The Edinburgh Minute ⏰: Weekend edition 18-20 August 2023

☀️ Good morning Edinburgh. It’s been a pretty hectic week. Thank you to everyone reading this for your support and contributions to the newsletter. I’ve got some exciting announcements up my sleeve for you next week. Meantime, here’s Friday’s Edinburgh Minute. 

🚧  Morningside residents will get the chance to vote on three options for the future of the controversial Braid Road layout. - Ian Swanson, Evening News.

📵  The Lyceum Theatre’s artistic director David Greig has apologised to staff after appearing to support transphobic Tweets. - Andrew Learmonth, The Herald.

🥯  There seems to be a new development every day in the Bross Bagels unpaid tax saga. Now the Scottish Women’s Awards have removed Larah Bross’ nomination from the ‘Business of the Year’ category. An awards spokesperson told The Edinburgh Reporter:

“After conducting thorough due diligence, we realised that the finalist does not meet the qualifying criteria, leading to the removal of the nomination from The Scottish Women’s Awards 2023.”

🥯    ⮑  Details of Bross’ unpaid tax and debts totalling over £1.2m were revealed this week by The Edinburgh Guardian. 
🥯    ⮑  Earlier this week on social media Bross had written: “BUZZING for my BIZ.” But that post is now deleted after she admitted putting the business into liquidation after HMRC began chasing the debts. Unpaid suppliers initially flagged concerns.
🥯    ⮑  A day after filing for liquidation, Bross registered a new company called Hot Mama Bagels with herself as the sole director.
🥯    ⮑  Yesterday that company began advertising for new staff, with no mention of Bross.
🥯    ⮑  What next? Bross’ winding-up court document states that “an interim Liquidator be appointed” within eight days of notice, which was August 15.

🏢  40 Princes Street - a modern glass-fronted building facing Waverley Bridge - has been sold for £29.5m. - Kirsty Dorsey, The Herald.

📰  Some of this year’s smaller Fringe shows have punched above their weight according to The New York Times:

“People think of the Fringe, which is open to anyone who can pay the accreditation fee, as defined more by quantity than quality. Yet the stronger Fringe shows were pretty much on a par — in intelligence, aesthetic ambition and technical execution — with several of the productions I saw at the more prestigious, curated International Festival. The difference was mainly a question of scale.” - Houman Barekat, New York Times.

🏢  Deloitte has opened its new Haymarket Square office. See the view from inside the building in this report by Sara White, Accountancy Daily.

🚲  First Minister Humza Yousaf tried out some of the Porty Energy cargo bikes yesterday on the prom. Here he is with the non-profit group’s co-director Ellen Grunewald on board: 

🎭  Hidden Door, a festival that opens up ‘forgotten’ urban spaces for arts shows, has launched a £20,000 fundraising campaign to help with its 2024 venue. The volunteer-run charity’s director Hazel Johnson said: 

“Next year is our festival’s 10th anniversary, and we already have our eye on some very exciting potential new venues. Investing in the arts is more important than ever, and with cultural organisations across the sector having difficult conversations about funding and the spiralling cost of putting on live events, this needs more than words.” 

💰  Sticking with the topic of arts funding, Creative Scotland has warned it could cut long-term funding for some organisations after a surge in demand. Around £113 million worth of applications are expected to be made within a few months for a funding pot that currently stands at around £45 million. - The Scotsman’s Brian Ferguson has been following the arts funding story closely and has the new details and context here.

🎤  The show went on Father Ted writer Graham Linehan, just not where he expected, after a second venue turned him away and he had to do it outside. - Severin Carrell, The Guardian.

🎪  Locally-based writer Sarah Wood launches a new Scotland-inspired home goods brand today called Royal Circus.

✍️  Local Democracy Reporter Donald Turvill live-Tweeted developments from yesterday’s monthly council Transport and Environment Committee. On the agenda were: the Corstorphine LTN, the East London Street ‘noisy buses’ petition, the Tollcross clock and plans for Lothian Road.
  ⮑  Donald also reports that councillors are asking the Haymarket Yard developers to replace public toilets destroyed during construction.

🔥  Northfield House Hotel has been demolished after a spate of fires. - Lee Dalgetty, Edinburgh Live.

📆  What’s on this weekend: 

🎞  As part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Cinema Under The Stars begins this weekend at the Old College Quad. Highlights include Everything Everywhere All at Once, Parasite, Puss in Boots and The Lego Movie. - See the full line-up and get tickets here. 

🏊‍♀️ If you’re a fan of sea swimming, there is a lovely event at Portobello Bookshop on Saturday morning: you can join author Freya Bromley for a swim and a book reading on the beach. The author of ‘The Tidal Year’, has aimed to swim in every tidal pool in the country ‘in an effort to find healing amidst grief and uncertainty.’ The event blurb says: