Five things you need to know today

May 28, 2025 7:00 am

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Delays to the Edinburgh Trams Inquiry

According to Lord Hardie who chaired the inquiry which took nine years to issue a final report and cost £13 million some of the delay was down to pure practicalities.

He said that while it was a good idea to use government buildings which were otherwise empty, choosing the Creative Scotland building at the East End (in the former Post Office) did not turn out to be as good an idea as hoped.

The internet connections were temperamental, and the delay was further complicated for him by having to set up staff and other resources from scratch – and so “gave the impression of reinventing the wheel”.

He recommended to the parliamentary Finance and Public Administration Committee that “Scottish Ministers should review public inquiries to determine the most cost-effective method of avoiding delay in establishing an inquiry”.

Creative Connections at Fruitmarket

Creative Connections is an exhibition celebrating the creativity of Edinburgh’s school children. Since 2023 Fruitmarket has been working in close partnership with Primary 5 to Primary 7 classes in six primary schools in Edinburgh South: Craigour Park, Gracemount, Gilmerton, Liberton, Prestonfield and St. Catherine’s R.C.

Artists Alice Dansey-Wright, Coral Brookes, Georgie Fay, Greer Pester, Kate Temple and Lorna Gallagher have been in residence at the schools working on creative projects with regular trips to the gallery built into the three year long project. 

Work created by the pupils inspired by recent Fruitmarket exhibitions will now be displayed there. The works include crate dioramas, stop-motion animations and a textile wall piece with flags telling stories responding to another exhibition by Ibrahim Mahama – Songs about Roses.

Fiona Bradley, Fruitmarket Director said: “We are delighted to celebrate the creativity of the children with this exhibition of their work in our main Exhibition Gallery.

“They are now very at home in Fruitmarket having visited many exhibitions, and I can’t wait to see their work take its place in our programme. We know that creativity can help unlock children’s potential across the curriculum, and we are pleased to be able to run this three year project that is proving the importance of investing in creative learning in our schools.”

Creative Connections Exhibition
30.05.25, 1pm–6pm, 31.05.25, 11am–6pm and 01.06.25, 11am–6pm
Fruitmarket, 45 Market Street, Edinburgh , EH1 1DF
https://www.fruitmarket.co.uk/event/creative-connections/

Golf challenge to raise funds for MND

The founder of Royal & Awesome golf, Graeme Smeaton, is taking on the challenge of playing five rounds of golf every day for five days at the beginning of June.

He aims to raise £25,000 for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation supporting MND research by starting to play at 4.30am and probably not finishing until around 10pm. Royal & Awesome will donate 15% of the sales of their Doddie Weir range to the cause.

Graeme will play every round in East Lothian, where he grew up, including the courses at Gullane, Luffness, Kilspindie and Longniddry in his itinerary.

New route to Guernsey

Loganair has completed its first direct flight between Edinburgh and Guernsey, beginning its summer service enabling Scots the opportunity to explore the island.

Launched on 24 May, the direct weekly summer service will run every Saturday through 13 September making it an option for those seeking an island adventure this summer.

Flights depart Edinburgh at 16:10, touching down in Guernsey by 18:10, with the return leg leaving Guernsey at 18:40, arriving in Edinburgh by 20:45 – perfect timing to make the most of both destinations. Passengers can also use Loganair’s regional network via Southampton airport for longer or shorter stays in Guernsey.