Tales from the Hailes: Recent Episodes
Edinburgh Art Festival
From many conversations and connections, over a 9 month period, a group from Wester Hailes and connected areas began to crystallize around questions of wellbeing, establishing themselves as The Community Wellbeing Collective. An Edinburgh Art Festival 2022 commission produced in partnership with the WHALE Arts, the group has evolved into a programme and dedicated space called WATCH THIS SPACE, which has inspired this podcast. Welcome to Tales from the Hailes.
In this episode and the final of the series, we meet Allan McNaughton, Eoghan Howard and Neil Finlayson. Three people who have worked, volunteered and benefitted from Whale Arts which is this year celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Launched in 1992, WHALE Arts which stands for (Wester Hailes Arts for Leisure and Education) and was originally based in the Blue Hut on the Murrayburn Greenway. Over the past 30 years WHALE Arts has grown, moving to a purpose-built home in Westburn in November 2000, the same building the organisation works from today.
WHALE has established itself as the cultural anchor organisation for Wester Hailes. As a community-led arts charity and social enterprise, their mission is to be the creative heart of a vibrant, thriving community. They act as a conduit between our community and creative opportunities through the direct delivery of projects, programmes and events and by connecting our community with city and national cultural partners.
In this episode we meet 2 unpaid carers, Emily Stevenson and Seona O’flaherty. Two extraordinary women who talk candidly about their experiences as unpaid carers. Both women have connections with the Community Wellbeing Collective. Emily has taken part in open mic singing performances and Seona has taken part in colour therapy sessions.
An unpaid carer is a person of any age who provides unpaid help and support. This can be support to a relative, friend, partner or even neighbour who cannot manage without help.
As we enter this conversation, we start by hearing both women talk about the affects of being an unpaid carer and the toll it took on her mental and physical health, there will be some themes that you may find challenging such as discussions surrounding anxiety, panic, depression and suicide.
In this episode, we meet two young women, Ayisha and Priya, who are part of SCOREScotland, based in Wester Hailes.
SCOREScotland works with partners to address the causes of racism and provide support to families and young people who struggle with its effects. Their goal is to strengthen communities and to enable people to take an active and full part in community life.
In this episode, Tiki sits down with Stuart, an older voice in the community who attends the highly praised Dove Centre.
Founded in 1991, the Dove Centre is the only dedicated centre for the over 50s in the Wester Hailes area. They seek to support older people in the Wester Hailes and surrounding areas to remain as independent as they can be through a variety of socially inclusive physical and mental activities and volunteering opportunities. We provide fully accessible transport and freshly made meals daily on the premises.