Breaking news

There was a mixture of laughter, passion, precise debating and occasionally a small measure of something like sorrow or wistfulness in Monday's Independence Referendum debate at the Calton Centre on Montgomery Street. Around 140 members of the public attended.

For the July issue of the Spurtle, we had hoped to have lots of exciting photographs and information about Drummond CHS’s visit to their partner schools Muthambi Boys and Girls in Kenya, writes Annie Scanlon (Librarian/ Co-ordinator Drummond Muthambi Educational Partnership).

Unfortunately, two weeks before departure, permission to travel was withdrawn.

Drummond – along with Currie and Portobello High Schools – had been planning to make visits in June.

Following disappointment at just missing out on the Commonwealth Games, local hammer thrower Kimberley Reed has bounced back with selection for the World Junior Championships.

We were at the England Athletics Under-20 Championships on 14 June, writes Kimberley’s father Scott Reed. That’s the qualifying event for the World Junior Championships in Oregon later this summer.

Sustainable transport charity Sustrans has produced an ideas document containing radical proposals for Picardy Place, York Place and Leith Street. You can view them here.  

An archaeological dig on the site of the former Botanic Garden and Cottage on Haddington Place (1763–1821) will take place next month, and members of the public are invited to participate.

The latest Spurtle is nearly ready and will be beautifying Broughton with local news, views and opinion from Tuesday onwards.

Issue 231 contains July-flavoured coverage of umpteen nearby planning developments (good, bad and ridiculous), heroic hand-overs, adventurous disappointment, friends, flits, fudge, flying and farewells. Buses, bins and all the latest on macaroni follow, not to mention galleries, a refuge and the latest wholly unreliable cupcake-related Referendum voting-intention poll results.

Financial literacy and entrepreneurship were the subjects of a recent seminar for Drummond CHS pupils in years S3–S6.  

Plumbing Pensions (UK) Ltd, which shares offices with SNIPEF at Bellevue House on Hopetoun Street, hosted the first ever RedSTART event in Scotland for Drummond pupils on 18 June.

As exclusively insinuated by the Spurtle back in April (Breaking news, 7.4.14; 7.5.14), the purchaser of St Stephen’s Church is Leslie Benzies, president of the video-game producer Rockstar North.

Philip Johnston, spokesperson and consultant for Benzies, today issued the following statement:

Parts of Warriston will be among the first areas in the city to experience new waste collection arrangements in September. Those affected will be informed by post in July.

Households will be supplied with a new 140-litre wheelie-bin for general waste, with the standard green wheelie-bin being used for mixed recycling (paper/cardboard, cans/foil/empty aerosols). Blue boxes will be used for glass, food and garden recycling. Red boxes aren’t needed anymore and can be thrown away. Or handed back, responsibly.

The Union Gallery on Broughton Street will mark five years in business next week with a mixed exhibition featuring some of its regular artists.