Why cyclists are starting to feel safer on the streets of the Capital
Plus: Tributes to comedy favourite; uni exam marks 'undermined'; and your cultural highlights
Welcome to your midweek edition of The Inquirer.
There are tonnes of statistics about cycling in Edinburgh with counts on various routes around the city and ongoing surveys about public attitudes towards getting on our bikes.
One of their more interesting findings is the growing cycle traffic on Picardy Place. That suggests the much-mocked Leith Walk cycle lane - once dubbed the worst in Scotland - has helped increase the popularity of cycling on that route, despite the twisting and turning path it takes along the pavement.
For today’s long read, Sarah McArthur has been digging into what else the latest research can tell us about Edinburgh’s cycling journey.
More on that below, after your regular midweek news roundup and cultural highlights for the week ahead.
Your Edinburgh Briefing
KEN AND EWAN: Kenneth Branagh and Ewan McGregor will be among the stars appearing at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival. A 30th anniversary screening of Trainspotting featuring live commentary from the cast and crew, plus and a UFO conspiracy drama starring Michael Sheen, feature in the line-up for the 79th edition of the revamped festival on 13-19 August. There will be 38 new feature films and 21 world premieres, ten of which will compete for the Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence.
UNI EXAMS ‘UNDERMINED’: Some senior academics on the University of Edinburgh’s exam board are warning a marking boycott has weakened normal safeguards around this year’s exam results. Some exam board refused to ratify results before being overruled by the university’s emergency procedures, according to The Times. The concerns centre around the high number of dissertations assigned to replacement markers, making it impossible to be confident of the consistency of the marking. The marking boycott is part of ongoing industrial action against job losses as part of £140m cuts.
DOLLY AT 30: The National Museum of Scotland is staging special events to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Dolly the sheep. There’s a Summer Family Fun Day tomorrow where visitors can sign a birthday card to Dolly and buy Dolly-themed cupcakes in the museum cafe. On 16 July, adults can learn about The Life and Legacy of a Cloned Sheep. Named after Dolly Parton, the first cloned mammal ever to be created from an adult cell was born on 5 July 1996 at the Roslin Institute, in Midlothian.
COMEDY ‘ICON’: Some of the country’s leading stand-ups have paid tribute to Paul Sneddon, a stalwart of the city’s Stand comedy club, known for his stage personas Vladimir McTavish and ‘football pundit from hell’ Bob Doolally. Announcing his death, colleagues at the Stand described his “kindness, encouragement and generosity”. Susan Calman described him as “an icon and legend”, while Gary Tank Commander star Greg McHugh called him “the best maniac I’ve ever met”.
‘AT RISK’ CINEMAS: Two empty Art Deco cinemas, the former Odeon on Clerk St and The George in Portobello, have been added to a heritage campaign group’s buildings ‘at risk’ list. The former Leith Corn Exchange in Constitution Street and an old warehouse in the port’s Duke Street were among a record number of new properties on Save Britain’s Heritage’s register.
CAMERON TOLL QUEUES: Drivers are being warned to expect queues as one of the city’s busiest roundabout, Cameron Toll, is closed between its junctions with Lady Road and Dalkeith Road from 10am on Friday until Monday for essential repairs.
KNIFE MAN LAUGHED OFF: A robber who threatened shop staff with a large knife fled empty handed after they laughed at him and told him the till was empty. Finlay Crawshaw, 21, was jailed for three years for the attempted robbery of the News Plus Store, on Gorgie Road, and two other robberies.
Your Pick of the (Cultural) Pops
Greetings, Pop Pickers!
The Northumberland deckchairs are officially packed away, and I am back at the desk facing an incredibly chaotic inbox with a conspicuously rosy face. The city, in contrast, is currently holding its breath; the local calendar having gone conspicuously quiet as venues batten down the hatches for the oncoming storm that is the Edinburgh Fringe, writes Will Quinn.
Honestly, it’s only thanks to having five genuinely strong contenders that we didn’t end up with a more truncated chart. But what we have has real pedigree: world-class dance, brilliant literary satire, top-tier local comedy, and classic cinema.
Let’s count them down...
New in at Number 5 is... An Evening with David Sedaris (Usher Hall, Saturday)
I’ve been entertained by his singularly enchanting cadence on the radio for decades. However, if you think you’ve heard it all, his live appearances famously offer more than just a live version. Rather than just dialling his show in, Sedaris builds the evening around readings of brand-new, unpublished material and unfiltered selections from his personal diaries. You get the full force of his distinct, slightly absurd, and razor-sharp observational wit, dissecting the mundanities of modern life with sharp-tongued precision. The second half typically includes an audience Q&A, and both before and after, there is also an opportunity to get a book signed (presumably by David, but you do you).
New in at Number 4 is... Hitchcock 4K Restorations: Rear Window (Friday) & Vertigo (July 12th) (Filmhouse)
A major treat for film enthusiasts. The newly returned Filmhouse is screening pristine 4K restorations of two of Alfred Hitchcock’s most enduring masterpieces. In case you aren’t aware, these are films that helped shape the vocabulary of cinematic suspense. Whether it’s Jimmy Stewart’s housebound photographer peering into his neighbours’ darkly complicated lives in Rear Window, or a retired detective spiralling into psychological obsession across the dizzying hills of San Francisco in Vertigo, no director has delivered mysterious thrills any better. Experiencing these landmarks of visual craftsmanship in high-definition glory, projected inside one of the country’s most iconic independent cinemas, sounds like a cinephile’s dream!
New in at Number 3 is... Marjolein Robertson: Clouds (WIP) (Monkey Barrel Comedy, July 12th)
“Marjolein Robertson’s star isn’t rising; it has risen. It’s powerful, bizarre, and hilarious in equal measure.” That was my verdict when reviewing her phenomenal 2024 show O, and now she is heading to the Monkey Barrel to road-test Clouds. Catching a comedian, even one of her calibre, refining a new hour before it hits the big festival stages requires a little trust, but Marjolein (pictured above) is definitely worthy of it. Having followed her creative path closely over the years, I know she excels at weaving deeply personal storytelling with brilliantly surreal punchlines. Seeing her shape her next project from the ground up should be well worth your time.
Staying at Number 2 is... The Burns Project (Royal Lyceum Theatre, until Sunday)
Holding firm at number two is the Lyceum’s theatrical exploration of Robert Burns. This production earned its reputation in far more intimate, domestic quarters earlier this year, and the real test will be seeing that scale translated into the Lyceum’s grander halls. Writing for The QR, my colleague Alena Shmakova found the initial run deeply powerful, noting that actor James Clements ensures “his Burns is not an impersonation; it is a presence,” and praising how the staging transforms the audience into “guests encountering a working-class prodigy within aristocratic surroundings.” Expect a necessary, reflective watch that cuts straight through the national myth.
Staying at Number 1 is... This is Rambert (Festival Theatre, tonight until Saturday)
Our top spot remains undisputed. This centenary triple-bill from Rambert features striking contemporary work from (LA)HORDE and Emma Evelein. They remain the benchmark for modern movement, proving week in and week out that a historic dance company doesn’t have to become a museum piece. As I noted on their last visit to Edinburgh, “...KISMET finds Rambert in rude health and on tremendous form.” If you want to see technical and choreographic ambition operating at the highest possible level, take the chance to catch them before the run ends this weekend.
And that’s your Top 5! The Fringe storm is gathering, my inbox is reaching critical mass, and I’m strapped in for a busy month of preparations. Secure your tickets, support the venues while they catch their breath, and let me know your thoughts on the selections in the comments below. Meanwhile, wish me well as I dive back into the madness known as my to-do list. Stay bright!
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Why cyclists are starting to feel safer on the streets of the Capital
And what else we can learn from the latest cycling statistics
by Sarah McArthur
This summer and spring there has been a steady trickle of interesting stats around cycling in our city. Local stats guru Ed Tissiman has shown that the number of cyclists passing Picardy Place continues to rise every year, and cycle campaign group Spokes recorded an increase in bicycles at Lothian Road and Forrest Road in its yearly traffic count. As of this month over 53,000 people have hired the city’s new Voi bikes, making it the company’s most successful city out of the 125 locations in Europe. It seems the city is getting in the mood to welcome the Tour de France Hommes in 12 months’ time.
