Toddler Time: special screenings exclusively for pre-school children and their parents/carers. This week BAFTA-winning animation Lost and Found (U), an enchanting story, narrated by Jim Broadbent, about a little boy who one day finds a penguin on his doorstep. 11am, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets for Toddler Time members cost £3 per child and there is no charge for accompanying adults; membership of this club is free – ask at the Box Office.
Launch of The International Year of Light Celebrations. The United Nations has named 2015 The International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies. This is the first in a series of Royal Society of Edinburgh events celebrating the International Year, which will explore how light is fundamental to the existence of life on earth, and the ways in which it plays an important role in shaping our society in the fields of medicine, communications, entertainment and culture. Heriot-Watt University academic staff and students will be showcasing their research and launching their programme for the International Year through a range of presentations, displays and exhibitions. 5-8pm, Royal Society of Edinburgh, 22-26 George Street. Visitors are welcome to drop in to view the exhibitions at any time between 5-8pm; there will also be a number of talks, starting at 6pm.
Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership: Nature in your Neighbourhood. Come and hear about Edinburgh Living Landscapes and have a say in creating, restoring and connecting green areas of the city. There will also be a presentation on local roads and pavements budgets, plus a display of plans for Fet-Lor Youth Club’s new building and an update on Drylaw Skatepark. 6.30-8.30pm, Blackhall Library, 56 Hillhouse Road. All welcome: for more information call 0131 529 5270 or email elaine.lennon@edinburgh.gov.uk.
Sofi’s Cult Movie Nights: My Beautiful Laundrette – a screening for LGBT History Month. Set in London in the Thatcher era, the film reflects the complex – and often comical – relationships between members of the Asian and white communities. Focusing on Omar, a young Pakistani man living in London, and his reunion and eventual romance with his old friend, a street punk named Johnny, the plot addresses several polemical issues of the time, including homosexuality and racism, depicted within the social and economic climate of Thatcherism. 8-10pm, Sofi’s Bar, 65 Henderson Street. Free popcorn! Read The Edinburgh Reporter’s round-up of LGBT History Month here.
Play Talk Read! The Play Talk read bus is coming to Craigmillar Library today! For pre-school children and their parents/carers. Hop on board to read stories, sing songs, play games and have fun. It’s free! The bus will be in the big car park at the rear of the building. 10am-1pm and 2-4pm, Craigmillar Library, 101 Niddrie Mains Road.
Water of Leith Conservation Trust: Tibet – The Abode of the God Kings: adventurous couple Fred and Rita will take you through a spiritual and cultural journey through life in Tibet. Against the backdrop of the Tibetan plateau and grand Himalayas, on high passes, crossing the Brahmaputra river to see amazing monasteries, inside the Dalai Lama’s former palace and across the Tsuo La and Jia Tuso at 5220 feet to catch sight of Mount Everest, Cho Oyu and Shijapangma, then dropping down the steep switchbacks of the Friendship Highway to the subtropical landscapes of the Nepali border. 7.30pm, Water of Leith Visitor Centre, 24 Lanark Road. Tickets cost £5 (members £4) and advance purchase is strongly advised – call the Visitor Centre on 0131 455 7367 between 10am and 4pm. The Water of Leith Conservation Trust is a registered charity.
Leith Links Community Council: if you live in the Leith Links area, you are invited to come along to the Community Council’s meeting tonight. 7pm, Persevere Room, Leith Community Centre, 12a Newkirkgate. Email contact@leithlinkscc.org.uk for more information.
Architectural History Society: Thomas Hamilton’s Royal High – a public discussion. Invited speakers Alistair Rowan (architectural historian), Marcus Binney (SAVE Britain’s Heritage), Susan Denyer (ICOMOS-UK) and Diane Watters (architectural historian) will discuss the historical development of the building in its setting, its cultural significance in the Edinburgh and international context, and proposals for the future. 6.30-8pm, St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church, 13 George Street. All welcome: free admission.
For Crying Out Loud: screenings for carers and their babies under 12 months. Today’s film is Selma (12A), which chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965 when Dr Martin Luther King Jr led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. 11am, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets cost £4.50/£3.50 per adult, maximum of two adults per baby. Babychanging, buggy parking and bottle warming facilities are available.
LGBT: Intersex Information Session – an introduction to some of the myths and facts about what the ‘I’ in LGBTI stands for and how it relates to the LGBT community. 6.30-7.30pm (within weekly Drop-In, which runs 5.30-8pm), LGBT Health & Wellbeing Centre, 9 Howe Street. For more information contact Alison Wren on 0131 652 3283 or email alison@lgbthealth.org.uk.
Write Shoot Cut: Screen Education Edinburgh and the Filmhouse support new talent through the Write Shoot Cut programme, offering local filmmakers the opportunity to screen their work to new audiences. Today: Take It Back and Start All Over, the debut feature film from Edinburgh-based writer/director and creator of the Write Shoot Cut platform, Neil Rolland. Shot in 5 days by a team of professional Scottish filmmakers on a budget of £1,000, it is part of a new movement in Scotland called Tartan Features. The film is a relationship drama with music, following 33 year old mum Jennie, who attempts to recapture her past as a successful singer/songwriter while dealing with a marriage that’s falling apart. Plus short: James and the Urn by Louis Clark. A young boy finds the body of his gran on her living room floor; forced to attend the wake, he becomes increasingly distressed as he realises that everyone there has moved on. In an attempt to keep her memory alive, he steals her urn and takes it back to her favourite place. 6.10pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets cost £6/£5 and can be purchased online here or by calling the Filmhouse Box Office on 0131 228 2688.
The Old Chain Pier Folk Session: come and join in, or just enjoy traditional Scottish folk music with some old favourites from Fozzy and Alistair. 7.30pm and at the same time every second Monday, The Old Chain Pier, Trinity Crescent.
E4 Slackers Club: monthly free screenings exclusively for students. Tonight: Focus (15). 9pm, Cameo, Home Street. To become a member of the Slackers Club, take your NUS card or student ID card to the Box Office: membership of this club is free.
Edinburgh Philosophy and Psychology Group: an opportunity to ask questions about Life, The Universe and Everything, to think critically and constructively and to expand your sense of understanding – a chance to bounce ideas off other people in a tolerant and open-minded atmosphere in which everyone has a chance to air their views. Discussions are non-academic and members come from a range of ages, nationalities and backgrounds. Topics are suggested by members and decided by a monthly poll. 8-9.30pm, The Links Hotel & Bar, Alvanley Terrace, Bruntsfield. Non-members welcome. Free -with free sandwiches!
Spotlight On: Indian Encounters. Explore the personal stories of Captain Archibald Swinton and Maharaja Duleep Singh, and take a behind-the-scenes look at how NMS experts used scientific techniques to reveal the fascinating stories behind the objects they collected. The men had very different experiences of British imperial rule. Swinton served in the East India Company’s army at the beginning of its military expansion into India, where he collected exquisite miniature paintings; Singh became the first resident Sikh in Britain when, at the age of 10, he had to surrender the Sikh Punjab and all his treasures to the East India Company. This talk with explore the significance of his highly decorative jewellery from the Sikh court in Lahore. For ages 14+. 2-3pm (doors open 1.45pm), Seminar Room, Learning Centre, Level 4, National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street. Free but ticketed: booking may be made via the NMS Information Desk or online here.
Sofi’s Movie Mondays: popular classics on the silver screen in Sofi’s cosy darkened back room. Free popcorn! 8pm, Sofi’s Bar, Henderson St. Contact Sofi’s for details of this week’s film.
Elizabeth Blackadder: A Cat Amongst the Flowers. A collection of the renowned artist’s work, showing etched portraits of cats captured in natural moments of rest, play or stillness, alongside delicate floral and still life prints. These works are on loan from the Falkirk Community Trust and the Glasgow Print Studio. 9am-5pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 9am-9pm Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11am-5pm Sundays, Linlithgow Burgh Halls, The Cross, Linlithgow. Free entry. The Halls have a cafe open 9.30am-4pm Monday to Saturday and 11am-4pm on Sundays. Linlithgow can be reached by train from Waverley Station in 23 minutes. Exhibition closes 3rd May 2015.
