in launched in November, so we’re thrilled to be able to provide this spell-binding new way for fans to enjoy one of the biggest releases of the year.
“With tickets now on sale, we’re thrilled to invite Ozians and film fans alike to join in with every musical note and magical moment, all from the luxury of our comfortable leather seating and incredible surround sound.
“Of course, those looking to simply enjoy Wicked for the first time or once again, without singing along, we are still screening standard showings of the film for you to enjoy.”
Stores across the country have been overwhelmed by the generosity of customers who donated at the Tesco Winter Food Collection.
An incredible 1.9 million meals’ worth of long-life food items were donated at the collection between 25th November and 30th November in all the retailer’s large and Express stores.
In Edinburgh, the collection saw customers donate 24,451 meals to make a difference in their local community.
Every item donated provides much-needed support for charities FareShare and Trussell in the run up to Christmas.
Donations to Trussell help food banks to provide emergency food parcels to people who cannot afford the essentials, while donations to FareShare support thousands of frontline local charities in communities across the country.
This winter will see heightened levels of need for both charities’ services with the Christmas holidays being a particularly difficult time for families due to the increased costs that occur at this time of year. With this in mind, Tesco provided an extra £500,000 of funding to FareShare and Trussell to meet this acute need.
Tesco CEO Ken Murphy said: “I just want to say a huge thank you to every single person who donated items at this year’s Winter Food Collection. Their generosity is always so amazing and really helps to make a huge impact in communities across the UK supported by Trussell and FareShare.”
Throughout the year Tesco donates unsold food to FareShare as part of its Community Food Connection scheme. That means so far this year Tesco and its customers have given the equivalent of more than 39 million meals to both charities.
In addition to the donations of food, the pre-Christmas Winter Food Collection saw more than £340,000 donated to the charities by customers rounding up their bills at the till and donating through a link from Tesco’s online groceries website.
Kristopher Gibbon-Walsh, CEO at FareShare, said: “Every year, we are blown away by the generosity of Tesco customers at the Winter Food Collection, and this year is no exception.
“Thank you to every single person that volunteered in store, donated an item of food, topped up their shopping bill, or made a donation to FareShare. Your kind support will ensure we can continue getting food out into the community, bringing people together and strengthening communities this winter.”
Emma Revie, CEO of Trussell, said:“We are so grateful to Tesco for supporting food banks to get through this season by organising this year’s Winter Food Collection.Thank you to Tesco customers for coming out in support of your local food bank, to ensure they can continue helping everyone in your local community who is facing hunger and hardship this winter.
“Thanks to your efforts, we have collected 1.8 million meals to support people who need a food bank this winter. Thank you for your generosity – together we can end hunger for good.
“Food banks in the Trussell community are a last resort for people who’ve been left facing hunger and hardship. They’re a lifeline, offering a warm welcome and space to be heard. But with so many people unable to afford the essentials right now, food banks continue to provide exceptionally high levels of emergency food, with many telling us they are at breaking point.
“Just over 1.4 million emergency food parcels were provided across the UK by food banks in our community, between April and September this year.”
With both charities continuing to need support, Tesco shoppers can continue to donate food at permanent collection points at every Tesco store in the UK or make a donation after their online shop.
