As you read this, advance copies of the October Spurtle are already spreading across the barony like early autumn sunbeams completely obscured by mizzle and murk.

Issue 344 begins with constructive complications, connections, containers, buccaneers and an absent bang.

More hush, disquiet and city-centre enhancements follow on Page 2, as do wraps of various kinds, disappearing street furniture and the latest chapter in a peculiar Gayfield saga.

Edinburgh even more breathtaking than usual this evening. 

Hundreds of chattering tourists present in golden hour at 6pm had dwindled to dozens by 7.30pm. 

Different vibe. Hushed. Astonished. Small groups sometimes awed into laughter.

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Too big, too small, too expensive … the problem with white elephants

As we saw last week, owing to the destruction by fire of the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, the prestigious Scottish Motor Trade Association switched its annual motor show to the Industrial Hall and Waverley Market for the week of 13–21 November 1925.

In mid-2023, an independent Stage 3 Road Safety Audit of the Trams to Newhaven project was undertaken once construction of the new extension had finished. This made 145 recommendations to improve the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and other road users.

Here are two upcoming events with local connections which may interest Spurtle readers.

Readings from Donald Smith and Stewart Conn's 'Edinburgh: Our Storied Town', Central Library, 3 Oct, 6.30pm:  ticketsource.co.uk/edinburgh-central-library.

Guided tour of Commonwealth War Graves in Rosebank Cemetery, 9 October, 10am: https://www.cwgc.org/visit-us/war-graves-tours/.