Everyone has a tale about the challenges of growing older and the support many charities offer. Age Scotland is one that’s familiar to lots of our listeners as you will from Maureen and David. So we were delighted when Adam Stachura, Head of Policy and Communications of Age Scotland, came into the pod to explain what they were all about.

“Adam oversees Age Scotland’s policy development, communications, campaigns, digital and influencing work, supporting a team dedicated to improving the life of older people in Scotland. Adam and the team have been working on solutions to Scotland’s loneliness and isolation problem, banking and age-friendly financial services, transport, social care, dementia and housing for older people.” This is what the website told us about Adam and we certainly learnt a lot from our conversation. We hope you do too.

For more details about Age Scotland – please visit their website.

In this week’s podcast we speak to Fiona and Annamaria from Edinburgh World Heritage.  The charity's aims are “to ensure the city’s World Heritage status benefits everyone. We want to connect people to their heritage in everything we do – through the conservation of historic buildings, delivering improvements to public places, or engaging people directly through education.”

Fiona Rankin, as an architect and project manager, together with Annamaria Nizi as a project officer tell us a little bit about their exciting Twelve Closes project and some other future initiatives.

The Twelve Closes is an urban renewal initiative to enhance and improve twelve of Edinburgh’s historic pedestrian streets running off the Royal Mile. It includes Castle Rock Edinvar’s own Fountain’s Close. The project puts the communities who live and work in the closes at the heart of the improvements. The project is being delivered in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh Napier University.

You can explore the range of their projects on their website, which is full of stories and trails.

What’s the link between the Cayman Islands and the perils of cupcakes and cobbles? Harry Potter and gin pots? The answers are all revealed as Alison and Sophie of the Red Bus Bistro talk to Ruth about the amazing bistro on wheels. They explain how a simple idea mixed with a passion and a big red bus has turned into an experience for everyone. By the end of their chat, you’ll have discovered the tour for you…we know Ruth did.

This week Ruth talks to Lindsay Fyffe-Jardine of Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home and it’s a heart warming podcast. Lindsay explains a bit about the Home  and how it has coped during lockdown. You will hear about a special food bank, dog and cat dating, new police recruits and a people kennel. There are some amazing tales like ‘Lucy’s Law’ and ‘Finding Gobi’. By the time you hear Star’s story, you will be smiling.

You can check out more details of the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home on their website.

How are front line Castle Rock Edinvar staff operating in this new ‘lockdown ‘world? After interviewing the senior management of Castle Rock Edinvar  for last week’s podcast , we were delighted to catch up with Team Leader Daniel May this week. As you will hear, Daniel was in good form and explained how things have changed in terms of operations. Quite a few jobs have had to change. He also illustrates the old adage, never work with children or animals.

The Scottish Seabird Centre at North Berwick is one of those ‘must visit’ tourist attractions. The seabirds and the setting are spectacular. How is it coping during this current situation?

This week we are joined in the pod by Susan Davies the Chief Executive who starts by tell us about the Centre and their response to the lockdown. Joining Susan is the Volunteer Coordinator, Emily Burton who tells us a little bit about the challenges of conservation and reveals some amazing facts about the distance some sea birds travel to get to North Berwick. And we do talk about ‘urban gulls’ too.

Although, the Centre is currently shut to human visitors; there is a wealth of webcams, educational guides and resources for everyone to appreciate these feathered visitors to our shores.  The Scottish Seabird Centre website is here.

Remember when we spoke to Richard Jennings and Sarah Ogden back in early April?

Little did we know then we would still be “locked down” at the end of May. We thought we should check in again. Like most tenants, we were keen to find out what services were working, how staff were coping and what we could expect in the future. Richard Jennings, Managing Director and Sarah Ogden, Director of Customer Experience joined us in the pod to chat, explain and talk through their thinking at this important stage of the Covid19 pandemic. There’s lots of interesting information and it’s a great coffee break listen.

For more information about current arrangements for tenants visit the Castle Rock Edinvar website.

Or you can always subscribe to this podcast.

This is a very special podcast where two specialists discuss the challenges of 'working from home'safely; Ben Dyer the Technology and Innovation Lead for Castle Rock Edinvar talks to Mike Smith of the Cyber Prevention Team, Police Scotland. They cover a lot of topics and there is some great advice and top tips. From creating strong passwords to avoiding phishing, even a clever way to keep your work data safe on your laptop - there is something for everyone to take away. As you would expect, there are lots of good resources to help you.

Advice on preparing to work from home

How to report phishing or suspicious emails

Top tips to keep you and your family safe.

Password Strength

Information about how to use video conferencing safely

An update on current CoVid19 online scams

In the second part of this 'Staying Safe' podcast series David chatted to Mike Smith of the Cyber Prevention Team at Police Scotland.
After sitting in on the conversation with PC Geig Stephen and Collette of Trading Standards ( Episode 8 ) Mike talks about everything from scams to call blockers. He mentions some online resources which are very useful. In fact, Mike had so many great pieces of advice,we went on to record another separate episode when we explored the whole cyber 'working from home' situation. It's Episode 10 and contains excellent advice and top tips.

But Mike's top web sites;

Staying on top of fraud and scams - best advice

Top 6 tips to stay safe online

In this week's podcast we are joined by PC Greig Stephen of Police Scotland and Collette from the Edinburgh Trading Standards Team to talk about staying safe in the special situation of the lockdown. It was good to hear they are both working together to keep us safe. There was a lot of good information and we have provided a list below of all the various links, phone numbers and web sites mentioned by our guests in this virtual meeting. This is the first of three podcasts dealing with 'staying safe'. The other two deal with 'staying safe online' and finally, 'working from home online'.

Here's the links.

Police Scotland - for lots of information and updates

The City of Edinburgh Council Trading Standards - [email protected]  for advice with No cold calling zones and call blockers  ( 0131 200 2000 for emergencies)

Advice Direct Scotland - 0808 800 9060 (if you have a Trading Standards complaint they will refer it on.)

Edinburgh Trusted Trader - to find a reputable trader in your area

( Castle Rock Edinvar tenants - please note emergency repairs service is still operating. )

Friends against scams - for hints and tips on latest scams and how to support others in your community.