The Edinburgh Reporter September 2024

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Editorial

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Editor: Phyllis Stephen

Designer: Tammy Kerr

Photos: Martin P McAdam

EDINBURGH has recently been saturated

in culture, but with government cuts to

funding, some artists say they will find it

difficult to sustain themselves at the early

stages of their careers. Creative Scotland

(CS) has closed its Open Fund for

individuals, saying The Scottish

Government cannot confirm that they will

release £6.6 million in Grant-in-Aid budget

in the current financial year. In addition the

government has also cut £2.25 million of

funding halfway through the year. CS say

they have to be a viable organisation. A

petition has been set up by Campaign for

the Arts (CfA) demanding that the Finance

Secretary, Shona Robison, reinstates the

funding, saying the Scottish cultural

landscape is at risk of collapse due to

continued inaction and backtracking by the

government. CfA have a handy checker on

their website allowing you to see if local

organisations are at risk from the removal of

CS funding. The arts funder supports 119

regularly funded organisations supporting

5,000 workers and 25,000 individual artists.

On page 5 the Edinburgh Bus User’s

Group (EBUG) has penned an open letter to

the new Transport Convener. Although the

group did not know who it would be we

reveal the identity of the new Convener who

will have to answer EBUG demands - e.g. to

make all bus lanes and bus gates operational

seven days a week from 7am to 7pm - as

already agreed by the council in July 2022

(but which has never been implemented).

On Page 7 former councillor and now

Chair of North Edinburgh Arts, Lesley

Hinds, writes about the exciting new

development in Muirhouse which is almost

complete.

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Phyllis Stephen, Editor

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WE PRINT 6,000 copies of The Edinburgh Reporter which are

then distributed through a network of city businesses and public

buildings including selected local libraries - all by cargo bike.

The digital version of our newspaper is also widely published and

we estimate our total readership of this paper is in the region of

around 20,000 people. You will find copies at all branches of

Farmer Autocare, Summerhall, EICC, LifeCare on Cheyne Street,

Coffee Angels, the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Western

General Hospital and more public libraries than previously.

If you can, then please subscribe to have your copy delivered to

you each month. It helps us to cover the overheads of bringing

the news to you in print and online and to maintain it as free to

access. We can also deliver door to door on some selected streets.

If you would like us to include your local area then please suggest

it to us. ter.ooo/subscribe

Planning and property news

Plans have been lodged to turn the Ford

Transit Centre at Peoples Ford in Sighthill into

a showroom for a Chinese car manufacturer.

Chery will use the site to showcase their

brands, Omoda and Jaecoo.

GRAHAM Group are constructing a Build to

Rent development of 464 homes on

Bonnington Road which they say is

“progressing well”. They have aerial footage on

their X account.

A Japanese restaurant, Nishiki, will open

on Morrison Street on the site of the

former McKirdy’s.

Blank Street Coffee will open on Victoria

Street in one of the empty retail units

which forms part of Virgin Hotels

Edinburgh. This will be a first for the US brand

• and could reportedly be the first of several
  in Scotland.

The Cockburn Association are organising

an event on 30 October at Augustine United

Church, 41 George IV Bridge, EH1 1EL to

discuss Responsible Tourism. All welcome

but ticketed on Eventbrite. The meeting will

be streamed online.

Doors Open Days are on 28 and 29

September. The event is organised by Scottish

Civic Trust, and literally opens doors to

buildings not normally accessible by the

public. These are our top four choices of where

to visit:

The 1940s Police Box at the junction of

Northfield Broadway and Mountcastle Drive

North EH8 7SA.

Adam Smith’s Panmure House 4 Lochend

Close EH8 8BL is a building only open to

people attending events there. It is a

fascinating space where Adam Smith lived.

The Chapel of St Albert The Great which is

accessed by George Square Lane EH8 9LD was

commissioned in 2011. It lies in the back

garden of 23-24 George Square

The Church of the Good Shepherd is at 13a

Murrayfield Avenue, EH12 6AU. There will be a

Harvest Festival service, open choir practice

and organ music and demonstration during

the weekend. doorsopendays.org.uk

Something fishy...

THIS MONTH’S PHOTO pictures the staff of Andrew Dow Ltd, Fish

Filleter and Kipperer, in Newhaven and was taken around 1920.

This picture memory was contributed by the Living Memory

Association to Edinburgh Collected, which is the online community

photo archive managed by Edinburgh City Libraries..

edinburghcollected.org

Bonnington Road

A 104-YEAR-OLD Edinburgh

woman enjoyed a spectacular

birthday party to mark reaching

her special birthday.

 Lena “Alice” Lamont, who lives

at Care UK’s Murrayside, on

South Beechwood, marked her

104th birthday in style recently

when the team who look after her

organised a day which was fit for a

queen.

Alice, who has lived in

Edinburgh her whole life, is an

avid fan of its beautiful scenery

and historic architecture.

Among her favourite spots to

visit is the North Queensferry

Hilton Hotel, which offers

stunning views across the Firth of

Forth, the Crieff Hydro Hotel, and

the famous Kelpies.

 In her younger years, Alice

spent a lot of her time in

Corstorphine, working in her

brother-in-law’s fish and chip

shop, where she enjoyed serving

and talking to the customers.

She lived in her own home until

the age of 98, before moving to

Murrayside, where she continues

to enjoy days out and spending

time with her family.

Alice has one niece, one great

niece, one great nephew and an

incredible ten great-great nieces

and nephews – who regard her as

having “legendary status” for

keeping up to date on the latest

celebrity news in Hello! magazine.

 On the big day, the talented

chefs at Murrayside prepared

Alice an impressive birthday

lunch, which she enjoyed over a

glass of wine with her friends and

fellow residents.

She also enjoyed a trip to the

local cake shop, Mimis, where

Alice got a special birthday cake

and balloon.

 Alice said: “I’ve truly been

spoilt today, I’ve never had so

much cake!”

The big birthday

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Andrew Dow Ltd SCOTTISH HISTORIC BUILDINGS TRUST

(SHBT) are holding an event with Dr Sam

Gallacher on 12 September at 6pm. Riddle’s

Court was restored and re-invented as a

venue for events and entertaining,

including weddings. Dr Gallacher, recently

appointed as SHBT Director, will give some

insights into the projects that the charity

takes on, how they work and what we can

do to help. Sam joins the Trust from his role

as Keeper of The Burrell Collection in

Glasgow. Formerly Assistant Director of the

Medici Archive Project in Florence, Italy,

more recently he worked for the National

Trust for Scotland in Glasgow. shbt.org.uk

Tale of Riddle’s Ct

EDINBURGH’S FREE LOCAL NEWSPAPER...A CAPITAL READ FROM START TO FINISHJune 2024

Thomas Haywood Photography By IT IS NOW TEN YEARS PHYLLIS STEPHENsince Edinburgh

Trams began running the passenger service the Gyle Stop with many people trying to be the first people to get on board.from Edinburgh Airport to York Place. Actually on the first day the service began at Edinburgh Trams have now carried more than 60 million passengers in the last decade on a fleet of 27 trams and employ around 300 people in Edinburgh. Except during Covid tram income has risen year on year. In 2014 the half year income was £4.782 million and this rose to £23.9 million in 2023. More about Edinburgh Trams on page 7

Trams are 10

Northern delightswas something Awesome aurora Page 3to seeon 25 Class of 99Boyack reflectsyears at HolyroodPage 4 looking back on his lifeNo negativity Star struckPages 12-13for snapper The Royal infirmary Looking aheadnew lease Page 15of lifehas to home for new boss Hibs could Job vacancyPage 22look close

The Eric Liddell Community

EDINBURGH’S FREE LOCAL NEWSPAPER...A CAPITAL READ FROM START TO FINISHJuly 2024

Timely tributecenturies of life savingFloral Clock Page 3marks two Exhausting electioneering People’s choicealmost over Page 4is Chris creates Royal muralof Edinburgh Page 5lasting memory 900 Liam laments activity before the FringeShow stoppersPage 18-19dearth of July Olympic hopesheading Local hockey Page 22to Paris players 2024

By IT WILL BE 100 YEARSsince athlete and missionary, Eric Liddell, won an Olympic gold PHYLLIS STEPHEN this month

medal in Paris. The story of his victory was the real-life inspiration for the film, Chariots of Fire, and he was not only a sprinter, but also a rugby player, winning seven caps for Scotland and working as a

Christian missionary in China. University of Edinburgh he also played sport for his country - although he had been born in Qing While he studied at the

China where his Scottish parents were missionaries. not run in the heats for the 100 metres race as these were held on a Sunday when he did not play sport. At the 1924 Olympics he would

He then competed in the 400 metres heat held on a weekday, and - even though this was not “his” distance - he won. Eric Liddell Community (ELC) at His name has been given to The

Holy Corner which will celebrate the life of their namesake with a series of events this month. ELC is a registered care charity based at Holy Corner where they provide specialist dementia care and help

people to overcome loneliness and isolation. The charity, which has HRH The Princess Royal as patron, has begun a fundraising campaign during this year to help them continue with their important work.

Read more on page 5

City marks the centenary of The Flying

Scotsman

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Gold

Standard

By STAFF REPORTER

SCOTLAND’S FIRST FULLY DIGITAL

MUSEUM will be created in Leith by Scottish

Historic Buildings Trust (SHBT). Draft plans

are on view in Custom House until 6

September for the public to comment upon.

Richard Murphy Architects have suggested

creating “a town square for the twenty-first

century” in the Grade A listed Georgian

building. SHBT say this will make the building

a fully accessible and sustainable culture and

heritage destination in Leith.

The ground floor will be rented out to artists

and makers with conference space also for hire.

There will be retail and commercial

opportunities which will ensure the future of

Custom House. Custom Lane, which lies

behind the building, will become a new place

to eat and drink linking Dock Place along to

The Scottish Office at Victoria Quay.

The digital museum will be housed upstairs

using eight rooms equipped with video walls

and listening booths to display the digital

content. The exhibits will include historic

documents and photographs along with film

and animations and digital contemporary art.

In September Custom House will be home

to the Open House: Leith Custom House

Festival which is a part of the city’s Edinburgh

900 celebrations.

SHBT Director, Dr Samuel Gallacher, said:

“Leith Custom House has an important role to

play in preserving Leith’s proud civic traditions

and is the largest project ever to be undertaken

by Scottish Historic Buildings Trust in our

forty-year history. We have worked with the

community to develop the vision for the future

of the building and are delighted to share our

next steps for the project publicly through a

programme of events aimed at widening

participation.

“The digital museum fuses the principles of a

civic museum with the innovation of a

contemporary digital art gallery. This concept

promises a world-leading approach to providing

a venue suitable for telling the stories of long

ago, empowering people to tell their own stories

today, as well as showcasing Leith and Scotland’s

outstanding digital creative sector.”

The council appointed SHBT in 2015 to

carry out a study to explore the options for the

building. Since then artists and tenants using

the building have developed a “vibrant creative

buzz” there which will now be developed with

the newly released proposals.

Digital future for

Custom House

Sam Gallacher of SHBT (left)

and Richard Murphy architect

Alison Moodie photographed inside

Custom House where she used to work

Tom Duffin

New use for historic listed building in Leith

making it sustainable and accessible to all

Alice with

her special cake