The Edinburgh Minute ⏰ Weekend edition 9 - 11 August 2024

🌤️  Good morning Edinburgh. Here’s Friday’s Edinburgh Minute, followed by the weekend guide for paid-subscribers. 

🪧 An anti-racism rally is planned from 11am on Saturday outside the Scottish Parliament in response to the far-right riots in England. - It’s being organised by Stand Up to Racism.

🎇 The council has scrapped plans to spend £120,000 on a series of outdoor projections to celebrate the city’s 900th birthday. - Donald Turvill, Local Democracy Reporter, in The Edinburgh Reporter.

🔐 An absentee landlord has been banned from using Airbnb to rent out his property on Circus Lane after neighbours complained about noisy parties. - David Meikle, Edinburgh Live.

🎨 Edinburgh Palette is set to take over the building and tenant management of Summerhall. It is negotiating a three year lease with the current owners Oesselmann Estate Limited. - Thom Dibdin, All Edinburgh Theatre.

♻️ Unions say they are ‘hopeful’ of a new pay offer to prevent next week's bin strikes. Council leaders from across the country are due to meet this morning for talks aimed at reaching a pay deal to avoid next week’s planned walkout. - Jamie McIvor, BBC Scotland News.
⮑ ‘The Scottish Government has come up with more money’, reports Ian Swanson in the Evening News.

📞 Clothing chain H&M has confirmed it’s ‘constantly evaluating how we operate’ after a document leaked to the Evening News shows hundreds of customer service jobs at its Waverley Gate office are at risk. - Jamie Saunderson, Evening News.

🚦 Councillors will discuss a bid to overturn a ban on vehicles at the St James Quarter’s hotel reception. - Donald Turvill, Local Democracy Reporter, in The Edinburgh Reporter.

🚈 ScotRail officials expect rail travel to and from Edinburgh ‘to be particularly busy’ this weekend, so have laid on extra services and carriages. They point out out that this is the final weekend before the end of the Scottish school summer holidays. - More details are here.

🏗️ Plans for a footbridge over the Union Canal, linking the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena and the soon-to-open Lost Shore Surf Resort near Ratho are set to be abandoned because of technical difficulties with the bridge and an £821,000 bill to lease the air over the canal. - Ian Swanson, Evening News.
⮑ Transport committee convenor Scott Arthur described it as

🪦 Local councillors have voted to allow dog walking to continue at cemeteries after some mourners had called for a ban. - Local Democracy Reporter Donald Turvill, BBC Scotland News.

🚗 Some of Edinburgh’s narrowest streets could get new double yellow lines down both sides of the road so fire engines have access. - Ian Swanson, Evening News.

📌  Edinburgh Minute Community Noticeboard

📌 “Umbrella Vinyl is 1 and we want to celebrate with you on Sunday 11th August 12 - 5pm. Expect beer, great music and good cheer! Free entry.” - There will be open decks in the afternoon – get in touch to book a 20min slot. Thanks to Laura, Nick & Josh, Owners of Umbrella Vinyl, for sharing this. Happy birthday!

📌 “Eleven Painters makes a much-anticipated return to the Dundas Street Gallery in Edinburgh from 9th - 14th August 2024.  This captivating exhibition will feature an eclectic mix of works from a selected group of current students and alumni of the prestigious Leith School of Art.” - Thanks to the artists for getting in touch with this.

📌 “It's Edinburgh's turn to host 'W Presents', a global live electronic music series. DJ/Producer Elkka will be performing a high-energy DJ set on the rooftop at W Edinburgh on Thursday 22 August. Tickets include a glass of champagne on arrival.” - Thanks to a subscriber for sharing this.

📌 “Leith Makers offers a variety of local artists the opportunity to showcase their work, our gallery is given over to a trio of local artists, Susan Mitchell, Susan Hope and Sharon Woods. Sharing a mutual fascination with dark fairy tales, circus sideshows and Victoriana, their show is a perfect accompaniment to the Festival Fringe! By combining vintage ephemera with antique images, and ‘a little bit of fairy dust’ they have created a collection of collages and assemblages that weave mysterious tales. A place between reality and dreams...’Nothing is Real’.” - Thanks to Carmen Chalmers for sharing this.

📆 Things to do this weekend:

🪩 To mark the start of the festivals, you can get 20% off a subscription here.