The Edinburgh Minute ⏰ Weekend edition 24 - 26 May 2024
Flooding 'chaos', marathon weekend, Lunarpalooza festival + Sunday soundwalk at Leith Community Croft
🌤️ Good morning Edinburgh. Here’s Friday’s Edinburgh Minute, followed by the weekend guide for paying subscribers.
☔️ A month’s worth of rain was recorded at the Botanic Gardens in the 36 hours since 7am on Wednesday, according to BBC Scotland weather. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency issued a flood alert across Edinburgh and the Lothians. Here are some other weather things spotted by locals yesterday:
The Water of Leith burst its banks in a few places. - The Spurtle.
The Braid Burn nearly passed its highest level on record. - Harry Williams.
A duck took up residence in Charlotte Square Gardens. - Chris Dobson.
The Anthony Gormley statue was completely submerged. - Lauren Gilmour.
Edinburgh city bypass was closed at various points in both directions yesterday. Hundreds of drivers were stuck for hours, reported BBC Scotland News.
⮑ The bypass is now OPEN (as of 6am), but there are still some closed lanes on the eastbound approach to Sheriffhall roundabout. - Bear Scotland Trunk Roads.West Princes Street Gardens and Inch Park are closed. - Edinburgh Council.
⛅️ The rain is forecast to clear for Saturday’s marathon events, but is expected to return overnight between Saturday and Sunday. - Met Office.
🏃♀️ Edinburgh Marathon Festival has nine events across the weekend. Saturday is forecast to be the driest day of the weekend, according to the Met Office.
⮑ If you need to ‘shake out those final nerves’ before your race, join the We Run Edinburgh crew from 8am on Saturday. There’s also a 9am Meadows shakeout 4k on Saturday with HWJ Run Club. Good luck to all of you taking part in the weekend.
🚦 Councillors have approved the plan to re-introduce the left turn from Leith Walk on to London Road at yesterday’s Transport and Environment Committee. It aims to ease congestion in and around Picardy Place. - Edinburgh Council report.
💰 Opposition parties have forced a fresh look at parts of the revamp of George Street after raising concerns about rising costs. The bill went up by £7m to £39.5m, 30% more than the original £28m estimate - Ian Swanson, Evening News.
🚗 Plans to introduce workplace parking charges in Edinburgh have been shelved by the council. - Donald Turvill, Local Democracy Reporter, STV News.
🎭 The Edinburgh International Festival has announced that its first Community Connections Hub is Space @ Broomhouse. They will work with the International Festival for at least 18 months to explore opportunities for collaboration, events and activities. In August, the Community Connections Hub will host a free VR Experience where visitors can use a VR headset to be fully immersed in a 360° concert of Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending by the Philharmonia Orchestra with Festival Director Nicola Benedetti. - More details about the Community Connections Hub are here.
🪩 The Rascals Thursday club night has announced its closure after eight years. - Hugo Donnelly, Edinburgh Tab.
🎸 Pictish Trail, Steve Mason and Kathryn Joseph are among the acts announced for this year’s Moonwake brewery Lunarpalooza festival in Leith in July. - Tickets and more details are here.
📌 Edinburgh Minute Community Noticeboard
⮑ Big thanks to everyone who sends in their stories and events to the noticeboard. I love the eclecticism of the things you send in, and I always learn about things I didn’t know were happening. Today: a peace circle, a dance music history show, a wildlife campaign and Sir John Curtice chatting with a Nobel Prize winner. Can you beat that? These are the kinds of events and communities that make Edinburgh special, in my rarely offered/wanted opinion. - Join in by sharing your local news and events using this form.
📌 “✨💚🌷✨JOIN Mothers* Rebellion's Peaceful Circle this SATURDAY 25 MAY 11am outside Scottish Parliament ✨💚🌷✨ We are Edinburgh mothers, grandmothers, aunties, sisters, daughters. We know that those least responsible for the climate crisis are also the most impacted. We believe in the power of mothers and caregivers to demand climate justice. Join us tomorrow. 💚” - Thanks to Mothers* Rebellion Edinburgh for sharing this link.
📌 “Edinburgh’s online community radio station EHFM presents a four-part podcast series highlighting the past and present clubbing scenes of Scotland’s capital, called 'Edinburgh: A Dance Music History'. Created with the aim to celebrate some of the city’s untold stories and sounds, the podcast documents the important moments, communities, and tracks that have shaped the city’s dance music cultures. It will air on Fri 31 May from midday on EHFM, and will be available to listen back exclusively on the station's Soundcloud page.”
📌 “Support our cause to save Western Harbour Ponds and aid the re-wilding project at Newhaven Edinburgh. With abundant wildlife to view, your support preserves vital ecosystems and fosters enriching experiences in nature. Come visit and witness the beauty of restored landscapes first hand.” - Thanks to the Save Western Harbour Ponds volunteers for sharing this.
📌 “Hypermobility Workshop: Easy life changing hacks to survive hypermobility. Saturday 25th May - 11am In this workshop Andy shares his easy to follow, all levels method to safely strengthen your joints and gain control of your pain. We are offering two free spaces for Edinburgh minute readers. Email us to book.” - Thanks to Andy Pearson, Founder, Leith Pilates, for sharing this.
📌 “Just in time to help you make your decision on how to vote! Will of the People: The Mathematics of How We Vote and Why It Matters. Come and hear John Curtice (cult hero), Moon Duchin, mathematician and expert in gerrymandering; and Nobel Prize Winning Economist Eric Maskin explore how we might enact political change by following the evidence on how mathematical methods work. 11 June 2024, Surgeons Quarter.” - Thanks to the folks at the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences for sharing these details.
🛝 Here’s this week’s ‘Gayle’s Guide’ of family-friendly things to do in Edinburgh, including a Teddy Bear Adventure in Inverleith, cinema ideas and a Big Machinery Weekend in South Queensferry. Look for the 🆓 emoji for the free events.
📆 More things to do this weekend:
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