Opinion

Edinburgh’s planned new concert hall has its critics, but I’m keeping an open mind, writes John McLellan, who will help decide its fate as a member of the city council’s planning committee.

MATTHEW Bourne’s new production of Swan Lake touches the soul - it’s also very funny, fabulously cool and just a bit devastating.

Years ago, the family had a stop over in San Diego. The next morning, I noticed at the bottom of the bill a line telling me that I was paying a very small extra charge as a tax to the city.

Back to see my surgeon, to unveil his neat stitching. The dressings came away, and lo, the Zipper Boobs were revealed. A very neat job indeed. That standard of work would have gained high praise indeed in Mrs Taylor’s Home Economics Class at my old secondary school.

An interesting innovation this week was the announcement of progress with the Scottish Government’s tourist tax consultation, but the development was not the information itself but the fact it came not from the Government but Edinburgh council’s press office.

I’ve had a realisation recently that very soon our life as a family will be complete and utter chaos as a baby joins us.

A very belated head of steam seemed to be gathering behind a last-ditch attempt to halt the demolition of the old St John’s Primary school now that its replacement on the site of the old Portobello High is up and running.

Edinburgh is a wonderful city. From its rich cultural diversity and history to the vibrancy of its citizens and sheer beauty, all of us who are lucky to call Edinburgh our home should be very proud.

SO another big name is moving into St Andrew Square with the plans lodged for a new Gleneagles hotel and restaurant.

How many of us lucky enough to enjoy a night out in Edinburgh have then walked home past people sleeping in doorways?

For a government which has education at the top of its agenda, I’m not alone in wondering what the Scottish system would look like if it wasn’t a priority.

In a Brexit negotiation process that has exposed many fault lines in the Conservative Party, it is not often that Boris Johnson, David Mundell and Ruth Davidson find themselves arguing for the same outcome, so when it happens it should be taken seriously.

Over the last few days, we have witnessed a war of words waging between SNP and Labour group members on the city council on the letters page of this newspaper.

Steve Anderson had to wait six and half hours for police to respond to a report of a break-in, he tells us today. It’s probably a sign of the times that some may well consider that to be speedy response.

Last week the IPCC produced a staggeringly stark report into the impact of climate change and our failure to act as a global community.

If only the UK had truly achieved the dream of Robert Walker, made famous by Henry Raeburn’s painting of the ‘Skating Minister, to abolish slavery; its modern form, ‘human trafficking’, is a growing problem, writes Russell Barr

As the skies darken and the temperature drops, rail commuters in Edinburgh have a creeping sense of dread.