Breaking news

Thursday night saw the launch of Plight of the Bumblebee, Union Gallery's new mixed exhibition from which 20 percent of the takings will go to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

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.

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).

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'.

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.

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.

Local athlete Kimberley Reed has enjoyed a return to top form in the run-up to next weekend's Commonwealth Youth Games, writes father Scott.

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.

Two flaws have emerged in the use of pest-proof bags being trialled by the Council in parts of the city.

First, for whatever reasons, certain residents on Great King Street have taken to leaving their bags permanently attached to railings (particularly along the north-west section). Here they prominently detract from the appearance of the New Town streetscape which wheelie-bin opponents profess themselves so keen to preserve.

As Alexander Theroux once said, 'September: it was the most beautiful of words, evoking orange-flowers, swallows and regret'.

I don’t really know who he is either, but surely we can all relate to those poignant words. If not, one thing sure to bring to mind images of small birds and sadness is a read of this month's 'Oot'. That’s the goal, anyway. The predominant focus this month is on music, because there’s tons of the stuff wafting about.