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“Thanks to the fantastic staff and horses
at Tower Farm I’m confident that taking
part in this years riding of the marches will
be an amazing opportunity and I’m
looking forward to it hugely. I’ve ridden
Duke and Barney and have fed them
apples each time.”
The modern-day event has been
supported by Lord Provosts since its
revival in 2009, however the Provost
played a more active role in the custom’s
history, with archives from 1584 recording
that the “nichtbouris of Edinburgh were
instructed to meet together at 5.00am at
the Provost’s house and be ready to
inspect the Marches” from where they
embarked on an inspection of the Marches
of the Common Land, to check for raiders
and encroachment. Led by the Captain of
the ‘Trained Band’ (Town Guard), the Lord
Provost, Bailies and Burgesses,
commenced on horseback, challenging
and making a record of all those who were
found to be attempting to steal or build on
the land that belonged to the common
people. Towns people who were found not
to be taking part, were fined.HIGHLAND PONIES
Highland ponies will also be joining the
ride as part of the celebrations of the
Highland Pony Society’s centenary
celebrations.
Two principal representatives are
selected every year to take on the roles of
the Captain and the Lass. The applicants
do not necessarily have to know how
to ride a horse (but it helps) as they can
be put through careful and rigorous
training by one of Scotland’s oldest riding
schools, Edinburgh-based Tower Farm
Riding Stables.
In 2020 Jay Sturgeon – then a 23 year
old Executive Assistant at Edinburgh
Council and 21 year old Abbie McDowell, a
Riding Instructor at Tower Farm Riding
Stables, were chosen to represent
Edinburgh in these coveted roles. But due
to the pandemic this young pair – who are
also best friends – quickly realised that
their year in office would be uncertain.
Three years on, Jay, now a Project Manager
in Edinburgh Health and Social Care
Partnership and Abbie, who had her first
child at the beginning of August, will
finally complete their journey.
On 10 September the duo will lead
around 300 horses and riders on the
26-mile route of the Edinburgh Riding of
the Marches, ending with the cavalcade up
the Royal Mile. Riders from the 29 Riding
Towns of Scotland will join in wearing their
traditional coloured sashes, who all
celebrate their own Common Riding
Festivals and Events every year as well as
other riders from elsewhere in the world.Royal Society of Edinburgh are just Curious
A joint statement by The Cockburn Association and others
Short term row
BODIES SUPPORTING reulation of short-
term lets (STLs) have declard their position
ahead of the newlicensing regime coming into
effect on 1 October.
It is reproduced here by way of an opinion
article: “The regulation of STLs follows years of
discussion and debate after the expansion of
Airbnb-style accommodation occurred with no
regulation or checks. The question of whether
the STL industry needs to be regulated, and
how, has been settled. There has been
substantial consultation over a 4-year period
giving communities and STL operators and
lobbyists plenty of scope to put their views
forward. From the outset, there was majority
support for regulation and enforcement and
little support for a market-based mechanism of
control. The date for the new regulations to
come into effect was delayed from 1 April 2023
to 1 October 2023, following concerns raised
by local authorities and industry alike.
Separately, the City of Edinburgh Council
(CEC) consulted widely on establishing a
Short-Term Let Control Area (STLCA) noting
that Planning Guidance on STLs has been in
existence in Edinburgh since 2011. The
establishment of a STLCA was recommended
by approval by CEC and approved by the
Scottish Government. The STL sector
participated in these consultations.
“It is the settled will of The Scottish
Parliament and CEC that STLs must be
regulated. The failure of STL operators in
Edinburgh to make suitable planning and
licensing applications rests with them.
There can be no claim of lack of engagement
or lack of awareness of the new and
existing regulations.
“Local community, housing and amenity
organisations all support the regulations, and
the need to apply for planning permission tooperate what are commercial businesses.
Operators of STLs, whether they be individuals
or large letting agencies, seldom think about
the impact their businesses have on neighbours
and even fewer might engage with them, in say
a common stair, before they operate.
“We ask that CEC and Scottish Government
give little weight to the pressures posed by a
well-funded industry lobby group. Local
communities have been placed under hugepressures by the untrammelled expansion of
STLs. It is time to restore some balance and
ensure that Edinburgh remains a place for
people to live.”THE SIGNATORIES: The Cockburn Association,
PLACE Edinburgh, New Town & Broughton
Community Council, Old Town Association,
Grassmarket Residents’ Association (GRASS)
and Living Rent.By STAFF REPORTERTHE ROYAL Society of Edinburgh,
Scotland’s National Academy, is
holding a free event to help people
learn more about how scientific
researchers are working towards
creating better barley, as part of its
flagship event series, Curious.
Curious running from 4-
September is a free and open
series of tours, talks and workshops
that brings together some of
Scotland’s finest minds in various
academic fields with the aim of
getting under the surface of some
of the most important issues of
the day.
Barley is the world’s fourth most
cultivated cereal crop and is a vitalcontributor of the Scottish
economy as barley grains are the
key constituents of whisky,
Scotland’s national drink and its
biggest export.
This free online panel discussion
will give people the opportunity to
hear from three leading scientificresearchers from the University of
Dundee, The James Hutton
Institute and International Barley
Hub (IBH) in Dundee, and how
their work is helping to tackle
issues of food security and
sustainable production.
Professor Robbie Waugh FRSE,
Dr Sarah McKim and Dr Davide
Bulgarelli will share their expertise
and discuss their work at the
cutting edge of genetic research
in plants.
Dr Sarah McKim, senior lecturer
in the Division of Plant Sciences
at the University of Dundee,
has led research into the
phenomenon of grain ‘skinning’
which happens when the hull
barley grain partially sheds away,leading to reduced grain quality.
She said: “Chasing down a gene
responsible for skinning actually
helped us identify that this gene
also controls another trait
altogether - the formation of
stomata. These are surface pores
on land plants that that open and
close and help the plant exchange
gases such as carbon dioxide, one
of the major ways carbon dioxide
is removed from the air. So,
although we were looking at this
gene because it controlled grain
skinning, a very discrete problem
specific to barley, we found a gene
that controls those air pores all
over plants. This is a great example
of a finding that has wider
implications beyond grain quality.”Dr Sarah McKim