The Edinburgh Minute ⏰ Weekend edition: 21 - 23 November 2025
TV Festival switches off, Roseburn Path gun gangster jailed, six month wait for tram survey results + your weekend guide
👋 Good morning Edinburgh. After a year of 5am starts, I'm taking a rare week off next week, so your daily newsletter will return on Monday 1 December. If anything major comes in, I might send out an update or two but currently not expecting to. Thank you for sticking with the newsletter! Meantime, here's your weekend guide and Friday's Edinburgh Minute...
🌦️ Weekend weather: It's due to get slightly warmer this weekend, but not warm. Friday morning will be sunny with a low of -2C. Saturday morning starts wet but it should dry up by midday, with a weekend high of 8C. Sunday looks like the wettest day of the weekend, with the potential for showers throughout the day. - The full Met Office forecast is here.
🚈 A signal fault is affecting ScotRail train services between Edinburgh and Glasgow this morning. - Jody Harrison, The Herald.
📺 After 50 years in the capital, organisers of the Edinburgh TV Festival are considering moving elsewhere. The possible move comes 'amid concerns about the industry’s lack of working-class voices and the high cost of a hotel room in the city', writes Michael Savage in The Guardian.
🚔 The gangster who was caught trying to find a buried gun on the Roseburn Path in June has been jailed for six years and nine months. - STV News has the background. High Court Judge Lord Arthurson told Liam McDermid: "The citizens of Edinburgh have been understandably and indeed rightly concerned by the recent upsurge of such criminality in their communities." - Police published their own statement here.
🚉 The results of the north-south tramline extension consultation are not expected to be published until 'mid 2026', reports Donald Turvill in The Herald.
🪵 Local staff at three branches of National Timber Group are facing job uncertainty after the business published its intention to enter administration. - Isla Storie, Edinburgh Live.
🏴 Flags attached to lampposts on London Road, Leith Walk, and Broughton Street will be removed by the council after complaints they were put up without permission. - Neil Johnstone, Evening News.
🛣️ A large patch of land near the Sheriffhall roundabout is up for sale. - Brian Donnelly, The Herald.
🏨 The owners of the Virgin Hotel on Victoria Street have been granted permission to build a roof terrace with an outdoor hot tub. - Ross Chalmers, Deadline News.
🛜 Computing researchers at the University of Edinburgh have made a software and chip 'breakthrough' that they say could make AI systems ten times faster. - The uni published more details here.
🎭 A new show based on hit TV show Outlander will debut at the Usher Hall in spring next year. - Ross Chalmers, Deadline News.
📸 Local photographer Tom Duffin (who kindly shares a lot of his images with this newsletter) has revealed the winning images for his 2026 calendar. You'll be able to get one from the Nisa store in Polwarth or online.
Tom Duffin
📌 Edinburgh Minute Community Noticeboard - news you can use:
Friday:
📌 "Friday 21 November & Saturday 22 November. The Scottish Christmas Book Fair starts today! Come along and buy books and games from Scotland's independent publishers and enjoy a free mulled wine and mince pie. There's also a chance to meet their authors and get books signed." - Thanks to Vikki Reilly at Publishing Scotland for sharing this.
📌 "The Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show 2025 takes place this weekend at the Cornerstone Centre. There are 145 local artists displaying their work in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. A great event and affordable art." - Thanks to Iain Plunkett, Marketing volunteer with the Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show, for sharing this.
📌 "Friday 21 November: Join Naomi Schogler for A soulful battery recharge, a lovely one hour online class to rest & take stock at home with Guided Restorative Yoga & (NSDR) Yoga Nidra this evening. Book Now 💖
50% proceeds donated to Edinburgh Homelessness Charity The Wee Hours." - Thanks to Naomi Schogler Yoga Edinburgh for sharing this.
📌 "Friday November 21 at 7:30pm— Join ESHC for our monthly community meal! Free food, good times, all welcome. Come meet your neighbours and connect over a free meal! 34 Wright's Houses, basement." - Thanks to ESHC for sharing this.
Saturday:
📌 "Saturday 22nd November. Get ready to step into a world of Christmas magic with HelloArt’s very first Christmas Market. Join us for a day filled with art, food, music, and festive fun as local artists, makers, and creatives bring the holiday spirit to life." - Thanks to Out of the Blue for sharing this.
📌 "Celebrate classic Mexican cinema at Filmhouse, starting this Saturday with La mujer de Nadie (Nobody's Wife, 1937). Stronger Than Love: ¡Too Much Mexican Melodrama! is a season of four Golden Age films curated through a feminist lens, full of heightened emotions, lush visuals and unruly passions." - Thanks to Feminist film collective Invisible Women for sharing this.
📌 "Saturday 22nd Nov, 10am to 12pm join us for the annual Edinburgh Clothing Store coffee morning at Morningside Parish Church. Tickets are £5 and include tea, coffee and a delicious scone. Enjoy cake & candy, tombola, plants, jewellery, jigsaws and a raffle. Come along and support this great cause." - Thanks to a kind Minute subscriber for sharing this.
Next week:
📌 "Tuesday 25 Nov – Interested in hearing about post-COP climate policy in the historic home of Adam Smith? Join panelists from Heriot-Watt University, IIED, and Plan Vivo as they discuss the future of carbon markets followed by coffee. 25 Nov at 9:30am - free tickets still available!" - Thanks to Dr Victoria Plutshack of Heriot-Watt University for sharing this.
📌 "Wednesday 26 - Saturday 29 November, 7.30pm. Forth Children’s Theatre are getting their custard pies, stilts and clown noses ready to perform their pantomime Goldilocks and the Three Bears at North Edinburgh Arts. Get ready for a production full of hilarity, music and magic! Tickets on sale now!" - Thanks to Forth Childrens Theatre for sharing this.
📌 "Saturday 29 November - Celebrate Local Creativity at Edinburgh Open Workshop’s Festive Makers Market - a vibrant showcase of the best local artists, makers, and designers. Enjoy delicious treats from Gringo Supper Club and A Cup Above, plus free children's workshops." - Thanks to the organisers for sharing this.
📌 "Sunday 30th November - celebrate St Andrews Day at Holyrood Distillery with a dram or two! Complimentary tickets are available for Edinburgh Residents for our guided Distillery Tour & Tastings at 12pm & 1pm. Spaces are limited - book online to secure your spot!" - Thanks to Holyrood Distillery for sharing this.
📌 "Sunday 30th Nov - Canapé Cooking Class - Get festive with Maria Harper from The Edinburgh Canapé Company at Cyrenians Cook School in Leith. Learn to make elegant bites, taste your creations, and leave inspired — no experience needed. Only a few spaces left! ✨" - Thanks to Maria Harper, Founder of The Edinburgh Canapé Company, for sharing this.
📌 "30/11: Tidal Yoga celebrates their first birthday with free drop in classes during the afternoon. Book into one or all four of the 30 minute tasters, meet some teachers and enjoy some gentle movement. Melanie = Pilates Flow, Bex = Mandala taster, Ruth = Vinyasa Flow and Alex will serve a gentle offering." - Thanks to Alex at Tidal Yoga for sharing this.
📌 "Leith-based social enterprise Studio Lutalica launched their Designing for Trans+ Futures campaign this Trans Awareness Week raising £5000 to empower trans-led projects and initiatives through design. Support it here." - Thanks to Danielle Mustarde from Studio Lutalica CIC for sharing this.
📌 "Sun 30th Nov 11-3 - Celebration of 10 years of pop ups at Leith Walk policebox. If you have ever popped up with us or supported our pop ups, we would love you to celebrate with cake. RSVP by Monday 24th November to popups@leithwalkpolicebox.com telling us your fave pop up at the box." - Thanks to Monty from Leith Walk policebox for sharing this.
📌 "Join us in Granton for a community walk on 30th November at 2pm to mark Lost Species Day. We'll be sharing the story of the historic local extinction and recent reintroduction of oysters in the forth, looking for ancient oyster shells on the beach, and enjoying Granton's shoreline while we do it." - Thanks to Katie Smith from Granton Community Gardeners for sharing this.
🛝 Plenty of family-friendly things to do this weekend and beyond in Gayle's Guide, including: a family Irish trad session, woodland yoga for kids, free films and more...
Gayle’s Guide