The Edinburgh Minute ⏰ Wednesday 24 December 2025

Nelson Monument paint attack, local foodbank usage doubles, yet another Black Sheep Coffee opening, Broughton Street bar closing + choir sings 'Twelve Days of Clickbait'

Michael MacLeod

24 Dec 2025 — 4 min read

West Bow and Victoria Street, photographed by Tom Duffin.

👋 Good morning Edinburgh. Unless something major happens (here's hoping it doesn't) then this is the last newsletter of the week, returning on Monday. Thanks to everyone still reading! Here’s Wednesday's Edinburgh Minute.

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❄️ With the newsletter paused until Monday, here’s the week ahead’s weather: Dry with some sunshine today and Thursday. More overcast on Friday. Saturday could start off with drizzle, clearing up after 1pm. Cloudy with outbreaks of sun for the rest of next week. Temperatures will drop as Hogmanay approaches: A high of 8C on Saturday and a low of 0C on Sunday. - Find the full Met Office forecast here.

🍽️ The number of food parcels delivered by The Edinburgh Food Project charity has 'more than doubled' since the pandemic. - Rachel Keenan & Ruth Suter, Daily Record.

⮑ You can find out more about the Edinburgh Food Project here.

🚔 Police are investigating after red paint was thrown on the Nelson Monument on Calton Hill. Pro-Palestine group 'Justice for the Hunger Strikers' claimed responsibility. - Rachel Fergusson, The Scotsman.

🔥 A 24-year-old man has admitted starting a fire at the Belle Cheveux beauty parlour in Albert Street, Leith, in March this year. - BBC Scotland News.

☕️ Black Sheep Coffee is planning to open another cafe (its 12th in the city), this time at 51 - 53 Forrest Road. The corner address is currently occupied by the Maycheelin Asian Supermarket. - The plans are on the council planning portal here.

🍹 Owners of the Ruma cocktail bar, which opened on Broughton Street in March last year, have announced they're closing next month after failing to find a buyer. - Craig Williams, The Herald.

⮑ "A bit of sad news to end the year. Unfortunately, we are having to close our doors for good on the 04/01/26. We have tried our best in a very challenging climate but our false start last year and a number of other factors mean we can’t go on any more." - Ruma Edinburgh.

⛺️ The council says it is 'deeply concerned' about people sleeping on the streets as winter arrives. One of the people rough-sleeping outside the City of Edinburgh Council's Waverley Court HQ on Market Street is interviewed by Local Democracy Reporter Joe Sullivan in the Evening News.

🎁 Local chef Dean Banks, who owns the The Pompadour, Dulse Leith and Haar restaurants, has been donating festive gifts via the Medics Against Violence charity. - Nicholas Malizia, Edinburgh Live.

📆 If you're looking for things to do in the coming days, Neil Cooper's 'Shop Local' going-out guide has plenty of ideas including the annual VoxBox Hogmanay Jamboree, the Out of the Blue December Flea Market, clubs, gigs and more...

🎵 Thanks to Edinburgh’s very own The Phoenix Choir for recording this newsletter's festive anthem: ‘Twelve Days of Clickbait’. The group performs at Central Hall in Tollcross. Next time a friend or relative complains about the state of (some) local news websites, send them this video. (It's also on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Reddit and Twitter.)

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📌 “US expat here, arrived in April. Just sending a big THANK YOU for the Minute. No, I don't think it's too long-the more the better! It's really helped us a lot to get acclimated, and it feels like a big welcome hug every morning. Merry Christmas and Happy Hogmanay!” - Thanks to a kind subscriber for sharing this. Made my day.

📌 “Family Crib Service at Christ Church Morningside (6a Morningside Road, EH10 4DD) at 2pm on Christmas Eve. Children's carol favourites, inc. Little Donkey, It Was On A Starry Night, in a relaxed service open to children of all ages!” - Thanks to the organisers for sharing this.

📌 "Monday 29 December - Kick off the Countdown to Hogmanay with The Brave and Laldie Ceilidhs. The first of three great Ceilidhs for the final three nights of 2025, get yourself to Assembly Roxy to sharpen your moves for the big night itself." - Thanks to the Roxy team for sharing this.

📌 “At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve is your last chance to get an early bird ticket for our first Ceilidh Plus community event of 2026. Dance to trad live music from Scotland, China and the USA, all in one night. Plus, BYOB, watch along and enjoy our pop-up food bar!” - Thanks to the team of Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland for sharing this. - See a preview video here.

📌 “After a successful year, local Edinburgh IT refurb company - pure IT - is raising money for Edinburgh Children’s Hospital charity to make hospital stays a little better. They’re calling on the community to get involved (if they can) in this season of giving. Pure IT aims to match donations.” - You can find their Sick Kids fundraising page here. "Even £1 can make a difference when we come together."

📌 “Monday 05 January - 10-week Painting Master Course at Scot-ART working with paintings from the National Galleries of Scotland. Learn how to develop observational drawing and painting skills through looking at Renaissance paintings with artist and educator Dr Ginny Elston. 10am - 4pm every Monday.” - Thanks to artist and educator Dr Ginny Elston for sharing this.

📮 Anything missing? Please share your local news and events here. (Next normal edition is Monday 29 December)