As you read this, advance copies of the October Spurtle are already settling on local shelves like autumn leaves in great crunching heaps of red, gold, and amber. Minus the slugs and doggie surprises.

This month we begin with flatfoots and a firm grip, what to do with a surplus, and the joys of social-media schadenfreude.

Edinburgh’s 20mph speed limit has reduced collisions by 40% and casualties by 39%, including a 23% reduction in fatalities and a 33% drop in serious injuries.

These are the startling findings by academics from Edinburgh, East Anglia, and Cambridge Universities writing in the journal Public Health Research.

It must be a grand piano.

This temporary barrier is now semi-permanent at the St James Quarter's Little King St entrance/exit. It's to stop pedestrians accidentally walking into traffic.

And yet there's not a sleeping policeman in view, and no obvious speed warnings for drivers.

It all seems a bit one-sided given that the overwhelming majority passing through this area do so on foot.

At the latest Development Management Subcommittee meeting, councillors upheld officers’ recommendations and refused planning permission for an annual spiegeltent and bar in St James Square [see Spurtle, Spurtle, 15 September; Council webcast].

New restaurant to open on Saturday, 1 October. More details (including menus) on their website HERE.

Dad.

Warm sunshine and autumn in the air.

Built on the shoulders of giants.