The Edinburgh Minute ⏰ Weekend edition: 3 - 5 October 2025
Waverley protest, festival fears, new shops for St Stephen Street + is the 'Water Lantern Festival' in Inverleith Park actually happening?
👋 Good morning Edinburgh. Today’s edition includes the weekend guide, exclusive to paying subscribers (who keep this newsletter going). There’s also another vibrant Community Noticeboard. Thanks to everyone who contributes and makes Edinburgh a better place to be. Here’s Friday’s Edinburgh Minute.
🌦️ Weekend weather: There’s a Met Office yellow weather warning for wind and rain on Friday and Saturday. It’s expected to be drier on Sunday. Temperature high of 16C on Friday and low of 8C on Saturday morning. - The full Met Office forecast is here.
🇵🇸 There were scuffles between police and hundreds of Pro-Palestinian activists at Waverley station last night. - Craig Williams, The Herald.
🚨 An 81-year-old man is in hospital after being hit by a bus being driven on Annandale Street at the junction with Haddington Place. - Police published this appeal.
🏢 A £69m upgrade of Cables Wynd House and Linksview House in Leith has been approved by councillors. - More details from the council here.
🎭 Edinburgh’s festivals have raised new concerns about the threats of rising costs, climate change, artificial intelligence and red tape. - Brian Ferguson, The Herald.
🎮 Staff working at Rockstar North office on Holyrood Road have been harassed by a fan of Grand Theft Auto, asking for updates about the next game in the series. - ‘GTA 6 fans criticise TikToker who harassed Rockstar devs over Trailer 3 date’, by Adam Starkey in the Metro.
🍽️ The Pakora Bar restaurant on Holyrood Road is up for sale. - Brian Donnelly, The Herald.
🛍️ Two new shops are opening on St Stephen Street in Stockbridge:
- St Stephen Studio is ‘a shoppable showcase’ of items from local shops, makers, artists, food and drink; staged in a revamped basement flat. It’s a collaboration behind the teams at Treen and Foster & Bloom. - More details here.
- After becoming a cult hit in London, Auld Hag business owner Gregg Boyd is opening a pop-up version of Shoap next month, selling classic Scottish morning rolls, pies, soft drinks and coffee. He said: “Since we opened in Angel, I’ve always wanted to open the second one in Edinburgh. I worked at Earthy when I lived there and it was inspiration for what the Shoap is today. Stockbridge was one of the key areas in our mind - the weekend market, our pals already smashing it with bakeries, clothing shops, bars and restaurants and overall, just a class food and drink scene. I’m buzzing to bring proper Scottish rolls to Edinburgh.”
🍺 The owners of The Stockbridge Tap are planning a revamp. - Ross Chalmers, Deadline News.
👾 Meanwhile on William Street in the West End, a new Pokemon cards shop is opening. - Cara Blackhall, Edinburgh Live.
🕺 The CC Blooms bar on Greenside Place has reopened after a makeover. - See how it looks here.
📚 The programme for this year’s Push the Boat Out poetry festival has been announced. It runs from 20-23 November, with most events planned for the Pleasance venues. - Full details here.
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📌 Edinburgh Minute Community Noticeboard - news you can use:
📌 “Headspin’s DJ Colin Millar is back on vinyl duties this Friday at Boro. One of Edinburgh’s finest beat mixers, he’ll be spinning funk, soul & breaks until 1am. Join us for art, sounds and drinks at the city’s hi-fi bar and night gallery. Free entry.” - Thanks to Rob Swain for sharing this.
📌 “Wednesday 1 October – Sunday 19 October The Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival returns for its 12th edition. The festival features films spanning different periods of Spanish history. Screenings and events take place across various venues until 19 October.” - Thanks to the organisers for sharing this.
📌 “Saturday 4 October - It’s the final weekend of Parallels! - We will be open for coffee, chats and jewellery making activities on this Saturday! Come down to Coburg House 11am - 4pm - grab a brew, meet the artists and makers, explore the exhibition, and donate to a good cause 🇵🇸 🕊” - Thanks to Anna for sharing this.
📌 “Sunday 5th October - Munro Run Club #4 Social 5km All levels welcome Start/finish - Munro Juice shots for afterwards!” - Thanks to Munro Coffee for sharing this.
📌 “Sunday 5th October 10am-2pm, McLarens on the Corner! Hill Lord & Co Pet Supplies will be BACK IN BRUNTSFIELD at McLarens on the Corner’s monthly market 🤩. We would love to see you there, please bring your pooch along (no surprise - we will have biscuits) and have a little browse.” - Thanks to Kayleigh Gordon, of Marchmont Hardware/Hill Lord and Co for sharing this.
📌 “Sunday 5th October - Jimmy’s Retro Furniture and Jimmy’s Homeware will be opening their warehouse for an Autumn Open Day. Expect a wide, shoppable range of Midcentury furniture & homeware (art, ceramics, glassware etc), with coffee by RideGrind. 11-3, Unit 6D, Wallyford Industrial Estate.” - Thanks to Zoe for sharing this.
📌 “Sunday 5 October - Sunday Assembly has an especially local theme today. Historian Jane Thompson will talk about Edinburgh as a palimpsest - “something reused but still bearing traces of its earlier form”. Join the 1-hour assembly for songs, talks, tea and cake - free, family & dog friendly.” - Thanks to Mark McKergow of Sunday Assembly Edinburgh for sharing this.
📌 “Sunday 5th Oct. - Grab your cowboy hats and get along to Living Rent’s ‘cowboy court’ on Leith Walk at the corner of Iona Street. Share your rogue landlord horror stories at this family-friendly action or hear real-life tribunal cases from landlords who say “the law will never apply to me.”“ - Thanks to Conor Haining - Living Rent Leith for sharing this.
📌 “Are you an unemployed woman looking for work? Smart Works Scotland is running a Women into Work Jobs Fair to help you find your next job. Employers attending cover everything from the Transport to Health to Administration sectors and more!” - Thanks to Smart Works Scotland for sharing this.
📌 “The nights are drawing and it’s time to learn something new. Edinburgh Cine and Video Society has a 4-week training course on Film Editing using Da Vinci Resolve starting Saturday October 18th. £20 a session or all 4 for free for ECVS members (only £50 a year - join and save £30!)” - Thanks to Gordon Guthrie chair/trainer ECVS for sharing this.
📌 “For autumn day-trip ideas take a look at www.trainable.world which has now launched across Lothian, Fife and Borders. The site features places you can walk to from a train station. Edinburgh Minute readers have been key in helping to develop the idea, and the trainable team would love your feedback.” - Thanks to Trainable founder Jamie for sharing this.
🛝 There are lots of family-friendly things to do this weekend, including a preschool art session at the Gallery of Modern Art, a screening of Wall-E at the Filmhouse, Tattie Fest in Newhaven and more... It’s all in the new edition of Gayle’s Guide.