ZEN BUDDHISM FILM AT DRYLAW NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE
A beautiful film about peace activist and Zen master Thich Naht Hahn showing Tuesday 28th April in our screening event 18.00 – 20.45.
We will serve soup at 18.00 and start the film at 18.30.
After the film we will have a short discussion group about Zen Buddhism and the online course: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet.
All welcome, Free.
The city council’s Community Grants Fund is currently decided for each area in Edinburgh by panel vote,
@Edinburgh_CC are currently running a survey to see what changes people would like to the decision-making process.
The survey closes 4th May 2026
Have your say:
https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=-U4qSORmdk6fJG2gmnE-1H_aqj53ERJOl-
94E5vW4L9UMVNPM0ZZSUcxWUNXUDZMTE9QRlFLNUY0Qi4u&route=shorturl
PRE-LOVED BRIDALWEAR and OCCASIONWEAR at NEWHAILES
A new chapter begins for our pre-loved bridal and occasionwear! Ever After by St Columba’s located in Newhailes, Musselburgh will open from Sunday 3rd May by appointment only.
Email hharris@stcolumbashospice.org.uk for booking enquiries and dress donations.
We are delighted to invite you to join us on Saturday, June 27th for this year’s climate festival at the Edinburgh Meadows from 12 – 7pm 
Following last year’s theme of Root & Rise, we are left with the question: what makes a forest truly strong, resilient, and nourished? The answer lies beneath our feet, in mycelium.
Mycelium is an underground root-like network of entangled threads of fungi. It creates vast connections between plants and trees serving as a shared resource for nutrients, supporting growth as well as being a magnificent communication highway, sending signals and protecting one another.
Our 2026 theme embodies this ethos – supporting connection between ourselves, those around us and nature, expanding from local action to global solidarity.
A reminder that fundamentally, we are all nature. Facing climate challenges alone can feel overwhelming. But when we recognise how deeply intertwined we are, we also recognise our shared strength. Through collective action we can exchange ideas, re-energise, and cultivate meaningful change.
Whether you’re beginning your sustainability journey or deeply rooted in climate work, join us to build a hopeful and connected community – forming our own vibrant, intertwined network. Intertwined, we are stronger. Intertwined, we thrive.
Find out more about the day and how to get involved on our website:
Local school children have been busy monitoring the Wee Forest in West Pilton Park, assessing how the trees are helping to bring more wildlife, cleaner air and flood management for those very wet days.
Pupils have been helping to gather data as part of their studies.
Get in touch with emily@elgt.org.uk if you fancy having a go.
We had more help in West Pilton Park from our Craigmount High School Duke of Edinburgh volunteers, who helped cut back overgrown vegetation, litter picked and helped complete a bird survey. Thanks for your help.
There were some bears loose in the park as part of the Wellies in the Woods programme. We had fun reading the book ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ and did lots of fun nature-based activities. Not to worry, the bears were friendly!
We’re very proud of this hard working group of young people from Granton Youth who are learning brick laying skills in order to build some new brick planters in West Pilton Park. This is part of the re-development of the park and will be one of the new design features.
To find out more about the planned improvements see here.
Today is the first International Walking Day 
It’s a moment to celebrate something simple but powerful, walking as part of everyday life! Whether it’s getting to work, heading to the shops or just getting outside, walking is one of the easiest ways to move more.
At Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, we’re working to make walking possible for more people across Scotland by supporting the development of safer, more accessible routes and connections.
Walking benefits our health and our world. When routes are designed for everyone, more people can choose to walk for everyday journeys.
Looking for somewhere to start?
Explore some great walking routes on the National Cycle Network: 
THURSDAY 30 APRIL 12 – 1pm
TO ALL MEMBERS!
In a just Scotland, no child will be pushed into poverty. So how can we ensure the next Scottish Parliament meets its poverty pledges to Scotland’s children?
Join the discussion. 12-1pm. Thu 30 Apr.
Scotland’s national mental health charity is calling on supporters to put their best foot forward and raise vital funds for life-saving mental health support with the return of an iconic event.
SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health) is encouraging people across Scotland to get involved in the revival of SAMH Stomp: a stair-climbing challenge where every penny raised makes a difference.
Returning after a six-year hiatus, the event will see SAMH and its supporters take over Barclays Hampden on Saturday 10 October 2026, which marks World Mental Health Day.
Registrations open today, with participants choosing to complete either a single or double lap of the steps in the stadium, totalling 4,968 stairs – or a whopping 9,936 stairs!
As the last Stomp was held virtually due to the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, this year’s event marks an opportunity to bring together mental health supporters from across the country for a fundraiser full of energy and hope.
Allie Bowen, a SAMH supporter from Dundee who took part in the most recent Stomp, said the sense of community was a key motivator to get involved: “2019 was one of the hardest times in my life, I lost my partner and his mum just a month apart. Taking part in SAMH Stomp helped me turn that grief into something meaningful and showed me I wasn’t alone.
“During lockdown in 2020, being unable to see loved ones was heartbreaking – and it made me realise just how vital mental health support really is. That’s why I’ve continued supporting SAMH, raising around £6,000 in total and helping spread awareness.
“That’s also why people should take part in SAMH Stomp 2026, because every step makes a difference, for yourself and for others who need to know they’re not alone.”
SAMH operates around 70 services in communities across Scotland, from supported accommodation and care-at-home services, to suicide prevention training and employability support.
This includes Time for You, which offers free wellbeing coaching or counselling via phone or video call, and The Nook: Scotland’s first national network of walk-in mental health and wellbeing support hubs.
The first Nook is now open in Glasgow’s Merchant City, with The Nook in Aberdeen to open this summer, with three more to follow across the country.
Hazel McIlwraith, Director of Fundraising and Major Appeal, said: “We want everyone to get behind the return of SAMH Stomp. You don’t need to be an elite athlete to take part – our strength is in our numbers. Every step, every cheer, and every stomp echoes far beyond the stands of Scotland’s most iconic stadium, raising vital funds and awareness for mental health support across the country.
“This is our first big public event since the pandemic, so as well as being a fantastic opportunity to fundraise it’s also a chance for us all to get together to show our support and make our voices heard.
“Gather your friends, family and workmates, or come along as you are, and join Team SAMH as we step up the pace in our mission for a Scotland where anyone can ask once and get help fast.”
Find out more and register at: www.samh.org.uk/stomp
https://www.recipeforchange.org.uk/we-are-fed-up
Recipe for Change launches a citizen-led call for a healthier, fairer food system, with the public urged to add their name
A major new public campaign launched by Recipe for Change, a coalition of 45 organisations led by Sustain, The Food Foundation and the Obesity Health Alliance, is sending a clear message to government and industry that people want their health to be prioritised alongside corporate profit-makings.
New YouGov polling reveals almost half of the British public (47%) think it is harder to eat a balanced diet now than 20 years ago, with a food system that makes unhealthy choices cheap, prominent and hard to avoid, while healthier options remain too expensive for many families.
The polling is part of a new Citizens’ Charter, developed by people across the UK and launched by Recipe for Change, urging the public to sign a collective call to ministers to take tougher action on the food industry.
Among Britons who say it is hard to eat a balanced diet now, more than eight in ten (81%) say one reason for this is rising food prices, and 70% say it is because less healthy food costs less than healthier options. Among the entire population, there is also a clear sense that both government and industry are falling short, with 79% saying government should be doing more to make it affordable to achieve a balanced diet, and 84% saying companies themselves should be doing more.
Kate Howard, Children’s Food Campaign Coordinator at Sustain, said: “Food companies are incredibly good at innovation when there’s a profit in it, and I see no reason why that same drive can’t be turned towards making healthier food the easy, affordable option. Clearer rules benefit everyone, including industry.
“The people across the UK who developed the calls in this charter showed just how frustrated they are and how much they want change. That’s why we’re urging everyone to add their name. The more people who sign, the harder it is for government and industry to look the other way.”
The findings also point to deep public scepticism about voluntary action from the food industry. Nearly eight in ten people (79%) are not confident that companies will reduce the levels of sugar, salt and saturated fat in their products without government intervention.
Almost two thirds (63%) also think that supermarkets and companies that make food have increased prices by more than necessary to boost profits.
Out of the 95% of people who said they think food prices have generally gone up in the past year, only 3% cited health or environmental regulations as a reason among a list of options.
This comes as analysis by OC&C and The Grocer found that the UK’s 10 largest packaged food and drink manufacturers posted combined operating profits of more than £1.7 billion in 2025.
Support for tougher action is strong. Almost three quarters of the public (73%) would back legislation to regulate sugar and saturated fat levels in food, with similarly high support for regulations on the levels of salt in food (70%).
There is also backing for the principle that companies should contribute to the damage linked to the products they sell, with 61% saying they think food and drink companies that sell products high in salt, sugar, and/or saturated fat should be required to help fund the costs of treating ill health related to such products.
Dr Amos Ogunkoya, BHF Health Ambassador says: “As a doctor, I’ve seen that a poor diet is one of the biggest threats to our health in this country, and it’s not down to bad choices, it’s down to a bad system. Unhealthy food is cheap, it’s everywhere, and it’s heavily marketed. Healthy food is more expensive and hard to find. That has to change.
“We’ve seen what’s possible – the sugar levy proved that when government acts, industry follows. We need that same boldness now, across the whole food system. That’s why I’m backing this Charter and urging everyone to add their name.”
The Citizens’ Charter will gather signatures over the coming months before being handed in to MPs in Westminster this autumn, demonstrating growing concern about unhealthy food environments and public support for stronger regulation across the food system, including as part of the implementation of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan and Government’s Food Strategy.
By the time they reach their first year of school, children in the most deprived fifth of the population are almost twice as likely to be living with obesity as those in the least deprived fifth. On average, children are eating less than half the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables, while consuming around twice the recommended amount of sugar.
While families are being squeezed and food-related ill health is rising, many of the businesses currently driving unhealthy diets continue to generate strong returns with the government urgently needing to ensure commercial incentives aren’t designed to support this. There is too little accountability, and it is children who are paying the price through worsening health.
Backers of the Charter, which include the British Heart Foundation and Impact on Urban Health, say voluntary action has failed and that ministers must now act with more confidence. The campaign is calling for a healthier, fairer food system and for stronger safeguards to prevent food companies from weakening or delaying public health policy behind closed doors. With public support clear and growing, the time for bolder action is now.
Show your support for a healthier, fairer food system
https://www.recipeforchange.org.uk/we-are-fed-up
Katharine Jenner, Executive Director, Obesity Health Alliance said: “At a time when families are struggling with expensive shopping baskets, the public can see exactly where the pressure is coming from – almost two thirds believe food companies have increased prices beyond what is necessary to protect profits, while only 3% think regulation is to blame for higher food prices.
“With the 10 Year Health Plan and the forthcoming food strategy, government has a major opportunity to supercharge its moonshot to end the obesity epidemic by creating a food system that makes healthier choices easier, more affordable and more accessible for every family.”
John Maingay, Director of Policy at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Poor diet is fuelling ill‑health across the UK, including high blood pressure, obesity and heart disease. Too much salt, sugar and unhealthy fat hidden in everyday food is putting millions of hearts at risk, and it’s simply not fair to keep asking families to ‘choose better’ in a food system stacked against them.
“That’s why we’re backing this campaign and calling on government to take decisive, mandatory action to ensure food companies make everyday food healthier, so healthier choices are affordable, accessible and the easy choice for everyone.”
Dr Kawther Hashem, Senior Lecturer in Public Health Nutrition and Head of Research and Impact at Action on Salt & Sugar based at Queen Mary University of London said: “It’s never been clearer that people across the country want and deserve food that is both healthier and more affordable – yet government and the food industry continue to fall short.
“We have decades of evidence showing food can be made with far less salt and sugar, but as the polling shows, nearly 8 in 10 people don’t believe this will happen without strong government action.
For too long, responsibility for making better choices has been unfairly pushed onto families, even when the system works so hard against them, driving record levels of diet-related ill health. Signing the Charter is an important way for the public to demand change, take back control, and call for a food system built on transparency, accountability and public health, not profit.
“The findings echo what citizens have said in campaign focus groups and that is people are tired of being told to “make better choices” in a food environment that is stacked against them and fundamentally unfair.”
Dr Hannah Brinsden, Head of Policy and Advocacy, The Food Foundation, said: “This research brings to life the challenges felt by citizens up and down the country with accessing healthy and affordable food.
“We know voluntary action doesn’t work – we need strong government directions and policies to level the playing field and ensure that all companies play their role in supporting citizens to access the healthy and affordable food they clearly want.
“The NHS Plan set out a clear vision – but we know there’s much more that can be done to shift the incentives in our system to support good growth for businesses, while also protecting our health.”
Show your support for a healthier, fairer food system
https://www.recipeforchange.org.uk/we-are-fed-up
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2087 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 9th – 10th March 2026. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
EDINBURGH COMMUNITY FOOD comments:
🧑🏽🧑🏼🧒🏽 We’re proud to support Recipe for Change, which today launches We’re Fed Up!: A people-powered call for healthy, affordable food.
Too many people across the UK can’t find or afford healthy food where they live. Families are having to fight the system just to feed their kids well. And children are growing up in food environments that work against them, not for them.
@edincomfood believe everyone deserves access to healthy, affordable food, no matter where they live. That’s why we’re backing this citizen-led call for a food system that works better for all of us.
If you agree, add your name:
recipeforchange.org.uk/we-are-fed-up/
We have a range of low-cost recipes on our website:
ALLIANCE TO LIBERATE SCOTLAND ON COURSE FOR LECTION BREAKTHROUGH?
The Alliance to Liberate Scotland says two recent opinion polls conducted by Find Out Now point to a breakthrough result for the new pro-independence party at the Holyrood election on 7 May.
The respected polling company conducted two Scotland-wide surveys of 1,000 voters on behalf of the party, one in late March and the second in late April. The striking feature of both polls is their consistency.
In the late March poll, 8% of voters said they were either “definitely” or “very likely” to vote for the Alliance to Liberate Scotland. In the late April poll, 6% of voters said they were “definitely” or “very likely” to support the party on the regional list, which Find Out Now rounded up to 7%.
That matters because around 6% of the regional vote is widely regarded as the threshold for winning a seat in many of Scotland’s regional contests. On that basis, the two polls suggest the Alliance to Liberate Scotland is in genuine breakthrough territory.
Smaller regional samples also point in the same direction. In Glasgow, Tommy Sheridan’s support is shown fluctuating between 5% and 7%. In the 2021 election, the final regional seat in Glasgow was won by the Conservatives on just 6.1%, placing Sheridan within striking distance of election.
Although pollsters caution that smaller samples are less reliable than the standard national sample of 1,000, the repeated pattern across Glasgow, Lothians East and the national polling suggests rising support for the Alliance to Liberate Scotland across Scotland.
Commenting on the latest poll, Glasgow lead candidate and former two-term MSP Tommy Sheridan said: “One poll predicting an Alliance to Liberate Scotland breakthrough is encouraging.
“Two polls, with remarkable consistency, predicting support on the regional vote at between 6% and 8%, is a very real sign that the Alliance is fast becoming the choice of independence supporters who understand that SNP list votes are wasted votes.
“As more people grasp the two-vote system, more SNP supporters are realising their constituency vote for SNP matters, but their regional vote for SNP is futile. That approach helped unionist parties in 2016 and 2021. In 2021 the SNP won only two regional seats out of 56 contested, despite attracting over one million votes.
“Now independence supporters are increasingly choosing to give their regional vote to the party that makes independence its sole priority: the Alliance to Liberate Scotland.”
Sheridan added: “As the reality of the voting system becomes clearer, independence supporters can see the opportunity before them. The regional vote should not be wasted on the SNP, and it should not be diverted to the Greens, whose obsession with gender identity and culture-war politics has increasingly overshadowed the central mission of securing Scotland’s freedom.
“Genuine independence supporters are choosing to give their regional vote to the Alliance To Liberate Scotland over the Greens because they know independence is simply not a priority for the Greens.
“The Greens prioritise gender identity politics over Scotland’s freedom and that’s why independence activists are deciding to back the single-issue Alliance to Liberate Scotland party.”
