Monday in Edinburgh – what’s on today

Mrs Mash at The Skylark: songs, stories and joining in fun from Mrs Mash aka Marie Louise Cochrane, the Storytelling Cook, for the under-5s and their parents and carers – this week with patterns for knitted mice! 10.30am, The Skylark, 241/243 Portobello High Street.

Tiger Tales: parent and child story and craft session aimed at ages 4-8 after school. 3.30-4.15pm, South Neighbourhood Office and Library, 40 Captain’s Road. No booking required – just come along!

Write Shoot Cut: Skeletons. The Write Shoot Cut platform is dedicated to showcasing independent film from Scotland and beyond. Skeletons is the debut feature film from Scottish filmmaker Craig-James Moncur, ‘a voyeuristic assessment of what goes on behind closed doors’ shot on a micro-budget in Edinburgh. Followed by a Q & A session with Craig and various cast and crew members. 6.15pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets £6/£5 from the Box Office on 0131 228 2688 or online.

Writers At War: three experts from the University of Edinburgh will consider changing representations of war in the work of Scottish writers. Professor Greg Walker will discuss David Lindsay’s play A Satire of the Three Estates, Dr Alex Thomson will explore Walter Scott’s fiction and Professor Penny Fielding will examine work by Robert Louis Stevenson. 6-7pm, The Saltire Society, 9 Fountain Close, 22 High Street. Free tickets can be booked via eventbrite. A Previously….Scotland’s History Festival event.

The Edinburgh Quilting Collective: come and join this monthly collective, who make, sew and do! Edinburgh Quilting Collective creates group quilts, designed and made by its members; the quilts are then exhibited or donated to charities. A friendly group welcoming all levels of ability. 6.30-9.30pm tonight and the last Monday of every month, 3rd Floor, St Margaret’s House, 151 London Road. Contact lorna@lovelorncreative.com or see the collective’s Facebook page.

The Two Roberts: An Introduction. Patrick Elliott, Senior Curator at the Gallery of Modern Art and curator of this new exhibition, discusses the lives and work of Robert Colquhoun and Robert MacBryde. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound. Free and unticketed.

Edinburgh Napier University Inclusion Week: Transforming Preconceptions – a personal view on inclusion through the perspective of artistic practice from engaging and inspirational speaker Sue Austin, whose accomplishments include scuba diving in an adapted wheelchair and taking part in the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Sue’s film Finding the Flame was specially commissioned for the Paralympic Flame Festivals and shows her retrieving the torch from an underwater cave in the depths of the ocean. This event forms part of a week of events at Napier to promote and enhance approaches to inclusiveness and develop knowledge and awareness of inclusiveness issues. 1-2pm, The Glassroom, Edinburgh Napier University Merchiston Campus, Colinton Road. Free but please register with disabilityandinclusion@napier.ac.uk.

Daily Highlight Tours of the Portrait Gallery: 30 minute guided tours of the gallery. Discover more about the history of the building and explore highlights from the collection with a curator, educator or gallery attendant. 3-3.30pm today and every day until 19th December 2014, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free but places limited to 15 per tour: book your place at the Portrait Gallery information desk.

Blackwell’s Edinburgh Presents Tom Pow: Wild Adventure and Concerning the Atlas of the Dead. Tom Pow discusses his poetry collection Wild Adventure on the remarkable life of Thomas Watling, and his own experience as Writer in Residence at the National Library of Scotland’s Map Library. Tom Watling was born in Dumfries in 1762 and later transported to Botany Bay for forging bank notes; as the first professional artist to arrive in the colony, he was seconded to its Surgeon General (and amateur naturalist) John White. His pioneering pictures of birds, animals and landscapes became some of the principal records of the first days of the colony. Concerning the Atlas of Scotland, meanwhile, was inspired by the Map Library’s collection and is a ‘beautiful and quite haunting collection (that will) appeal to map lovers as well as poetry lovers.’ 6.30-7.30pm, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. Free tickets can be obtained from Blackwell’s front desk, by calling 0131 622 8218 or emailing events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk. Part of Previously….Scotland’s History Festival.

South Queensferry Library Craft Club: a chance to get together and share knowledge and skills. This month a member will demonstrate how to make bunting, so bring material scraps, ribbons, etc as well as your needles and thread! 6-7.45pm tonight and the last Monday of each month, South Queensferry Library, 9 Shore Road.

Faith and Identity: Documentary Premiere. Edinburgh Interfaith Association premieres this short documentary exploring the daily lives of three young women from different faith traditions – Islam, Judaism and Sikhism – in response to a recent government report on the rise in hate crime towards minority religious communities. The film (and accompanying educational pack) highlights the fact these are young women with shared hopes and fears that all can identify with, regardless of beliefs, values and practices. Followed by a Q & A session with producer Nur Sakina Kadar and director and filmmaker Justine Gordon-Smith. 7pm, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Free tickets are available online or by calling the Box Office on 0131 556 9579. Shown as part of Scottish Interfaith Week.

Guided Tour of the National Library: a tour of the building and an introduction to the library’s collections and history. Please let the library know if you have any special access requirements. 2pm, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge. Free but numbers are limited and booking is essential, either online or by calling 0131 623 3734.

LGBT: Spiritual Space. Maxwell Reay, NHS Mental Health Community Chaplain,offers a supportive space for people to discuss and develop ideas of spirituality and identity. For people of all faiths or none. This month: Forgiveness – what does it mean to forgive ourselves or others? 6.30-7.30pm (within weekly Drop-In, which is open 5.30-8pm), LGBT Health and Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street.

Philosophy Think Tank 2014: the most promising philosophers at the University of Edinburgh will showcase their exciting and thought-provoking research in 5-minute presentations at this vibrant event. From Philosophy of Cognitive Science and Philosophy of Language to Epistemology and Ethics – be inspired by the future of philosophy! 6-7pm, Informatics Forum, 10 Crichton Street. Free tickets can be booked via eventbrite.

Hello World: The Poetics and Processes of Code. A collaborative event celebrating the aesthetic and creative potentials of computing and software development, co-convened by three leading academics at the University of Edinburgh, Maria Fusco (School of Art), John Lee (School of Informatics) and Chris Speed (School of Design). The day is split into two sessions: 10am-12 noon – a keynote lecture by Dr Geoff Cox, Associate Professor in the Department of Aesthetics and Communications at Aarhus University, Denmark, 2-4pm – a practical workshop led by ECA Research Associate Hadi Mehrpouya, in which you will have the chance to put some technical processes into action. No prior experience is necessary but you must bring a laptop, charger, etc. The lecture is free and open to everyone: no booking is required. The workshop, with lunch before, is also free but places are limited and must be booked by emailing the organiser Fabrizio Gesuelli at f.gesuelli@ed.ac.uk. The event will take place at Edinburgh College of Art, Lauriston Place.

Royal Norwegian Advent Concert: carols and music for advent and Christmas from Schola Cantorum of Edinburgh (Conductor and Solo Organ: Eric von Ibler) and The Edvard Grieg Choir of Hordaland, Norway. 7pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free entry.

Until Only The Mountain Remains: four short public talks on the themes in the Talbot Rice Gallery’s new Christopher Orr exhibition. Viccy Coltman, Senior Lecturer in History of Art: The Romance of Romanticism, Kate McLean, Lecturer: Gothic perspectives: at the edge of the uncanny, Russell Jones, Researcher and Writer: Technophilia: dreamed technologies and technological dreams, and Lena Wanggren, Research Fellow in English: Gazing at the Technological Sublime. 6-8pm, Talbot Rice Gallery, University of Edinburgh, Old College, South Bridge. Free tickets can be booked via eventbrite.