No better way to mark city’s big birthday than by celebrating one of its most famous writers - Susan Dalgety

A couple of years ago, I wrote here that Sir Ian Rankin should be given the Freedom of the City for his contribution to Edinburgh. As we start 2024, I note my plea has fallen on deaf ears, so I am going to repeat it in the hope that the Lord Provost, the council leader Cammy Day, or even their press officers are reading.

The Oxford Bar is one Edinburgh venue which has featured in Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series of novels as the inspector's favourite watering hole.

Can you bestow your most prestigious award on this man? Please. No-one deserves it more.

The criterion for the award is very straightforward. It is granted to individuals who have “distinguished themselves through their work or efforts, or to recognise the respect and high esteem in which they are held by the people of Edinburgh”. I can’t think of anyone who fits the bill better.

Through his books, and the TV adaptions of the Rebus novels, Sir Ian has done as much, if not more, than Forever Edinburgh – the city’s official marketing brand – to promote the city as a must-visit destination. And it’s not just his books that spread the word about Edinburgh. The World of Ian Rankin jigsaw – which explores the city through key scenes and characters from every one of the Rebus novels – has just hit the US market. It’s bound to whet the appetite of even more Americans to pay our “cute little castle” a visit. His philanthropy is well known too. Over the last few years, he has given more than £1 million of his royalties to a charitable trust set up by him and his wife.

In October, author Barclay Price will publish his latest tome – Honoured by Edinburgh: Beneficiaries of the Freedom of Edinburgh since 1459. Wouldn’t it be great if he could add Sir Ian Rankin’s name to that list, which includes Sir Harry Lauder, Sir Chris Hoy and Sir Sean Connery?

The Lord Provost’s plans for the city’s 900th birthday party are still in preparation, so there is time for an additional item in what I am sure will be a long list of exciting events. There’s no better way to mark the city’s big birthday than by celebrating one of its most famous writers with the Capital’s highest civic honour.