Police appeal for information on missing woman Mhairi Wilson

By Andrea McCallum

POLICE are appealing for help following the disappearance of an Edinburgh woman five days ago today.

Mhairi Wilson was last seen in the Morningside area of the capital at 4pm on Thursday, October 29, and made contact with her family later that evening.

The 37-year-old, who lives in Leith, is described as 5ft 4, medium build, with short black hair, and was wearing a black sleeveless top, red tartan miniskirt, black tights and carrying a black rucksack on the day she was last seen.

She had a distinctive tattoo of a Star of David in a circle on her upper left arm.

A police spokesman said: “Anyone who has seen Mhairi since she went missing, or who has been in contact with her, should contact police immediately.

Former Hibs star’s pub smashed in vandal attack

By Rory Reynolds

A PUB owned by former Hibs star Paul Kane has been attacked just three months after he took over.

The Four in Hand in Edinburgh – just yards from the team’s Easter Road stadium – had every one of its windows smashed shortly after 4.30am yesterday (Monday) morning.

And vandals have covered the outside walls, windows and pavement in blue paint, which can be seen trailing down Easter Road.

Kane said the attack was a “mystery”, but insisted he would not allow any disruption to his new business.

The bewildered 44-year-old said: “I got a call at 4.30am this morning when the alarm went off and when I came down the place was secure, so it must have happened after that.

Harry Potter cafe welcomes struggling authors

By Rory Reynolds

THE famous café where JK Rowling penned her best-selling Harry Potter novels reopened its doors to fans yesterday.

Staff at the Nicholson Café in Edinburgh used to allow single mother Rowling to escape her chilly flat and sit in the café for whole days, writing her first novels with her baby daughter Jessica, for the price of a single coffee.

Now its new owners have reopened the café – which was a Chinese buffet restaurant for several years – and say they’ll stay true to the welcoming atmosphere at the newly named Spoon Cafe Bistro.

Owner Moira McFarlane, 42, says she’s more than happy for customers to escape the cold and spend the whole day reading, writing or chatting with friends.

She said: “It’s a big space, so we need to make it cosy – we will welcome people to come along and sit all day – and write books if they like.”

Council pays £1.11 per letter to shift post down corridor

By Rory Reynolds

A COUNCILLOR has lashed out at the “absurd” culture of waste at one of Scotland’s biggest local authorities after she discovered that recorded delivery letters were being sent between offices in the same corridor.

Alison Johnstone was bewildered after she discovered that the legal services department at City of Edinburgh Council, which is “along the corridor” from her office, had been paying £1.11 per letter to post them several yards.

The Green councillor has said that the council was lacking “common sense” and has to be taken to task over inefficiency.

She also highlighted that the council uses eight miles of paper per year, despite having to make savings of £90million over the next three years.

Councillor Johnstone said: “For some reason I was sent a response by recorded delivery from someone along the corridor.

Medieval superweapon suffers flat tyre

By Oliver Farrimond

A DEVASTATING weapon from Scotland’s murky medieval past has suffered a “flat tyre” – despite not having been fired in more than 300 years.

The huge Mons Meg siege cannon terrorised castle-dwellers as the latest in battle technology in the 15th Century, but years of quietly sitting on the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle appear to have taken their toll.

The enormous weight of the “supergun” – around eight tons – has distorted a metal band around one of the wheels and now experts are using mini-cranes to examine the damage.

Work is expected to take between a week and 10 days to complete, after which the monster cannon will resume its silent watch over the Capital.

Council and toilet firm bogged down in dispute

By Rory Reynolds

RESIDENTS are being prevented from using new public toilets after a toilet firm caused a stink with the local council.

Edinburgh City Council and Ego-Logical have become bogged down in a £16,000 dispute over the building of new public lavatories in the city’s Colinton area.

The toilet firm built a new facility for the council, in return for possession of the old toilet block, which they may turn into a house or offices.

But the council is believed to have asked the company for an additional £16,000 for the old toilet building.

Colinton & Fairmilehead Councillor Jason Rust said: “The old toilets are now in a shocking condition internally.

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer revealed to be female

By Rory Reynolds

BOFFINS at Edinburgh University are set to rock the foundations of Christmas this year – by revealing that Rudolph the reindeer is female.

Top biology scientists are to showcase the shocking revelation that Santa’s little help-her is really Rudolphine, at a university talk on 9 December.

Professor of biological timings Gerard Lincoln and retired Edinburgh University Professor David Baird made the discovery after finding that only female reindeers have antlers at Christmas, while males have shed theirs much earlier in the year.

Professor Lincoln said: “Rudolph classically is this red-nosed reindeer who is around at Christmas.

“We picture him in the snow with his antlers, but if you get to know anything about nature you discover things are not quite so straightforward.

Scotland’s wild mountain shelters ‘under threat’

By Cara Sulieman

SCOTLAND’S bothies are under threat from commercial groups who are illicitly using them as overnight accommodation.

The Mountain Bothies Association – who maintain many of Scotland’s wild shelters – have warned that the buildings may even be closed down if the practice doesn’t stop.

Scotland is currently home to around 100 bothies, which provide essential shelter to outdoor enthusiasts for free.

But some companies offering guided hikes in the Scottish Highlands are including them in their itinerary without getting the owners’ permission first.

The large groups that are crowding into the small shelters are causing problems for hikers who try to use the bothies – with some walkers saying that they have even been turned away from the buildings.

The MBA are warning these commercial groups to gain the permission of the landowner first, so that the shelters can continue to be used by all.