January 2023 Members Update
Food and Mood talk with Q & A - Friday 3rd February - 12 till 1pm
Come and find out more about the link between what we eat and how we feel and how to eat well to help your mood.
Arrive at 11.30-11.45 and enjoy a free hot drink and home-baking in Bellfield's Friday café.
The Food & Mood session is followed by a free lunch at 1pm. You can book your place via this quick form: https://cutt.ly/LivingWellatBellfield
Further Living Well events at Bellfield are listed on our website's events page.
Not Quite a Burns Night - Saturday 4th February @ Bellfield - 7.15pm- 10.30pm (Over 18’s Only)
Tickets on sale here.
Bar and refreshments
Doors open 6.45pm
Liz Lochhead, Joyce Falconer and friends present a take on burns Night in aid of the Freedom from Torture charity .
A mix of traditional and modern , serious and comic - a night of spoken word and music with a nod to Burns! With Story teller Tim Porteous, singer songwriter Sheila Mcwhirter, music provided by the Ladies‘ Guerrilla String Quartet, hosted by actor Eliza Langland.
New Activities
Kundalini Yoga
New Yoga class at Bellfield, Every Thursday from 2nd Feb till the end of June, 4.30pm to 5.30pm
Mindfulness Classes
There is a free intro session on Tuesday 7th Feb 1 - 2pm.This will be followed by an 8 week Mindfulness Based Living Course every Tuesday from 21st Feb - 1th April, 12.30 - 2pm.
Worship Nights
Join this session for an hour of informal worship and prayer Friday 3rd Feb, 7 - 8pm and then 3 Mar, 7 Apr, 5 May, 2 Jun
Screen Porty @ Bellfield - Friday 24th February - Celebration Hall – 7pm till 9.30pm
Screen Porty said:
"The germ of Screen Porty began with a Porty Talk in 2021 and a well-attended meeting which indicated there was a keen appetite for community cinema.
A small group of us formed to move this idea forward. We joined 'Cinema For All', receiving training in how to set up and run a community cinema. CFA also gave us the funds to support the screening of ‘Rory's Way’ in November 2022, which attracted 55 supporters and ‘Local Hero’ in December which drew a staggering 80 film enthusiasts.
We hope to move forward now to build on this success and establish an enduring community film presence in Porty. We need positive and enthusiastic people to join us and ensure the longevity of the project. And of course we need an audience to attend screenings and help us to embed a fantastic future for film in Porty.
Please support us by coming to the next film:’ I Know Where I’m Going’ on Friday 24th February. Doors open at 7pm."
Contactscreenporty@gmail.comif interested.
The Friday Café
Our Bellfield volunteers launched the Friday Café in the Bellfield Foyer. The Café offers home baking and skills sharing sessions in arts and crafts and is a chance to connect with friendly faces and learn new skills in a warm, relaxed space. This week's workshop from 11am - 12pm, Crafts: Valentine Hearts with Lynda.
Meet Our Team:
Hear from some of our amazing staff & volunteers and find out why they want to be part of Bellfield. This time, we ask Alison our new volunteer co-ordinator to tell us a bit about herself:
1. Tell us about yourself
I'm an East Lothian girl originally and I think one of the reasons I like Portobello so much is it often feels like a big village, or a small town. I live in 'Greater Portobello' , about a mile inland, but my second home is the boatyard on the prom and my 'happy place' is when I'm sailing in the Forth, looking back at the Porty skyline and Arthur's Seat against a beautiful sky.
I'm kept on my toes by my lively 3-year-old so work sometimes feels like a rest!
I've had a varied career working as a project manager, trainer, adult education tutor and administrator and I've worked in both the public and voluntary sectors in Scotland, London and abroad. My Volunteer Coordinator role with Action Porty combines lots of elements of those previous roles but conveniently closer to home!
2. What attracted you to work with Bellfield?
The strong sense of community that's built up around Bellfield, and the chance to be a part of growing that community further. The role itself; it's a varied role with a lot of scope for initiative and creativity. The opportunities for growth and development - Action Porty is still a very young organisation and Bellfield has so much potential.
3. What are you most looking forward to about working with Bellfield?
Finding new ways to harness the people power of volunteering to support Bellfield's community, while making sure volunteers are supported by the Bellfield community.
Perhaps the most important part for me is that the job requires connecting with people, out and about (rather than always sitting behind a computer, working from home) and the opportunity to do that while drinking tea and eating cake at Bellfield's Friday cafe is a bonus!
4. If you had a superpower, what would it be?
Hmm, that's tricky. I'd like to be able to change the weather but actually more useful would be the ability to speed up and slow down time. That would make it easier to fit in all the important things in my life and slow down the precious moments with my wee boy. It would also have the extra benefit of allowing me to speed up time to bring about weather changes when it's not to my liking!
Gift by Donation
Your generosity keeps us going. As a charity, we rely on your donations (one off or regular) to enable us to support Bellfield and make a difference to the community of Portobello. Don't forget that, in addition to gifts by donation, you can find out more about ways to donate here.
Lastly, you can also support us each time you shop on Amazon, then please use AmazonSmile and Amazon will donate to Action Porty, at no cost to you.
Till the next update, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and wish you and yours a happy and healthy New Year.
Yours Aye
The Action Porty Board for Bellfield