Hogmany Edinburgh
There is ony one place to be at New year and that is in the City of Edinbugh, taking part in the New year Festivities. Alas as I understand the Street Party tickets on the 31st December have now been sold out. It looks like a black market job if you want one. But there is much more going on right up to the 3rd January. You can find out what is on here. Keep in mind if you are from a warmer clime. It can get very cold in Edinburgh, so dress for the occassion and beware of effects of the demon drink. It will not be in sparse supply
Getting About
Edinburgh of course is a thriving vibrant city all the year round. It has events going on all the year. It has a transport system that is second to none in the world. For a more detailed instruction on how to get about, go to the transport page. That can be found in the column on the left. For a general guide as to what is happening in Edinburgh and the Lothians, click here.
Other Venues
The population of Edinburgh is in the region of around 507,000 and is considered a fairly large city. However during the summer, and particularly at festival time. That population can swell to around a million. That takes some exercise in the business of supplying entertainment, to satisfy the holiday feel. Below is a link to some of those venues. Beware. Some of the content in the information of the entertainment supplied at those venues may not suit your taste. You can access the link here. The link includeds the abilty to purchase a ticket. As stated elsewhere. Some of the enertainment in those links may not be suitable as a family venue. But in this link here. If you surf through you will find good family entertainment that is not in general, advertised elsewhere. The choice as they say, is yours.
Shopping Centres
Edinburgh and the Lothians are awash with shopping centres. Most contain the main super market leader's such as Tesco, Morrisison's so on and so forth. Bang in the middle of the city, right at the bus and train station is one of Edinburgh's main tourist attractions. It is called Princes Street. Around one mile long. Without doubt it is in a class of it's own. Home to Debenhams, House of Fraser, Primark, Curry and PC World and much much more. With a view of Edinburgh Castle, the Scott Monument and the world famous gardens. You can find out more by clicking here
March 2023
It seems like all restrictions affecting Covid 19 have been lifted. It is now becoming very clear there will not be any more lock down or restrictions to venues. It is however been made very clear by the Health Authorities that this pandemic has not gone away and you are advised to take all precautions.
Edinburgh has made good progress in reducing levels of air pollution. However, there are still areas where certain pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide (NO2), are higher than the legal standard. Road traffic is the main source of harmful emissions that are damaging public health and contributing to climate change. We need to take further action. Using scientific modelling of air quality and traffic, we found that a city centre low emission zone (LEZ) would reduce harmful emissions across the whole city, not just within the zone. It weill operate continuously, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Vehicles within the boundary, based on vehicle emission standards. Will be issued penalty charge notices (fines) to vehicles that do not comply with the minimum emission standards. Check your vehicle’s emission standards will be in place from 31 May 2022 onwards. It is understood, there will be a two-year ‘grace’ period before penalty charges will be applied. They will be enforced from 1 June 2024. Blue badge holders will be exempt. You can check your vehicle in the link below.
Emission Zones - June 2024
Not only are the Low Emisssion zones applicable in Edinburgh. They are also applicable to most of the major cities in Scotland. So be aware if you bring your own vehicle and it does not comply with the emission standard. It seems all Blue Badge Holders will be exempt but check just to make sure. There ae various methods to use. That can be accessed on the LEZ website.. I am registered for the blue badge exemption for Scotland when the LEZ comes into force shortly. If you have a blue badge do not forget to do it, if your vehicle does not comply with emission standards, or you will incur a fine if you are not registered .
If you have problems with the Scottish Government's web site like I did. Telephone 0808 808 2282 and use option 2. Home energy Scotland will do it for you. They were a joy to use.sorted in seconds with no hassle. If your vehicle is registered at your home address, in Scotland. . Your exemption lasts the life time of your badge. If you do not drive and using a third party vehicle, or your vehicle has broken down and you are using a third party vehicle. You can apply for a day exemption on that vehicle. Do not forget. You have to create a account and register. I thought wrongly all you had to do was wait till you got a ticket. Then supply your badge details. Do not make that mistake. You will be fined
General Election.
The Prime Minister a week or so ago called a general election in the United kingdom. On July 4th 2024 one of two men will be handed the keys of Number 10 Downing Street and become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for the next 5 years. It will either be the incumbent PM Richi Sunak of the Conservative Party or Sir Keir Starmer the leader of the Labour Party.
The result of the General Election was a massive majority for Sir Keir Starmer the leader of the Labour party. He was asked by the King to form a government and he is now the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom