Gorgie Dalry Community Council AGM tonight
Gorgie Dalry Community Council will hold their Annual General Meeting this evening at the Gorgie Palmerston Place Church at 190-192 Gorgie Road at 7pm. After the recent community council elections a chair and other office bearers will be appointed first. The meeting is open to everyone in the area.
At the libraries
Wester Hailes Library has a programme of activities as do most other libraries in the city.
If you would like to check what is happening near you then find your local library here.
Looking for things to do?
Look no further than the Museums and Galleries website where there is a long list of events and exhibitions for all ages.
Here we have chosen just three…
An online talk about Edinburgh’s New Town takes place on 16 April. It is free but booking is essential to get the log in details. “By the 1750s the Old Town of Edinburgh was grossly overcrowded. Some 55,000 people were crammed within the city walls. With no open space for building, Edinburgh climbed skywards. Daniel Defoe, who visited Edinburgh in 1725 was astonished to note tenements “which on the south side appear to be eleven or twelve stories high and inhabited to the very top.” Other visitors were less complimentary. John Taylor complained that “Every street shows the nastiness of the inhabitants; the excrement lies in heaps.” Something had to be done.”
The craft of couture – Victor Edelstein designs for Anna Miller. At the Museum of Edinburgh on the Royal Mile there is a small display explores the work of fashion designer Victor Edelstein. A favourite of Princess Diana, Edelstein exemplifies the finest British fashion design of the 1980s.
The striking and elegant pieces on display were made for Edelstein’s assistant and muse, Anna Miller, who lived and worked in Edinburgh for much of her life. A cocktail dress, evening dress and three skirt suits showcase the design ethos and attention to detail of Victor Edelstein. Crepe silk bows, cut-glass buttons, fine woollen cloths and figure-flattering silhouettes show a side of 1980s fashion design far removed from the cliché of massive shoulder pads and sparkle.
There is limited availabillity at the Lauriston Castle lecture series. More information here.
Lauriston Castle was owned by Mr & Mrs Reid and left by them to the nation on the condition that they would open it to the public but keep it exactly the same as when the couple lived there.
It is a wee bit early for the blossom in the Japanese garden but you might be lucky.
Edinburgh Science Festival
Edinburgh Science Festival 2025 just opened on Saturday and runs until 20 April. This year’s Festival explores the challenges of living on a planet with finite resources, through the lenses of science fiction and space exploration, with the theme Spaceship Earth. This year, the Festival’s reimagined flagship family experience DiscoveryLab at City Art Centre offers five floors of interactive activities, experiments, and premium workshops, it’s the perfect way for families to explore, learn, and have fun together.
There is a day by day programme here.
Parliamentary and council business this week
Both The Scottish Parliament and the council are in recess until 20 April and there will be no meetings.
The UK Parliament continues to meet until close of business on Tuesday afternoon:
Monday 7 April
The House will sit from 2.30pm, starting with questions to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner.
The main business will be:
- General debate on road maintenance.
- General debate on neighbourhood policing and tackling town centre crime.
Tuesday 8 April
The House will sit from 11.30am, starting with questions to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.
The main business will be two Backbench Business debates:
- Potential merits of awarding a posthumous Victoria Cross to Blair Mayne.
- Matters to be raised before the forthcoming Adjournment
The subjects for these debates were determined by the Backbench Business Committee.
The House will rise for recess at the conclusion of business on Tuesday 8 April and will return Tuesday 22 April.
Many politicians have used the first few days of the recess to visit New York where it has been Tartan Week.
This has included the First Minister, John Swinney, Anas Sarwar, leader of Scottish Labour and the Scottish Secretary of State Ian Murray MP who was joined by Douglas Alexander MP.
Hello, New York!
— Ian Murray MP (@IanMurrayMP) April 5, 2025
An incredible end to a hugely important week for Scotland and the USA.
Leading our @UKGovScotland group down 6th Avenue for the Tartan Day parade, with @D_G_Alexander, @citylordmayor, and @UKinNewYork.
The @EdinburghTattoo’s finest performers behind us! pic.twitter.com/Yb7B3Ycekn
A delegation from The Scottish Parliament visited New York for a series of engagements around Tartan Week 2025, and this will be followed by a visit to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. The delegation, led by Deputy Presiding Officer Annabelle Ewing MSP, includes Michelle Thomson MSP and Alexander Stewart MSP.
The delegation joined the Tartan Day Parade on Saturday alongside Grand Marshal, Alan Cumming and First Minister, John Swinney. Tartan Week is an annual celebration of the contribution of Scots Americans, Scottish culture and heritage and of the Scottish diaspora in North America.
The delegation also has a number of engagements planned in New York to help inform their parliamentary work, including meeting with the New York City Deputy Mayor, Ms Camille Joseph Varlack, and New York City Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, Laurie Cumbo.
The delegation will then travel to Edmonton for a parliamentary exchange visit to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, at the invitation of The Hon Nathan Cooper MLA, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
The delegation will share experience of parliamentary business and discuss common issues with counterparts. They will also meet with Her Honour, The Hon Salma Lakhani, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta; The Hon Matt Jones MLA, Minister of Jobs, Economy and Trade; The Hon Muhammad Yaseen MLA, Minister of Immigration and Multiculturalism; The Hon Nate Glubish MLA, Minister of Technology and Innovation; and the Hon Tanya Fir MLA, Minister of Arts, Culture, and Status of Women.
Ahead of the visit Deputy Presiding Officer, Annabelle Ewing MSP, said: “Tartan Week is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our rich cultural heritage and to connect with Scots around the world. We look forward to engaging with our counterparts in New York and beyond, promoting the values of our Parliament and discussing areas of common interest.
“We are particularly looking forward to meeting with our peers at the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and using this opportunity to share best practice and learn from one another.
“It’s a privilege to represent the Scottish Parliament on the global stage.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
