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An item of "Breaking News". Will appear on the Breaking News page and the front page.

WHAT IS IT AND WHY WOULD YOU CARE?

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One of the competitions in yesterday's Doggie Fun Sunday involved guessing the purpose of this wooden (usually wall-mounted) domestic contraption.

Measuring about two-and-a-half feet in length, it comprises 8, notched arms, all of which can be removed from the storage positions in which they are shown in this photograph.

CELEBRATING SCOTLAND'S NEW ARRIVALS

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Organisers of the inaugural Scotland's History Festival in November seek immigrants to Scotland to feature in an exhibition of photographs.

'Jock Tamson's Bairns' will study the lives of 'newcomers' from Africa, Asia, Bangladesh, the Caribbean, England, France, Italy, India, Ireland and Lithuania. In fact the country of origin seems flexible, and the date of arrival irrelevant so long as there's an interesting tale to be told.

GAYFIELD GLUM ABOUT MISSING 'THUMBS'

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A new face has been added to the list of Broughton's absconding moggies.

This handsome male hails from Gayfield Street, where he was last seen on the evening of Tuesday 30 August.

He doesn't wear a collar, but has been microchipped for easy identification. He also has distinctive 'thumbs' on each front paw.

Described as 'very curious and friendly', it's thought he may have wandered too far from home and got lost, or been accommodated by hospitable cat lovers who've mistaken him for a stray.

PLANNING UPDATE – 5.9.11

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Just outwith Broughton but arguably straddling the flexible frontier of Greater Spurtleshire, a site 14m to the east of 75 Albert Street is being proposed by Leith City Centre Neighbourhood as a new community garden. Permission has been granted for the erection of a 2.1m-tall metal post, fence, and 2 gates at the perimeter (Ref. 11/02220/FUL).

McGILL REJECTS TORY REBRAND

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Local Conservative activist and serial candidate Iain McGill appeared on the BBC's Newsnight Scotland last night.

He was one of 3 guests reacting to prospective leader Murdo Fraser's promise to bring in 'fresh blood' and 'curate' the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party towards a new identity, in the process changing its name.

McGill was unimpressed. He described Fraser as 'out on a limb', a failed establishment figure who was proposing an 'unquantifiable party without any name or members'.

YORK PLACE TRAM PLAN SPURS LOCAL OBJECTORS

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The New Town and Broughton Community Council (NTBCC) are fighting a proposed extension of the tramline beyond St Andrew Square to York Place.

They fear a fenced-off corridor for track-switching – occupying up to 3 lanes – would cause traffic chaos in the area. At last night's monthly meeting, their members agreed unanimously to lobby officials and elected representatives to drop the proposal.

END OF THE WORLD IS NOT NIGH

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Spurtle's front-page story in Issue 198 ('Edinburgh World Heritage Endangered?') has met with a mixed response from Edinburgh World Heritage (EWH) itself.

A spokesman contacted us on Friday, blenching a little at our red-blooded assessment of the challenges facing the Trust in months to come and the reasons for it issuing an online survey. Whilst acknowledging that the questionnaire had emerged against a background of public funding cuts for EWH (as for many other organisations), he was at pains to clarify that the sky is not about to fall in.

KIDS TARGETED AS LOCAL CHURCH PUTS SPLAT INTO RELIGIOUS PLATFORM

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This morning we featured messy streets, this afternoon it's messy churches ... Bellevue Crescent's Broughton St Mary's in particular.

Children of all ages – from cute tots in prams to shaggy beasts in P7 – are invited this Saturday (11am–2pm) to the Garden Room at the back for 3 hours of creative fun, games, story-telling and a kid-friendly meal. All for free.

'Messy Church' is a new Christian initiative to open up churches to their surrounding communities, and to explain a little about the faith at the heart of their work.