Save Bellfield Cabaret

Bellfield Old Parish Church and accompanying halls are going to be sold by the Church of Scotland as they are now surplus to requirements. Three congregations in Portobello have amalgamated into one, using a single building. The trouble for the community is that the church and its halls are used for all sorts of purposes and risk being lost if the buildings are sold to developers for new housing. So members of the local community are trying to do something about it - starting a campaign to build the support necessary for a community buy-out. Legislation recently changed to allow such things in urban areas as well as rural ones. Disappointingly it appears that the General Trustees of the church are not prepared to delay the sale to give the community more time to organise the community buy-out. It's a whole other question concerning the way such trusts operate - subsuming the broader good of the community into a very restrictive financial imperative to maximise monetary value. Should the constitution of trusts be changed to provide trustees with the leeway to make decisions in the interests of the wider community in such circumstances? Much like the charity that owns those flats in Lorne Street Leith that wants to sell their properties without regard for the sitting tenants. The charity's objectives are simply to maximise income for its specific cause, but what if they had a broader social responsibility that would allow other factors to be considered? If commercial companies have increasing social responsibilities that restrict their behaviour, should the same principles not extend to charities and trusts?
Anyway, the group trying to mobilise community support organised an evening of cabaret entertainment in the hall, with drama, music, comedy and dance. The place was packed and everyone had a great time, as well as signing up to help gather the signatures from the community that will be needed to make the buy-out happen. Here S, one the the key organisers of the event, dances with her husband C, who acted in the opening short play and joined one of the musical acts at the end of the night.