Do you know someone who is digitally excluded?

Connecting Scotland is a Scottish Government programme set up in response to coronavirus. It provides ipads, chromebooks and support to develop digital skills for people who are digitally excluded and on low incomes.

The criteria for phase 2 is:

1.       Digitally excluded – do not have an appropriate device and/or are not connected to the internet at home AND

2.       On low incomes so cannot afford to buy a device or pay for internet access

3.       And ARE EITHER

a.       Households with children or where a child is normally resident (this includes pregnant women with no child in the household) OR

b.       Care leavers up to the age of 26 (in line with eligibility for aftercare support)

For more information contact Diann Govenlock, Connected Communities Manager at  [email protected]

If you have been contacted by Test and Protect, and advised to self-isolate as a result of COVID 19, you may be entitled to a self-isolating grant if you meet the eligibility criteria.

For more information on self-isolating visit East Lothian Council.

Anyone at any time may have to self-isolate if for example you or anyone in your household develop COVID-19 symptoms; if you are returning from certain other countries and need to quarantine or if you’re asked to isolate via the Scottish Government’s Test, Protect and Isolate system, which is in place to identify those who may have come into direct contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. 

Most people will be able to self-isolate with help from friends, family and neighbours and by arranging grocery deliveries – however if you need extra support, please contact [email protected] or phone our helpline: 01875 824300.

You can also call the British Red Cross coronavirus support line on 0808 196 3651. This was set up to provide support to communities and people in need during the coronavirus pandemic, giving people without a support network someone to talk to, and to help them access things they may need like food, medicine and emotional support.

You can get information on Test, Protect and Isolate from the Scottish Government website. 

Al passed away in early September after a year battling cancer, an illness which few suspected as he went about his wide range of community activities till a few days before his death.  

Al’s portfolio of community interests was wide – he was one of the founders of Humbie Box Office; a member of the Community Council for more than twenty years; a trustee of DLX Community Benefit Trust (the windfarm fund); one of the instigators of HumbieNet (the community-owned local broadband infrastructure managed by Lothian Broadband), and the Humbie First Responders group; the initial energy behind the ‘Humbiehelps’ community CoVid initiative; the ‘fixer’ behind Mavis Hall corporate events; a dame in Humbie Players Christmas pantomimes; and latterly Morag Taylor’s trusty lieutenant in the Humbie Hub.  And much more.

Al, with his wife Janet’s support, had a greater impact on the community in which he lived than anyone I have come across.  Humbie is a much more vibrant and viable community because of Al. Few of us will deserve such an epitaph.  We are poorer for his passing – but richer, not just for his time amongst us, but for the way he chose to spend it.  

Thank you, Al

Humbie, Saltoun & Bolton

The Community Council website needs to look fresh and inviting! Do you have photos that you would like to have displayed on the website? We are particularly looking for shots of the villages, surrounding countryside or iconic features from the vicinity.

We are very happy to attribute shots to their owners. Please get in touch if you have photos that you are willing to share with us or are interested in having displayed on the website.

A few hours work per month

Modest gratuity per meeting

The Community Council is seeking to recruit a new Secretary. The secretary is entitled to small gratuity per meeting and thus cannot also be a member of the Community Council.

The Secretary is required to attend all meetings, prepare Agendas/Minutes for approval by the Chair, circulate papers to councillors, conduct correspondence as required etc. The Secretary does not need to reside within the Community Council Area.

The Community Council normally meets ten times a year (August to June) at 7.30 pm on the first Wednesday of each month. Additional meetings may be held throughout the year depending on circumstances. Meetings rotate around the three principal communities of Bolton, East Saltoun and Humbie.

Applications, by letter, detailing your skills and experience should be submitted by email to [email protected]. For more information, please contact Rosemary Greenhill, Chair (01620 810447).