As you read this, advance copies of the February Spurtle are already sidling onto shelves like cats onto radiators and pandas onto public pavements.
Issue 325 begins with a turning point in motorist/pedestrian relations, a flaw in the fight against shanties, disturbing bus news, and a white elephant on the loose in Bellevue.
On Page 2 there are loos and the ill effects of festivalisation, proliferating police boxes, badgers, eels, otters, sparrowhawks, treecreepers, corvid brains, tawny owls, herons, wee beasties and an unconnected negative auditory impact. Also a local resident no longer in the pink.
If it’s invisible spaghetti and planning controversy you want, Page 3 is the place for you. There is also advice on Valentine offerings in troubled times, church news, welcome views, and a temporary shortage of pork products almost involving a senior royal.
We conclude on Page 4 with an influx of natural light, new trees and unwelcome vibrations. There is also the longed-for solution to a puzzle, set back in our last hurrah of 2022, which literally everyone has not been talking about in the barony over the weeks since.
In short, Issue 325 is the most information you can get in a 4-page hyperlocal newspaper without resorting to microdots.
Pick up your free copy from local shops, services, bars, restaurants, libraries and services between Pilrig and Howe Streets, Queen Street and Canonmills. Alternatively, download the colourful pdf from our website HERE after midnight tonight.
And while we have your attention – Spurtle thrives on readers’ input. If you have an idea, image, inside knowledge or unsubstantiated gossip you think we should look into, please contact us at spurtle@hotmail.co.uk. We treat all sensitive offerings in the strictest confidence.
