They told me nobody would show up.
Week 7.
Middle of the run.
Half our crew gone.
Every single one of our trainees landed full-time work.
That’s not a complaint.
That’s the dream.
It’s why Edinburgh Wheels exists. Real work. Real wages. Real shifts.
They’ve gone from steel-capped boots at Coalie Park to demolition support at Jenners on Princes Street. Others are on building sites in Trinity, laying insulation and painting kitchens with a sea view of Wardie Bay. They’re all over the city.
It means we’re now running light.
Coalie Park hasn’t stopped needing hands.
When that first concrete delivery rolled in and we had few to meet it, we put the call out.
Volunteers came. Again. And again.
Some were skaters. Some weren’t. Didn’t matter. They turned up. No questions. Just boots on the ground and trowels in hand.
Ask yourself, would you show up if no one made you?
Because this week?
Three more concrete pours are going down.
We’re also laying out the planters.
Not as an afterthought. Not as soft landscaping.
These beds will hold real soil. Native plants. Stuff that grows in the gaps of our city.
Stuff that lasts. Stuff that thrives.
You want to build something that lasts?
You start with who turns up.
You start with what they do when nobody’s looking.
You start with giving people the chance to work. To learn. To belong.
That’s what this project is.
You’ll see it in the joints of the mosaic.
You’ll feel it in the curve of the bowl.
You’ll notice it when the rain drains and the ramp’s still dry.
This isn’t a park someone designed to look good on a grant application.
It’s a space shaped by hands that learned how to mix cement, pour concrete, measure levels, and line up a ramp that rolls true.
Want to be part of it?
Show up.
Come see it.
Ask us questions.
Would you help if nobody promised to say thank you?
That’s community.
The seated bowl’s rear wall? Starts getting its mosaic this week.
It’s community designed and led by Campbell Barclay, our Artistic Director, it won’t be fancy. It won’t be perfect.
It will however, be done by people who care about building something with their hands.
And let’s be honest, it looks pretty solid already.
You can see the shuttering starting to take shape for the half-pipe near Junction Street Bridge.
Flat concrete’s gone down on the upper deck. Clean. Level. No drama.
The wheelchair ramp’s set too.
Every angle double-checked. Every surface rolled smooth.
Accessibility isn’t decoration. It’s not a nice-to-have.
It’s the bare minimum if we’re serious about saying “this space is for everyone.”
We also locked in the main drainage this week. That’s the kind of job you never see once it’s done, but you know when someone got it wrong. Trust me.
We’re still waiting on delivery for the hydro-brake. It’s a custom job.
You get used to delays in this kind of work.
It’s not about waiting. It’s about not stopping.
you guys rock!