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Next Saturday sees three Avalanche favourites heading up a night of great music to raise funds for humanitarian aid and rescue work in Syria, with all the proceeds being split between the Syria Project and the British Red Cross.

When men in their late-40s and 50s feel the need to reform their bands and start playing again it is always a worry.

The recent report that Scottish arts and culture is dominated by those from wealthier backgrounds would have come as no surprise to anybody.

Like many on Twitter, I’m a big fan of New Town Flâneur (@NewTownFlaneur).

If there are two things that Edinburgh council now seems to agree on, it is that Leith needs to be made the coolest place on the planet and that tartan tat needs to be curbed if not culled completely.

News this week that the ballot for the Old Town Business Improvement District (BID) was to be postponed from June to possibly as late as spring next year didn’t come as a great surprise to me.

I’m currently listing Avalanche’s top 100 best-selling Scottish albums of all time and it has proved tremendously popular.

Barely a day goes by that Leith isn’t in the news whether it be good news over Leith Theatre or bad news with the proposed closure of Leith Depot or the cancellation of the pop-up arts festival LeithLate.

Although these days I’m not a fan of Record Store Day – the annual gathering of more than 200 independent record shops – and haven’t been for some years, I did think that this year’s list of releases was the best I’ve seen.

Edinburgh would certainly benefit from having a well-managed indoor market and with the closure of the Tron now would be a good time for the council to see what buildings they have that might be suitable.

With Edinburgh council under pressure to consider supporting independent businesses on the high street, it has to be remembered that in the end the public will do whatever they want to.

On a positive note for the Grassmarket, the Virgin Hotel when it opens on Victoria Street will be a boost to the area and maybe an incentive for all concerned to see how the area can be made more of an attraction to visitors if events are going to be few and far between.

On Thursday, Edinburgh council’s transport and environment committee considered a new ‘Public Spaces Protocol’ report. Years in the making, it attempted to address the issues that occur so often over the use of public spaces in Edinburgh.

Avalanche’s favourite pop punk band Paper Rifles released their debut album, The State Of It All, on Friday.

With the announcement of the artists to play the Ross Bandstand during the Edinburgh Summer Sessions, including Kasabian (left) and Paloma Faith, there has been disappointment in some quarters that those appearing are so mainstream. Of course, for a venue of that size these are the sort of artists needed to make such an event viable.

Martin Metcalfe’s bands are always entertaining whichever incarnation might be on stage and next Saturday sees an appearance by Martin Metcalfe and the Fornicators at Edinburgh’s Voodoo Rooms.

Given how badly Creative Scotland handle their funding and, probably more importantly, how badly they explain how they handle their funding, it is no wonder artists want more input if not control.

News this week that Edinburgh World Heritage had won – by the narrowest of margins, six-to-five – the right to a three-year lease on the Tron Kirk highlighted to me again the dangers of what happens when people operate outside of their comfort zone.

This week’s announcement of six to eight gigs in Princes Street Gardens during the Festival – starting with Paloma Faith – was met with exactly the reaction that was to be expected. The Cockburn Association objected immediately while others saw it as something to greatly look forward to.