Council underpaid staff at Outdoor Centre
Edinburgh Council’s Governance committee meets today and will hear from the Corporate Director for Customer and Corporate Services, Dr Deborah Smart, that employees at Benmore Outdoor Centre did not receive the national minimum wage.
An audit conducted by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) concluded that arrangements for volunteers had become confused. The council did not comply with the national minimum wage requirements as some volunteers were deemed to be workers. HMRC agreed it was not a deliberate breach, but a formal Notice of Underpayment was issued.The employer had 28 days to pay the arrears along with a penalty and the council confirmed that the payment was made within 14 days so avoiding a fine. Nonetheless the finding will be made public on the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme. This scheme reported last month that a business run by the Chair of VisitScotland was the worst offender, having underpaid by around £33,000 over a number of years.
Christmas at Jupiter
Jupiter Artland is now open year round and their Christmas events have been announced.
A spokesperson said: “For the first time, Jupiter Artland is open throughout the Winter season. Christmas at Jupiter brings together art, landscape and festive tradition across nine consecutive days from 6 – 14 December 2025, transforming the park into a Festive Village alive with light, sound and winter magic, alongside a programme of outstanding contemporary visual art.”
Christmas at Jupiter offers an alternative to festive fanfare, where the traditions of Christmas are blended with contemporary and creative flair. This year, Jupiter Artland will be transformed into a Festive Village that will be open daily alongside the annual programme of bespoke activities, including Santa’s Grotto, the ELF workshop in MAKE Studio, Christmas Film screenings and S’mores Village, where you can enjoy hot chocolate and gooey marshmallows around a fire pit. Cafe Party will be open daily, and will offer a festive themed Afternoon Tea including Cava and a gift from the Festive Shop, available to pre-book.
Nicky Wilson, Director, Jupiter Artland said: “We are delighted to be open through Winter for the first time, and to also extend Christmas at Jupiter to a nine-day event across the Artland for visitors to enjoy the festive atmosphere while discovering outstanding contemporary art. Join us to dine with friends at Cafe Party, bring your family to enjoy festive treats and creative activities or experience new artworks by Tai Shani, Georg Wilson and Florence Peake – there is something for everyone this season.”
Christmas at Jupiter
6 – 14 December 2025
Jupiter Artland, The Steadings, Bonnington House, Wilkieston, Edinburgh EH27 8BY
Tickets
Adult – £11.80
Child (4 to 16), Student, Blue Badge/Carer – £7.50
Children under 3 go free
Included in ticket:
- Festive Village entry including access to the 120 acres of sculpture park (daily)
- Christmas Fair entry (at the weekends)
- Choir performances (twice a day at the weekends)
- The live Nativity Scene in the Dove Cot (at the weekends)
- The Elf Workshop in MAKE Studio (daily)
Additional bookable experiences:
- Festive Afternoon Teas, including Cava and gift from our Festive Shop: Daily at 2:30pm
- Wreath Making including foraged materials, mulled wine and mince pies: Monday to Friday at 12pm
- Christmas Movies, family friendly titles are listed on the website: Daily 12pm & 3pm viewings
- Santa’s Grotto: 10am to 4pm on the weekend and 12pm to 4pm midweek
At the Heart of Newhaven this month
This is a date for your diary to remember the Winter Wonders: A Day of Stories & Sustainable Fun event at The Heart of Newhaven Community 4-6 Main Street Newhaven EH6 4HY on 29 November 2025. This is in the Fair Saturday Scotland programme and attractions include:
Early-Bird Storytelling – From 9.30am
Join storyteller Jan Bee Brown for 30 minutes of heart-warming tales with a fresh take on gift-giving. These family-friendly stories celebrate the simple things in life and encourage us to look beyond consumerism. Suitable for ages 5–10 (children must be accompanied by an adult).
Winter Wonders: Storytelling Sessions – From 11am
Author Ruby Allen-Cadman invites you into an enchanting, interactive retelling of The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. Suitable for children aged 4+.
Clothes Swap – All Day
Refresh your winter wardrobe the sustainable way! Bring along a party outfit or some warm clothes to swap… or simply choose something new-to-you.
Creative Workshops & Crafty Delights
Drop-in bookbinding with Cass the Bookbinder
Discover a magical wood filled with woolly trees, lovingly made by our resident crafters
Handmade crafts available for purchase
The event is unticketed.
Spirit of Spark
A memorial celebrating one of Edinburgh and Scotland’s best known authors, Dame Muriel Spark, is to be created and placed in East Princes Street Gardens. This will be the first time in the Gardens’ 200-year history that a woman will be commemorated there.
The initiative, which is fully funded by long-standing Edinburgh philanthropists Morag and James Anderson, pays tribute to Spark’s extraordinary literary legacy and her enduring connection to her birthplace. The project has the full support of Penelope Jardine, Spark’s companion for three decades, and enjoys backing from leading figures across Scotland’s literary and visual arts as well as cultural and civic life.
The memorial, which will be sited in a quiet, contemplative space, south of the railway line in East
Princes Street Gardens, will celebrate Spark’s creative spirit while addressing the historical absence of
women commemorated within the Gardens.
An open competition will be launched on 19 November 2025 to select the artist who will design and
create the memorial. The process, overseen by a judging panel and guided by a robust governance
structure, is designed to ensure transparency and excellence.
The commissioners have committed to covering all costs, including design, installation, and long-term maintenance in line with the City of
Edinburgh Council’s Public Art Policy.
Sir Ian Rankin commented: “Muriel Spark was one of the 20th century’s finest novelists. She also captured the very essence of Edinburgh, her birthplace, in her best-known story, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
“Just as Edinburgh can seem like a Tardis – bigger on the inside than the outside – so Muriel Spark’s slender works contain a vastness of riches. She can be satirical and profound, experimental in style and yet with storytelling skills shaped by tradition. She continues to fascinate, entertain and confound. It is wonderful that her impact and legacy are to be memorialised in Princes Street Gardens – the first woman to be celebrated in this way.
“The crème de la crème indeed!”
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At the National Library of Scotland – Frankenstein for one day only
On Friday for one day only there will be a free display of Frankenstein-related material. The exhibition is timed to coincide with the Netflix release of Guillermo del Toro’s film adaptation of the novel – some of which was filmed in Edinburgh.
The main feature in the exhibition is a letter from author Mary Shelley to Sir Walter Scott, in which she corrects Scott for mistakenly assuming that the book was written by her husband.
Read about Frankenstein’s impact on Scottish literature before you visit.
At George IV Bridge
From 11am–4pm on 7 November 2025
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
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