Category: North Edinburgh News

The perfect foodie day at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Enjoy the 75th Edinburgh Festival Fringe by experiencing a variety of incredible shows and sampling the delicious food on offer at some exciting venues around the city.

From breakfast to lunch all the way to dinner, with a pitstop for a delicious snack and tipple or two on the way, here is a full itinerary for the perfect foodie day at the Fringe, courtesy of Edinburgh University Students’ Association’s (EUSA) unique city venues.

Breakfast

Begin your day bright and early and head out to catch an early bird show. The glorious Gilded Balloon at Teviot, located in the heart of the fringe, is the perfect venue for a morning performance.

Why not grab a coffee and a light breakfast at Linton&Co? Then head to the Gilded Balloon’s Garden which is completely sheltered and the perfect place to sit at to shelter from the famous Scottish rain. Enjoy your delicious breakfast while flicking through the Fringe magazine and choose your shows for the day.

Lunch

During the fringe visitors will be spoilt for choice with delicious lunch options. If you don’t want to venture too far from the Gilded Balloon at Teviot, then head to nearby Charles Street and enjoy a delicious Bross Bagel or try the best macaroni cheese on offer in Edinburgh at Mac Love. If you are looking for a lunch option that is perfect for both meat lovers and veggies, then look no further than the Screaming Peacock, where you can enjoy a mouth-watering selection of meaty and veggie burgers.

If you’re heading to watch a show at Potterrow Plaza, maybe you’re braving the two new interactive simulation performances installed by the Pleasance Theatre Trust? The perfect post-show lunch stop is Mint Falafel to pick up some delicious flatbread wraps for lunch.

Snacks

If the mid-afternoon hunger hits, head on over to Chunks Ice Cream on Charles Street outside the Gilded Balloon. The best place to satisfy any sweet tooth with yummy churros, ice cream and coffee, from the team behind one of Scotland’s most successful street food vans, Crema Caravan.

Dinner

After a full day at the fringe enjoy bite to eat before heading for a late-night show. Choose between a large selection of options including Edinburgh favourite Pizza Geeks, located at The Pleasance Courtyard, and sample some of the capital’s best pizza on offer. If you’re in the mood for pasta try a dish from the Barnacles & Bones delicious pasta menu, also found at The Pleasance Courtyard.

Luxford Burgers (which was founded by an Edinburgh University student) is also on hand to serve up the freshest, delicious burgers.

Drinks

Grab a lovely refreshment on your way to the show and choose between a selection of drinks from Scottish-based Stewart Brewing or Sea Change Prosecco, as well as Coors, Prahva, Carling, Staropramen, Guinness, Rekorderlig ciders, Johnnie Walker, Gordon’s Gin and Fever Tree, all found at Gilded Balloon, Pleasance Dome and The Pleasance Courtyard.

To get the latest news from EUSA’s venues, follow:

https://www.instagram.com/thegardenatteviot/
https://www.instagram.com/courtyardanddome/  

Fringe 2022: Anu Vaidyanathan BC:AD (Before Children: After Diapers)

Stand-up comic Anu Vaidyanathan used to be an international triathlete, who became a mum and then she was history.

BC:AD (Before Children, After Diapers) is an invitation to anyone that finds themselves slightly overdrawn, mostly obscure and definitely needing the sound of another voice to reason with their own challenges.

In her debut standup hour, Anu paints a peripatetic picture of a comedian, filmmaker and sometime engineer who loves endurance sports, including parenting.

From the equatorial latitudes of Madras, India to the glacial confines of Munich, Germany, the throughline of BC:AD is anything but a line. It resembles a cooked thread of spaghetti. Or string cheese past its due date, with enough twists and turns to make the most ambitious wedgie, jealous.

If before children, Anu was considered unique for being one of few women to race triathlons, after diapers she finds herself being the least common multiple. A mum. And that might be something to write home about.

Anu Vaidyanathan is a filmmaker, comedian and engineer whose memoir Anywhere But Home was long-listed for the Mumbai Film Festival’s word-to-screen market in 2016. Her feature scripts have found themselves at the final rounds at Sundance and Rotterdam.

As a comedian, she has gigged across greater Europe and London and has trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and Ecole Philippe Gaulier in France.

Two out of three drivers won’t go electric unless ‘absolutely necessary’

As the cost-of-living rockets, price comparison experts Quotezone.co.uk asked consumers how they really feel about electric versus fossil fuel cars (petrol/diesel) and which they found most cost effective. 

The new survey reveals that 59.3% of petrol/diesel drivers will only consider buying an electric or hybrid vehicle ‘when I absolutely have to’.  26.2% said they would buy ‘within the next 5 years’, 10.3% said they would ‘buy now / as soon as is feasibly possible’ and only 4.3% said they’d buy ‘just before the deadline’ – 2030, when the government plan on banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.  

The research also found that the main barrier that is stopping people from buying an electric car is the price, with 35.7% of drivers saying they are too expensive, followed by 20% of people who said range anxiety was a major concern, while worries about the availability of public charging points were cited as an issue by 19.3% of respondents. 

Interestingly though, 57.8% of those with electric cars said they were saving over £100 per month compared to their previous fossil fuel vehicle – with 36.6% saving under £100 per month.  Only 5.6% didn’t believe they were making savings.  

When electric vehicle owners were asked what they didn’t like about their cars, 24.8% said there weren’t enough readily available charging points, followed by range anxiety (20%), broken charging points (19%) and rising energy costs (18%).  

The data, compiled by Quotezone.co.uk, was taken from a survey of 500 electric and petrol / diesel car insurance policyholders, completed in August 2022.  

Quotezone.co.uk’s Founder, Greg Wilson, comments: “It’s really interesting to see what’s holding people back from going electric and again, lack of infrastructure and car price, appear to be the top offenders that are making it impractical for many to make the switch.   

“The hike in car prices is most likely due to the new car shortage, brought about by lack of materials and logistical issues across Europe, causing a spike in shoppers choosing ‘nearly new’ second-hand petrol cars.  

“One positive point to bear in mind for those worried about costs is that electric car insurance is now more readily available as the majority of insurance providers have added electric cars to their offering – making it easier for consumers to shop around and get a competitive premium.”   

Currently only 2% of cars are hybrid and 3% are electric in the UK.  Data from Quotezone.co.uk shows a small increase in customers with electric or hybrid cars of 0.2% from June 2021 compared to June 2022 – with the average cost of those electric vehicles increasing by £5k from £34,000 to £39,000. 

The government has been increasing investment in charging points, including grants for motorists, as well as tax relief to help make electric vehicles more affordable.   

Quotezone.co.uk helps around 3 million users every year, with over 400 insurance brands across 60 different products including electric car insurance, Tesla car insurance and standard car insurance.

Quotezone.co.uk is recommended by 97% of reviewers on Reviews.co.uk. 

On-board babies: twins return to Loganair to mark 40 years since their sky-born delivery

Special birthday celebrations have taken place as airborne twins mark 40 years since their delivery on board an air ambulance with the UK’s largest regional airline Loganair. 

40 years ago, on 13 August, twins Lynsey and David Henderson were uniquely born almost 40 miles apart. The eldest of the two, Lynsey was delivered by Dr. Freshwater on the special Britten-Norman Islander air ambulance flight as it flew over the sea enroute from Tingwall Airport to Aberdeen.

Younger brother David waited until wheels-down on the runway at Aberdeen Airport to make his special appearance. 

Twins Lynsey and David, who had arrived four weeks earlier than their due date, were then whisked to Aberdeen Hospital for review, alongside first-time mum Mandy Henderson and dad Adrian Henderson.

Ten days later, after a short stay in hospital, Mandy and Adrian returned home to Shetland, this time with planned company from their new-born baby twins. 

Earlier this week, Lynsey and David were both welcomed back to Shetland by Loganair to be presented with a birthday gift of flight tickets from Captain Eddie Watt at Sumburgh Airport.

It was an extra-special meeting as Eddie Watt gifted birthday treats from the airline to David and Lynsey some 19 years ago for their 21st birthday.

Still flying Loganair to this day, coincidentally the twins landed in Sumburgh on a Loganair flight from Bergen to be greeted by the airline staff.

Lynsey had recently competed in the gruelling Norseman Triathlon with encouragement from her support team, which included brother David. Lynsey, a chemist at The Sullom Voe Terminal in Shetland, secured her place at the Norseman following success at the Celtman Extreme Triathlon in the Scottish Highlands and has previously competed for Shetland at the Island Games. 

The special delivery on board back in 1982 welcomed just two of over 20 airborne childbirths that Loganair has supported throughout its 60-year history. As the UK’s largest regional airline and one that flies to more island destinations across Britain than any other airline, it still plays a significant role in transporting patients to mainland hospital appointments today.

More recently, Loganair renovated its regular DHC-6 Twin Otter and Saab 340 aircraft into air ambulances to support the Scottish Ambulance Service with transfers during the Coronavirus pandemic. 

David Henderson, a civil servant based in Lerwick, said: “It’s nice for a couple of ageing twins that our birth, on an ambulance flight 40 years ago, has become a small part of the history of the important Shetland to Aberdeen route.

“Our thanks to Loganair for marking the occasion.”

Jonathan Hinkles, Loganair’s Chief Executive, said: “We have a long history of connecting communities for all kinds of travel requirements, including the unexpected ones.

“David and Lynsey are part of a small but elite club of babies born on board with Loganair and it was great to present them with a small token to mark their 40th birthday celebrations. We’re very proud to still play an important role today in connecting remote communities to the mainland for NHS treatment.”

Water’s Worth Saving

When considering your impact on the environment, people often think about pollution, emissions, and energy, but not water. Water saving isn’t always top of the agenda in environmental discussions, yet water is one of our most precious resources and it’s increasingly at risk.

Join our water-saving campaign and check where you could be wasting water. If every household made even slight changes to their daily habits, it would seriously reduce our water footprint. Simple steps such as washing up in a bowl, switching off running taps, and using eco settings on the washing machine all help.

Discover ways you can reduce your carbon footprint at home and in the garden 

#WatersWorthSaving

#WWS22

#OnlyOneEarth

UNISON confirms strike dates

UNISON, the largest trade union in local government, yesterday served notice of strike action in eight local authorities.

The notices of action were served on Friday to Aberdeenshire, Clackmannanshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Stirling and South Lanarkshire councils for the first wave of strike action to take place on 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th August and 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th September.

Edinburgh will be the first city tobe hit by industrial action when the capital’s waste teams strike on Thursday.

These latest strike dates are part of a wider co-ordinated plan of industrial action by the three trade unions across local government following the recent conclusion of successful industrial action ballots. The dates that UNISON members in waste and recycling will walk out are the same as those chosen by the GMB for the same groups of workers. UNISON will provide strike dates for schools and early years workers in due course.

The move comes on the day that COSLA Leaders meet to discuss the pay for local government workers again following additional funding provided by the Scottish Government last week.

Johanna Baxter, UNISON Scotland head of local government said: “This is the first wave of strike action which will only escalate if a significantly improved pay offer is not forthcoming. Strike dates for schools and early years workers will be confirmed in the coming days.

“The responsibility for this action lies squarely with the Scottish Government and COSLA, neither of whom seem to have grasped the gravity of this situation. Inflation is projected to be as high as 13%, the cost of living crises is hitting people’s pockets now and yet local government workers still only have a 2% offer on the table, the lowest offer in the public sector. They have had months to sort this out but all we seem to get is dither and delay.

“Our understanding is that the money provided by the Scottish Government is half of what COSLA asked for and goes nowhere near matching the pay offer provided to council workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

“If this is true then the Scottish Government and COSLA need to get back round the table and come up with a better plan or services will stop. The last thing UNISON members want is a strike but they have simply been left with no other option.”

Following a Special Meeting of council leaders convened on Friday, COSLA Resources Spokesperson, Councillor @KatieHagmannSNP, said:

COSLA offer is here

Trade union pay claim is here

National Employers for local government services (UK) LOCAL GOVERNMENT PAY 2022 – pay offer is here

FRINGE 2022: Scary Biscuits! Edinburgh Fringe’s Best of Scottish music showcase season

Introducing Scary Biscuits’ music season at Pleasance at EICC.

Some of Edinburgh’s best musicians showcasing at state of the art venue EICC – great sound, comfy seats… and air con! (And an ice cream stand and deckchairs for chilling out after!)

A genre-busting bunch of tunes, songs and performers: award winning singer songwriters, folk, rootsy blues rock, insurgent country, punk, Afrobeats, americana and a hint of mariachi.  

Dive into a world of music and stories with a diverse group of performers, with a wide range of ages and experience, including two female fronted bands. 

 Be transported for a short while into a world of Scottish folk, a backstreet rock joint with a hint of Memphis, a west African Friday night party, or a New Mexico cantina with a whiff of tequila and desert dust. 

One stop link for more info and tickets here:

http://www.scarybiscuits.com/clients/edinburgh-fringe-2022/

Super Sponsor Scheme assists more than 10,000 Ukrainians

Second passenger ship to provide additional accommodation

The Scottish Government’s Super Sponsor Scheme has now offered sanctuary to 10,056 displaced people from Ukraine to travel to safety in Scotland, far exceeding the original commitment to host 3,000 people.

The total number of people from Ukraine offered a place in Scotland through the Super Sponsor Scheme and the UK Government Homes for Ukraine scheme with individual sponsors is more than 13,000 – representing 16.5% of the total UK population share to date.

To accommodate more displaced Ukrainians whose visas have been approved under the Super Sponsor Scheme, the Scottish Government has chartered a second passenger ship, M/S Ambition, to be located in Glasgow. The ship, which is due to be fully operational by September, will provide accommodation for up to 1,750 people with the same level of facilities and support currently available to those in Edinburgh.

Minister with Special Responsibility for Refugees from Ukraine Neil Gray said: “The Scottish Government’s Super Sponsor Scheme has now enabled more than 10,000 people to come to Scotland following the humanitarian crisis caused by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

“Unfortunately, there is currently no end to the war in sight. We are firmly focused on supporting displaced people from Ukraine who are seeking sanctuary in Scotland as they flee the war in their homeland.

“Following the arrival of the M/S Victoria I – which has been well received by people on board – the Scottish Government is chartering a second passenger ship – the M/S Ambition – which will be located in Glasgow from early September. This will further enhance our ability to provide safe and secure accommodation for those who need it.

“We are getting close to capacity for the temporary accommodation currently available, particularly across the Central Belt. While areas like Glasgow and Edinburgh are more familiar to Ukrainians, we are encouraging everyone arriving here to consider other areas across Scotland, especially as we see more visas being issued. We can guarantee that anyone arriving here will receive a warm welcome from communities across the country, keen to provide support and open their homes.

“As a humanitarian crisis requiring a whole-of-Scotland response, the Scottish Government continues to work closely with local councils and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to ensure those displaced people who are already here, and those who have applied and are granted permission to travel, will be safe, secure and supported for as long as they need.”

Scotsman Fringe First Award for Sonya Kelly’s comedy The Last Return

Druid today announced that their world premiere production of Sonya Kelly’s new comedy The Last Return has won a prestigious Scotsman Fringe First Award at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Scotsman Fringe First Awards celebrate the best new writing at the festival.

As part of their commitment to new Irish writing, Sonya Kelly’s comedy was produced by Druid in Galway, had its world premiere at the 2022 Galway International Arts Festival in July, and is now running at the Traverse Theatre in the heart of Edinburgh. Following this international run, the production returns to Ireland for dates at Dublin’s Gate Theatre as part of Dublin Theatre Festival in October and November.

News of the Scotsman Fringe First Award follows rave reviews by critics including five-star ratings from What’s On Stage, The Arts Desk and The Wee Review, and praise such as ‘pitch black comic mayhem’ from The Guardian, ‘wonderful’ from The New York Times, and ‘shocking and very funny’ from The Irish Times.

This is the second Scotsman Fringe First Award for playwright Sonya Kelly who previously won in 2012 for her play The Wheelchair on My Face.

Druid has won numerous awards at Edinburgh Festival Fringe over the years including in 1980 for two plays, Island Protected by a Bridge of Glass and The Pursuit of Pleasure (both written by Garry Hynes), in 2007 for The Walworth Farce by Enda Walsh, and in 2008 for another Enda Walsh play, The New Electric Ballroom.

Directed by Sara Joyce, The Last Return is a thrilling comedy about conflict, peace and the pursuit of territory at any cost. One final night. One last chance. Five people queue for a ticket to the hottest show in town. All they must do is simply wait in line. But what in life is ever simple? Who will triumph, who will fail, and who will walk away with… The Last Return?

Following the success of Furniture (2018) and Once Upon a Bridge (2021), The Last Return marks the third time Druid has premiered a new work by Sonya Kelly. The Last Return has already earned the acclaimed playwright a nomination for The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, while Once Upon a Bridge was nominated for Best New Play at the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Awards in 2021, and Furniture won the Stewart Parker Trust Award in 2019.

Playwright Sonya Kelly: ‘I am thrilled and humbled to receive a Scotsman Fringe First Award for The Last Return at Traverse Theatre.

“It has been an unforgettable journey getting this play from page to stage with Druid and director Sara Joyce. Here’s to the return of live theatre and welcome back Edinburgh Fringe. We missed you.’

Garry Hynes, Druid’s Artistic Director: ‘I am so thrilled for Sonya, for everyone in The Last Return company, and my colleagues in Druid. It’s an honour for us to share Sonya’s work with audiences at home and abroad.

“I’m also very grateful to our Edinburgh hosts, Traverse Theatre, and to our funders and supporters, including our core funder, the Arts Council of Ireland, and Culture Ireland, who made our Edinburgh run possible.’