The Edinburgh Reporter August 2024

2 NEWS

Editorial

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Editor: Phyllis Stephen

Designer: Tammy Kerr

Photos: Martin P McAdam

WELCOME TO THE FESTIVAL CITY with
all the festivals and the Festival Fringe
making up 3,000+ shows every day and
offering residents and tourists the excitement
of being in the midst of it.
For some it is the best placeto be this
August with culture all around no matter
where you look. There are late night and
early morning performances to enjoy or rant
about afterwards with the unexpected
around every corner.
The book festival is taking up residence at
its new home at Edinburgh Futures Institute
under the charge of new director, Jenny Niven.
The Film Festival will open with a flourish in
the opening night film The Outrun starring
Saoirse Ronan, who recently married her long
time partner actor Jack Lowden at the City
Chambers in a secret ceremony. The Art
Festival is celebrating 20 years this year and
exploring “the conditions under which we live,
work, gather and resist” with the programme
covering all areas of the capital. There will be
new people to meet, and to discuss new things.
This issue has an emphasis on making some
recommendations on what to see - but we can
only scrape the surface here. Read our
coverage online each day to keep up with our
new discoveries and suggestions.
There has been a big change in Edinburgh
politics as three new Labour MPs replaced
the three former SNP MPs at the general
election. One of these - Cllr Scott Arthur - is
the Transport Convener and he will step
down later this month sparking a by-election
in the Colinton/Fairmilehead ward. The
Edinburgh South MP, The Rt Hon Ian
Murray has been appointed Secretary of State
for Scotland and the promise is that Scotland
will be at the heart of the new UK
government. Read more on page 4.
Local sport flourishes at all levels with
more local clubs contacting us all the time
to be included in the mix - read more on
pages 20 to 23.
Food and drink at the Fringe - and away
from the Festivals is on pages 16-17 and the
BIG guide to what to see in Edinburgh this
month is on pages 18-19.
Enjoy the festivals this month and I hope you
enjoy this issue.
Phyllis Stephen, Editor

Bringing the news to you...

EDINBURGH’S FREE LOCAL NEWSPAPER...A CAPITAL READ FROM START TO FINISHJune 2024

Thomas Haywood Photography By IT IS NOW TEN YEARS PHYLLIS STEPHENsince Edinburgh

Trams began running the passenger service the Gyle Stop with many people trying to be the first people to get on board.from Edinburgh Airport to York Place. Actually on the first day the service began at Edinburgh Trams have now carried more than 60 million passengers in the last decade on a fleet of 27 trams and employ around 300 people in Edinburgh. Except during Covid tram income has risen year on year. In 2014 the half year income was £4.782 million and this rose to £23.9 million in 2023. More about Edinburgh Trams on page 7

Trams are 10

Northern delightswas something Awesome aurora Page 3to seeon 25 Class of 99years at HolyroodBoyack reflectsPage 4 looking back on his lifeNo negativity Star struckPages 12-13for snapper Looking aheadThe Royal infirmary new lease Page 15of lifehas Job vacancyto home for new boss Hibs could Page 22look close

The Eric Liddell Community

EDINBURGH’S FREE LOCAL NEWSPAPER...A CAPITAL READ FROM START TO FINISHJuly 2024

Timely tributecenturies of life savingFloral Clock Page 3marks two Exhausting electioneering People’s choicealmost over Page 4is Chris creates Royal muralof Edinburgh Page 5lasting memory 900 Liam laments Show stoppersactivity before the FringePage 18-19dearth of July Olympic hopesheading Local hockey to Paris Page 22players 2024

By IT WILL BE 100 YEARSsince athlete and missionary, Eric Liddell, won an Olympic gold PHYLLIS STEPHEN this month

medal in Paris. The story of his victory was the real-life inspiration for the film, Chariots of Fire, and he was not only a sprinter, but also a rugby player, winning seven caps

for Scotland and working as a Christian missionary in China. University of Edinburgh he also played sport for his country - While he studied at the

although he had been born in Qing China where his Scottish parents were missionaries. not run in the heats for the 100 At the 1924 Olympics he would

metres race as these were held on a Sunday when he did not play sport. He then competed in the 400 metres heat held on a weekday, and - even though this was not “his” distance

• he won. Eric Liddell Community (ELC) at Holy Corner which will celebrate the life of their namesake with a His name has been given to The
  series of events this month. ELC is a registered care charity based at Holy Corner where they provide specialist dementia care and help people to overcome loneliness and
  isolation. The charity, which has HRH The Princess Royal as patron, has begun a fundraising campaign during this year to help them continue with their important work.
  Read more on page 5

City marks the centenary of The Flying

Scotsman

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Up on the roof...

TWO WORKMEN standing by the cross on the roof of St Patrick’s

Church in the Cowgate, around 1954.

This picture memory was contributed by the Living Memory

Association to Edinburgh Collected which is the online community

photo archive managed by Edinburgh City Libraries.

edinburghcollected.org

Madam,

I read with interest the article on (judoka)

George Kerr in last month’s edition.

I met George more than 40 years ago in an

Edinburgh sports shop, possibly Thorntons. 

I was working abroad.  He invited me to play

squash with him at his Hillside club and we

ended up playing regularly over a number

of years whenever I was back home in

Edinburgh.

We both played at the same level and had

many close, hard fought, squash matches

together on his single outdoor court which

was always freezing! 

I remember well George’s wife Pauline and

Hibs and Scotland footballer Eric Schaedler,

who died tragically young, attending the

club. Eddy Still, ex-table tennis Scottish

champion, also used to join us for squash and

I am pleased to note he is still active.

George would  invite us to watch  films

some evenings at his club where large

quantities of beer were usually consumed

and he recounted the times he lived and

worked in Japan.  A good time was always

had by all. 

Some years later I came across Graeme

Souness, another visitor to the Edinburgh

Club,  in France when  he was playing in a

Rangers friendly match against a local team

and I mentioned George’s club which he

recalled.

Although I lost contact with George after

the Hillside club closed (I only returned to live

in Scotland again earlier this year), we have

arranged to meet up after a phone call

reunited us.

Yours,

Bill Hogg

Madam, 

The streetscape in the Broughton and

Bellevue areas of Edinburgh is in a parlous

state. The streets and road gullies in this

largely residential area of a world class city

are dirty strewn with litter, spillages from

communal dustbins, leaves, and detritus.

Residents now enjoy the delightful display of

ankle high weeds growing out of footpaths

and road gullies throughout the

neighbourhood. On top of this, we all

contend with broken and uneven paving

stones in the locality.

It is manifestly plain that the City Council

does not have a systematic plan of

maintaining a satisfactory level of street

cleaning. The way the service is currently

organised, executed and delivered is failing

us all and requires immediate revision in the

light of the lived experiences of those who

foot the Council Tax bill.

I was very impressed with how spotlessly

clean the Royal Mile was by 07.30am each

morning when the late Queen was lying in

state in St. Giles’ Cathedral. If the Council can

manage to keep the Royal Mile clean for

royalty why are they incapable of doing the

same for those of us who pay the Council Tax

Bill, year in year out.  I had such high hopes

for improvements in street cleaning and the

streetscape when Labour gained control of

the City Council in the last local government

elections only to be disappointed; nothing

changes! 

I have decided to organise a residents’

petition in my street and to present this to

the Leader of the Council. I would strongly

encourage all good Edinburgh people to

do likewise.

If the Council cannot keep the streets

clean, what can it do, it is a poor do! Time for

Change (as Labour likes to say), I think so. 

Shane Carter

Letters to the Editor