Wednesday in Edinburgh – what’s on today

Titian in Ten: ten minute pop-up talks delivered by NGS staff.  Gain an exclusive insight as staff from across the galleries offer different perspectives on Titian’s masterpieces. 2pm, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound.  Free and unticketed.

Edinburgh Napier University Postgraduate Web Chat: if you are from the UK and have applied to start postgraduate study at Napier this September, this is the perfect opportunity to ask questions you may have about the university, your application or the city of Edinburgh. Talk online to staff and other potential postgrad students. 4-6pm – register in advance here.

Lunchtime concert: Clare Treacey (soprano), Seho Lee (piano.) 1.10-1.50pm, St Mary’s Cathedral, Palmerston Place. Free: retiring collection.

Rocks: through video, photography and live performance, Rocks presents the journey of rocks from beach to stage, and the trajectory of a poem from idea to communication. 6-6.15pm, Edinburgh College of Art, Main Building, Lauriston Place. Free; no booking required. Part of ECA Masters Festival 2014. Also at same time on Thursday 21st August.

Guided Tour of the National Library of Scotland: tour of the building and introduction to the library’s collections and history. 10.30-11.15am (approx), National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge.  Free, but numbers limited so booking essential.  Book online via website or call 0131 623 3734. Please notify the library of any special access requirements.

Edinburgh Book Fringe 2014: Andrew Ladd and Andres Neuman. Andrew Ladd’s debut novel What Ends is ‘an exquisitely conjured elegy for a vanished way of life.’ In 1980 the McCloud family welcomes its third child, the last to be born on Eilean Fior, a small west coast island. Life there is grim, the population has fallen to thirty, but the McClouds stubbornly maintain their guest house business.  Then a plague of rats threatens to wipe out the island’s last remaining hopes. What Ends follows each of the McClouds as they navigate their increasingly fragile lives. Andres Neuman’s latest novel Talking To Ourselves concerns Lito, whose seriously ill father Mario takes him on a road trip to try to create a life-long memory for his son, while Lito’s mother Elena tries to find solace in books, and soon embarks on a precarious adventure of her own. ‘A story about how we are transformed by loss, physically and emotionally.’  1pm, Word Power Books, 43-45 West Nicolson Street. All welcome! Admission free – donations also welcome!

Free Fringe Music at The National Museum of Scotland. Today: Robyn Stapleton and Claire Hastings, traditional vocal duo. 2-2.40pm, National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street.

Lunchtime Concert: Fresh SOLOs. 12.15pm, St Giles Cathedral, High Street. Free.

Nitekirk at Greyfriars Kirk: a place of peace, an open sacred space welcoming people of any age, background and belief. Drop in for candlelit contemplation, music, art, refreshment, poetry and a sense of space in the midst of the Fringe..  An opportunity for welcome, reflection and community. 8.30-11.30pm, Greyfriars Kirk, 1 Greyfriars. Free. Nitekirk is supported by Greyfriars’ local ecumenical partners.