Live Music Now: Knox and Ion. A dynamic and exciting guitar duo, creating a mix of Latin, world and jazz music. Based in Glasgow, Knox and Ion’s pieces consist of Indian scales, African beats and Brubeck-style changes. Their live show is infectious and ever-evolving, capturing the very essence of improvised music. 6-6.30pm, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free and unticketed.
The Thursday Club: Duncan Currie will speak on Namibia and South Africa. 2pm, Upper Hall, Mayfield Salisbury Church, West Mayfield. All very welcome: contact Florence Smith on 0131 663 1234 for more information.
Ecumenical Friends at St Cuthbert’s: Swarup Bar – News From Kolkata. 12.30pm, St Cuthbert’s Parish Church, 5 Lothian Road. All warmly welcome: £1.50 per person, tea and coffee provided, bring your own packed lunch.These events are organised by Edinburgh City Centre Churches TOGETHER.
Streetlife: an exhibition of latest works from Gallery favourites such as Patsy McArthur, Adam Kennedy and James Newton Adams and new artists Frank McNab and Lucy Jones, all drawing inspiration from the sights and sounds of the urban jungle. Public preview tonight 6-8pm, then 10.30am-6pm Tuesday to Saturday, 12 noon-6pm Sundays, Union Gallery, 45 Broughton Street. Ends 1st March 2015.
The Friendship Club: a friendly meeting place for senior citizens – all very welcome, with or without any church connection, and whether you would like to attend every week or just occasionally. Tea, home baking, board games, card games, sometimes live music – and lots of chat! The club’s aim is to provide a relaxed friendly and welcoming meeting place for senior citizens: ‘There is always a smiling face waiting to welcome you’. 2-3.30pm, Ground Floor, Annan House, 10 Palmerston Place. Contact Palmerston Place Church for more information.
Blackwell’s Edinburgh Presents Owen Dudley Edwards: How David Cameron Saved Scotland. David Cameron was PM throughout the campaign for Scottish independence. Many thought that if Scotland voted Yes he may lose his job, but Scotland voted No, so where does that leave him? In this new book, Owen Dudley Edwards explains to Mr Cameron what the wilder psychiatric shores of premiership involve, whether he knows it or not, what sort of people he recruited to gain his victory and whether they knew they were recruits, what his opponents were like and why they opposed him, how Scotland reversed the UK fall in voter interest, and why. He also looks at how far the victory was won on the playing fields of Eton. 6.30-8pm, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. Free tickets can be obtained via eventbrite or from the shop’s front desk, or by calling 0131 622 8218 or emailing events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk.
Harry Potter Book Night: come and celebrate JK Rowling’s wonderful stories of everyone’s favourite wizard with an evening of games and activities, including a (fairly) fiendish quiz with prizes. Dress code: wizard, witch or best muggle attire, with a prize for the best outfit. Sorting Hat Ceremony begins at 6pm (evening ends at 7.30pm), Waterstones West End, 128 Princes Street. For more information call 0131 226 2666….AND
Another Harry Potter Book Night! (Except that this is an afternoon – so you could go to both!) Crafts, games and quizes, all related to the Boy Wizard, with a prize for the best costume. 2.30-4pm, Moredun Library, 92 Moredun Park Road.
LGBT History Month Community Discussion: Role Models. The theme of this year’s LGBT History Month is Education. A huge influence on our learning throughout life, whether at school, at work or elsewhere, are the role models we have. This evening will be a chance for the LGBT community to come together to discuss what role models mean to us. 6.30-8.30pm, LGBT Youth Scotland, 40 Commercial Street. Booking is preferred and can be made online here or by contacting Jules Stapleton Barnes on 0131 523 1104 or jules@lgbthealth.org.uk. For more about LGBT History Month, read The Edinburgh Reporter’s article here.
The Jonathan Mills Lectures: A Potted History of Festivals and Festival-Making. They become more popular by the day, but what do we even mean when we use the word ‘festival’? Jonathan Mills, composer, festival director and Visiting Professor at the University of Edinburgh, explores aspects of the complex relationships between ritual and place, habit and space that have come to define the elusive phenomenon of the festival. 5.15pm, Lecture Room 1, Minto House, University of Edinburgh, Chambers Street. This is the first in a series of lectures: the next one Curating In Time will take place on 12th February 2015.
Kitten On The Keys: Jam Circle – improvisations, exercises, jam. 7pm, Boda Bar, 229 Leith Walk.
