Thursday in Edinburgh – What’s On Today

 Wunderfuk 2! Delighted Peoples (vocals, guitar – hip hop, punk), Small Feet Little Toes (vocals – folk) and Felt Tip Pen (‘electro-coloured twisted folk’). Hosted by Chris Willatt. 7pm, Forest Cafe, Lauriston Place. Free entry, BYOB (corkage charge.)

Lunchtime Concert: Canadian National Arts Centre String Trio and Horn Quintet. 12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.

Christian Aid Sale of Pictures and Scottish Books. 10am-3pm today, Friday and Saturday, Sanctuary, St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church, 13 George Street.

Edinburgh Independent Radical Book Fair continues with book launches, discussions and school workshops. See The Edinburgh Reporter’s article for more details; for full programme visit Word Power Books‘ or Out of the Blue’s websites.  All sessions at Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 35 Dalmeny Street. All events free: donations very welcome.

Ecumenical Friends of St Cuthbert’s: Murdoch Mackenzie will talk on The Other Side of Lesslie Newbigin. Bring your own sandwiches, tea and coffee provided, all very welcome. 12.30-2pm, St Cuthbert’s Church, Lothian Road. £1.50 per person. Organised by Edinburgh City Churches Together.

Medical Detectives – ‘The Sign of Three: Progress Report on an Investigation into the Epidemic of Itch, Sneeze and Wheeze.’ Professor Aziz Sheikh, Professor of Primary Care Research and Development at the University of Edinburgh, will deliver this public lecture. 6-7pm (doors open 5.40pm), Anatomy Lecture Theatre, Medical School (Doorway 3), University of Edinburgh, Teviot Place. Free tickets should be booked via eventbrite.

Create: drop-in artist-led creative art and messy play sessions for under-5s and their parents/carers, including story telling session and a healthy snack. 10am-12 noon, today and every Thursday, North Edinburgh Arts, 15a Pennywell Court. 50p per child per session. More information on 0131 315 2151.

Easel Sketching in the Gallery: session led by artist Damian Callan. A different subject each month, sometimes with a model. All materials supplied. 2-4pm, Main Gallery, National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound. Free; no booking required. Also available at same times on Friday 24th October 2014.

Artist Talk: Martin Boyce. Martin Boyce will discuss his 2002 installation Our Love is Like the Flowers, the Rain, the Sea and the Hours, which has been recreated for GENERATION. 6pm, Royal Scottish Academy, The Mound. Free and unticketed. Part of Generation By Night.

Zaffar Kunial and John Glenday: Zaffar Kunial is Wordsworth Trust Poet-in-Residence and one of the Faber New Poets for 2014; John Glenday is ‘a poet who combines the everyday and the transcendent’ – his collections Undark and Grain were Poetry Book Society Recommendations. 6.30pm, Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate. In partnership with The Wordsworth Trust. Tickets £5/£4: book via eventbrite.

What Italian? Eugenio Montale famously stated that there is no Italian for poets to rely on – every would-be poet must start all over again. Expanding on this extreme statement and focusing on his own experience as a writer and teacher of literature at Oxford (he is a fellow of Keble College and Professor of Italian and Comparative Literature), Professor Nicola Gardini will talk about the beauties and challenges of Italian as a national and international language for writers today. 6pm, Italian Cultural Institute, 82 Nicolson Street. Free but please book via Institute website.

Writing Dementia: A New Narrative? Despite current media portrayals, there are many people with dementia living well. This guided workshop will allow participants to write about their experiences whether as carers or as people living with dementia. 10am-12 noon, Hanna Cherrie’s Teashop, 35 Hamilton Place, £5 including coffee/tea and cake. Call 0131 315 3634 for more information. Part of Luminate: Scotland’s Creative Ageing Festival.

Utsavam ‘Celebration’: Indian dance workshop for older people and their carers. Come and try an Indian dance workshop and enjoy a performance by Scotland’s Indian dance company, Dance Ihayami. This event is open to day care groups, older people, their carers and their families, and is accessible to people of all abilities. The workshop will bring together Indian rhythms with shared stories and music. 11am-12.30pm and 1.30-3pm, Stockbridge House, 2 Cheyne Street. Presented by Dance Ihayami in partnership with Lifecare Ltd.  Part of Luminate: Scotland’s Creative Ageing Festival.

Abbotsford to Holywood: Sir Walter Scott’s film career. Two hundred years on from its first publication Waverley is one of the few Scott novels to remain unfilmed, but other features have succeeded – and failed – spectacularly. Andrew Martin, NLS Curator of Literature and the Arts, will discuss Scott’s name above the title, and revisit the celluloid Ivanhoes and Lochinvars of another era. 6pm, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge. Free but please book online or by calling 0131 623 3734.