Breaking news

Rodney Street, Saturday 2 July 2011: 7am.

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Headteacher Norma Prentice spoke of her great sense of pride in pupils’ commitment and hard work at Drummond Community High School’s end-of-term Celebration of Achievement.

Speaking on completion of her first full academic year in the job, she said: ‘I now feel I totally belong’.

However, she conceded that in some ways it had been a difficult year, with budget cuts and management restructuring dominating the headlines.

‘Staff have coped in these times of uncertainty with great strength and dignity.

One week to go till T in the Park, and the excitement is building, writes Whisky Kisser Iain MacPhail.

Regular Spurtle readers will be aware that Whisky Kiss recently toured New York (meeting amongst others Donald 'The Donald' Trump, Keifer 'the Leither' Sutherland, and Paolo 'The Weegiefarian' Nutini).

Torrents of thunder, lightning and hail can only mean one thing: it’s July, and time for another edition of Oot! Just think, it’ll soon be Christmas.

A combination of (paid) work commitments, family duties and heatstroke has resulted in a comparatively quiet month for the Spurtle online. However, as the old saying goes, 'A spurtle in the brose is worth twa in the haun', and we are now back at full speed in time for July's printed edition.

Issue 196 will be out in the next few days, containing more news than you can shake a goose at.

We deal with education, conflagration, election and dedication. We cover dungeons and lagoons, astonishing hammers, Jambos, and a frank exchange of opinion.

Police have appealed for witnesses after a man racially abused a mother and her baby on the No. 22 bus yesterday.

The man boarded the bus at Great Junction Street at around 4.45pm, and made comments about the woman and her child. He got off close to Dalmeny Street. Three female passengers told the man to shut up, and it is these whom police are particularly keen to interview.

The suspect is described as being white, with short dark, greying hair, of medium build and aged 55–60 years old. He wore a dark jacket, jeans and trainers.

In separate cases, two locals are lodging appeals against what they consider unjust rejections of planning proposals by the City of Edinburgh Council.

Bibulous Delights Ltd, the company behind the Smoke Stack on Broughton Street, is appealing to the Scottish Government against the Council's rejection of its proposed new shopfront (Breaking news 21.3.11; 16.5.11).

Waverley Care – the Mansfield Place-based charity – has been awarded £20,000 by the Bank of Scotland Foundation.

Part of the Bank's Small Grants Programme, the sum will fund the charity's advocacy and information service. This offers financial advice, and support in testing and treatments for Hepatitis C and HIV. An increased demand for its assistance has recently coincided with changes in benefits legislation and the ongoing recession.

Substantial new proposals are in place for 14–16, 20, 24, 26 Beaverhall Road. They amount to a mixed use development comprising residential and commercial floor space.  Approximately 80–100 residential dwellings, and approximately 150–300 square metres of commercial floor space, including all associated roads and infrastructure.