@oculusaye

...love wordplay, doorstep tourism and what's round the next cornerstone, especially if it's a library's! And, love Central Library, Edinburgh - #SaveECL!

 #EdinburghCentralLibrary
ifla.org/
Joined April 2015
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  • Following925
  • Followers1K
1.8KMedia
Daisy Carnegie, Edinburgh's Carnegie library cat on the payroll in the 1950s (featured in 'Lum Hats in Paradise')
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Calton Hill's Nelson Monument's time ball @NatRecordsScot! xitter.cf/oculusaye/status/17860…
NatRecordsScot
@NatRecordsScot3h
A plan of the Nelson Monument on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, showing the mechanism for a new addition in 1852: a time ball, which could be dropped to tell ships in the River Forth when it was 1 pm.
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“‘The council was proud to use its compulsory purchase powers to help unlock this opportunity. With legal arrangements in place to transfer ownership to The Landmark Trust, we are delighted that the restoration can now move forward,"' Cllr Kelly Parry @midgov #MavisbankHouse
Edinburgh Evening News@edinburghpaperOct 26
Midlothian country house dubbed 'architectural treasure' saved after council takeover confirmed trib.al/liEzHUn

'Thank goodness': BBC star welcomes council takeover of historic Midlothian house

Mavisbank House will finally be restored thanks to a £5.3m grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund

edinburghnews.scotsman.com
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'The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society @Mackintosh1868 said a special-purpose organisation would be better placed to lead fundraising, governance and reconstruction of the landmark, which was devastated by fires in 2014 and 2018.'
BBC Scotland News
@BBCScotlandNewsOct 26
Campaigners call for new body to lead Mackintosh Building restoration bbc.in/4zP8rCt

Campaigners call for new body to lead Mackintosh Building restoration

The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society said a special-purpose organisation should lead reconstruction of the landmark.

bbc.co.uk
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“Free libraries maintained by the people are cradles of democracy; and their spread can never fail to extend and strengthen the democratic idea, the equality of the citizen.”
Carnegie Oldpark@CarnegieOldparkOct 27
olneyreviewofbooks.co.uk/and…

Andrew Carnegie - Robber Baron or Visionary Philanthropist? - Olney

by Quintin Oliver “Free libraries maintained by the people are cradles of democracy; and their...

olneyreviewofbooks.co.uk
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👏Wonderful news. SAVE have been campaigning for Mavisbank since the 70s theedinburghreporter.co.uk/2…

Future of Mavisbank House secured

After Scottish Ministers confirmed its ownership would be taken over by Midlothian Council,  the future of an historic house once described as Scotland’s most at risk building has been secured.  The...

theedinburghreporter.co.uk
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bookish_cats_aye retweeted
Kenny Brophy@urbanprehistoOct 26
A new #UrbanPrehistory blog post on #Glasgow deep time - the discovery of a probable fragment of Neolithic polished stone axe at the Camphill excavations this summer was a rare & significant discovery in a city of few axes...@EddieCStewart @ArchScot theurbanprehistorian.wordpre…

Glasgow deep time

The excavation of Camphill enclosure in Queen’s Park, Glasgow, in the late summer of 2026 was an exercise in trying to demonstrate that this extensive monument could, just possibly, be Iron A…

theurbanprehistorian.wordpress.com
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bookish_cats_aye@oculusayeOct 26
Live in a communal Edinburgh stair, in a traditional tenement building? And so, do not operate an AirBnB or its equivalent; you're running a business that will flout original deeds regarding neighbours' rights to residential amenity, whatever whatsoever.
David MacKenzie 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿@oldtownrezOct 26
Scotland's disastrous foray into the regulation of visitor accomodation which has closed thousands of B&Bs and Self Catering businesses is now making international headlines. @hmgoodlad1 @S_A_Somerville heraldodemexico.com.mx/opini…

La lección de Escocia: prohibir no es resolver - El Heraldo de México

Hubo un momento de la conversación que me resultó especialmente familiar. Hablamos de cómo se llama nuestro sector y de cómo esa etiqueta termina determinando las reglas. Una vivienda turística no es...

heraldodemexico.com.mx
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Live in a communal Edinburgh stair, in a traditional tenement building? And so, do not operate an AirBnB or its equivalent; you're running a business that will flout original deeds regarding neighbours' rights to residential amenity, whatever whatsoever.
David MacKenzie 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿@oldtownrezOct 26
Scotland's disastrous foray into the regulation of visitor accomodation which has closed thousands of B&Bs and Self Catering businesses is now making international headlines. @hmgoodlad1 @S_A_Somerville heraldodemexico.com.mx/opini…

La lección de Escocia: prohibir no es resolver - El Heraldo de México

Hubo un momento de la conversación que me resultó especialmente familiar. Hablamos de cómo se llama nuestro sector y de cómo esa etiqueta termina determinando las reglas. Una vivienda turística no es...

heraldodemexico.com.mx
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bookish_cats_aye retweeted
No Cats No Life
@NoCatsNoLife_mOct 26
🇬🇧 In 18th-century London, dictionary-maker Samuel Johnson adored his cat Hodge. He personally bought oysters for him, rather than send his servants. Today, a bronze statue of Hodge sits on a dictionary beside oyster shells outside Johnson’s former home in Gough Square.
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Laura Jones@formerdecentISOct 26
deadlinenews.co.uk/2026/03/3… A reminder that Kate Nevens, formerly of thinktank Chatham House, is an imperialist stooge. Stop falling for her shtick.

The former Chatham House Middle East specialist running for election in Leith

Kate Nevens, the former Middle East Manager for the think tank Chatham House, is excited at her chances as she stands for election in Leith.

deadlinenews.co.uk
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bookish_cats_aye@oculusayeOct 26
Replying to @joshpizpom @heraldscotland
'We urge you [Corporate Director of Place, Convener, Culture & Communities Committee, and Convener, Transport & Environment Committee] to...reject the...2028 timeline, and [expedite] a pragmatic...engineering solution for the St Mark’s Footbridge. xitter.cf/theSpurtle/status/2114…
Broughton Spurtle@theSpurtleOct 26
POWDERHALL FOOTBRIDGE.—Community councils call for accelerated action in open letter to CEC Director of Place, T&EC and C&C Conveners: broughtonspurtle.org.uk/news… #Edinburgh #hyperlocal #news #activetravel
Powderhall Footbridge. [Image: Ella Taylor-Smirth.]

ALT Powderhall Footbridge. [Image: Ella Taylor-Smirth.]

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bookish_cats_aye retweeted
Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco@joshpizpomOct 26
Edinburgh residents have criticised an "unacceptable” lack of urgency after it emerged that a footbridge over the Water of Leith may not reopen until 2028. @heraldscotland heraldscotland.com/news/2666…

'Completely dismayed': Anger as council says footbridge may not reopen until 2028

The council has been urged to take urgent action to repair or replace St Mark’s Footbridge, which closed in June 2026 after cracks were identified.

heraldscotland.com
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CB@chocbarnes2018Oct 25
We are terrible at anything infrastructure related. Surely this isn’t complicated to fix. They’ve been working on it for years. What on earth have they been doing? Imagine this was in China or UAE. It would have been fixed long ago. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq4g…

Rest and Be Thankful plans will be 'catastrophic' for Argyll

A convoy of tractors and haulage trucks drove along the mountain road in objection to a new transport plan.

bbc.co.uk
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Old Edinburgh Club@OldEdinClubOct 25
We've just released our latest winter talk series on our YouTube channel. You can also watch some of our previous lectures from 2023. #jameshutton #chrystalmacmillan #heriots #eastnewjersey #scottmonument #scottisharchitecture #jeanguildgrantsprogramme buff.ly/ogbL8Qe
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Formerly STV2, who knew @ThatsTVLothian? Hopefully, Friends of Princes Street Gardens will successfully lobby for the re-opening of King's Stables Road public access to West Princes Street Gardens @HistEnvScot @edinburghcastle.
That’s TV Lothian@ThatsTVLothianOct 23
"We would like to be working with all the organisations involved in making improvements to the Gardens." That's TV spoke to Simon Holledge from the Friends of Princes Street Gardens, who discussed the group's establishment and what they hope to achieve.
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Quaich Project spent c£5 million on public consultation, an architectural competition, etc, before its demise. Interestingly, the committee of a new amenity group, Friends of Princes Street Gardens, includes architects of former proposal @GrovesRaines xitter.cf/oculusaye/status/12243…
Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco@joshpizpomOct 25
EXC: A half-decade since the ill-fated Quaich Project died on the operating table, can a new public group gather enough momentum to revitalise one of Scotland’s finest parks? @heraldscotland heraldscotland.com/life_styl…

The future of Princes Street Gardens hangs in the balance. Can these Friends save it?

Princes Street Gardens has been in a sort of stasis for years, following an unceremonious end to the glitzy £25m regeneration plan amid a global pandemic.

heraldscotland.com
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bookish_cats_aye retweeted
Kelvingrove Mummy@TheGlasgowMummyOct 24
This seems like a nice sensible place for me to be displayed
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Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco@joshpizpomOct 24
EXC: @Edinburgh_CC incorrectly claimed that emails about unpaid business rates at 110 Princes St could not be disclosed b/c of 'commercial interests'. 'How can there be substantial prejudice towards companies which no longer exist?' @heraldscotland heraldscotland.com/news/2666…

Council admits FOI error over gift shops' rates arrears — but will not release emails

The Herald appealed a decision to block the release of correspondence between the council, Criterion Capital and tenants at the Princes Street fire site.

heraldscotland.com
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bookish_cats_aye@oculusayeOct 23
At last some good news for Mavisbank House, and Scotland's built heritage! xitter.cf/AnnaLandmark/status/17…
Anna Keay@AnnaLandmark21 Feb 2024
Thrilled to have a chance to talk about the new @landmarktrust-led project to save #Mavisbank on @SkyNews just now. It really does come down to whether we collectively care about such places enough. #itsonus
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'Midlothian Council @midgov launched a Compulsory Purchase Order on Mavisbank House, near Loanhead, after decades of campaigning to save it from ruin.'
William Kay 🇺🇦@wrmkayOct 23
Future of Mavisbank House secured theedinburghreporter.co.uk/2… via @EdinReporter

Future of Mavisbank House secured

After Scottish Ministers confirmed its ownership would be taken over by Midlothian Council,  the future of an historic house once described as Scotland’s most at risk building has been secured.  The...

theedinburghreporter.co.uk
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At last some good news for Mavisbank House, and Scotland's built heritage! xitter.cf/AnnaLandmark/status/17…
Anna Keay@AnnaLandmark21 Feb 2024
Thrilled to have a chance to talk about the new @landmarktrust-led project to save #Mavisbank on @SkyNews just now. It really does come down to whether we collectively care about such places enough. #itsonus
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