Mac’s Munchkins: an hour of farm-themed storytelling, crafts, playgroups and songs. For children aged 2+ – meet at the Red Tractor. 3pm today and every Thursday, Gorgie City Farm, Gorgie Road. £2 per child, payable on arrival: no booking required. Also running every Tuesday morning at 10am.
Bookbug: stories and rhymes for young children and their carers. 10.30-11am today and every second Thursday, Fountainbridge Library, Dundee Street.
Putting the ‘f’ in Chemistry: Professor Polly A Arnold, Crum Brown Chair of Chemistry, delivers her inaugural lecture. 5.15pm (followed by a reception in the Michael Swann foyer), Swann Lecture Theatre, King’s Buildings, University of Edinburgh. All welcome.
Medical Detectives Lecture: Dr Jeffrey Schoenebeck – Doggedly Dependent, a Canine Story of Human Intervention and Form. 6-7pm (doors open 5.40pm), Anatomy Lecture Theatre, Medical School (Doorway 3), Teviot Place, University of Edinburgh. Free places can be booked via eventbrite.
South West Sounds: Musician in Residence Rod Jones leads weekly workshops for any local musicians – no matter what type of instrument you play , what type of music you like or what standard you are at: write, rehearse, perform and record your music together. 10am-6pm today and every Thursday until 18th December (three groups – contact centre for details), WHALE Arts Centre, 30 Westburn Grove. FREE!
A Glimpse of Nepal and the High Mountains: Sarah Somerville will be celebrating her 50th birthday by embarking on a 10-day cycling challenge in N India in support of Macmillan Cancer Care. To get into the spirit, Ronnie Auld will share his experiences and dazzling images of Nepal and the Himalayas, and will give an insight into this intriguing, seductive region. Refreshments available. 8pm for 8.30pm, Craiglockhart Primary School, Ashley Terrace. Free tickets can be booked via eventbrite: suggested donation of £3 on door.
WordPlay: Life Writing. Creative gallery-based writing sessions inspired by GENERATION and designed to explore the ideas of character, description and identity.. This WordPlay session asks participants to illustrate the object of study using text instead of image: Christine Borland’s L’Homme Double provides a perfect source point to explore the fascinating ideas behind her practice and how it can be applied to writing. 5.30-6.45pm, Royal Scottish Academy, National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound. Free but booking required: email education@nationalgalleries.org or call 0131 624 6410. Part of GENERATION By Night. More information about WordPlay here.
Writing Wrongs and Dispelling Myths: Women, Sex, Art, and the Marriage of John Ruskin. Dr Rob Brownell discusses his latest book Marriage of Inconvenience, which sets the record straight with regard to a number of the notorious myths still circulating about Ruskin’s marriage to Euphemia Gray. Some strongly held beliefs may well be challenged by this radical reappraisal of Ruskin’s reputation. The talk will be followed by a book signing. 6-7pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound. Free and unticketed.
2014 Planet Earth Lecture: The world is warming – what next? Professor Dame Julia Slingo DBE, Chief Scientist UK Meteorological Office, explores the frontiers of climate science. 6.30-9.30pm, Royal College of Physicians, Queen Street. For more information and to register, contact fiona.hartree@edinburgh.ac.uk
The Remarkable Elsie Inglis and the Scottish Women’s Hospital: Iain Mcintyre tells the story of Elsie Inglis, pioneer of medical education for women, successful surgeon in Edinburgh and a leader of the Suffrage movement, whose work with the Scottish Women’s Hospital in the First World War made her a national heroine. 4pm, Level 5 LRC, Edinburgh Napier University Sighthill Campus, Sighthill Court. Free but spaces are limited so please email events@napier.ac.uk to book. Presented in association with the Words and Deeds, Weapons and Wounding exhibition
Golf on the rocks: a journey round Scotland’s island courses. Gary Sutherland leads an illustrated journey round some of Scotland’s most far-flung golf courses, from Shetland to the Outer Hebrides. A writer from Hopeman on the Moray coast, now living in Glasgow, Gary is the author of Hunting Grounds, Great Balls of Fire, Golf on the Rocks and Life Cycle, and has written for various national newspapers. 6pm, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge. Free but booking required: call 0131 623 3734 or click here.
