Yesterday Edinburgh CND joined in the Edinburgh & Lothians May Day events; it was great to see so many people at the rally and march!

Our next meeting will take place at 6pm on Wednesday 4th May. This will be an online meeting via Zoom: all are welcome to attend. If you are not on our mailing list and would like to join the meeting, please email us at edinburghcnd@yahoo.com.

Agenda:

1. May Day (Saturday 7th May)
2. Local Elections (Thursday 5th May) 
3. Corstorphine Fair (Saturday 4th June)
4. 40th Anniversary of Faslane Peace Camp (Sunday 12th June)
5. Fundraising 
6. Date of next meeting 
7. AOB

Edinburgh and Lothians May Day March and Rally will take place on Saturday 7^th May. 

Assemble 11.30 at the top of Johnston Terrace.

March at 12.00 to Rally at the Pleasance Theatre.

Speakers   Iona Soper (C.N.D.)

                   Pauline Rourke (S.T.U.C.)

                   Carmen Simon (Edinburgh T.U.C.)

                   Coll Mccail (Fridays For the Future)

                   Brian Reynolds (R.M.T.)

Music        Penny Stone

                   Calum Baird

Compere   Susan Morrison

This year we are also supporting The Great May Day Cabaret , a cultural celebration of International Workers’ Day and the 125^th anniversary of the Scottish Trade Union Congress.

This will take place on Sunday 1^st May at the Southside Community Centre at 7.30 p.m.

Performers include          Rab Noakes

                                            Becci Wallace

                                            Calum Baird

                                            Ghazi Hussein

                                             Saber Banatraf

                                             Iona Lee

Hosted by                           Susan Morrison

Tickets available at

Edinburgh CND Minutes of April Meeting, Ryries Bar 6pm 5/4/22

Present: Ken Benjamin, Malcolm Bruce, Anne Milne, Rob Patterson

Apologies: Akiko Haga, Barbara Mavor, David Somervell

1. Chernobyl 1986  Anniversary Tuesday 26th April. We agreed to publicise the SNP CND hybrid event on Saturday 30th on Ukraine, Nuclear weapons and nuclear power.

2. Mayday Events. There will be a Mayday cabaret on Sunday 1st, South Side Community Centre, RP to circulate details.

Edin CND will have a stall at the Pleasance rally, the destination of the Mayday march on Saturday 7th May.

RP to circulate details. March starts 1230

3. Fundraising Report. Corstorphine Fair Saturday 4th June.

All present agreed to help on Edinburgh CND stall.

Agreed MB to spend up to £100 on stall merchandise from SCND (sale or return).

Advertising postcard for the group; MB to ask Pete Cannell if he knows a suitable designer.

MB donated £100 to the Red Cross from bike sales on behalf of the group.

Bike repair and sales continuing slowly.

4. Treasurer’s Report. BM reported by email amount in Edin CND account.

5. Date of Next Meeting. After discussion it was agreed next two meetings would be on Zoom.

DONM: Wednesday 4th May at 6pm on Zoom (to allow for SCND Exec meeting on the Tuesday night)

and Tuesday 7th June at 6pm on Zoom (as we’ll have met in person at the Corstorphine Fair).

6. Any Other Business. 12-1 Friday Don’t Bank On The Bomb demo at RBS Nicolson Sq. MB to bring Edin CND banner.

KB to circulate Exec minutes.

STW meeting on Zoom Tuesday 26th KB to forward details.

MB to contact David Somervell who has Edin CND material to drop off.

KB to circulate photos from Ukraine demo.

Our next meeting will take place at 6pm on Tuesday 5th April. This will be an in person meeting in the Upper Bar of Ryrie’s Bar, Haymarket. All are welcome to come along!

Agenda:

1. Chernobyl anniversary – 26th April 
2. May Day rally – Saturday 7th May
3. Fundraiser Report
4. Treasurer Report 
5. Date of next meeting 
6. AOB

Don’t Bank on the Bomb Scotland and ICAN have called a day of action on Friday 8th April 2022 to urge Scotland’s largest bank, NatWest Group, to divest from companies that make nuclear weapons. The group, which includes subsidiary RBS, holds investments worth £2 billion in nuclear weapons producers and has so far resisted calls to change its investment policy.

A protest will be held outside RBS, 30 Nicholson Street, Edinburgh from 12 until 1 pm and demonstrations are planned at other locations TBA. Sign up here to get involved: https://divest.icanw.org/natwest_day_of_action

Please share these details. NatWest is due to review its investment policy over the summer so the more people that take part in this action, the greater the pressure will be on the bank to change.

Present: Anne Milne, Akiko Haga, Ken Benjamin (Chair), Malcolm Bruce, Lynn Jameson, Isobel Smith, Lee Gates, Mary Archibald, 

Apologies: Barbara Maver

1. Ukraine. There was a discussion of the war in Ukraine after introductions. 

The group agreed to donate £100 to the International Red Cross Appeal.

MB to ask BM to send ICRC a cheque.

2. Ukraine Demo Sunday 6th 3pm, assemble junction of Castle Street and Princes St.

Bring placards etc, blue and yellow. MB to deliver Edin CND banner to KB before Sunday.

3. Mayday Saturday 7th May 

Rally at Pleasance after march from Johnstone Terr.

Speaker from Peace camp, tribute to Eileen Cook, Penny Stone to sing.

Edin CND stall at Pleasance.

4. Corstorphine Fair

Saturday 4th June, Edin CND stall selling plants etc.

Lee Gates may provide cards for sale.

Volunteers needed on day and before.

5. Treasurer’s Report

MB to request report for February from BM

6. Website. MB to ask Lauren if she’s consider doing light touch regular updates.

7. Date Of Next Meeting. Tuesday 5th April 2022.

Some discussion of Face to face vs Zoom or alternating.

Face to face agreed.

Suggested venues:

LG to investigate Walpole Hall

KB to investigate Ryries Bar and Mercat Bar

KB to decide venue and inform Lauren by Tuesday 29th April

8 AOB. MB suggested a getting a small business card or postcard printed with group info and contact info on it.

For handing to people at stalls etc and pinning on notice boards.

ACTION ALL: copy for this please, also artwork. Have you any designer contacts?

There was further discussion of the situation in Ukraine.

Edinburgh CND, in concert with other peace groups including Scottish CND, Stop the War, Campaign Against the Arms Trade and many others, showed our solidarity with Ukraine on Sunday 6th March. Donations were given to the Disasters Emergency Committee who wrote a thankyou for the donation of £153, which with gift aid comes to £191. Watch out for further actions.

Photo credit: Natalie Taylor

Sunday 6th March is an International Day of Solidarity with Ukraine – called originally by Code Pink, CND and the Stop the War Coalition.

This event is coordinated by Edinburgh peace and anti-war groups. We plan to form a human chain along both sides of Princes street. We will be there in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and with Russian anti-war protestors and we will be calling for a stop to war and for Russian Troops to withdraw.

We will meet at 3pm at the corner of Castle Street and Princes Street. When you arrive, please come to the assembly place and we can advise how best to distribute yourselves.

It will take a little while to set the chain up – we expect it to be formed by 3.30 and we plan to maintain it until 4pm. The formal protest will end at 4pm but if you have time, please return to the corner of Princes Street and Castle Street where you can meet up with others, and the groups that have organised the event, and discuss next steps.

Do take photographs and share widely on social media.

Please bring, and wear masks – observe social distancing and don’t come if you are not well.

JULY
Tuesday 6th 6pm, ECND Monthly Meeting (by Zoom)

Join SCND on the fourth birthday of the Nuclear Ban Treaty, on 7 July at 7pm (BST), to celebrate all the progress that has been made so far – to hear stories from activists who are leading the change, and to learn more about how the Nuclear Ban is making a difference in countries around the world.

AUGUST 
Tuesday 3rd 6pm, ECND Monthly Meeting (by Zoom) Email us for details edinburghcnd@yahoo.com

Friday 6th Hiroshima Day Edinburgh Commemoration: assemble 6pm at Castle Street junction Princes Street https://www.facebook.com/events/497468558017962

Monday 9th Nagasaki Day

Saturday 14th Climate Festival Leith links

SEPTEMBER
Climate Fringe Week dates tbc
Arms Fair Action (CAAT) dates tbc
Tuesday 7th 6pm, ECND Monthly Meeting Tuesday 21st International Day of Peace (UN).
Sunday 26th Faslane/Aldermaston Demos

OCTOBER
Tuesday 5th 6pm, ECND Monthly Meeting Edinburgh World Justice Festival

NOVEMBER
COP 26 Glasgow, dates in Nov tbc
Tuesday 2nd 6pm, ECND Monthly Meeting Thursday 4th Climate & Militarism Day
Armistice Day/White Poppy Sales
SCND AGM

DECEMBER

Tuesday 6th 6pm, ECND AGM and Social