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Yesterday and today, St Andrew Square has played host to Spa in the City – a weekend of free taster beauty treatments from Edinburgh's allegedly 'top beauty retailers, specialists and luxury spas'. In tents.

Unable to compete in this year's Edinburgh Marathon owing to a long-running sports-related lack of condition, Spurtle made do instead by witnessing the start from a traffic island dramatically situated at the heart of the action.

The weather this morning was cool and misty. The runners were, by the time they reached Abbeyhill, already getting hot and sweaty.

There was ample evidence that Edinburgh people have warmed to their shiny new trams when enthusiastic crowds attended a 'roadshow' (trackshow, surely?) in St Andrew Square this lunchtime.

A short-lived but interesting Twitter conversation last night revealed that some Edinburgh voters feel uncomfortable attending polling places in more or less religious buildings. The tweets are copied below this article.

Churches (rather than church halls) and denominational schools were mentioned.

Broughton residents who visit, live or work in the City Centre have one day left to complete a very simple online questionnaire.

Polling stations for tomorrow's European Election 2014 will be open from 7am–10pm.

You can find out which polling station to go to by looking at your poll card, but you don't need to take this with you in order to vote.

Tesco Stores Ltd has applied for non-compliance with Condition 1 of its current planning permission (Ref. 09/00039/FUL) to extend delivery and collection hours at its Broughton Road store (Ref. 14/01866/FUL).

We loved this modest work’s massive simplicity.

Ian Runciman’s watercolour ‘Elephant’ is one of 15 works in the Flora and Fauna exhibition at the Gallery on the Corner.

Staff and students from Edinburgh College’s Institute of Constructive Crafts, the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust and Historic Scotland are among those in St Andrew Square today and tomorrow as part of Scottish Apprenticeship Week.

With summer on its way the days are finally getting longer, and while the weather isn't quite hot (yet!) it's time for dinners to get lighter which for me means less carbs.  I'm usually happier when stockpiling rice and pasta, but this dish does that magical thing of making me not miss the missing carbs so much. In fact, it’s the only carb-less meal that I actually look forward to.