Breaking news

As Broughton grows giddy with excitement over the final positioning of the Edinburgh Olympic bling-rings – Will they appear on the Mansfield or Picardy Place roundabouts? At the top of the Nelson Monument or on the front of Lyon & Turnbull? – a Spurtle correspondent has reported the appearance in local shops of Bassett’s ‘tie-in’ Jelly Mascots.

Parent company Cadbury UK describe themselves as ‘passionate about making great products’, but in this case we fear they may have gone too far.

With admirable brevity, Malcolm Chisholm MSP is the latest of Broughton's parliamentarians to comment on the referendum controversy.

'I think that the Westminster offer of ensuring the legality of the referendum should be accepted, but the timing and other aspects of the referendum should be decided in Scotland.

'The Scottish Government should, however, work with other political parties in Scotland and with civic Scotland on these matters.'

City of Edinburgh Council applied on 13 January for planning permission to construct flood shutters across low-level windows below the flood defence level at No. 1 Howard Street, with an access platform and detachable ladder access from an adjacent garden.

You can find relevant documentation at this link (Ref. 11/04006/FUL).

As the debate about an independence referendum for Scotland heated up last week (particularly on the question of who should frame its terms), Spurtle contacted all Broughton's parliamentary representatives for their opinions.

The first – and so far, only –  reply has come from Independent MSP for the Lothians Margo MacDonald:

Journeying east along the cycle track from St Mark's Park, one soon encounters a recent and rather wonderful flourishing of street-art.

Starting at Steadfastgate (by Gosford Place, Bonnington), there appears the cheerful and unexplained robot figure pictured right. It adorns an otherwise non-descript and inexplicable piece of apparatus suggestive of nuclear bunkers but probably more concerned with the monitoring of flow through sewerage below. I liked its chirpy optimism literally in the face of expressionless technology.

Campaigners concerned about the future preservation of Inverleith Park have put out an urgent appeal to the public.

They want as many people as possible to comment on the 'Main Issues Report' of the Edinburgh Local Development Plan by 27 January, demanding a change to the legal status of the depot site which City of Edinburgh Council last year tried to sell off as housing.

Campaigners advise that comments should be headed as follows: 'Edinburgh Local Development Plan, Main Issues Report – Open Space Strategy (Paragraph 9.15)'.

Dust off your vocal cords. Gargle with turps or cocoa according to taste. Pilrig Chorus kick off their 2012 programme tomorrow at 7.30pm in Pilrig St Paul's Parish Church (on the corner of Leith Walk and Pilrig Street).

The friendly, 50-strong community choir perform stunning choral music, and as always are looking for new voices to join them. The only qualification needed is a willingness to sing from a music score.

Proud Broughtonians have until Monday 23 January to vote for record-breaking Kimberley Reed in the Daily Record Young Athlete of the Year Award.

Whether you over-indulged ever so slightly over the Christmas period and are now on the inevitable January detox or you are simply in need of something light and refreshing to tickle your tastebuds, these bite-sized wonders will go down a treat.

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) yesterday outlined the planning context and mixed-use potential for its cleared land on Eyre Place and vacant buildings at 7, 11–13 Eyre Terrace (see Breaking news 21.11.11).

At a pre-planning application notification exhibition in Stockbridge Library, RBS's agents Michael Laird Architects had staff on hand to explain information panels and answer questions.