Drawings of the Theron Tomb appeared in William Wilkens, The Antiquities of Magna Graecia, London 1807, and were probably used by William Henry Playfair in his designs for the Playfair Monument erected in 1825 on Calton Hill, Edinburgh. 2/

VAGUELY FAMILIAR? Earlier this month we saw the ‘Tomb of Theron’ (Tomba di Terone) in #Agrigento, Sicily. Not really the tomb of Theron, (Tyrant of Acragas, 488 to 472BC), probably 3rd to 1st century BC. 1/

TURISTA TERRORISTA graffiti seen in Palermo, Italy, 7 June 2026.

PICARDY PLACE 1 year on. What do we have? 4 DEAD TREES! Were they planted in October 2023? They weren't replaced in autumn/winter 2025 as promised by @edinburghcouncil.bsky.social to @finlaymcf.bsky.social on 20 March 2025 (see below). Still there May 2026. @spurtle.bsky.social @ntbcc.bsky.social

@edinburghcouncil.bsky.social : BIG LITTER SPILL on the corner of EDINA Street and EASTER Road, 17.30, 26 April 2026. Please alert Cleansing Department. Thanks.

Quiet, dignified ANTI-ICE demonstration outside the US Consulate in Edinburgh tonight (27 January 2026). #ICE

Should Edinburgh have a PASSENGER SECURITY APP? In Budapest passengers can report "if someone is disturbing passengers on public transport, smoking on board, littering, vandalising, committing an offense, or in need of social assistance".

DEMONSTRATION in support of anti-government protests in Iran, at the US Consulate in Edinburgh, 15 January 2026

BOXES not BUILDINGS? Is the architecture good enough? Quality modern architecture barely exists in our cheapo UK-ized capital. If it's good enough for Scunthorpe it's good enough for @edinburghcouncil.bsky.social. Forget Edinburgh's great past architects turning in their graves! 2/

IMAGE of EDINBURGH: Good or bad? Mixed message? Would the picture look better without the castle or the fountain? @spurtle.bsky.social @ntbcc.bsky.social

Leith Walk, Edinburgh, NEW JERSEY. Are you dazzled? Do you get the vibrancy? Are you transported with delight? Do you have an impulse to rush and buy something? Psst ... do you have a wall space to sell? FYI @leithcentralcc.bsky.social @thecockburn.bsky.social

VOI. A success? Gradually there are more of the pink bikes on the street. Any negative reports? Any negative impressions? Can we say the rollout is already a success?

Is ELM ROW being taken over cars? Why is there so much parking on the pavement? Is it always like this? @leithcentralcc @NTBCC @theSpurtle

DELIGHTED to see this notice has now been cleaned up! We hope this will be followed by removal of graffiti all along the walls of Jacob's Ladder, but at least this is a start. @edinburghwh.bsky.social

WAIT A MOMENT! They forgot the cement.

REDESIGN NO REDESIGN? Morgan Architects have submitted a mildly tweaked design for their development 25/03183/FUL. Can you spot the difference? I've again objected. @thecockburn.bsky.social @ntbcc.bsky.social @edinburghwh.bsky.social @edinburghminute.bsky.social

Should EDINBURGH COUNCIL give the TOUR de FRANCE £1.7 million for the 2027 cycle race? We know @edinburghcouncil.bsky.social officers love bikes but is this too much? And anyway what about the potholes?

BEYOND GRAFFITI? This is what Edinburgh World Heritage sign at the foot of JACOB'S LADDER now looks like. Comments from @edinburghwh.bsky.social? FYI @thecockburn.bsky.social @edoldtowncoco.bsky.social @spurtle.bsky.social

Where have all the [ELM ROW] pigeons gone? Long time passing? @spurtle.bsky.social @ntbcc.bsky.social @thecockburn.bsky.social (P.S. There are four left — one out of picture left.)

FREE PALESTINE demonstration today (30 July 2025) in front of General Register House, Princes Street, Edinburgh.

The 1 Thistle Street (corner of St Andrew Square) planning application is 25/031183/FUL. So far only 3 comments. (See my objection below). Closing deadline is Friday (1 August). After that it will be too late to stop the uglification of another corner of our much abused ‘World Heritage Site’. 2

ANOTHER WHS/New Town CARBUNCLE? Cockburn @Thecockburn objected. I objected. Where are EWH @EdinburghWH? Where are the media @theSpurtle @EdinburghMinute? Where are the community councils @NTBCC? Another monstrosity slipped through during the summer? DEADLINE Friday (1 Aug). 1/

GEORGE STREET. At the @Edinburgh_CC Transport & Environment Committee today, all political groups, except the Conservatives, supported the project (some with caveats), and voted it through to the next stage with minor report amendments. 1/

ATLANTIC CEDAR (Cedrus atlantica glauca) aka the Atlas Cedar, similar to the Cedar of Lebanon, newly planted in Regent Gardens on Calton Hill. One day this could be 35 metre tall, 2 metres in diameter, one of the tallest and finest trees on the hill.

OLD TOWN ELECTRIC HOPPER BUS. Service: every three minutes. Aren't they great? @edoldtowncoco.bsky.social @thecockburn.bsky.social @ntbcc.bsky.social [Spoiler: They are in Budapest.]

PICARDY PLACE. Recently described by a leading councillor as 'unloved'. Ever thus. PLANNED UNLOVABILITY. Four very dead trees. Litter. Weeds. @Edinburgh_CC a million miles away. @spurtle.bsky.social @ntbcc.bsky.social @thecockburn.bsky.social

Cherry blossom in Regent Gardens, Edinburgh 12 April 2025

Members of a new COMMUNITY COUNCIL must now DECLARE to “fulfil the duties of it” & comply with “City of Edinburgh Scheme . . . AND ASSOCIATED GUIDANCE NOTES”. Anyone know WHAT or WHERE the “notes” are? Danger of “transgressing the unwritten law” (Monty Python-style)? 1/

Here is a NEW TOWN HEDGE after being FLAILED (the technical term). FIY @ntbcc.bsky.social @spurtle.bsky.social @thecockburn.bsky.social @edinburghminute.bsky.social

Edinburghers! Your HEDGE HAD A CLOSE SHAVE recently? This is how it's done — with a Kubota STW 40 tractor and a Ryetec flail hedge cutter. Birds watch out! Insects watch out! One minute your hedge is there — next minute it's gone. Nature emergency? What nature emergency? @spurtle.bsky.social