Breaking news

Police Scotland issued the following press release today, which we reproduce unedited and in full. 

Police in Edinburgh are appealing for witnesses following a fatal collision in the Leith Walk area. 

The incident happened around 1.10pm on Tuesday 3rd September at Newkirkgate.

inquiries are continuing to establish the full circumstances, however, it appears a Vauxhall Astra car and an HGV have been involved and as a result a 62-year-old male pedestrian sustained serious injuries.

As you read this, copies of the latest September Spurtle are fanning out across the barony like millionaire MPs’ contingency funds towards offshore tax havens. 

Page 1 begins with a ding-dong on loud things done in EH1. It continues with new news (more of the same) on the major development in EH3, and concludes with a wish and a promise on EH7’s enduring appeal. All this with a brief detour into 19th-century Persian politics. So far, so Broughton.

  A CELEBRATION 

Edna Miller (Glen, née Haggart), was well known on Bellevue Road, working in her beautiful front garden or sitting outside her door and chatting with all who passed, waving from her window in the last few years.

While having coffee with a companion in a Drummond Place back garden earlier this week, I was surprised by a pale orange and black speckled butterfly which landed on our table.
 
Then suddenly, the air was alive with swirls of this butterfly, together with Cabbage Whites. Could this be one of the c.10 million Painted Ladies migrating to the UK, highlighted recently by naturalist Chris Packham in national media?
 

This eye-catching combination of curves, chrome, and dents has been turning heads across Bellevue and beyond over recent days. 

At first glance, it appears to be part of a hearts-and-minds campaign by some tin-pot dictator. 

At second glance, it becomes clear that the antique vehicle is promoting Dead Equal, a new opera performing at Venue 210 – the Drill Hall on East Claremont Street.

As you read this, copies of the August Spurtle are already bouncing out of the presses like waves over a flood prevention scheme.

Page 1 babbles playfully about balloons, bins, and bars … and a big bare boy bashing the bejesus out of something with a mallet.

Friday 26 July, 2019 was a day of great sadness for the Edinburgh-South Asian Community, writes Nahid Aslam. Mrs Ghazala Peena Farooq, a stalwart of the community, passed away.

Ghazala was born on 14 August 1940 in Muree, at that time in India but in now in Pakistan. She arrived in Edinburgh with her family, from Lahore, in 1968. In Lahore, she had been the headteacher of a girls’ high school. She firmly believed in the importance of girls’ education and empowerment, and thus set about to use her talents to work towards this.

Neighbours and other locals continue to monitor events at 7–8 Baxter’s Place very carefully.
 

 EDINBURGH’S FLAWED TRAMWAY … AND HOW TO FIX IT 

As locals prepare to sample a refurbished (and hopefully improved) Clark’s Bar, one experienced reader fondly remembers how the Dundas Street institution used to be. 

Simon Jennings, now south of the Border, says the polished woodwork and shining brass remind him of how all pubs were when he was a lad, some 70 years ago.

We thank him for these atmospheric, charming, and well-observed impressions, and thank also his friend Carolynn Cooke who first alerted us to their existence.