The Bothy Boutique
The Bothy Boutique in Marchmont with its curated secondhand items is the retail arm of The Breakfast Bothy which is a small charity helping people who are experiencing homelessness.
Every purchase in the funky charity shop contributes to the overall charity purpose and buys a coffee or a meal for someone who is in need.
The Breakfast Bothy serves around 40 guests each day from a former police box on the corner of Marchmont Road and The Meadows. With its bright red and yellow paint it is unmissable. The charity also teams up with other local businesses to offer tokens for haircuts and other services for people who can’t afford it themselves. In the nearby Pavilion Café there is a community food share and also fully operational recording studio. Through their partnership with The Ootsider which is a social enterprise the charity distributes warm jackets to those who sleep rough.
The charity is part of the umbrella company Carlowrie Group, led by Andrew Marshall and which has a long history of charitable initiatives. More than 15 years ago, Mr Marshall opened his first homelessness charity, RESTART Lives, in London, which is still a core part of Carlowrie Group today.
The Breakfast Bothy was founded during the 2020 lockdown, in response to the difficulties society faced with loneliness, isolation, and housing insecurity, and is supported by the businesses in the group, including Carlowrie Castle, Edinburgh Street Food, and Innovative Partners.
Mr Marshall says: “The number of people experiencing homelessness in Scotland is shocking, with recent statistics showing the highest recorded numbers of people experiencing homelessness since 2011, and still increasing. At The Breakfast Bothy we do as much as we can to support our guests throughout various difficulties they face but we’re constantly reminded that more needs to be done to look out for people in need.”
As well as supporting the charity through any purchases it is possible to make a donation here. www.thebreakfastbothy.com
Edge 3
Edinburgh’s Edge Media Group is launching a new radio station on the airwaves this Friday – dedicated solely to country music.
Edge 3 will be available from 1pm on Friday 4 July, 2025 on DAB across Edinburgh, on the Edge Player app and online.
The station will have specialist shows, presenters and artists including Keith Urban, Morgan Wallen, Lainey Wilson, Post Malone, Luke Bryan and Ella Langley and is intended for fans of the fast growing music genre.
The Edge family now has Edge 3, Edinburgh’s Hit Music Station – Edge 1, and Edinburgh’s Classic Tracks Station – Edge 2, and will broadcast 24 hours a day from Edge Media Group’s Charlotte Square studios.
It is now three years since Jay Crawford came back to his roots in Edinburgh radio establishing the Edge Media Group. Now with new investment from marketing agency MB Media the radio station has also hired Micky Gavin as Programme Controller and breakfast show host on Edge 1.
Edge Media Group owner, Jay Crawford said: “Country music has always been popular here in Scotland over the years, but it’s especially massive at the moment. Its share of the UK singles market has more than doubled in the past two years. We’ll be featuring country music from across the decades and we hope to give fans a radio station that they can listen to all day long.
“I’m also delighted that as part of our continuing growth strategy at Edge Media Group, we’re now giving Edinburgh listeners three local stations to call their own!”
Sam Hinks, Programme Controller, Edge 3 said: “With headline artists from the world of country music now regularly touring the UK, the time is right to launch Edge 3.
“It’s going to be contemporary, very accessible and great fun to be a part of and we can’t wait to get started!”
Rotary Club appoints new president
Matt Purdie has just assumed office as the new president of South Queensferry Rotary Club.
Earlier this summer the club’s environmental team created a new seating area in Dalmeny. This was made possible by the Dalmeny Estate, who supported the project with some funding and allowed the installation on their land by providing the three-hundred-year old stone paving slabs. Locals will maintain the planters
The seating area, in memory of Neil Primrose, the 7th Earl of Rosebery, was officially opened this summer by his wife, the Dowager Countess of Rosebery, together with their daughter, Lady Jane Kaplan, and Rotary International President Stephanie Urchick, who was visiting the Club attended a ceremony in Dalmeny in the presence of other members of the Primrose family, Rotarians and guests from the village.
Upgrading works at the Banana flats
Collective Architecture has lodged proposals with City of Edinburgh Council planners to retrofit the Babna Flats at Cables Wynd House and Linksview House in Leith. The flats are listed and came to prominence in Irvine Welsh’s film Trainspotting.
The plans are to improve the buildings with new insulation and heating. Fire safety will be improved with new sprinkler systems and smoke ventilation as well as a fire-fighting lift and compartmentalisation in common areas to reduce fire risk in a £69 million project.
The application states that the work will include: “Thermal improvements to the building envelope will be made, whilst conserving the precast concrete panelling at Cables Wynd House”. There is a similar statement regarding Linksview House.
Carl Baker, architect and Passivhaus certified designer at Collective Architecture, said: “Our proposals place residents at the heart of the process, aiming to provide greener, warmer homes, while celebrating and sensitively enhancing the unique character of the Category A-listed buildings.
“As part of a just transition, our carefully considered interventions will improve the thermal and environmental performance of the iconic structures – boosting energy efficiency and alleviating the risk of fuel poverty. As with many of our projects, meaningful resident engagement has been central to the design process and will remain a key focus through the final design stage and into construction.”
Newhaven on Forth
On Saturday 5 July everyone is invited to take any old photos of Newhaven to the harbourside police box at Newhaven between 10am and 12.30pm to have them scanned into the archives to preserve Newhaven’s history.
If you can’t make it along then email for information. [email protected]
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
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