As you read this, advance copies of the May Spurtle (Issue 339) are already filtering across the barony like birch pollen from the nose of a violently sneezing hayfever sufferer.
We begin on Page 1 with a metaphorically mauled lion and some hypothetically possible but pricey play equipment. We have also a shift in boundary benefits and the post-industrial aesthetic of an appropriate typology mix.
Stand by to be famous on Page 2, hold on to your money and avoid calling the wrong telephone number. We detail new plans on two sites dear to Spurtleshire readers, offer some clarity on bins, look into a disappearing deli and harken to the slow grinding of gears in the Court of Session.
More bins on Page 3 and how to move them. Plus musicians on streets and how to move them. Plus the future of Scotland’s local journalism and how to improve it. Also, a poignant tribute, some Scottish vernacular, booze news, mews news, bad parking and the surprising status of a questionable bollard.
A risk of avalanche features on Page 4, as do roadworks, dog fouling and collective frustration at slow progress on closing a gate. We conclude with the appetising smell of compromise.
In short, if it sings, whistles or breaks wind between Pilrig and the borders of Stockbridge, York Place and Canonmills, you’ll find it in the densely packed pages of Broughton's free, independent, community stirrer.
Black-and-white printed copies will be available across the barony and beyond from libraries, cafés, bars, shops, services, railing dispensers, police boxes and the usual spandex-clad street volunteers rattling maracas on street corners.
Alternatively, download a colourful pdf from our website HERE after midnight tonight.
Got news or a view? Tell us in confidence at spurtle@hotmail.co.uk. Also find us on X at @theSpurtle and on BlueSky at @spurtle.bsky.social.
