With a bit of sunshine and warmer weather we are ready for our first BEACH LITTER PICKING event at Wardie Bay this Saturday between 11:30 -1pm!
This is a family friendly event supported by R2 project.
Any questions-email: anna@grantongoesgreener.org.uk
Have you experienced loss in the past two years? Join us for gentle, creative walks, designed especially for those navigating grief.
Together, we’ll explore the local landscape through art-making, reflection and connection.
Facilitated by Caledonia Funeral Aid’s Emma Ritchie and St Columba’s Hospice’s community artist Isla Macleod, you will be warmly welcomed to share space with others who understand and find comfort in nature and community.
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!
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has announced that its special 75th Anniversary fundraising initiative has raised a remarkable £157,161.75 for St Columba’s Hospice Care, following the conclusion of this year’s Show.
The donation, generated from 75p from every ticket sold in 2025, aimed to resonate with the message of this year’s performance, The Heroes Who Made Us, celebrating and supporting those that go above and beyond in our society.
This donation will enable St Columba’s Hospice Care to continue providing compassionate, free-of-charge palliative and end-of-life care to individuals and families across the region.
During the 75th Anniversary Show, each performance included a special moment honouring different individuals, highlighted as Spotlight Heroes, whose dedication and service enrich communities and the lives of those they encounter. Among those celebrated was Liz Gallagher, a valued fundraising volunteer at St Columba’s Hospice Care.
Liz has been part of the hospice’s fundraising team for six years, giving countless hours to bucket collections, events, and creative fundraising ideas. In her day job supporting people with additional needs, Liz involves her clients in St Columba’s Hospice Care fundraising activities, helping them feel part of the hospice community.
The donation from The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo will be put towards St Columba’s Hospice Care’s continued specialist care provision for people across Edinburgh and the Lothians ensuring that individuals and families can access the support they rely on at such an important time.
This donation goes above and beyond the Tattoo’s usual charitable giving which sees surplus profits distributed annually to military and arts charities in the UK. St Columba’s Hospice Care was chosen by the community with over 50,000 votes cast to select from a selection of non-military charities that provide vital services in the local community.
Jackie Stone, CEO at St Columba’s Hospice Care, said: “Incredible donations like this don’t come along very often, and at a time when hospices across Scotland are facing significant funding challenges, we are especially grateful.
“Support from our community has never been more vital and we are deeply thankful to everyone who voted for us and helped generate this remarkable sum, simply by going along to enjoy the Show.
“It was also wonderful to see our volunteer, Liz, recognised as one of the heroes of the Tattoo’s 75th Anniversary. Her energy, creativity and dedication truly reflect the spirit of our entire hospice community.
“We would like to thank the Tattoo once again for this generous donation. It comes at an important time, helping us continue to provide specialist, compassionate care for people across Edinburgh and the Lothians and ensuring that individuals and families can access the support they rely on, when they need it most.”
Jason Barrett, Chief Executive, The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, said: “Our 75th Anniversary was a tribute to the people who have built and sustained the Tattoo over the years, and it was a privilege to extend that celebration to community heroes like Liz and the team at St Columba’s Hospice Care.
“This donation was made possible entirely thanks to our wonderful audience, whose support enables us to contribute to partner charities and champion the military, traditional arts, and—this year—an extraordinary cause.
“We are proud to stand behind such an exceptional organisation and the dedicated volunteers who give their time so selflessly.”
Please join us for a community walk along the coast from Wardie Bay to Granton / Royston (the ‘Brick’) Beach to search for flat oyster shells on Remembrance Day for Lost Species.
Meet on November 30th 2025 at 2pm to walk together and find out about the restoration of seagrass habitats and European flat oyster populations in the Firth of Forth – a species which used to be abundant and was fished to local extinction around 100 years ago.
Together, we will search for evidence of these flat oysters, and there will be talking and sharing about our concerns for the health of the sea and the species who live in, and depend on, it.
We anticipate the event lasting 1.5 hours. It may be cold, so please bring a flask of something hot and wear warm clothes and suitable footwear. We will end at The Pitt where a variety of drinks and food will be on sale.
This event has been thought up by Katie Smith from Granton Community Gardeners who is working to gather local knowledge about our wildlife and build a Granton nature restoration plan, and Tamsin Grainger, local walking artist with an interest in local history and community wellbeing.
Free (you can make a donation to cover costs if you like).
Everyone is welcome including children and dogs. This walk will be manageable on wheels. We aim to be inclusive and open.
We hope to walk with representatives from Restoration Forth and Edinburgh Shoreline
TUESDAY 11th NOVEMBER from 6.30 – 7.30pm
Discover the power of poetry as a tool for remembrance, on Tuesday 11th November from 6.30pm-7.30pm.
This guided session offers a gentle and welcoming space to reflect on loved ones through poems about memory, love, and loss. You are invited to join us in writing, sharing your own poems, or simply listening to others.
No poetry experience is needed; all are welcome to participate in this shared experience.
Light refreshments will be provided.
This session will be facilitated by our dramatherapist, Sally McRae.
Booking required – please email arts@stcolumbashospice.org.uk.
Hope to see you there, Saturday and Sunday 10am – 4pm, 15 -17 Boswall Road
WATERFRONT ART WALKS RESTART 20th OCTOBER
Our Waterfront Art Walks are back next month! They’ll be starting from 20th October, and leaving from St Columba’s Hospice Care reception.
Spaces are limited, so contact Emma to book your spot at emma.kelso@funerals.scot
The walks are designed for people who have experienced loss in the past two years, and are gentle, creative strolls designed especially for those navigating grief.
Together, we’ll explore the local landscape through art-making, reflection, and connection.
Facilitated by Caledonia Funeral Aid’s Emma Ritchie and St Columba’s Hospice’s community artist Isla Macleod, you will be warmly welcomed to share space with others who understand and find comfort in nature and community.
As part of their ongoing commitment to the local community, a Tesco Superstore in Edinburgh has raised £19,382 for St. Columba’s Hospice Care through instore fundraising and other initiatives.
The store, located on Broughton Road, has spent eight years raising vital funds for the hospice, which provides people in Edinburgh with end-of-life care, as well as supporting their families.
Recently, members of the Tesco team took part in the 7 Hills of Edinburgh Challenge, a long gruelling walk of around 27km with over 700m of climbing involved, in which they raised nearly £2,000 for the hospice alone.
In September, the team will be taking part in the famous Edinburgh Kiltwalk, part of Scotland’s largest mass participation walking event with over 178,000 people taking part since 2016.
Year-long fundraising in store includes a book donation point, which was started by store colleague Caroline Phillip, where customers are encouraged to take a book and make a small donation, which is then given to the hospice – with a current sum of £17,432 donated so far. Books are provided by local businesses and customers.
Ross Wallace, Store Manager at the Superstore, said: “We have supported St. Columba’s Hospice Care for many years and are delighted we have been able to give them such a fantastic donation of over £19,000.
“The hospice has provided help to not only colleagues in store, but our customers as well, so it’s a cause very close to our communities’ hearts.
“I’m extremely proud of all my staff for going the extra mile to raise funds for a vital service which supports so many people in the area, and I’d like to thank everyone who kindly donated over the years too.”
Amanda Southey, Partnerships Fundraiser, said: “We’re incredibly thankful to the team at Tesco for their continued commitment and generosity over the years.
“Their support makes a real difference to families across Edinburgh and the Lothians, allowing us to deliver expert, compassionate care, so no one has to face the end of life alone.”
Tesco Superstore is located at 7 Broughton Rd, Edinburgh, EH7 4EW.
Donations can be made to the store’s Kiltwalk efforts at:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/rosswallace-688924857d8396eb850a9ec7.
For more information on St. Columba’s Hospice Care and how to support, please visit https://stcolumbashospice.org.uk/.
