Category: West End

Happy 15th Anniversary, NEN blog!

NEN PUBLISHED OUR FIRST BLOG POST ON THIS DAY IN 2011

The very first NEN blog post was published on this day in 2011. The post read:

Hello, and welcome to the brand new NEN blog.

For those of you not already familiar with the newspaper, we are a local community paper serving the North Edinburgh community. We’ve been here for over thirty years.

This blog, along with our new Facebook page and Twitter stream, represents our first foray into the world of social media.  We really want to encourage more participation, more questions and ideas from the North Edinburgh community – both online and offline – and hope that these new tools will help us to do that.

We already have a good website, where you can always find the latest edition of the printed newspaper. The blog won’t be replacing that, but will instead be there to show people the latest news about the area, and also to help us cover the current funding crisis we are facing as an organisation.

Above all, we want to include your input on the blog – be it ideas for stories, comments, pictures and events. So get in touch!

The NEN’s website was sadly deleted when funding ceased but our social media presence continues on both Twitter and Facebook and the blog is still going strong with 10 – 12 posts daily.

2025 was the NEN blog’s busiest ever year with 36,000 visitors. As I write this we’ve published more than 38,000 posts – all of these remain accessible online – and we’re currently on a run of publishing on 2749 consecutive days.

When the NEN office in Crewe Road North closed much of the NEN archive material was lost, but thankfully some of our picture library was salvaged and can now be found at granton:hub (Madelvic House), where the volunteer archive team has also collated all remaining hard copies of the North Edinburgh News newspaper.

Hopefully, between the physical archive and the NEN blog, you can find all you need to know about our community’s rich history – and we’re adding to that history every day!

St. Mark’s: Your Unitarian Church

Although it has been stolidly nestling between Victorian buildings for nearly 200 years, St. Mark’s Unitarian Church in Castle Terrace, the only Unitarian church in Edinburgh, is one of the city’s best-kept secrets (writes MARTYN BAGULEY).

Unitarianism isn’t a New Age religion – there have been Unitarian congregations in Edinburgh since 1776 – but the meaning of the name has changed with time.

Originally used to affirm the oneness of God as opposed to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, it has evolved to represent a ‘unifying’ home for all of us who are on different spiritual journeys, from Christians to atheists.

Whilst drawing on the inspiration of Christianity and other religions, philosophies and nature, it encourages members to be open-minded and develop their own spiritual paths.

The welcome you will receive on arriving and the peaceful atmosphere of the church sanctuary are not unique to St. Mark’s, but you will find that aspects of the service are. Led by either the resident minister, The Rev. Janine Sim, a visiting minister or lay preacher, there may, or may not, be readings from the Bible, but there will be thought-provoking readings from secular works and references made to other religions.

There will be moments for meditation or prayer, a sermon on the theme of the service – which can be found up to 3 days before the service by Googling https://www.edinburgh-unitarians.org.uk  – musical interludes when a talented pianist plays the superb Weinbach grand piano (worth coming just for that!) and probably three hymns.

Some, but not all, of the hymn tunes may be familiar to you, but the words may not be. Don’t worry: you can sit or stand and just quietly reflect on the meaningful words. 

After the service you can enjoy light refreshments in the adjacent church hall where you will probably meet and make friends with people from not only Edinburgh but also from many other places in Britain and the world.

Who knows – you make want to come again – and again.

Charity Concert: Daughters of Donbas – Songs of Stolen Children

THURSDAY 29th JANUARY at 8pm

ST MARY’S EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL, PALMERSTON PLACE

On Thursday 29th January, St Mary’s Cathedral is hosting a very special concert: Daughters of Donbas — Songs of Stolen Children.

This is a fundraising concert for SaveUkraine, which helps rescue children kidnapped from the Donbas region of Ukraine.

With famous Ukrainian singer Marichka, accompanied by string quartet and bandura.

Tickets are £20/10, via our website.

http://www.cathedral.net/event…/daughters-of-donbas

Witness appeal following Queensferry Road crash

Road Policing officers are appealing for information after a serious crash in Edinburgh.

The incident happened around 12.30am on Thursday, 1 January, 2026 on Queensferry Road near Dean Bridge and involved a male pedestrian and a white Suzuki Ignis.

Emergency services attended, and the pedestrian, an 81-year-old man, was taken to hospital for treatment to what are described as serious injuries.

No other injuries were reported.

Officers are appealing to those in the area at the time to come forward with information.

Sergeant Christopher Bright, of Road Policing East, said: “We are appealing to anyone who witnessed the crash or who has any information to come forward.

“We know that this was a busy evening with it being Hogmanay and that there were a number of pedestrians and vehicles in the area at the time, so we’d ask those who have yet to speak to us to get in touch.

“In addition, we’d ask those with dash-cam footage to review this to see if it has captured anything significant.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 0161 of 1 January, 2026.

Edinburgh’s Christmas adds themed skating sessions

Glide along the ice beneath sparkling lights, surrounded by Edinburgh’s stunning Georgian architecture, on the city’s largest outdoor ice rink. From confident skaters to first timers, everyone is welcome to join the fun!  

New special themed sessions have been introduced and run throughout the season, including Toddler Sessions for wee ones finding their feet, Relaxed Sessions for those who prefer a calmer atmosphere, and Late Skates with guest DJs on Fridays for adults looking to glide into the weekend. 

Themed sessions:

Mon 15 – Thu 18 December: All sessions. Students 2-4-1 bookable at Box Office

Fri 19 Dec, 3-4pm: K-Pop Demon Hunters

Mon 22 Dec, 6-7pm: Swifties on Ice

Tue 23 Dec, 6-7pm: Pop Princesses

Mon 29 Dec, 4-8pm: Hottest Hits of 2025

Tue 30 Dec, 4-8pm: Birl on Ice – The Best of Scottish Trad

Wed 31 Dec, 1-3pm: Tots Tunes

Wed 31 Dec, 3-5pm: Hogmanay Through the Years

Fri 2 Jan, 6-8pm: 90s Boybands vs Girlbands

Sat 3 Jan, 6-8pm: 90s Trance 

See here for more information on the sessions and to book.

Carols at St Mary’s this Saturday

SATURDAY 13th DECEMBER at 2pm

ST MARY’s CATHEDRAL, PALMERSTON PLACE

This Saturday (13th December) at 2pm, come and sing Community Carols with us!

No booking required, just come along for a good sing of carols round the piano.

All welcome, with refreshments afterwards.

http://www.cathedral.net/event…/community-carols-2025

Whitbread gets the go ahead for Edinburgh’s Capital House hotel

Former office on Festival Square will be converted into 195-bedroom Premier Inn

Whitbread PLC, the owner of the Premier Inn hotel chain, has received confirmation from The City of Edinburgh Council that it has granted planning permission for the conversion of Capital House in the centre of Edinburgh into a 195-bedroom Premier Inn. 

Whitbread will invest £21 million in the conversion and rear extension of the 65,350 sq ft vacant office building into a latest format Premier Inn hotel with a ground floor restaurant and bar.   

The new Premier Inn is anticipated to generate an additional £8.1 million per year in visitor expenditure through the external spending of more than 56,000 business and leisure guests which are predicted to stay at the hotel every year once it reaches maturity. 

Whitbread believes half of this external year-round expenditure is anticipated to be spent supporting city centre businesses based on a comprehensive nationwide study of its customers in 2023.  

Jill Anderson, Acquisitions Manager for Scotland at Whitbread, said: “We are fortunate to have an established network of 14 trading Premier Inn hotels in Edinburgh which welcome a million visitors a year and drive £32 million in annual external spending in the city. 

“The strong year-round demand we are continuing to experience for our rooms in the city is driving the expansion of Premier Inn across Edinburgh, including at Capital House in the heart of the city centre. 

“It is a sensational location for a budget hotel given its proximity to iconic tourist destinations like Edinburgh Castle, a host of theatres and concert venues, the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) and the Exchange District.  

“Getting the green light to convert the 1980’s office into a latest format Premier Inn is a huge achievement for the team and we will waste no time in breathing fresh life into the empty building and adding another high-quality location for our customers in Scotland.”

Whitbread acquired Edinburgh Capital House freehold in late 2024 and submitted a planning application to change the use of the 1980s office block to a hotel in May 2025. 

In addition to its investment in Capital House, Whitbread is working to expand the presence of Premier Inn at Edinburgh Airport and add a fourth hub by Premier Inn hotel in the city to the east of the city centre.  

Premier Inn is the UK’s largest hotel chain with a network of 85,500 hotel bedrooms across the UK & Ireland trading from more than 840 hotel locations.  Across both countries, the company believes in the long-term potential for 125,000 Premier Inn bedrooms.

World AIDS Day service at St Mary’s

ST MARY’s EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL – PALMERSTON PLACE

All are very welcome to our service for World AIDS Day, on Monday 1st December.

Whatever your faith or background, join us to remember those who have passed away, and those who are still living with this condition.

Announcing Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show 2025

The dates for Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show 2025 have been announced. Taking place on Saturday 22 November and Sunday 23 November, the show will feature artworks from over 150 local artists with at least fifty percent of the proceeds going to help Macmillan Cancer Support.

This year, ‘Misty Night, Glencoe’ by Yulia Allan has been selected as the lead image to promote the show.

The Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show is free and open to everyone.

EVENT DETAILS:

Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show 2025

Cornerstone Centre

St John’s Church, Edinburgh, EH2 4BJ

Dates: 22 – 23 November 2025

Website: macmillanartshow.org.uk

The Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show was created to raise essential money for a great cause whilst also increasing the exposure of local artists from Edinburgh and across Scotland.

It comprises a two-day exhibition at a central Edinburgh venue as well as an online gallery for those unable to attend the show. The event encourages the best in exciting and contemporary original artworks that are designed to be very affordable.

The artist decides how much of the price they wish to donate to Macmillan with at least half going to the charity.

About Yulia Allan

Yulia Allan is a professional artist and a modern contemporary landscape and seascape painter. Born in Ukraine and with close family members still there, she has embraced the land- and sea-scapes of Scotland to incorporate dramatic shifts of light and atmosphere as a central part of her work. Slightly abstract in nature, her work uses layers and textures to accentuate the ever-changing Scottish landscape.

Website: Yulia Allan – Professional Scottish Artist

About Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show 2025

Now in its twenty-third year, the Edinburgh Macmillan Art Show has become a fixture in the Edinburgh cultural calendar.

At least fifty percent of the sale from any artwork goes directly to Macmillan Cancer Support, with the rest going to the artists themselves.

Through this, the show has gained a reputation for helping local artists to gain exposure both at home and abroad.

A complete photo gallery is available here

Edinburgh 900: Salty Seas

EDINBURGH MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL

CORNERSTONE at ST JOHN’S CHURCH PRINCES STREET

FRIDAY 31st OCTOBER from 12 – 12.45pm

As Black History Month UK is coming to an end we invite to a musical storytelling event at Cornerstone Centre Edinburgh at St John’s Episcopal Church Edinburgh on 31 October.

Join us to reflect on the courage, sacrifice and unwavering spirit of humanity as we share stories of John Edmondstone, Joseph Knight and Ann Thompson, Malvina Wells and Jack Gladstone whose lives were marked by the Slave Trade and fight for freedom while discovering the darker side of the Scottish Enlightenment.

Reserve your free tickets, supported by The City of Edinburgh Council Edinburgh 900 Civic Fund, ahead of the Friday event at:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/…/salty-seas-series-of…

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