An item of "Breaking News". Will appear on the Breaking News page and the front page.
As you read this, advanced copies of the December/January Spurtle are already appearing across the barony like Lockdown-busting shoppers from Newcastle trying to keep a low profile in parties of 30.
Page 1 steps gingerly into the traffic, looking both ways before tumbling headlong into a rain-filled pothole. It carries news of stable development, local views (and their possible absence), and the great smell of coffee not everybody likes.
Are you bored?
Are you not bored but in need of distraction?
Do you like having your brain teased?
If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above, Spurtle’s quizzical ramblings may be just what the doctor ordered.
Every day this week, Monday–Friday, we’ll be adding five clues to this page. You’ll then have until midnight on 4 December to EMAIL us your answers and provide a very specific solution.
In July last year, Spurtle responded to recent downpours by examining the current and long-term efficacy of Edinburgh’s £43M Water of Leith Flood Prevention Scheme (FPS).
As part of that, we reported the conclusion of the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA):
This morning we woke to a third day of miserable damp gloom.
It may seem grim. But Edinburgh has known worse.
The following article is extracted from a longer piece published in the Scotsman on 16 November 1929 – the day after weather conditions had combined with smoke from coal fires to spectacular effect.
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As first reported back in September, MMMARS Dundas Limited aims to demolish the existing structure and erect a new mixed-use development (residential, office, retail, and café/restaurant) at 108–14 and 116 Dundas Street (20/03923/PAN).
To avoid further binge-watching of US Presidential election coverage, one Spurtle correspondent today opted for a walk in the Botanics.
In no particular order, what follows is what they saw.
1. The usual peppering of young mothers and their little monkeys.
2. A short story on a wall.
Drum Property Group and CAMVO123 Ltd will seek public feedback on new proposals for the 2.9-acre site at Stead’s Place as part of their proposal of application notice for a major development.
As a companion piece to last month's 'Desecration of the Calton Hill', we reproduce this article from the North Briton (8 December 1877).
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As you read this, early copies of the November Spurtle are already filtering out across the barony like leaves borne on an Edinburgh autumn breeze. Horizontal, at high speed, and soggy.
Page 1 starts with reports about roads, rubbish, riverbank accommodation, a new place to stay, and an enormous inflatable monkey.
It continues on Page 2 by examining space and what to do with it, capital nuisances, fresh fish, a lack of therapy, and a movie-related fart in the dark in Warriston.
When Spurtle interviewed Tom Hodges earlier this week, the irrepressible fizz in the Typewronger Books bottle was anxiously preparing for a special delivery … 1,400 books all arriving at once and requiring careful checking before removal by a customer the next day.
The client on this occasion was a film company requiring Tom’s quirky curation to dress a set. But compiling collections small and large like this is nothing new for this 34-year-old bookseller, who is long accustomed to providing personalised consultations and bespoke gift boxes for curious readers.