The Usual Place would like to thank the Lord-Lieutenants for the beautiful card that they have recently sent us! We received a card from Lord-Lieutenants Aileen Brewis, Patsy Gilroy and Fiona Armstrong.  This was sent to local businesses in praise of community resilience, innovation, collaboration and selflessness during extraordinary and challenging times. Our hand-written message, […]

Move aside haggis!  A campaign has been launched to name lamb as Scotland’s national dish for St. Andrew’s day on the 30th of November. NFU Scotland, the Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers and NSA Scotland will be working together to make this happen. While restrictions mean that a public event would not be safe, the […]

Throughout lockdown, a long-term customer of The Usual Place, became a published writer!  Mary Carberry, who’s son volunteers at The Usual Place, published Meet Beanie, a collection of poems inspired by her friends’ cat. Since becoming available for purchase, Mary’s book has travelled across the world from Australia, to France, to Spain, to Japan and […]

Amy Wright, the Chairperson of our Board of Directors, has secured a new role as a research intern to Jeremy Balfour, an MSP for the Lothian region. Amy applied for this role through Inclusion Scotland, an organisation which represents disabled people and has a mission to achieve positive change through policy and practise. Amy’s new […]

The turn of the decade in the 1990s brought with it a time for change, as the Disability Civil Rights Movement grew.  Increasingly, disabled people wanted a voice of their own when decisions were made over their lives and were becoming more confident in speaking about the discrimination they faced daily. The message was similar […]

Morgan, who has been with us for four years, has left on a high note having been awarded SCLD’s Skills and Learning Award. Morgan is one of our many success stories – first coming to us as a trainee before being officially taken on as a member of staff. Morgan has always had an interest […]

Even during the lockdown, it was very important for our trainees to continue developing and learning their skills and training at home. All trainees were invited to attend weekly check-ins via Zoom, the video-calling app used by many businesses during this unprecedented age.  During these virtual meetings, trainees not only had the opportunity to communicate […]

One of our trainees, James, has created an album cover for the Utah-based ukelele band The Naked Waiters!  This cover will be used for digital copies of the album, which released on the 19th of August. James first met The Naked Waiters in 2018, while volunteering at the Ukelele Festival of Scotland, and once more […]

Despite changes in many areas, from our operating hours to the way customers must now enter the building, The Usual Place is once more able to open it’s doors to our customers. We would first like to thank our customers for their continued support throughout these unprecedented times.  We know that our opening has been […]

After spending 3 years at The Usual Place, training and honing her skills, Meg has gone on to become a successful business woman in her own right with her cafe, Megalicious. This cafe will serve bakes, treats and soups which are all entirely gluten free and, where possible, made with fair-trade and organic ingredients. Megalicious […]