The Soapbox Newsletter
October 2024 Edition: Autumn pauses, The Story Sessions, The Edinburgh Minute Mini Newsagent, and questioning what makes a good life? 🫧
Good Morning, pals!
Welcome to this month’s edition of The Soapbox Newsletter!
Firstly I have some updates to share about the next few months of Soapbox: Blether & Gather; the monthly gentle networking sessions are going to take a short pause until the New Year. I’m taking time to reflect, review and redesign what these events look like and feel like. Primarily, I’m taking this pause to ensure that Blether & Gather continues to have a meaningful impact and doesn’t become just another networking session. Taking this time to be more intentional is something I’m really excited about, and in the meantime let me know if you want to go for a coffee - I want to hear about you and what it is you want from the Soapbox community.
The Story Sessions
The next Story Sessions is already in the planning stages and I can’t wait! Taking place on November 8th, the theme for the stories is Nourishment. Through storytelling we’ll hear the many ways people find and feel nourishment in their lives through food, being in community, with family and friends, in memories and in traditions that sustain us.
You are invited to join us at Tribe Porty from 6pm:
✨ What to Expect
A cosy, intimate gathering of storytellers and listeners
Stories that celebrate nourishment, and feeling nourished
Wonderful canapés from Còmhla, a luxury dining company founded by friends Helena and Joanna in Edinburgh. Brought together over a passion for wild natural Scottish ingredients, Còmhla’s philosophy is to celebrate the seasonal. With a deep-felt desire to sustain both environment and community, all that Còmhla does is driven by creativity, consideration and social-consciousness.
Whether you come to share a story or simply to listen, we welcome you to experience a night of connection and community.
Pay-what-you-can tickets are available here!
A few things from our community:
Tickets to the Creative Edinburgh Awards Ceremony are now on sale! The event is taking place on Friday 15th of November, 7pm at Central Hall. This year marks the twelfth celebration, showcasing the outstanding creatives who make Edinburgh the vibrant city it is!
Polymorphics Terrazzo Tray - Eco - resin Craft Workshop is happening this Saturday on October 19th. “Join us for a delightful crafting experience and learn the techniques to craft your very own terrazzo masterpiece!” This workshop is suitable for kids age 8+.
The Mardy Bum Active Club are hosting an Empowering Perimenopause Workshop on November 9th - a special event designed to help you connect, move, and learn together. Taking place between 2:30pm - 4pm at Tribe Quarter Mile. More information and tickets available here
Granton:hub is seeking a vibrant and diverse group of Trustees, and we want YOU to join us. We’re particularly keen to hear from younger people and individuals from minority backgrounds who can bring fresh ideas and unique perspectives to our board. As a trustee you’ll be an essential part of shaping the future of Granton:hub and the amazing work we do in supporting our local community at a pivotal point for Granton and the local area. If you’re excited about this opportunity and ready to be the change, apply now to join our dynamic team of Trustees. Contact Dave Harrold at chair@grantonhub.org
The Dead Curious Cafe at Tribe Porty is taking place on October 24th. Loretta Dunn is a life celebrant and death doula, with a special interest in living well and dying well. Passionate about bringing death out of the shadows as a means of helping us to live our best life in the present moment, compassion and love are at the heart of Loretta’s work. This is an open invitation to gather and discuss mortality in a supportive and progressive way over coffee, tea and cake.
The evening will be safe and relaxed environment for sharing and exploring a deeper understanding of spiritual wellbeing for living well to die well. Sign up here.Join Briana Pegado on an eight week course which will guide you to becoming a values-led disruptor. Including theory, exercises, and practical tools, along with a community of like-minded disruptors. Taking place from 29 October 2024 - 17 December 2024 between 6pm and 8pm, online.
For more information about the course follow this link, and book here. Soapbox newsletter readers can use this discount code: SOAPBOXPAL
Sponsor Section
FreeAgent
FreeAgent is award-winning online accounting software designed specifically for UK small businesses - and based here in Edinburgh. The folks at FreeAgent are all about making business owners and freelancers happier and more successful by putting them in control of their finances.
Discover whether your local area is one of the best places to get paid on time - or languishing among the worst - in FreeAgent’s new invoice payment research
Free up some precious time by handing these seven admin tasks over to a machine (or clever software)
Is your business protected if something goes wrong? Does it need to be? Find out in a simple guide to small business insurance
Looking for more accounting top tips? Check out our Instagram Q&A, full of simple answers from FreeAgent’s Chartered Accountant - and don’t forget to check out their next takeover on 22nd November, for all your Self Assessment questions
Everyone in our Soapbox community can give FreeAgent a go with a 30-day free trial and 50% off their first six months. Why not give it a go?
With Jack
Check out this webinar from With Jack: Insurance for Freelancers - Make sure you’re covered by the unexpected!
In this episode hear from Ashley Baxter from With Jack; a company that specialises in insurance for freelancers, as she chats about how insurance can empower freelancers in their client relationships, insurance products such as professional indemnity, public liability, legal expenses, and contents insurance, real-life examples of claims and the significance of maintaining audit trails.
The Edinburgh Minute
The Edinburgh Minute Newsletter is a free daily roundup of links to local news and happenings.
Introducing: The Edinburgh Minute mini newsagent
“Small things can make a huge difference. That's why I wanted to create something that celebrated how the small can be a catalyst for something big... and celebrate the city’s GOOD NEWS created by good people. Introducing: The Edinburgh Miniature newsagent”
Edinburgh is full of brilliant people doing wonderful things. They make where we all live a lot better.
Use this form to NOMINATE your shopkeeper / person of the week. Their prize: they will literally have to look after this tiny model newsagent & we’ll celebrate them lots online. We will even print off a unique ‘headline’ sheet for the tiny A-frame board thing, to shout about their good work.
Something interesting to end our October Newsletter
Thank you for reading
If you’d like to stay up to date with more events, jobs and opportunities, do consider following Soapbox on Instagram!
If you have something you would like to share with the community please feel free to email soapboxforcreatives@gmail.com!
We hope to see you at our next event if you’re local, and in the meantime please feel free to share The Soapbox Newsletter if you enjoyed it.
Until next time,
Ellie ✨