The Edinburgh Minute ⏰: Friday 14 July 2023
Snax expands, £6 million house for sale, airport anger explained + George Square Gardens Spiegeltent gigs begin this weekend
☀️ Good morning Edinburgh. Here’s Friday’s Edinburgh Minute.
🐉 International students have been blamed for dumping a live bearded dragon in a bin near London Road. The reptile is now being looked after by the Scottish SPCA. - BBC Scotland News.
🔑 Hundreds of people have taken part in a citizen science survey about short-term lets in Edinburgh. The snapshot of public opinion was gathered during the recent Proclaimers gigs, where Leith Links Community Council members were given a space at the request of the band. - The results are shared in this blog post.
💰 A mansion in Juniper Green has been put on the market for £6 million. It has its own zipline, tennis court and eight bedrooms. - Malcolm Jack, The Times (paywall).
⮑ See the listing on Rettie.
🛬 Edinburgh Airport has struggled to cope this week with delays at arrivals seeing long queues as late as 3am and in some cases leaving passengers waiting on the tarmac.
⮑ Broadcaster Gordon Smart was among those held up in the dead of night:
⮑ Writer Stephen Rafferty got ’stony silence’ from press officers when trying to find out about a string of delays.
⮑ ‘Too many flights, not enough staff’ is the verdict among some in the local Reddit forum. ‘The airport is a shitshow’ has been the forum’s trending topic this week.
⮑ Baggage handling firm Swissport apologised for delays and is reported to be drafting in extra staff. - Alastair Dalton of The Scotsman digs into why this is all happening. He lists which airlines use which baggage handler, and found a pattern.
🏞 Five years after closing for refurbishment, Redhall Weir bridge in Colinton Dell re-opened yesterday.
Openings and closings:
☕️ The well-known, family-owned, independent cafe chain Snax has opened a new bakehouse on West Register Street. - Katie Williams spoke to the family behind the life-saving local breakfast brand.
🎸 A new rock-themed bar called Dizzy Izzy’s is set to open on Bristo Place next Friday. - Sean Murphy, Edinburgh Live.
🧸 Two local mums who are best friends are reopening the Turtledove Play Cafe in Davidson’s Mains after it closed in 2022. - Katie Williams spoke to them.
🍔 A ‘legendary’ Leith Links burger van owner is retiring and closing his business. Mike English has served food in the park for 21 years. - His family shared some nice community tributes in this piece by Iona Young, Edinburgh Live.
⮑ “I’ve met people here who are now lifelong friends. It’s the people of Restalrig and Leith that have made the van what it is.” - Mike spoke to Neil Johnstone of the Evening News in this video.
🍽 New Town restaurant Michael’s on Eyre Place has been put on the market.