Hey! Nashy & Abs here 👋
Welcome to your weekly Thriving Newsletter!
Summer holidays are here, so there won’t be a Newsletter next week. A down week for us before the mayhem of the Fringe Festival descends on Edinburgh and Fringe by the Sea hits East Lothian!
This week's newsletter is a street food special! Some of the best independent food traders in Edinburgh and the Lothians all in one place. 🍔
On top of that, I am heading to Fringe by the Sea in North Berwick again this summer to interview adventurer and broadcaster Ben Fogle. Cannot wait for that one! There is still time to grab some tickets.
Edinburgh is absolutely alive right now. Festivals, events, sunshine and brilliant independents everywhere you look. There has never been a better time to be in this city.
This week's newsletter includes:
🔥 New business shout-out - ClanCape
🎟️ Nashy at Fringe by the Sea with Ben Fogle
🏪 Local business highlights - Street Food Edition
📣 Worth shouting about & 📅 Dates for your diary
💳 A taste of what's on the Thriving Card this week!
If you haven't grabbed your Thriving Card yet, the founding-member price is still available to newsletter subscribers only.
Let's get into it! 👇
🔥 NEW BUSINESS SHOUT OUT
🍖 ClanCape - Scottish Produce. South African Soul.
Meet one of Edinburgh and East Lothian’s most exciting new event catering businesses and one with a very familiar face behind it. WP Nel, South African-born, Edinburgh-adopted and a Scotland international rugby legend, is one of the founders of ClanCape alongside his good mate James.
Having joined Edinburgh Rugby in 2012 and gone on to represent Scotland at two Rugby World Cups, WP has made Scotland his home and now he is channelling that same passion into something very special indeed. 🩷
ClanCape brings Scotland and South Africa together through unforgettable street food experiences for events, festivals and celebrations. Scottish produce meets South African soul with bold flavours and delicious food. The burgers literally melt in your mouth and the seasoned fries were a favourite with the kids! Highly recommend a visit!
Planning an event, festival or celebration? Get in touch with ClanCape and let WP and the team make it one to remember. 🩷
🎤 Ben Fogle: In Conversation - Fringe by the Sea
I am delighted to be back at Fringe by the Sea this year hosting Ben Fogle in Conversation.
Following previous years and conversations with Joe Wicks, Eddie the Eagle, Mark Beaumont and The Dog Father, Graeme Hall, Fringe by the Sea is a special Festival which is growing year by year; I am always honoured to be invited back.
Ben Fogle is an adventurer, broadcaster, author and one of the most inspiring people you will ever hear speak. Ben has rowed the Atlantic, crossed Antarctica, climbed Everest and lived off-grid in the Alaskan wilderness. The stories he has to tell are like nothing else.
I’d love you to come and join us on the East Lothian coast for a morning of adventure!
Saturday 1st August 2026. 11am to 12:15pm.
📍 North Berwick, East Lothian
🏪 LOCAL BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS
🍔 Trailer Trash - Street Food, East Lothian
East Lothian's brilliant independent street food trailer and one worth knowing about. Handcrafted burgers served with skin-on fries, using meat sourced from local butchers. Daily specials and banging flavours! Proper, honest, quality street food.
Available for weddings, birthdays, garden parties, hen and stag dos, corporate events and festivals. If you're planning an event this summer and want proper street food. Trailer Trash is worth a call.
Follow their Instagram and Facebook to see where they're popping up next. 🩷
📍 East Lothian
❓ THIS WEEK'S QUESTION - Where are you following from? 🌍
If you are abroad right now, we would love to hear where you are following from. Send us an email and please get in touch. Thanks for following our Thriving journey.
🍗 Kaptain Karaage - West Tollcross, Edinburgh
Meet Balraj Singh. Son of local Scottish celebrity chef Tony Singh and the man behind one of Edinburgh's most unique independent street food businesses.
Kaptain Karaage blends flavours and techniques from across Asia into something genuinely brilliant. The signature dish and biggest seller is chicken karaage. Bite-sized pieces of chicken marinated in a unique blend of Japanese spices and triple-fried for ultra crispiness. Cauliflower karaage for the vegetarians, Wagyu beef hot dogs, yakitori chicken skewers, Japanese pancakes, sourdough stone-baked pizzas with a Japanese twist and a brilliant cocktail menu to wash it all down.
Rated highly online and consistently described as the best fried chicken in Edinburgh. One of the best things about this city's independent food scene right now. Go and try it. 🩷
📣 WORTH SHOUTING ABOUT & 📅 DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
🛍️ Pop-Up at The Shop With No Name - 3rd to 5th July
A brilliant long weekend pop-up at one of Edinburgh's favourite creative spaces and this one is packed with incredible independent makers. Five brilliant creators all under one roof at 2a Broughton Place. Pop along and browse, discover something beautiful and support local. 🩷
Featuring work from:
✨ @you.andaye
✨ @rooted_in_mexico
✨ @clay.bylola
✨ @nadarstudio
✨ @growingwithtasha
✨ @gracie_joyram
Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th July. Free entry.
📍 The Shop With No Name, 2a Broughton Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3RX
🏊 Free Swimming for Under 26s - East Lothian This Summer
Brilliant news for East Lothian families this summer. Children and young adults aged 26 and under can swim for free at five pools across East Lothian as part of the Scottish Government's Summer of Sport 2026 scheme. Running from Monday 29th June until Friday 7th August.
Free family swimming sessions also allow up to two parents or carers to join children in the water. Available from 11am each day during normal public swimming times at Aubigny Sports Centre in Haddington, Mercat Gait Centre in Prestonpans, Dunbar Leisure Pool, Musselburgh Sports Centre and North Berwick Sports Centre.
Free. No excuses. Great fitness. Get the kids in the water this summer. 💙
🎨 Kirsteen Art - Edinburgh
Meet Kirsteen Lyons-Benson an Edinburgh-based contemporary artist, workshop leader and one of those brilliant creative independents that makes this city genuinely special. 🩷
Kirsteen creates expressive mixed media paintings inspired by Scotland's light, colour and atmosphere. Seascapes, landscapes, coastal scenes and so much more. Beautiful, bold and very much worth discovering.
Beyond the paintings, Kirsteen runs regular Saturday morning art workshops in Sighthill, private gallery tours of Edinburgh's art scene and community art projects across the city. Whether you've never picked up a brush or you're a seasoned painter, there is something here for you.
The kind of creative independent we love to champion. 🩷
🎟️ Book a workshop or gallery tour
📍 Sighthill, Edinburgh
🧶 Woolkind - From Sheep to Shop: Crafting Ethical Scottish Knitwear - Edinburgh Fringe
This one is a brilliant find and some dates are already selling out fast. Laurence from Woolkind, one of our brilliant Thriving Card partners, is running daily talks at the Edinburgh Fringe this August on sustainable fashion, the future of wool and everything learned from working in the knitwear industry. 🩷
If you've ever wondered where your clothes actually come from, why wool matters and what ethical fashion really looks like in practice, this is the talk for you. Intimate, honest and genuinely fascinating, plus his studio is awesome and worth a visit!
Daily throughout the Fringe. Some dates nearly sold out. Book ahead.
💳 A TASTE OF WHAT'S ON THE THRIVING CARD THIS WEEK
The Thriving Card is doing exactly what it was built to do. Locals are saving money, tourists are finding the real Edinburgh and brilliant independents are getting the support they deserve. Here's a taste of what's on the card this week:
⚓ The Royal Yacht Britannia - One of Edinburgh's most iconic and visited attractions and a fantastic experience on the Thriving Card. Step aboard the former royal yacht and explore five decks of fascinating history, I loved it and learnt so much!
Thriving Card offer: 20% off admission. Adult and child tickets only. 4 tickets per transaction. Not valid with other offers. In person from ticket desk only. Valid until 31 Dec 2026
🔑 Home Secure Locksmiths - Trusted independent locksmith serving Edinburgh 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Lock repairs, key cutting, security upgrades and emergency callouts. The kind of reliable local business you want to know about before you need them.
Thriving Card offer: 15% off all materials.
🎥 Simmerdim - Edinburgh creative and independent studio offering branding, videography, design and ongoing creative partnerships.
Thriving Card offer: 10% off single projects or 1st month free on a 12-month creative partnership
🦴 Connect Spinal Health - Edinburgh's longest-serving chiropractic clinic. Over 10,000 clients seen from babies to professional sportspeople. Complemented by sports massage therapy.
Thriving Card offer: £20 off a New Patient Initial Consultation. Normal price £80, your price £60. Membership must be shown at appointment.
🩷 Loads more offers across food, drink, health, wellness, shopping, experiences and outdoor activities. A wee something for everyone.
That's your Thriving Thursday! 🩷
If you haven't grabbed your Thriving Card yet, the founding member price is still available at £45 through the link below:
BECOME A FOUNDING MEMBER - £45
We genuinely love putting this together for you every week. The fact that you read it, share it and support it means the world to both of us.
Our Newsletter is a place to shine a spotlight on the many brilliant local businesses on our doorstep and to keep you in the loop on local events and what’s happening in and around Edinburgh.
We really want to hear about new independent businesses that are opening in Edinburgh and the Lothians! Know a business deserving a shout-out? Reply to this email and tell us their story.
Let's Keep Edinburgh Thriving. 🚀
BIG love,
Nashy & Abs