The Edinburgh Minute ⏰: Weekend edition 24–26 Nov 2023
Tourist tax survey, protestors block awards, Water of Leith closing at Coalie Park, your chance to shape the future of Gorgie City Farm + a busy weekend of events
🍂 Good morning Edinburgh. Here’s your Friday Edinburgh Minute, followed by the weekend guide for paying subscribers.
💰 A survey on the council’s proposed tourist tax has been launched. It’s open until 17 January. There has already been a lot of discussion online about whether money raised should support the culture sector, go towards housing or other local services. The survey can be found here. Feedback will be used to develop a more formal public consultation in Spring next year. Council Leader Cammy Day said:
"A levy presents a major opportunity for us to generate millions of pounds in additional revenue to support, sustain and develop the city and our visitor economy – just as so many other major cities do so successfully.”
💷 In more local tax news, owners of empty business premises face penalties as part of a drive to bring vacant buildings across the capital back into use. Changes to non-domestic rates exemptions were passed by councillors this week in a move which could bring around £13 million of additional income for the council. - Donald Turvill, Local Democracy Reporter, Edinburgh Live.
🚊 Trams are not running between the stops at Newhaven and Ocean Terminal this morning after a ‘potential fault on overhead line equipment’ was found. - Edinburgh Trams.
🚔 Police have issued a ‘do not approach’ warning about a man who went missing from the Western General hospital, as reported yesterday. More details have now emerged: The man’s name is Ryan Gandy, 34, and there’s a description in this post via local police.
🟧 Protestors from Extinction Rebellion and Axe Drax blocked the entrance to Prestonfield House ahead of last night’s Politician of The Year awards, hosted by The Herald newspaper. They handed out their own versions of the paper:
⮑ Tweets via Alistair Grant, Andrew Learmonth, Axe Drax and Edi Youth In Resistance.
⮑ The award went to Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie, who described her win as ‘unexpected. - Tom Gordon, The Herald.
🚲 A crash involving a car saw a person knocked off their bike on the Canongate just before midday yesterday. There’s no update this morning on their condition. - Jolene Campbell, Evening News.
🥾 A long stretch of the Water of Leith path will be closed from Monday for 25 weeks for the Coalie Park improvement project. - Find out more about what’s planned here.
🐼 This is the last weekend that visitors to Edinburgh Zoo will be able to see its giant pandas before they return to China. - BBC Scotland News.
⮑ 🦒 More zoo news: A 104-year-old woman has fulfilled a lifelong dream of feeding giraffes at Edinburgh Zoo. Betty Croy, who lives at a Trinity care home, celebrated her birthday by hand feeding the animals. - Victoria Pease, STV News.
🎞 A vintage photograph of two people standing outside the long-gone Darnley Tavern pub in the Canongate has been unearthed during a home renovation more than 10,000 miles away in Australia. - David McLean, Edinburgh Live.
🕹 The largest playable exhibition of video games in the world is coming to Edinburgh next summer. Game On will celebrate 60 years of iconic video game characters like Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Lara Croft when it returns to the National Museum of Scotland between June and November 2024. - Ginny Sanderson, The Herald.
🇵🇸 Names of people who have died in the Isreal-Hamas war will be written on paper as part of the pro-Palestine protest on Saturday at 1pm on Waverley Bridge.
🍩 The Castle Street Christmas Market starts tomorrow. - The Edinburgh Reporter.
🌿 Hordeum botanical studio on Roseburn Terrace got in touch to share that it’s running daily Christmas decoration workshops:
❤️ The Heart of Newhaven Community centre in Newhaven’s former Victoria Primary School is hosting a Fair Saturday Festival this weekend. There will be stalls, workshops, music, culture and food from 11am to 3pm at 4-6 Main Street, just a few minutes’ walk from the tram stop. It includes yoga and pilates taster sessions, family-friendly zumba sessions and a chance to create your own Christmas decorations. - More info here. Thanks to Paul Fisher Cockburn for sharing the details.
⮑ More details on Fair Saturday Scotland are here. Leith’s Out of the Blue drill hall is among the venues participating with a fleamarket on Saturday.
🦢 The Heart of Newhaven centre is also hosting Sunday’s public meeting held by the Save Western Harbour Ponds community group. - 2.30pm in the Anchor Room.
🏉 Edinburgh Rugby will receive a six-figure fee for hometown star Blair Kinghorn, after his move to Toulouse was confirmed. The Scotland full-back will leave Edinburgh to join the French club on a three-season deal after next week’s URC match against Ulster, subject to a medical, reports Graham Bean in The Scotsman.
🍾 Thanks to Nip’s Bottle Shop and Tasting Room for getting in touch to share details of their first day of trading. They’ve got a ‘grand opening’ event today from 5pm on York Place. They’ve said: “This new space offers a range of wines, spirits, and craft beers, alongside regular tastings and masterclasses for all levels of beverage enthusiasts. Nip’s aims to be a welcoming hub for discovering and enjoying diverse beverages.“ - More details in this post.
🍷 Also opening at 5pm for its first day of trading today is Montrose restaurant and wine bar in Abbeyhill.
👀 Finally, before the weekend guide, a super weekend read: it’s Diarmid Mogg’s latest entry of Tenement Towns. Today he focuses on 23 Scotland Street, including the story of a famous mural you might recognise.
📆 Things to do this weekend
🌾 If you want to find out more about future plans for the Gorgie City Farm site, there are ‘guided consultation walks’ on this weekend. It’s part of the Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations’ Council’s effort to have community involvement in the site’s future. More details on having a say are here, and details on booking a time for a walk with them are here.
🏰 Here’s Gemma Meek’s weekend guide in Quine Magazine, featuring a skincare session, wreath-making and the Castle of Light: Magic and Mystery spectacle at Edinburgh Castle, starting this evening. - Tickets are available here.
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