The Forth Bridge is 125!
Hunt for budding Spielbergs
Hidden Door 2015
Planning matters
Jobs at the Botanics
Today the Forth Bridge turns 125 years old. Whether it’s their sheer scale, innovative workmanship or architectural and engineering prowess, visitors travel all over the world to admire and photograph bridges. The top 5 most famous bridges in the world for tourism include:
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco – This world famous symbol of the United States’ west coast. The Golden Gate Bridge is located in San Francisco and is perhaps the city’s most famous attraction welcoming over 10 million visitors a year.
Tower Bridge, London, England – Built from 1886 till 1894, this symbol of London is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name. Currently 350,000 visitors a year visit Tower Bridge.
Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney, Australia – A steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour. The bridge carries roads for vehicles and railroads as well as bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the North Shore and the central business district of the city. BridgeClimb started in 1998 and attracts tourists and locals alike to climb the monument. There are day, twilight and night climbs and a group of twelve will leave for a climb every ten minutes.
Brooklyn Bridge, New York – Completed in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. It connects Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River. It has become one of the icons on New York from its opening day and today visitors walk the 5,989 feet (1825 m) of the bridge from end to end and back.
Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy – The “old bridge” is a medieval stone arch bridge, famous for still having shops built along it as was once common. It is the only bridge in Florence to survive the Second World War. In the past the shops were owned by butchers but today the shops are mostly owned by souvenir sellers as well as art dealers and jewellers.
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Screen Education Edinburgh is keen to get the next generation of film makers in the city up and running with their Introduction to Film making course for budding Spielbergs aged 14-19. Over 8 weeks the course will introduce the basics of storytelling, camera, sound, acting, directing and editing. You will then have the opportunity to shoot your own short film using professional cameras and with the support of filmmaker tutors. No previous experience is required and it’s free to take part! The course is also accredited with an Explore Level Arts Award (equivalent to SCQF Level 3).
Find out more at screen-ed.org, and if you’re still not sure there are a series of 4-hour taster sessions available across Edinburgh.
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Hidden Door arts festival is set to transform another intriguing space in Edinburgh with a bustling hub of creativity from 22-30 May 2015. STV have confirmed that the organisers have been given the go ahead from the council and the buyers of the site who will hold off developing until after the arts festival is over.
Last year over 7,500 people poured through the doors of the Market Street Vaults for a buzzing, critically acclaimed festival that showcased the best of emerging Scottish creative talent. Building on this success, Hidden Door 2015 will transform another fascinating venue in the centre of the capital with its delicious blend of visual art, music, theatre, dance, cinema and more
From 22-30 May, Hidden Door will take over the impressive, but seldom-seen site of the old streetlighting depot on King’s Stables Road.
As David Martin, founder and director of Hidden Door says:
“The new creative talent in Scotland isn’t content to see the same old names being wheeled out time and time again. Hidden Door is about the future of the arts in Scotland; not only creating much needed opportunities for breakthrough artists to make their mark on the capital and connect with new audiences, but also to open up new territory – new places that no one else has dared to touch. We provide a new way of bringing the arts to the public – by creating incredible transitory environments that can be explored and enjoyed by everyone.”
The festival will be a dynamic platform for over 100 exciting acts, featuring approximately 20 theatre and dance productions and a special programme of performance art curated by the Royal Scottish Academy. Daytime entry is free and evening entertainment is a paid-for ticket.
Visit the ticket section of the website for more details; hiddendoorblog.org/tickets
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We are delighted to see in the recent planning lists that the Starbucks on Canongate is proposing to change its exterior paint to dark green! It looks very smart on the artist’s impression here. This is perhaps not our most favourite Starbucks in town but they all have great wifi and since it is self service not much can go wrong.
Although we try to support independent businesses as far as we can across the city it is sometimes difficult for us to work where there is no decent wifi. (yes we have a dongle but hey we like Free Wifi!)
We have a map of the places around town that we know of which have wifi. It is here and if you can suggest any additions then do let us know!
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Two front of house jobs on offer at the Botanics!
We are looking to recruit two self-motivated and enthusiastic individuals to work as part of our Exhibition team at the Inverleith House Gallery on a part time basis (22.2 hours per week).
Specifically you will:
- Act as first point of contact for all visitors to the gallery, welcoming visitors and providing detailed information about exhibitions.
- Support the provision of meaningful experiences for visitors to the gallery and for volunteers
- Coordinate and work with Volunteer Information Assistants to ensure the gallery is always well staffed
- Be responsible for the smooth running of the gallery during weekends
- Provide additional administrative support to the Exhibitions Team
- Promote Inverleith House events and publications
- Be responsible for all sales taking place at Inverleith House including publications and ticket sales.
The applicant must be willing to work as part of a small team, be highly organised and possess excellent communication skills. Knowledge of contemporary art is essential as well as an interest in public engagement with botanical science through art.
Full details of the jobs and how to apply here
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
