Simon Holledge
@holledge.bsky.social
Conservationist | Hoffmannist | Scaligero | Tōfuist | Kyotophile | Internationalist | 33 operahouses/48 countries | 老霍 | Born@310 ppm | 🦋🏴🇪🇺🇯🇵🇨🇳🇭🇰 | Pro devolved & empowered local democracy | #SaveEdinburghDemocracy | Profile writer
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
November 26, 2025 at 4:41 PM
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?
October 24, 2025 at 5:45 PM
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
October 17, 2025 at 7:35 PM
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
October 12, 2025 at 1:09 PM
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.
September 29, 2025 at 11:47 AM
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
September 25, 2025 at 5:30 PM
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?
September 2, 2025 at 7:16 AM
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
August 25, 2025 at 4:33 PM
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.)
August 25, 2025 at 12:05 PM
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.
July 30, 2025 at 6:46 PM
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
July 30, 2025 at 12:24 PM
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/
July 30, 2025 at 12:24 PM
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/
June 26, 2025 at 2:11 PM
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.
June 1, 2025 at 4:37 PM
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.]
[Spoiler: They are in Budapest.]
May 13, 2025 at 9:51 PM
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.]
[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
April 26, 2025 at 9:26 AM
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
April 13, 2025 at 8:52 AM
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/
April 9, 2025 at 10:13 AM
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
March 18, 2025 at 9:02 PM
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
March 18, 2025 at 5:01 PM
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
Thanks to a three-man team from @edinburghcouncil.bsky.social Cleansing, the fired litter bin was cleaned up at mid-day on Sunday.
March 9, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Thanks to a three-man team from @edinburghcouncil.bsky.social Cleansing, the fired litter bin was cleaned up at mid-day on Sunday.
This may seem trivial, but WHY doesn't LIDL sell ANCHOVIES? @lidltrek.bsky.social
March 8, 2025 at 3:33 PM
This may seem trivial, but WHY doesn't LIDL sell ANCHOVIES? @lidltrek.bsky.social
Meanwhile the @edinburghcouncil.bsky.social continue to drastically cut back hedges and verge vegetation. The photo is of a hedge in London Road Gardens that was recently halved in size. Why is the council doing this when they have such limited funds? 2/
March 4, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Meanwhile the @edinburghcouncil.bsky.social continue to drastically cut back hedges and verge vegetation. The photo is of a hedge in London Road Gardens that was recently halved in size. Why is the council doing this when they have such limited funds? 2/
RELIGIOUS ALLOTMENTS in Edinburgh. Silent prayer is OK in Scotland (pace JD Vance) but what about making your very own spiritual allotment in common use public space? Namaste etc. @ntbcc.bsky.social @spurtle.bsky.social @thecockburn.bsky.social @edinburghminute.bsky.social
February 22, 2025 at 12:12 PM
RELIGIOUS ALLOTMENTS in Edinburgh. Silent prayer is OK in Scotland (pace JD Vance) but what about making your very own spiritual allotment in common use public space? Namaste etc. @ntbcc.bsky.social @spurtle.bsky.social @thecockburn.bsky.social @edinburghminute.bsky.social
Found in tree stumps in Edinburgh. Is this a GLYPHOSATE pellet? @WildJustice_org @davegoulson.bsky.social @wildjustice.bsky.social @rewildscotland.bsky.social
February 18, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Found in tree stumps in Edinburgh. Is this a GLYPHOSATE pellet? @WildJustice_org @davegoulson.bsky.social @wildjustice.bsky.social @rewildscotland.bsky.social