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A ‘Disabled People’s Question Time’ will take place this Friday on Holyrood Road.
A Scottish Parliamentary Election event, it is being jointly presented by Inclusion Scotland and Disability History Scotland.
The first part will inform attendees about Access to Politics advice and support for disabled people, including the Democratic Participation Fund for would-be councillors in 2017.
We haven’t seen the official crowd figures yet, but it felt as though thousands gathered in the Meadows this lunchtime for the 2016 Pedal on Parliament.
The start was scheduled for noon, but such was the throng that some in the middle of the line didn’t start moving until after 12.15pm.
This was the largest number of people to attend in the event’s history, and that – combined with it being an election year – perhaps partially explained a very good turnout from politicians.
Grass was finally restored to the central circle of St Andrew Square Garden yesterday. We think this was 10 days after Underbelly’s planning-consent deadline for restoring the area to its pre-Christmas condition.
Not all areas are perfect yet. Grass in the Garden’s south-east quadrant remains patchy, and appeared to be being reseeded this morning.
Loosely attached fairy lights dangle from the trees here.
At last week’s Scottish Parliamentary election hustings, we ended up with more Spurtle readers’ questions than we had time to ask.
We subsequently sent them to all the candidates who had appeared, and invited them to respond in writing before 5 May – if and when they had an opportunity.
Here are the first two sets of responses. We'll add any others as they come in.
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What’s odd about this photograph?
No, not the absence of despicable stick-men or laughing locals lolling with picnic hampers on the grass.
We’re talking about the presence of something. Something that doesn’t belong.
None the wiser? Here, have a closer look.
Two artists with very different approaches converge in Gayfield Creative Spaces this week.
Marcus Oakley’s show Crunchy Pump is an ebullient celebration of colour and confidence. He appears to look at the world with the unabashed curiosity of a child, revels in presenting what he sees with that kind of fearless certainty we often lose in the transition into adulthood.
As the exhibition notes put it:
The Rock Trust is looking for inspirational people with a spare bedroom in Edinburgh.
The Albany Street-based charity, which tackles homelessness among young people aged 16–25, seeks Nightstop hosts who could occasionally provide a bed for (usually) 1 night–2 weeks.
‘Offering a safety net to those forced to leave their home, Nightstop places young people in a safe and warm place for the night, provided free by a vetted and approved volunteer,’ writes Rock Trust’s Katriona Harding.
The new Community Cinema in the middle of Broughton continues this coming Friday with two screenings.
One is aimed at children and families in the afternoon, the other at adults in the evening.
Below, programmers Rory Bonass and James Mooney preview what’s in store.
The Goonies (1985), 114 mins, Certificate PG
The final film in our adventuring children series, this was always intended as a big finish.
Well over a hundred people filled Broughton St Mary’s Parish Church last night at a hustings for the Scottish Parliamentary election on 5 May.
On the podium were nine candidates for the Edinburgh Northern & Leith constituency plus a representative sample of those standing in the Lothian regional list. Solidarity had been invited but did not reply or attend.
There were no incumbents on view, either because their parties were already represented here, or – in the case of Malcolm Chisholm – they had stood down.
All candidates invited to our hustings this evening have also been invited to provide a short written introduction to themselves.
The latest to respond is Andy Wightman (Green), whose words we reprint in full below.