From Allan Johnston on Facebook:

Following the word that Sandy Bell's and other 365 days a year Trad/acoustic music venues are being excluded from Creative Scotland's "Grassroots Music Funding" that is being financed from lottery funds I have contacted them via their web-site and had my say. As far as I'm concerned nobody does more to support grassroots music in Edinburgh than pubs such as Sandy Bell's, The Captains, and the Royal Oak. They are the lifeblood of our Capital City's music scene and the fact that they are also great promoters of our Trad music culture should be strong reason to provide them with financial support through these difficult times, rather than something to be held against them. Please join me in contacting Creative Scotland via their web-site to shout it loud and clear! Even under their existing criteria, which puts emphasis on songwriting and newly created music, all three of these pubs should qualify for support. A list of the composers and songwriters who have come out of these three pubs and gone on to highly successful music careers is an endless one!