As part of the Scotland wide Absent Friends festival, a chance for those affected by loss to gather together outdoors in a socially-distant way, round individual bonfires on Portobello beach at the foot of Bellfield St has been arranged.

Organised by Action Porty in conjunction with Life Celebrant Loretta Dunn, mini bonfires on the beach can be booked (FREE) for up to six people from up to two households on Sunday 1st November. Each fire will be spaced out from others to ensure social distancing and those round the fire will also be able to social distance as needed but still enjoy the warmth of the flames. The fires will be lit ready to welcome you at 4pm and will burn for approximately an hour to allow for story-telling and remembrance.

There will be space to share and speak or to sit in quiet contemplation as those who have died are remembered and acknowledged.

Attendees are asked, if they wish to send a photo representing their loss before the event. This will be laminated and handed to them at the event.

Please note, this is an outdoor event in November in Scotland so please come dressed warmly and for the weather whatever it might be.

While all precautions will be taken and fire wardens will be present, these are real fires and attendees are asked to be fire sensible and come along at their own risk. Children are welcome under the same terms.

The intention is for fires to be on the sand on the beach but if accessibility is a concern please let us know and we'll work something out. Please bring your own blankets, cushions or even beach chairs to sit on.

Toilets will be available at Bellfield.

Please feel free to bring a flask of warm tea, coffee or soup to enjoy or something to eat but due to Covid precautions food and drink should not be shared and will not be provided.

This free event is possible thanks to funding from the Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief project https://www.toabsentfriends.org.uk/.