Brian Ferguson
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brianjaffa.bsky.social
Brian Ferguson
@brianjaffa.bsky.social
2.1K followers 2.6K following 250 posts
Edinburgh-based journalist, arts-follower, traveller-around-Scotland. Any views expressed are mine alone. https://www.heraldscotland.com
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brianjaffa.bsky.social
🎟️ The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a mere six months away & I’m already on the hunt for ideas for stories and features to write for The Herald. If you’re working on a show, venue or project you think I may be interested in don’t hesitate to get in touch. Feel free to DM. 🎟️
February 6, 2026 at 10:44 AM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
NEW: Creative Scotland warns it will not “rush” into the reopening of the CCA building following the collapse & closure of the long-running culture venue last week
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2582723...
February 5, 2026 at 1:17 PM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
Exclusive: Building work finally underway to turn Edinburgh’s former Royal High School into a £70m National Centre for Music, opening put back a year till summer 2028, 92% of funding in place, Scottish Government & council asked to bridge gap: www.heraldscotland.com/news/2580238...
January 28, 2026 at 7:42 AM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
EXCLUSIVE: National Galleries has secured £56m worth of backing from the Scottish Government for a major new culture centre on Edinburgh’s waterfront.
Full details: www.heraldscotland.com/news/2576993...
January 15, 2026 at 6:20 PM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
🔥 Edinburgh’s Hogmanay tickets have gone on sale five months earlier than last year - with organisers reporting global in the event at an “all-time high.” They say the city’s seven-week winter festival attracted an overall audience of more than 3M. 🔥
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2575206...
January 9, 2026 at 10:12 AM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
📰 Right folks, I never ask for much, as you know, but since it’s (almost Christmas)…
The Herald is up for Hold The Front Page’s hotly-contested Front Page of the Year title for this cracker & you can help us win! 📰

Read on and get involved! www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2025/news/ch...
December 17, 2025 at 5:05 PM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
🚴 Exclusive: The cost of bringing the Tour de France to Edinburgh has soared again after the Scottish Government finally admitted how much it will be spending on the event. 🚴
Spoiler alert: It’s more than it spends on the city’s annual home-grown events.
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2569871...
December 15, 2025 at 2:33 PM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
🎟️ Breaking: Cumbernauld Theatre has averted closure after an 11th-hour u-turn over its Scottish Government funding. 🎟️
Full details & reaction: www.heraldscotland.com/news/2569406...
@cnauldtheatre.bsky.social @heraldscotland.bsky.social
December 12, 2025 at 4:09 PM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
Exclusive: Scotland is to get a new Screen Machine within months after a “colossal” effort to secure the future of the mobile cinema service for the Highlands & Islands raised almost £1.5m.
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2568092... @heraldscotland.bsky.social
December 9, 2025 at 10:43 AM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
Exclusive: Scotland is to get a new Screen Machine within months after a “colossal” effort to secure the future of the mobile cinema service for the Highlands & Islands raised almost £1.5m.
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2568092... @heraldscotland.bsky.social
December 9, 2025 at 9:17 AM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
📚 Exclusive: One of Edinburgh’s leading bookshops is declaring victory after a three-week battle with Waterstones over a “baffling and shocking” decision to open a new store yards away. 📚
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2568157...
@heraldscotland.bsky.social
December 8, 2025 at 4:06 PM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
“I cannot shake the feeling that this loss is simply not acceptable, justifiable or something to be simply shrugged off and absorbed into the background noise that is the constant minimising of the arts.”

Singer @emmaspollock.bsky.social in The Herald on that BBC Radio Scotland revamp.
December 4, 2025 at 4:16 PM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
Exclusive: David Tennant rails against “stupid” theatre funding cuts & warns pipelines of future talent are at risk of being “throttled” due to a lack of funding. He was speaking as he returned to the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh for a fundraising event.
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2567126...
December 3, 2025 at 6:19 PM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
🚨 BREAKING: The Glasgow Film Theatre is expected to lose its main long-term funding support from the city council. 🚨
Full details & reaction: www.heraldscotland.com/news/2566604... @heraldscotland.bsky.social
December 2, 2025 at 4:03 PM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
🎟️ Edinburgh City Council has raked in a record £1.18m from organisers of concerts, festivals & events under a controversial new charging regime which has generated almost half a million pounds more in the space of 12 months. 🎟️
Full story: www.heraldscotland.com/news/2565200...
November 26, 2025 at 2:08 PM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
Arts industry leaders are campaigning for a new Culture Act to be introduced in the next term of the Scottish Parliament to boost the value of the £5.7bn industry & unleash a “wealth of untapped potential.” Current culture support is said to be “fragile.”
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2564349...
November 24, 2025 at 8:03 AM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
The front page of The Herald on Wednesday. @heraldscotland.bsky.social
November 18, 2025 at 11:30 PM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
🎯 The Herald is heading in the right direction. Here’s 20 reasons why you should snap up a subscription to the world’s longest-running national newspaper - for just £20 a year.
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2562959... @heraldscotland.bsky.social
November 18, 2025 at 10:04 AM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
📚 Exclusive: Waterstones is under fire from a leading Edinburgh bookshop after it discovered the UK’s biggest book-selling chain is planning to open on its doorstep after snapping up a prime site beside a tram stop. 📚
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2562908... @heraldscotland.bsky.social
November 18, 2025 at 7:03 AM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
🔥 Exclusive: The filming of nine series of The Traitors at a 19th century castle in the Highlands has delivered a multi-million pound boost for the local economy and supported more than 750 jobs since filming began in 2022. 🔥
Full details & reaction: www.heraldscotland.com/news/2560788...
November 10, 2025 at 12:18 AM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
It is 44 years since a group of jeans factory workers staged a sudden protest against its planned closure - which turned into a 7-month “sit in.” Now the women who barricaded themselves inside their own workplace are to inspire a new Scottish stage show.
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2558527...
November 6, 2025 at 12:24 PM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
🎶 More big news for Edinburgh’s culture scene: National Centre for Music secures £5m lottery windfall, revamped Calton Hill building to open at end of 2027, Scottish Government & Edinburgh City Council to be asked to meet final costs of £70m project.
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2558660...
October 31, 2025 at 12:51 PM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
OMG: Santa has been kicked out of St Andrew Square. The spirit of Scrooge is alive and well in Edinburgh! Will he (and his elves!) find a new home for Christmas? You won’t find this festive miserabalism on Netflix! www.heraldscotland.com/news/2556972... @turvill.bsky.social
🎅 🧝 🎄 ❄️ 🎅 🧝 🎄 ❄️ 🎅 🧝 🎄 ❄️
October 25, 2025 at 10:24 AM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
NEW: The Scottish Government has agreed to triple its spending on Edinburgh’s new 1000-capacity concert hall to allow work to begin within weeks - despite the cost soaring to £162m. John Swinney has signed off an additional £20m for the project.
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2556757...
October 23, 2025 at 11:29 PM
brianjaffa.bsky.social
Exclusive: Elaine C Smith, Alan Cumming, Forbes Masson, Blythe Duff & Colin McCredie back campaign to save Cumbernauld Theatre from closure as more than 40 jobs hang in the balance.
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2555233...
October 20, 2025 at 8:10 AM