Rather last minute SDSS (Self Directed Support Scotland) asked if I could take some headshots of their staff and board members who were gathering for a meeting. I was able to fit them in after a morning meeting across the city and we found a suitable wall to take the shots in front of which matched their branding colour scheme.

​Although Bellfield Church and halls in Portobello - the  building at the heart of the first successful urban Community Right To Buy in Scotland - isn't going to officially open until later in the year, it was the venue for a pilot community event this afternoon. A combination of Action Porty, Tribe Porty Youth Theatre and Portobello Heritage Trust hosted an afternoon event at which older residents of Portobello were encouraged to come along, enjoy some music and afternoon tea and share their memories of the Edinburgh suburb with the newest generation of Portobello residents. At the same time the team bringing the building back into community use were able to gauge their progress and see what things still need to be done ready for the big opening in June 2018.

Portobello Community Choir gathered in the Community Orchard at Donkeyfield next to Brunstane Station for an afternoon of apple-related songs. The choir continued a tradition of 'wassailing' - singing in orchards to encourage a good fruit harvest in the year to come.

Action Porty held its inaugural AGM at Bellfield. At the meeting the original Friends of Bellfield group, set up to support the Bellfield campaign, was disbanded and incorporated into Action Porty. Also, when Action Porty was formed it was a legal requirement to define a catchment area from which to seek a mandate for the Community Right to Buy of Bellfield. That boundary was extended to a new, larger catchment area when a motion was passed at the AGM. 

Not completely sure why but there were loads of Starfish washed up on Portobello Beach. There seemed to be some debate whether this was usual for this time of year, when storms churn up the sea bed, or a symptom of something more serious happening in coastal waters. Either way the image attracted some media attention.

It appears to be a tradition to burn Christmas trees on the beach in Portobello to mark the end of the Christmas season. Another impromptu community activity that seems to attract local people of all ages.

The annual impromptu Loony Douk on Portobello Beach on January 1st. Unlike bigger, more organised events elsewhere, such as South Queensferry, the Portobello Douk is when a number of locals gather to run into the sea. Some wear fancy costumes, others are in more regular swim gear. And crowds of warmly dressed spectators watch the madness.