The state of Portobello beach bins is shocking – Hayley Matthews

I put up a Facebook post a few weeks ago about the state of the bins on Portobello Beach, bursting at the seams as litter spewed out every orifice.
Portobello Beach is always packed on a sunny, summer day - but where do people put their litter? (Picture: Lisa Ferguson)Portobello Beach is always packed on a sunny, summer day - but where do people put their litter? (Picture: Lisa Ferguson)
Portobello Beach is always packed on a sunny, summer day - but where do people put their litter? (Picture: Lisa Ferguson)

The ironic thing was the posters that covered the bins had the slogan Keep Porty Tidy and the hashtag #mybeachyourbeach all over them.

I know the bin lorries are very good at taking away the rubbish, and this isn’t a pop at the people doing the job, I’m merely pointing out that I see this every time we have a hot day so the council needs to do something.

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It only seems natural for people to head to the beach when the weather is amazing – but can we please have lots of recycling points, bigger bins and keep them maintained better?

It doesn’t take a genius to spot that they need emptied more regularly in the warmer weather, so surely the council can up the bin maintenance in the summer?

Why am I moaning about it? Well, the beach is such a beautiful space and you just need to look at the Porty People Facebook page to see posts complaining about the litter and how people don’t pick up their packaging after an impromptu BBQ. How how can we expect people to respect the beach and clear up their rubbish if there are no places to put it?

Come on Edinburgh Council, if you can’t do an extra empty in the warmer weather, then that’s just pure rubbish!

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Sleep apnoea has blighted my son’s life – but hopefully tonsil operation will help

I’m writing this before heading out for my son’s pre-op as we finally have a date for Harris to get his tonsils removed.

To say we’re relieved is an understatement however, I’m also very apprehensive, as having had mine removed aged four, I know what it feels like. Saying that, I’m looking forward to seeing him reap the benefits of a good night’s sleep because the obstruction his tonsils cause to his breathing is really dangerous.

I’ve heard about so many kids having tonsils removed due to sleep apnoea, and with the NHS not meeting their 12-week appointment dates in this department, I’m sure there are many parents out there in our situation, anxious and waiting, just wanting to see their kid have a good sleep.

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We discovered about a year ago that Harris has sleep apnoea and after writing about it, I had a lot of messages from parents saying that they could see similar traits in their children, and had people telling me their kid had their tonsils out due to sleep apnoea too.

The hardest part about it all is seeing our son constantly tired to the point where he just gets overwhelmed and looks exhausted. He also becomes hyper at the same time which apparently many kids with sleep apnoea go through because their body is living on adrenaline. Once the tonsils come out, we’re hoping that they’ll no longer be obstructing his breathing during the night and that our little boy can sleep like the rest of his friends, waking up feeling refreshed, not tired, lethargic and absolutely exhausted.

So St John’s we’ll see you in a few weeks and once again – thank you to our wonderful NHS!