Plaque has gone missing from St Andrew Square, a list of suggestions for ways to fill up the weekend and the latest in the liquidation of Bross Bagels Limited.
Liquidation of Bross Bagels Limited
The latest news in the liquidation of Edinburgh based company Bross Bagels Limited which effectively ceased trading on 3 August 2023 is in our article here. The assets – which include the leases of the four shops – have been sold to a new company Hot Mama Bagels Limited for £18,000.
The joint liquidators Blair Nimmo and Alistair McAlinden do not hold out much hope for any dividends or payouts from the failed business to creditors. The list includes the sum of £635,000 to HMRC and the sum of £148,000 to individuals who contributed to a kind of crowdfunder.
Finance Committee – SNP and Greens call for spending
The SNP and Greens on the council will call today at the council’s Finance & Resources Committee for spending to help those in the capital who are experiencing financial difficulties.
They will suggest paying £200 for each child who already receives a grant for school clothing or receives free school meals. They say this is fully costed and can be paid from an apparent £13.7 million budget underspend.
In addition they would like the council to allocate £8.35 million to social care funding while calling on the NHS for match funding. IN addition they would like the council to ensure that council workers are paid the real living wage.
SNP Group Leader Councillor Adam Nols-McVey said: “The Tory cost-of-living crisis is crippling families and shockingly the support that should have been available throughout the year of money and advice for folk has been decimated under this Labour-led Council.
“We’re pleading with colleagues to make this payment to families in need of it now which will mean the difference of a winter coat, the heating getting turned on through the cold weather and decent food on the plate.
“We’re also asking other councillors to take this opportunity to reverse hugely damaging education cuts that the Labour-Tory-LibDem administration passed in February. It’s not too late to save the education welfare officer team who work with some of the hardest to reach families across the city.”
Read the council papers and Watch the Finance Committee here.
Mentioned in Parliament
The Edinburgh Reporter is mentioned in a motion lodged at The Scottish Parliament by Gordon Macdonald MSP who has written about our involvement as a founding member of The Scottish Beacon, a collaborative journalism project.
The motion reads:
That the Parliament congratulates local news publications, C&B News and The Edinburgh Reporter, on joining with 15 other local news publications to form the Scottish Beacon; understands that the Scottish Beacon website is the first collaborative journalism outlet of its kind in the country, and aims to strengthen the independent community-based media sector, bringing stories from Scotland’s communities to a wider audience; further understands that the website will republish articles on topics including community empowerment, social equality, local democracy, and the environment, from Shetland in the north to Dumfries and Galloway in the south; recognises that the publications involved are all independently-owned and produce original journalism in the public interest, and are, it considers, firmly rooted in serving the communities in which they are based; notes that people can sign up to the Scottish Beacon at members.scottishbeacon.com/join, and commends C&B News, The Edinburgh Reporter and the other publications on their stated aim to "re-invigorate local public interest news and overcome common challenges such as long-term sustainability".
You can read the motion on The Scottish Parliament website here.
Coming up this weekend
There are so many things coming up this weekend that we have combined them all into one place here.
On Saturday there is an open day at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre:
Harts Cyclery are celebrating their 10th anniversary in Corstorphine with a 23% off just about everything with tea and buns, bargains and a prize draw.
It is taster weekend at The Commie. More details here.
Doors Open Days. There are just too many options to mention – but we have a list of our own to explore. This is the weekend when doors open which are normally closed to the public. Where are you going?
For inspiration here is our top five….
- Freemasons’ Hall 96 George Street EH2 3DH – 24 September from 11.00am
- Dar Al-Arqam Mosque 59 Lauriston Place EH3 9HY – 23 September from 1.00pm
- James Clerk Maxwell Foundation 14 India Street EH3 6EZ 23 and 24 September from noon
- Greenside Parish Church 1B Royal Terrace EH7 5AB 23rd September from 10am and 24 September from 1.00pm.
- US Consulate General Edinburgh 3 Regent Terrace EH7 5BW 23 September from 10am.
- Burns Monument Regent Road EH1 3DG both days from 10am
A photography exhibition opens to the public on Saturday 23 September 23 at Museum of Edinburgh with photos featuring Kyiv. https://www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk/whats-on/kyiv-unbreakable-heart-europe
This Sunday families can join Scottish children’s charity, Fischy Music, for a special 25th Anniversary concert and sing along to songs that make children ‘Stronger’.
Over the past 25 years, more than half of Scottish Primary Schools have used Fischy Music songs and resources for assembly singing, with links to the Health & Wellbeing Curriculum and programmes like Building Resilience, Rights Respecting Schools Awards and Seasons for Growth.
Fischy songs, written for and with children, are part of Scottish culture and are sung by thousands of children in primary schools and homes every day across Scotland and beyond. As well as significant scientific evidence that singing reduces stress, improves immunity and physical health and aids memory and learning, Fischy songs also have huge health benefits for children’s health and wellbeing.
Edinburgh Queen’s Hall – Sunday 24th September 2023, 3pm
Missing Plaque
The very small brass plaque which was put on the Melville Monument in St Andrew Square has gone missing.
It was there at the weekend when we took this photo, but has been pinched. A descendant Bobby Melville tweeted that the plaque was “erroneous” and said there was permission from the City of Edinburgh Council.
Read the letter from the Melville Monument Committee here.
City Centre councillor Claire Miller has raised the issue with Police Scotland and as a ward councillor would be keen to raise awareness of what has happened.
She said: “I’m shocked to learn this relatively new and very important plaque, which gives the Melville monument its historical context and modern interpretation, is suddenly missing. I’ve reported this potential crime to the police, and to Essential Edinburgh who manage the gardens on behalf of the Council, so they can investigate and hopefully return the plaque to its rightful place.”
The plaque was put up to provide a more representative story of Henry Dundas who stands atop the plinth.
Part of what it related explains why the city deemed it necessary: “Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville (1742 – 1811) was the Scottish Lord Advocate and an MP for Edinburgh and Midlothian, and the First Lord of the Admiralty.
“Dundas was a contentious figure, provoking controversies that resonate to this day. While Home Secretary in 1792 and first Secretary of State for War in 1796 he was instrumental in deferring the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
