The weekends are never long enough and sometimes it can feel like we’re caught in a cycle of never-ending mundane tasks; take the kids to school, walk the dog, do the washing, go shopping, make dinner, blah, blah, blah!
Sound familiar?
Where are you in all of this? If you’re looking to prioritize yourself more and focus on your wellbeing, why not join Jules on Monday morning for a spot of Breathwork.
Sessions start at 9.30am and last for 30 minutes.
30 minutes just for you
30 minutes of relaxation
30 minutes away from the humdrum
If you’re interested and would like to find out more, email hello@pchp.org.uk or simply drop-in on Monday and see for yourself!
Join Us for a Charity Football Match in Support of Spartans Alternative School!
We are excited to invite you to a special charity football match in support of Spartans Alternative School and the Spartans Community Foundation—two incredible causes dedicated to empowering at-risk youth.
Date:Friday 27th September 2024 Time:2:00 PM Kick-off Location:Ainslie Park Stadium, 92 Pilton Dr, Edinburgh EH5 2HF
This event is extra special because it’s being organized by the Art Offenders, with the project managed by one of the talented students at Spartans Alternative School. The match promises to be an unforgettable showdown as The Young Team takes on The Auld Team, with a couple of special guests, including renowned chef Tom Kitchen, joining the fun on the pitch. It’s youth vs. experience in a game filled with competitive spirit and community camaraderie!
All proceeds from the event will go towards the construction of a brand-new youth work building on the grounds of the Spartans Community Foundation.
This new facility will be a vital space for education, mentoring, and community support, helping to transform the lives of young people in our community.
Ticket Prices:
Main Pass: £6
VIP: £10
Under 16s: £3
Under 10s: Free
VIP Experience:
Upgrade to a VIP ticket and enjoy exclusive access to the Robertson Trust Suite, where you can watch the game in comfort. The VIP room will feature a private DJ—one of our talented students—who will set the perfect atmosphere.
Guests will also enjoy food and refreshments and have the opportunity to mingle with our special guests, including Tom Kitchen.
What to expect:
High-energy football action between The Young Team and The Auld Team
Special guest appearances, including Tom Kitchen
A raffle with fantastic prizes from season tickets to gym passes and more.
Students Art pop up shop
Bake sales and fun activities for the entire family
Wet sponge bonanza for project manager Emma Easton and Youth work manager Kenny Cameron
By attending, you’ll be supporting Spartans Alternative School, the Spartans Community Foundation, and the incredible work being done by the Art Offenders. Your contribution will help build a brighter future for local youth.
PCHP BOSWALL PARKWAY – MONDAY 23 SEPTEMBER from 12 – 1pm
Community Police Drop-In Event
Hello neighbours!
We’re excited to host a Community Police Drop-In event happening Next Monday!
Date: Monday 23rd of September
Time: 12-1 pm
Location: Pilton Community Health Project, 73 Boswall Parkway, EH5 2PW
This is a fantastic opportunity to meet our local police officers, ask questions, share concerns, and learn more about how we can work together to keep our community safe.
Whether you have specific issues to discuss or just want to say hello, everyone is welcome! Let’s build a stronger, safer community together.
Feel free to bring your family and friends. Light refreshments will be provided.
Long-serving Spartans youth players have been presented with medals to mark 10 years of service to the club.
The group belong to the current Under-17s set-up, having first joined not long after starting primary school.
Les Atkinson is chairman of the youth section and said: “We want to make people feel welcome and create a safe place for them to play their football and enjoy themselves here. It’s the ethos of the club which we work on and testimony to that is the length of time people stay at the club.
“There is a real family feel to the club, a community spirit to it, and that helps keep players with us as they want to be part of something special.
“We are always pleased to develop players so they can move to bigger clubs but often they come back to us if things don’t work out for whatever reason.”
Spartans take on Aberdeen at Pittodrie in the quarter-final of the League Cup later this month and Les, who is also manager of the Under-20 Development Squad, added: “We have a visible pathway now which the youngsters can see. At least half a dozen of the first team players have come through the youth section to the U20 development squad and into the top team.
“Now we are in the SPFL, the players have a real target to aim for. The success of the first team filters down to the development team and then through the youth section and creates a real feel-good factor.
“But we have always been about more than just football and winning trophies. A key part of our success is doing a lot outwith the football, helping the local community.”
The youngsters were presented with the medals at half-time of a recent league match at Ainslie Park.
Photo shows back row (l-r): Les Atkinson (Spartans FC Youth Chairman), Stuart Gray (coach development officer), Daniel Weir, Cameron Findlay, Joe Barry, Josh Smith, Ola Benson, Michael Kiddie, Ford Mills, Tony Lewis (U17s coach), Paul Woods (U17s coach).Front row (l-r): Hugo Boyle, Charlie Cusiter, Preston Kennedy, Joe Woods, Ben Lewis, Finlay McNally, Chris Mill.
CONGRATULATIONS to North Edinburgh’s own community club The Spartans, who yesterday created their own piece of history when they defeated top-flight team Ross County at Ainslie Park.
League Two Spartans hard-fought 1-0 victory sees the local side progress into the quarter finals for the first time in their history.
Blair Henderson’s looping header in the first minute of the second half proved to be the difference between the two teams but the result was no fluke – County manager Don Cowie acknowledged well-organised Spartans thoroughly deserved their win.
With a toothless Hearts losing tamely at Falkirk yesterday and Hibs facing the might of Celtic in Glasgow this afternoon, Spartans are likely to be the only capital club left in the competition.
The draw for the quarter-finals of the @PremSportsTV Cup will take place today after the Celtic v Hibernian tie.
Quarter-final ties are due to be played on the weekend of 21/22 September.
Police are appealing for information to help trace 34-year-old Yvonne Thomson missing from Edinburgh.
Yvonne was last seen yesterday (Thursday, 4 July, 2024) in the Crewe Road area in the north of the city.
She is described as having orange hair, with a septum piercing. Yvonne uses a wheelchair.
Inspector Ross Nicol said: “Yvonne was spoken to around 7.20am today but we are growingly increasingly concerned for her welfare and are seeking the help of the public in tracing her.
“Anyone with any information should contact Police Scotland on 101 quoting incident 1409 of Friday, 5 July, 2024.”
The third North Edinburgh Community Festival will take place on Saturday 1th May 2024 in West Pilton Park. The park sits in the heart of North Edinburgh and draws its audience from Pilton, Muirhouse, Granton, Drylaw, Davidson Mains, Silverknowes and Wardie.
The event which has grown year on year is a fun, free to attend, family day out for new and existing residents to enjoy – promoting opportunities, creativity, enhancing community cohesion, reducing social isolation and celebrating the diversity of the area.
The Festival is going from strength to strength with over 100 local groups, organisations and charities taking part and providing workshops, information and activities – from glitter tattoos to video games, from dodgeball and football to obstacle courses and interactive theatre.
In the open area at the far end of the park we will have the Army, Marines and the Airforce in attendance showing as well as the Scottish Fire Services.
This year and moving forward, one of the key aims of the festival will be to work with young people in North Edinburgh and encouraging young people to take the reigns for future events and festivals.
One of the ways to engage with the young people is through music and over 600 young people from across North Edinburgh have taken part in the Tinderbox Garage Band Challenge, creating their own new music for the event. The winners will perform their original tracks on the main stage at the festival.
The music for the festival has been curated by local organisations Tinderbox Collective and Granton Youth’s Mixtape Music Club.
There will be more than 30 acts playing over the afternoon including over 160 performers, almost all of them from the local neighbourhood. On the outdoor stage, highlights include the incredible Fischy Music, Ama-zing Harmonies Choir, Heritage Of India Through Dance and Edinburgh Ukrainian choir.
On the indoor stage we have an exciting lineup of youth bands who are part of ‘North By North West’ a collaboration project between 5 youth music organisations across North Edinburgh the aim is to get the very best emerging talent out onto the Edinburgh music scene.
From the slick electronic pop of Muirhouse local (and BBC Introducing alumni) Laurent, Granton rapper Leon Highway, or the pop-rock stylings of Drenched in Dreams – we’ve got something to suit all tastes. Look out for amazing youth artists A420, Kieran Crosbie, Mezari, and Trisha Muco finishing out the festival in collaboration with players from Tinderbox Orchestra.
Head into the Sports Hall of West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre to find Tinderbox Games Showcase, an exhibition of playable games made by young game designers of all ages from North Edinburgh.
These will be featured alongside an exciting new escape room made in collaboration with young people from Granton Youth, which draws inspiration from trips to the Granton Hub archives and the area’s rich history, as well as a selection of games made by previous winners of the East Lothian Game Jam.
You’ll discover a mix of digital, physical and table-top games made by the next up-and-coming generation of game designers and creators from the neighbourhood.
Look out for Granton Youth’s stall advertising its youth work provision, which includes work with local schools, detached youth work, counselling for parents and young people, open access youth clubs, family support, and Mixtape – our music club.
This year we are extremely excited to have so many of the Edinburgh Festivals joining us on the day.
Edinburgh Fringe Festival Society will have street performers on the day and will be handing out free tickets to shows at this years Fringe Festival under their new Fringe Days Out Scheme which offers free Fringe vouchers and Lothian bus tickets to people who wouldn’t normally get to experience the Fringe.
The Edinburgh Science Festival are back with bigger and better street performance style science shows as well as their cargo tricycle for their science demonstrations.
And there will be storytelling activities for families from the Edinburgh International Book Festival Citizen Adults Writing Group plus loads of free books for children.
North Edinburgh Arts have a host of activities planned across their two large marquees this year. There will be drop-in arts activities for children and families, carpet bowls, and information on their newly refurbished and extended building opening later this year.
There will be family-friendly performances by commissioned artists, selected by local children from Forthview Primary School and Pilton Youth, as part of the Creative Encounters project, delivered in partnership with Imaginate, the Childrens Festival and North Edinburgh Arts.
And there will be storytelling activities for families from the Edinburgh International Book Festival Citizen Adults Writing Group plus loads of free books for children.
Of course, there cant be a festival without a parade and this year North Edinburgh Childcare have stepped up and organised the parade which will leave from their premises at 1130am and make its way along Ferry Road Drive around West Pilton Park and entering the park for the official start of the festival at 12noon.
The theme is Superheroes and any families looking to join in are most welcome. Pulse of Place will lead the parade and if you are around North Edinburgh on Saturday 11th May, you’ll most certainly hear the parade before you see it!
Other activities on the day include:
Important information from around 80 third sector organisations
Badge making with Pilton Community Health Project
National Galleries of Scotland’s Art in the Open electric cargo-bike for a sustainable art making workshop
Storytelling with Muirhouse and Granton Libraries
Human tower building with Colla Castellera d’Edinburgh
Horses from Edinburgh Equilearn
Each year the festival provides free food – the amazing RRT (Rapid Relief Team) hand out a few thousand burgers and will return again this year.
There will also be free food from Bangla Kitchen and Multi-Cultural Family Base.
This year we have yet again a larger food presence with some new vendors but as always there is cap on the cost of food at £5.
Lyndon Cane from RRT says “RRT is pleased to support North Edinburgh again by providing the signature burger meal at the North Edinburgh Community Festival.
“Care and Compassion is at the heart of what we do, and this event is important for us to attend so we can widen our support to communities during times of need.”
North Edinburgh Community Festival really does have the community at its very heart and we can’t wait to see everyone on the day.
There are around 400,000 women in Scotland who are of menopausal age.Too many of them will feel like they are alone.
For some it’s still a taboo subject which can lead to a lack of discussion and understanding. Every area of their life impacted and, often, left with crippling social isolation.
Menopause Goals is a pilot programme that aims to harness the power of football to help – thanks to a collaborative effort from the Scottish FA, St Mirren FC Charitable Foundation, University of Glasgow, and menopause expert Maria Anderson.
The initial 12-week course – held at St Mirren Park – saw 25 local women, who each had to address a number of issues brought on by the menopause, report improvements with symptoms, a greater sense of empowerment and, overall, better mental health.
The plan is to roll the programme out across Scotland so it can be delivered by other football clubs and charity groups – and it’s coming to Spartans here in North Edinburgh this month (see poster).
Corrie Campbell (Scottish FA, Football Social Responsibility Officer)explained: “So far, the power of football has tackled a lot of issues, but menopause is one of the few remaining taboo subjects that impacts so many people.
“A lot of people are still embarrassed to talk about it, whether it’s in the workplace or within their own family and friendship groups.
“I think there’s a real opportunity for football clubs around Scotland to make a difference.
“We came together to form Menopause Goals because there’s a need for education and knowledge for women in Scotland and we’re really excited about it.
“The tagline is ‘celebrating the second half’ and we want to help provide the tools, knowledge and confidence so people know their life isn’t over when they’re perimenopausal or postmenopausal.
“The University of Glasgow’s research department conducted an evaluation of the project using various methodologies.
“The pilot spanned 12 weeks and involved 25 participants experiencing symptoms at different menopausal stages.
“The Menopause Goals leadership team – including Gayle Brannigan, Chief Executive of St Mirren FC Charitable Foundation, and our menopause expert, Maria Anderson – organised weekly in-person sessions, complemented by online resource sharing.
“The pilot aimed to enhance participants’ knowledge about menopause and their personal journeys, helping them comprehend the impact on their well-being, relationships, and professional lives.
“The research outcomes will pave the way for a resource that enables the implementation of similar programs in football clubs throughout Scotland. This resource will also contribute to government objectives, given that menopause is a focal point in the Women’s Health Plan.
“Looking ahead, the objective is to leverage football’s influence. This innovative resource aims to educate and empower volunteers and staff within football across Scotland, providing them with tools and knowledge to support women gradually.
“The goal is to enable women to comprehend the complexities of menopause, fostering logical thinking about their body’s needs. By applying their learning in manageable steps, women can reduce symptoms, boost confidence to communicate with health professionals, and articulate their needs effectively.”
Businesses from across Edinburgh came together recently to play in the second annual Big Match, raising £20,000 for The Yard.
Celebrity chef Tom Kitchin and former Hibs star Darren Dods were among those in action at Ainslie Park as the business community rallied round to support the day.
“It’s been an incredible effort from everyone and the total of £20,000 is amazing,” said organiser Steve Currie, of Murray and Currie Property in the Capital.
“It was such a great day and I was delighted to reach our goal this year with all the money raised going to The Yard, which does such a fantastic job for young disabled people and their families.”
The Yard, which is based in the centre of Edinburgh with other locations in Dundee and Kirkcaldy, offers disabled youngsters and their families the chance to experience creative and adventurous indoor and outdoor play in a well-supported environment.
Chief executive Celine Sinclair, added: “On behalf of our entire team at The Yard, well done to everyone who took part in The Big Match and a huge thank you to Murray and Currie and everyone who donated.
“This donation is hugely appreciated and will go towards helping even more of the families, young people and children that we support.”
Thoughts have already turned to next year’s event, which will once again take place at Ainslie Park with a confirmed date of Friday, 7 March 2025.
Community Police Drop-In Event 
Date: Monday 23rd of September
Time: 12-1 pm
Location: Pilton Community Health Project, 73 Boswall Parkway, EH5 2PW
New Drop-in Alert
When: 26th of August
What Time: 12:00 – 1:00 PM
