August is not one of the wetter Edinburgh months. It just feels like it. Somehow the 50mm of rain which water us during the Festival are moister, plumper, and more drenching than the 70-80mm that drop on us from a great height in October through January.
So, no folding your Issue 265 into a novelty sou’wester tomorrow. You’re stuck with news – 4 pages of it, good, bad and intriguing but all of it exclusively about Broughton. And the bits just beyond. And some other stuff.
We commence with a controversial Fringe story which you’ll probably hear more about in the weeks to come, and some earth-shaking news of an imminent departure. We have two kinds of pong, another stab at some facts about bicycle-mincing, a billion-pound gift horse examined squarely in the mouth and – surprise, surprise – more ill-tidings on trees in St Andrew Square.
Things cheer up
Things cheer up considerably on Page 3, with summer-related green stuff sprouting out of every clause, and lithe, upwardly-mobile youths hanging from semi-colons and shinning up paragraphs just for the fun of it.
Stray apostrophes, harsh words, shambolic shanties, classic bins and bins with tags on, new businesses, diggers agogo, more pongs, advice on boules, and a shop full of pigs: all yours at no extra cost.
The where, the when, and the alternative
Your August Spurtle/sunhat/fly-swat will be out and about across the barony from tomorrow. Look for it in all the usual clubs, cafés and libraries, newsagents, bike shops, hairdressers, barbers, boozers, greengrocers, fishmongers, and the odd little spots that ordinary toothbrushes leave behind.
Alternatively, you can download it in glorious colour here from midnight tonight.
Remember, if you’ve got news, views, photos or a fresh pair of legs, we’d love to hear from you.
Please contact us at spurtle@hotmail.co.uk or @theSpurtle or Facebook