Helping Neighbours, Developing Communities

Mary O’Connell from Leith Time Bank is coming to join us for a special conversation group on Monday 7th December at Out of the Blue Drill Hall cafe. If you’d like to find out more about how you can exchange your skills and time with others in your area, come along and join us!

Leith Time Bank is an exciting new idea that gives people like you the opportunity to share time and skills to develop your community.

We know everyone has skills, knowledge and experience to offer, which could be beneficial to someone, such as gardening, sewing, listening, simple repairs and running errands. Time Banking is a way for people to exchange their skills and time.

For every hour members ‘deposit’ in a Time Bank, perhaps by giving practical help and support to others, they are able to ‘withdraw’ equivalent support in time when they themselves are in need. Everyone’s time is valued equally whatever is being offered.

1 hour of time = 1 Time Credit

So, for example:

Jenny, Bob and Patricia are Time Bank members.  Jenny has hurt her back and needs someone to weed her garden. Bob loves being outdoors and helps Jenny, earning 2 time credits.

Bob need some advice to cook nutritious meals and gets help from Patricia, whose passion is food.

Patricia needs someone to teach her simple computer skills so she can stay in touch with her friend who has moved abroad. Jenny teaches computer in university and helps Patricia.

The Time Broker facilitates all exchanges and records everyone’s time credit.

This kind of exchange is not new – it has traditionally occurred amongst families and friends. All Leith Time Bank does is to provide a new structure for neighbourliness.

As Mary puts it: “Leith Time Bank is about neighbours being neighbours.”

Sophie and Mary promoting Leith Time Bank at Leith Festival Gala Day

Stop the Hate

What is a Hate Crime?  Where can you go for help if you are a victim?  And how can you stand up for others?

We will be having a special conversation about Hate Crime on Monday 23 November from 7.30pm to 9.00pm at Yellow Bench.  We’ll also be joined by a community police officer from Leith Police Station.

It’s good to talk!

Almost two months into our project and we’ve still not run out of good chat. In the last week alone, we’ve shared stories of family values in India; hospitality in Sicily; human rights in Poland; modesty in Chile; friendliness in Scotland and partying in Germany!

And there’s more…We’ve discussed possible answers to antisocial behaviour in our neighbourhoods, and debated the pros and cons of Edinburgh Council’s approach to new buildings.  We’ve also imagined how we might cope as modern day people living in medieval Europe, and shared our appreciation of ’80s electronic music, Breaking Bad and Game of Thones.

We’ve even gone so far as to predict a future, one hundred years from now, of time travel; sustainable energy solutions; advanced human rights and great progress in the world of medicine!

But that’s not all…we’ve also learned about an array of different organisations and projects to help us get the most out of living in Edinburgh and Leith – including:

Volunteer Edinburgh – Help to find a volunteering opportunity that suits you

Edinburgh4Community – How to apply for money to set up community projects

Inspiring Leith – Support to organise neighbourhood activities

The Welcoming – Free english classes and other support to newcomers

Out of the Blue Arts and Education Trust – Wide ranging programme of creative arts classes and events

Sketchy Beats Cafe – Brand new cafe in the old cinema on Great Junction Street, offering drawing classes, poetry slams, music nights and of course… conversation groups!

We see new faces at every session as well as welcoming back regulars each week. It is wonderful to see new friendships forming as the conversations grow and grow and grow.

For the full details of future conversation sessions, including discussion topics, please see our calendar.

New Conversation Times, Days and Cafes

Monday mornings, 10.30am to 12.00pm at Out of the Blue Drill Hall Cafe, Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh, EH6 8RG

Monday evenings, 7.30pm-9.00pm at Yellow Bench (downstairs), Crighton Place, Leith Walk, Edinburgh, EH7 4NY

Sunday afternoons, 4.00pm to 5.30pm at Sketchy Beats Cafe (downstairs), Great Junction Street, Edinburgh, EH6 5LW

We have changed our weekly programme of conversations!

We will still be at Yellow Bench on Monday evenings, and Out of the Blue on Monday mornings, from the slightly later time of 10.30am.

However we are sad to say that this week we had our last session at Punjabi Junction who we are so, so grateful to for hosting us every Tuesday since our project began. We will miss the kindness of the staff and the mango-ness of the lassis very much but look forward to working with them again sometime in the future.

Due to the results of our recent community consultation we’ve decided to move our Tuesday conversations to Sundays but as Punjabi Junction is unfortunately closed on Sundays, we are moving to the newly opened Sketchy Beats Cafe, housed in the old cinema at Great Junction Street.

Sketchy Beats Cafe was opened up last month by a inspiring young woman called Cosima Canneti after a very effective Crowdfunding campaign.  The cafe has been quickly embraced by the creative Leith community and already has an impressive calendar of events lined up, including drawing, poetry, music and of course conversation groups!

You can read more about Cosima’s story here or follow Sketchy Beats Cafe on Facebook for more details of upcoming events.

Living in Leith Survey

If you live in Leith but are from another country, we want to hear from you! Please take a few moments to complete our short survey. Your thoughts, feelings and experiences of living in Leith are very important in helping us improve our project.

Our ultimate vision is a Leith community where people from other countries feel included, informed, recognised and respected – but we need your contribution to make this happen! Each person who completes this survey helps us move just a little bit closer to achieving our goal.

Thank you 🙂

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/B5YS2VK