Hear About talks – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Welcome to your September newsletter

We’re Advancing …

First of all, a little boasting. We are proud to let you know that we have achieved an “Advancing” report from It’s Your Neighbourhood, part of Keeping Scotland Beautiful, for our achievements over the year (that’s level three out of five).

Our efforts were scored at the beginning of August and we were praised for community participation and environmental responsibility.

In particular, the work done by the Men’s Shed, on various planters and raised beds, the planting of particular ingredients for dyeing and wood treatment by our partners and the creation of free Little Libraries, one with a green roof, came in for special mention, all providing opportunities for a wide variety of activities for local residents.

The report also included a few suggestions for going forward, which we will certainly work hard to bring to fruition.

Hear About …

September means that our Hear About talks are starting soon, on Friday 20th to be precise. We’ll be kicking off with a return visit from Kenneth Williamson who this time will be telling us about Old Edinburgh Trams that served Edinburgh from 1876 until 1956.

Talks will take place at 3pm and will be followed by the chance for a cup of tea and an informal chat. Talks are currently free but we would appreciate a donation towards the refreshments.

See our website, notice boards and social media for details of the other autumn talks which will be on most Fridays until 6th December.

Hear About

Tattie Fest

Saturday 21 September 12 – 4pm

Join us for a celebration of the Heart of Newhaven’s garden and to eat a lot of potatoes.

Expect – Food – from the garden, the Scran Van and groups who are based at The Heart of Newhaven; Herbal tea from the garden (and tea and coffee from the supermarket if that’s not your thing); Creative activities – potato printing, screen printing, potato crocheting and knitting; Garden tours and a chance to meet other people from our community

There will also be Tattie Contests, including a beauty contest – if you’ve been growing your own in your garden or on your balcony, and have some unusual looking potatoes, bring them along to be entered!

And as we drift into autumn, the gardening drop-in days have changed and are now weekly on Thursdays from 10.30 till 12.30 and monthly on the first Saturday of the month, 10.30 till 12.30.

Reminiscence

Remember, remember that our regular volunteer-led Reminiscence sessions are taking place on the last Thursday of every month (except December). Everyone is welcome to come along and share memories in the Anchor building. September’s gathering will take place on Thursday 26th.

Doors Open

The last weekend of the month will see the Heart open for Doors Open Days, on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th.

We’ll be open from 10am till 4pm both days and there will be a chance to take a tour round the thriving building, talking to some of our artistic and creative partners including Ink on Mesh and Robert Furze, violin maker, or take part in a short Victorian lesson in the Schoolroom. The latter will only be on twice each day, (11.30 and 1.30) so sign up on arrival to be sure of the experience.

There will be not one, but two art exhibitions on display to enjoy: The Joy of Painting and Art in Healthcare and the day will also see the unveiling of the Oyster Mural on the outside of the Anchor building, at 11am. Come along and see the result of co-operation and consultation between Restoration Forth and the local community.

That will be followed by a performance by the Newhaven Community Choir while there will also be music from the Men’s Shed Splinter Band. The Shed will be open to visitors both Saturday and Sunday from 10am, with a “Repair Shed” and a “Guitar Clinic” from 10am-1pm on Saturday.

In addition, our Ukranian Spiders will be providing some wonderful refreshments between 10 and 3 on both days.

The Tallest Christmas Tree

September also means that there are barely three months to go before our Tallest Tree goes on display. The knitters are busy getting everything ready by fireproofing the squares and decorations, continuing to sew squares and trim pom-poms for garlands. Everyone is welcome to come along and help at the various sessions.

Sewing will continue fortnightly at the Heart in September but with a revised time of 1-3 pm which means that everyone will be travelling home in daylight and those who are interested in our Friday afternoon talks will also be able to attend.

The trunk and branches are in the capable hands of Derek from Men’s Shed and Eain is building a stable for our knitted nativity scene while the Heart knitters are busy with baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph and all things nativity. The Heart of Newhaven Fishwife has not arrived yet but we are certain she will look lovely on top of the Tree. We are running a competition to guess her name and we shall have forms available for you to make your guess at the Tattie Fest on 21st September and Doors Open Days on 28th and 29th September or call in and make your guess. Only 50p a name!

We would appreciate anyone who could donate a raffle prize, as we are raising funds to make the Heart as accessible as possible for everyone and for Home-Start our chosen partner. This is an organisation which supports parents to give children the best start in life. We are also looking for sponsors in our Sponsor a Branch appeal. We shall, of course, acknowledge everyone who helps in this way in the Heart and also on our our social media channels.

We need any remaining squares or decorations to be brought in to the Heart for fireproofing and will also be delighted to receive more decorations as any extras left over will be sold at the craft fair on opening day, November 30th to help raise funds for our good causes.

Leith Folk Club

Leith Folk Club is presenting an evening with the extraordinary Scottish-Canadian artist, Evangeline Gentle, on Tuesday, 24 September, 7.45 for 8pm start. With a sound that seamlessly blends folk, pop, and Americana, Evangeline’s music is a heartfelt celebration of queerness, identity, and the shared human experience.

Their songs are marked by lush melodies, powerful storytelling, and a voice that resonates with warmth and authenticity, while their performances are known for their emotional intensity and inclusivity, so whether you’re a dedicated folk fan or simply looking for a night of beautiful, thought-provoking music, this is an opportunity to witness a truly gifted artist up-close and personal.

Email info@lethifolkclub.com to reserve a place or message at www.leithfolkclub.com (which links to the Leith Folk Club facebook page).

– Tickets: £12 (cash only, at the door) Remember, the venue is not licenced but you are welcome to bring along whatever you’d like to drink.

Calling all seamstresses

Finally, an appeal from our History of Education Centre partners who run the Victorian Schoolroom on the first floor of the Heart.

The schoolroom is in dire need of some new children’s costumes for visiting school pupils, in particular boys’ shirts.

Our top floor tailor partner Poppy has very kindly made some shirt patterns but if anyone feels able to donate some suitably Victorian-looking materials, or feels able to sew up a few shirts from the patterns once we have the material, then please get in touch either with histedcentre@gmail.com or with christine.mcderment@heartofnewhaven.co.uk.

Please have a look at our regular sessions – we are have amazing new workshops and classes.

Regular Sessions

Save the date:

9th October, 6pm – the 2024 AGM.

If you are a member you will receive an invite. If you want any information or to stand as a trustee contact agm@heartofnewahven.co.uk

If you want to sign up as a member do so here: Heart of Newhaven

30th November – craft fair and reveal of the Tallest Christmas Tree

Welcome to your March newsletter

The Heart welcomes Lord Cameron of Lochiel

New Scotland Office minister Donald Cameron included the Heart in his first official visit on Thursday 22nd February.

Mr Cameron, now Lord Cameron of Lochiel, has sat in Holyrood since 2016 but quit the Scottish Parliament in February for the House of Lords and a position in the Scottish Office at Westminster.

As well as the Heart, he also visited Granton’s historic gas holder, which is being restored as the centrepiece of a new public space in the regeneration of the waterfront and Portobello Town Hall, recently rescued for the community by a local charity much like ourselves here at the Heart.

All three projects have recently received much-welcomed funding from Westminster’s Levelling Up Fund.

Lord Cameron met many of the Heart’s Partners and users, including the Ukranian Spiders, Mwamba, Vintage Vibes, Robert Furze and some of the History of Education volunteers who were coincidentally hosting a visit from Primary 7 pupils from Victoria Primary School.

He also spoke to Alex Bird from Tortoise in a Nutshell, Charlie Traylor from Men of Leith’s Shed, volunteer Judy Gray hard at work on our knitted Christmas Tree project, and artist Jill Boualaxai, so he got a good overview of the many skeins bound up within the Heart.

Building work at the Heart

The emergency conservation works including roof and window repairs are being undertaken by a team from our contractors, Ashwood, led by site foreman, Findlay and should be finished by the end of March.

Ashwood will then return in April to fit a couple of stones and install some new windows that are being cut or made off site. (Did you know that when you need to replace stone, a stone “library” is brought to site so that the stone can be matched?)

Most of those repairs won’t be visible, but were very necessary to get the building wind and water tight, before we embark on future works to bring the building into the 21st century in terms of repair and energy efficiency for the comfort and use of all.

In the meantime, people might see safety scaffolding going up in the atrium for a few weeks, and our apologies in advance to our Partners and user groups who may experience some disruption as windows are repaired.

We must give a huge shout out to our funders without whom we couldn’t have done all this; The Department of Levelling Up, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic Environment Scotland and The Pilgrim Trust and of course there’s also the Design Team who specialise in the conservation of listed buildings in community use, led by John Gilbert Associates.

Hear About… talks

Our Hear About… talks taking place in the Heritage Suite on Friday afternoons have been proving very popular, with up to three dozen people attending each of the various events.

They will continue to run until the first Friday in April and then we will pause them over the summer and restart them in the autumn.

Here are the next scheduled talks …

Friday 8th March – Bill Hall on the Newhaven fishing industry

Friday 15th March – Kenneth Williamson on the old Caledonian Railway between Leith and Granton

Friday 22nd March – Niall Campbell on birds of the Isle of May

Friday 5th April – Anna Inman on the Restoration Forth project

More details on the website.

Volunteer to help and get a guaranteed place in the action!

We are keen to recruit a team of volunteers to help with the logistics of the talks. We need to set up the chairs (and rearrange them again at the end) in the Heritage Suite as well as welcome attendees and then serve teas and coffees at the end.

Would you be willing to lend a hand? Contact christine.mcderment@heartofnewhaven.co.uk or admin@heartofnewhaven.co.uk if you’d like to help.

It may be the end of the Spring talks in April, but we already have talks lined up for the autumn, including one on the Hill & Adamson photographs of Newhaven fishwives, from Louise Pearson of the National Portrait Gallery and another on Celtic folklore and the mythical sea creatures of Newhaven. Watch this space!

Death Cafés at the Heart of Newhaven

A death cafe is described as a safe place where people can feel free to talk about anything they wish, to do with death and dying.

On Saturday morning, 27th January we held our very first death café when fourteen people attended and the feedback was very positive. The discussions were enjoyed by all and there was delicious cake.

There will be more death cafés at the Heart on Saturday mornings of April 27th, July 27th and October 19th, all 10.00 am to 12.00 noon. Please arrive around 9.45 for welcome and coffee.

Remember our regular Events

Monday lunch club

The Cyrenian Lunch Club takes place at the Heart every Monday from 12.30 until 2pm. The lunches are free and open to all (advise in advance if you have allergies)

They’ll be serving a nutritious two-course meal along with tea/coffee. Some weeks there will also be entertainment to enjoy!

Sharing the Past meetings at the Heart are now taking place on the last Thursday of every month and the next one will be on Thursday 28th March.

Come along and reminisce with our Reminiscence volunteers. The topic changes every time. All on a Thursday at 10.30 -1130 am.

Keep up to date with all the regular events and activities by checking our website or following us on social media.

Oyster Mural

Remember too to get involved in the Restoration Forth project to create a mural for one of the outside walls of the Anchor Building. There will be a get-together to discuss plans, with coffee and cake at the Heart on Saturday 23rd March at 10am.

You can find out more on our website or follow the link below:

The Friends of Western Harbour Ponds have asked us to help raise awareness of their fight to save the re-wilded space now home to numerous bird species and a precious haven for humans too.

A petition calling on The City of Edinburgh Council and The Scottish Government to “recognise the value of the self-willed wetland habitat for nature and for people, and to help save it from development” has so far gathered more than 3,000 signatures.

You can find out more about the campaign at Save Western Harbour Ponds

If you’re keen to help document the biodiversity of the Ponds and other spots in Edinburgh, pop 26 to 29 April in your diary!

The City Nature Challenge is an annual worldwide bioblitz to record wildlife and plant life in cities, with the Edinburgh project coordinated by RSPB Scotland.