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Spurtle enjoyed this generous colourful painting which we found on its last day of exhibition at the White Space gallery on Howe Street yesterday. 

Margaret Anderson's piece is untitled, but its starting point is certainly botanical – possibly the thistles which have been a recurrent them in much of her work to date.

Anderson grew up in Scotland and Australia, is an occupational therapist for NHS Lothian, and graduated this year from  Edinburgh College of Art. We'll keep an eye out for her work in future.

New Town residents have objected loudly to the temporary silencing of the clock chime at St Stephen’s Church. 

Council officers required the action last week after four complaints and one query were received from neighbours – believed to be living in three new flats on St Vincent Place – concerning what they felt was excessive noise at night. 

Environmental Health visited the site and, in an official’s own words (shown to the Spurtle by a third party):

The deadline for Spurtle’s Summer Quiz passed at noon today. All the entries have now been scrutinised, checked, and a clear winner has emerged.

Thank you and well done to everyone who took part. Nobody scored 100%, but some of you came exceedingly close.

An honourable mention goes first to Adam Blackwood of Broughton Place. In addition to scoring highly, he recognised the painting of Echo (all the answers involved repetitions of some sort) and her connection to Narcissus (which is of course the name of the shop on Broughton Street where we maintain our postbox).

Of the capital’s major commemorations of the centenary of the First World War’s start, perhaps the most poignant is at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (Floor 1) on Queen Street.

It comprises portraits, photographs and sculptures chiefly in the SNPG’s holdings, and a section centred on Peter Cattrell’s remarkable photography of the present-day landscape of the Battle of the Somme in which over 57,000 British men were killed or wounded on its horrific opening day, 1 July 1916.

Sadly,  Jean and Archie Bell of Bellevue died on 17th and 24 July, writes John Dickie. A shared obituary was published, and they also shared a service at Lorimer Chapel, Warriston Crematorium on 2 August.

The website itravelfun.com has few rivals for strangled prose and recycled wobbly-eyed gobbledegook in its guide to Europe’s most haunted places. Can you guess the location described here?

‘The breeding ground of gory battles and torture of an erstwhile era, [it] is a well-known haunted spot, where people have reported to have felt a hand on their shoulder or someone pulling them.

'There are rumored apparitions of an old man sporting an apron, and a piper (who died under mysterious conditions in the ... tunnels).’

We will reveal the answer tomorrow.

The Fringe has finished. The Festival is coming to a close. Some will celebrate, some will commiserate, so to ease the transition from madness to tranquillity, here are some Broughton-related end of summer semi-digested musings to help you get through it.  

They will remind you that as the summer is passing and our world starts to returns to normal, we are allowed to be grumpy once again, well almost.

 *****

As you read this, September’s print edition of the Spurtle is thundering off the press, being folded in half in a flash, and then cascading into cardboard boxes ready for uplift and distribution to all points Broughton over the next few days.

Nobody is indispensible, observes Jennifer Lewin, who sent us this photo today of a rear exit on Broughton Street Lane. 

I think the door should be encouraged to relax, and to feel good about setting aside a sensible amount of me-time.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Or worse, a little unhinged.

In Spurtle’s wanderings about Broughton over recent weeks, we have noticed an overwhelming number of window and lamppost stickers urging us to vote Yes in next month’s Independence Referendum. 

Even a semi-derelict junction box on East Claremont Street has not escaped an amusing expression of pro-independence advice.