The Edinburgh Minute ⏰ Wednesday 10 December 2025

🌤️ Good morning Edinburgh. It's another busy one. Plus, the city's most popular ad-free events newsletter lands in paying subscribers' inboxes later today. If you've got any last-minute editions for The Edinburgh Culture Minute, please send them in here before midday today. Here’s Wednesday's Edinburgh Minute.

🌧️ Strong winds are expected to continue today, after yesterday's Met Office yellow weather warning was extended to 9pm tonight. [08:43 UPDATE: The yellow weather warning has just been removed. The Met Office says: "Whilst remaining windy today, the likelihood of disruption has decreased."

• ⮑ The Christmas market and rides in Princes Street Gardens were closed at 5pm last night due to wind, which was gusting at 55mph. - The event organisers posted this update.
• ⮑ Gusts of 50mph are possible today, according to the Met Office.
• ⮑ Storm Bram caused some minor damage to trees and sheds, reports Nicholas Malizia on Edinburgh Live.
• ⮑ The usual Hermiston Gait tailbacks were even longer last night due to a fallen tree at junction 2 of the M8, reports Rhoda Morrison of the Evening News.

🚦 Councillors will vote next week on giving the green light to two-way cycling on Rose Street. Exempting pedal bikes from existing one-way rules is also proposed for seven other streets. - Donald Turvill, The Herald.
⮑ There have been objections by the Edinburgh Access Panel, New Town and Broughton Community Council and Living Streets, who set out their reasons here.
⮑ The council report on the plans, which also include Cassel's Lane, Circus Lane, Drummond Street and Richmond Lane can be read online here.

🚲 Edinburgh's Voi electric hire bike scheme is expanding again, with new zones in Roseburn, Bruntsfield, Morningside and King’s Buildings. From today, another 140 bikes are being added in those areas, taking the city's fleet to 480. Voi says it will monitor demand, with a further 120 bikes ready to roll out if needed. In the three months since Voi launched here there have been 75,000 trips by nearly 14,000 riders, covering over 200,000 kilometres in total.

• Responding to concerns about bikes being abandoned outside of designated parking zones, Voi says it's had 350 'suggested parking locations' submitted to a dedicated web page so far. You can suggest more here.
• There's a range of opinions about the bikes in the comments section of this Edinburgh Minute Instagram post.

🏗️ 'Locals will continue opposition at next week's hearing' for the New Town student flats plan for the former RBS office site at Dundas Street, which got 447 objections, reports the Spurtle. (Credit to the Spurtle for including more detail and nuance than you'll find in press-release regurgitations elsewhere).

🏫 The Scottish Land Fund has confirmed it will fund 100% of the £495,500 purchase price for Action Porty to acquire the former Portobello Police Station through a Community Asset Transfer. - More details from Action Porty here. (Thanks to Alison from Action Porty and 'Tim, minute fan & Porty resident', for sharing this).

🌱 More community ownership news: Gorgie Community Farm gardens is partnering with the Napiers the Herbalists. Napiers say they hope to contribute 'expertise in herbal education, community health, workshops, and volunteer support'. - More details are here.

"My great-grandfather founded Napiers with his local community the centre of his focus. We want to continue his legacy, and this partnership helps us to do that. For over 165 years we’ve worked with people, not just patients, meeting them where they are, sharing knowledge, and keeping traditional plant medicine alive in ways that feel accessible and grounded. Supporting Gorgie Community Farm feels like a natural extension of that. It brings together education, wellbeing, and the environment in a way Edinburgh can be truly proud of." - Lynda Napier.

🏃‍♂️ There's good long-read in the Edinburgh Inquirer by author Jonny Muir, titled: 'The night runners of the Pentlands'.

The night runners of the Pentlands

“It feels like the closest thing I do as an adult to ‘play’”

The Edinburgh InquirerEdinburgh Inquirer

📌 Edinburgh Minute Community Noticeboard

⮑ Please get in touch using this form. < It’s the only way to get something featured in the newsletter.

📌 "Are any local choirs with a sense of humour up for filming themselves singing some verses of a fun carol I've written for The Edinburgh Minute titled '12 Days of Clickbait'? If so, please get in touch with your details via the form and I'll be in touch. The more the merrier. Thanks!" - Michael, The Edinburgh Minute.

📌 “December 10th-13th ❄️🎄 Winter Atelier Pop-Up at Shop With No Name 🎄❄️ Visit us for local upcycled fashion and sustainably made gifts, Sip and Shop with festive portraits on Friday 12th from 5-7pm and FREE mending advice and support from Edinburgh Street Stitchers on 12th & 13th” - Thanks to local creatives Rita, Pamela & Jen for sharing this.

📌 “Wed 10th Dec - Xu Shaoyang/George Burt - a night of guitar-based, collaborative free jazz. Burt fuses free jazz, folk & fearless improvisation crafting bold, ground-breaking sonic adventures; Xu, a Chinese musician, has mastered a beguiling sophisticated-naive style overflowing with humanity & beauty.” - Thanks to Neil and Nick, Founders of Flux Gigs for sharing this.

📌 “Thursday 11 December. The Vintage Chorus are giving a free performance of carols and festive songs on 11th December, from 5pm at the Virgin Hotel, Victoria Street. Join us in the Oculus Lounge on the 8th floor, where you’ll find us singing familiar Christmas music under the magnificent dome.” - Thanks to The Vintage Chorus for sharing this.

📌 “CHRISTMAS LECTURES from the Royal Institution. Thursday 11th, Saturday 13th, and Tuesday 16th December as we stream the lectures live from London. Families are warmly invited to watch the lectures come to life in real time and uncover the mysteries of the Universe with Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock.” - Thanks to Heart of Newhaven for sharing this.

📌 “Thursday 11 December - Get down to the all new Pianodrome Bruntsfield for Will Pickvance’s Rag and Bone Christmas - a candlelit cabaret of ghosts, songs and salvaged cheer this Thursday 11 and Thursday19 - Sat 21 December. With mulled wine and special guests!” - Thanks to Pianodrome for sharing this.

📌 “Friday 12 December – Join The Eric Liddell Community for a guided five-dram whisky tasting curated by Royal Mile Whiskies and paired with fine chocolates. A delicious evening for whisky and chocolate lovers! Tickets £25. To book, contact Lynda at hayl@ericliddell.org” - Thanks to The Eric Liddell Community for sharing this.

📌 “12th December at 7PM. Please join us for Dunedin Windband's Winter Concert at Newington Trinity Church.” - Thanks to Dunedin Windband for sharing this.

📌 “Sat 13 December, 2pm-5pm: Grand Opening of the BANZAI (Bruntsfield Area Net Zero Action Initiative) Cargo Bike Library hub on Bruntsfield Links near Leamington Tce. Join us for family fun, face painting, Winter Trail, free Dr Bike with ELREC, hot drinks, cakes, live music and cargo bike rides!” - Thanks to Carol from BANZAI Bikes for sharing this.

📌 “Bruntsfield's newest community book exchange library is now open on the gates of Chapter One dental clinic at Bruntsfield Place. Welcoming bookworms of all ages to their newest chapter in the heart of EH10.” - Thanks to Ashley Chisholm for sharing this.

📌 “Got something that's broken, want to try fixing it but not sure how? Join us at the next Repair Cafe Edinburgh pop-up event this Sunday in Meadowbank where our volunteers will provide guidance to diagnose and repair your items!” - Thanks to Repair Cafe Edinburgh for sharing this.

📌 “Saturday 13th December - 🚂 All aboard! Join us at Filmhouse on Sat 13 Dec for a special PJ party edition of The Polar Express. We encourage little ones to come along in their cosiest pyjamas, receive a golden ticket and enjoy a hot chocolate during the film!” - Thanks to Filmhouse for sharing this.

📌 “Join Kat Brooks and the Phoenix Choir for a joyful and exuberant soul singing workshop in the glorious Pianodrome! No experience needed - we love learning songs and harmonies by ear, and we'll explore what happens to how we experience music when you play with space and where sounds are coming from.” - Thanks to The Phoenix Choir for sharing this.

📌 “Saturday 13 December - Living Rent are hosting our annual Christmas Ceilidh, 6pm-10pm at St. Columba's by the Castle, raising money for the union and for Palestine.” - Thanks to Living Rent for sharing this.

📌 “Edinburgh based band of brothers Dubinski return from a successful European headline tour! Don't miss this incredible live band's final show of the year at Cabaret Voltaire this Saturday! With support from the fantastic Felix And The Sunsets.” - Thanks to Eoin Gaine (Drummer, Dubinski) for sharing this.

📌 “Sunday 14 December. Festive cheese making workshop! Join cheesemaker Kristen Allan at Elliott's, Sciennes Road, for a hands-on class where you'll make feta, halloumi and mascarpone. Enjoy a delicious seasonal lunch, then head home with your homemade cheese and inspiration for the festive season.” - Thanks to Kristen for sharing this.

📌 “Sunday 14 December - MIGHTY SIPS at the Gilded Saloon. Musical comedy wine tasting with Edinburgh drinks expert and cabaret performer Anna Larkin DipWSET. Includes 3 wine samples.” - Thanks to Anna Larkin, writer and performer, for sharing this.

Next week:

📌 “Wednesday 17 December - Children’s Messiah is a 45-minute, fun, interactive introduction to Handel’s music, specially created for young ears! Guided by Mr Handel and his assistant Frances, you’ll hear some of his greatest hits, meet the performers - and maybe even get to conduct.” - Thanks to Dunedin Consort for sharing this.

📌 “Saturday 20 December - Expect two intimate live music performances from a local Yoga Studio on Leith Walk. Brought to you by Sofar Sounds Edinburgh!” - Thanks to Sofar Sounds for sharing this.

📌 “The University of Edinburgh is looking for a Digitisation Studio Manager with experience of running a digitisation studio, knowledge of a range of high-end imaging equipment, software and workflows, as well as staff management experience and a passion for heritage collections.” - Thanks to Rebecca Hirsch for sharing this.

📌 “Children from Edinburgh and Bosnia have reimagined Fireflies by Owl City, celebrating hope, creativity. (Watch the video here). This inspiring project calls for peace and unity in a divided world. Watch, like, and share the video to support these young voices and spread their message of friendship and collaboration!” - Thanks to Amy Stirling for sharing this.

📮 Anything missing? Please share your local news and events here.

👀 The most-visited links from the last newsletter:

1. 🍻 The Fort bar opening in Leith on Friday.
2. 🏗️ New Town student flat plans going to council vote next week.
3. 📙 Argonaut says it has stopped Waterstones' new shop bid.

⏰ Thanks for reading edition number 786.
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