What are your favourites from the huge range of events in the city (and out of it) this week? Mine have to be Leith School of Art’s Summer Exhibition, always a joy to visit, and the Canal Festival (it’s got ponies!) – but maybe you prefer bikes, books, or Benji the Play Talk Read Bus? Whatever your choice, there’s plenty for you to enjoy in ‘that small town south of Fife’ (Inspector Rebus: Fleshmarket Close). Have a great week – and please remember to confirm the details of all events before setting out.
MONDAY 22ND JUNE 2015
CONTACT: Young Photographers Group Exhibition. CONTACT is an eight-week photography club for young people aged 16-19; over the duration of the course, the group has learned new skills and worked towards the development of this exhibition. 11am-6pm today and on Tuesday 23rd and Wednesday 24th June, with a special celebration 4.30-5pm on Tuesday 23rd, Stills, 23 Cockburn Street.
Cameo Toddler Time: short screenings exclusively for pre-school children and their parents and carers; no adult will be admitted unaccompanied by a child. Today’s film is Toot the Tiny Tug Boat Programme 4 (U): life on the high seas is a whirl of fun and adventure when you’re a little boat with big ideas – Toot works and plays with his ocean-going friends in the busy waters of the harbour. 11am, Cameo, Home Street. Membership of the Toddler Time Club is free – ask at the Box Office. Tickets for club members cost £3 per child (accompanying adults free) and may be purchased in person, by calling the Box Office on 0871 902 5723 or online here: non-members pay standard prices.
Museum2Go2 Jewellery Showcase. As part of the preparations for the opening of the new Art and Design galleries, school pupils were challenged to create their own pieces of jewellery, inspired by the NMS collections; today you are invited to come and see what they have come up with, and to have a go at making some paper jewellery to take home. The event will begin with a short film and award ceremony in the Auditorium, after which you will be able to explore the pupils’ work, along with pieces from NMS’s handling collection. All ages welcome! 12 noon-12.30pm in Auditorium, Level One, then 12.30-3pm in Event Space, Learning Centre, Level Two, National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street. Free: no booking required.
In Focus: Steven Campbell’s Elegant Gestures of the Drowned after Max Ernst (1986). Primarily associated with 1980’s postmodern painting, Scottish artist Steven Campbell has been the subject of renewed interest following the display of his On Form and Fiction in last year’s SNG GENERATION exhibition. Grainne Rice (NGS/Edinburgh College of Art) will take a focused look at this painting, currently on show at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art ONE as part of the rehang of the permanent collection. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed.
Skylark Surf Week: Mrs Mash Under the Sea. All the usual songs and storytelling for young children, but this time with added marine fun! Coffee and cake for the grown-ups too. 10.30am, The Skylark, 241-243 Portobello High Street.
Forbidden Planet Presents Pat Mills: a signing by the creator of 2000AD and legend of British comics before the EIFF screening of Future Shock! The Story of 2000AD. 5pm, Forbidden Planet, South Bridge.
Wester Hailes Community Connections: a festival celebrating community life, past, present and future. Today: Learning & Health Fair organised by Community Health & Development – a wide range of information on health issues, local courses and learning opportunities. 10am-2pm, Wester Hailes Healthy Living Centre, 30 Harvesters Way. For more information about this or any other event in the Community Connections Festival, please call Sarah Walker on 0131 458 3267 or email sarah@whalearts.co.uk.
Edinburgh International Film Festival continues today! For details of all films and other events see the programme here or pick up a paper copy at EIFF venues and many other locations throughout the city. Tickets are available in person from the Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Cineworld, Fountain Park, Odeon, Lothian Road and the Festival Theatre, by calling 0131 623 8030 or online here. Today’s highlights include 6 Desires: DH Lawrence and Sardinia – Mark Cousins’ documentary takes the form of an open letter to Lawrence, presented as Cousins visits the same places that the novelist discovered over 90 years earlier; (there will be a Q & A session with Mark Cousins after the screening), and Learning to Drive, ‘a charming and genuinely funny study of middle-aged angst’ starring Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson.
My Fountain: Fountainbridge Residents’ AGM and monthly meeting. Speaker: Councillor Andrew Burns. 6.15-7.45pm, Fountainbridge Library, 137 Dundee Street. All welcome: come along and have your say!
Blackwell’s Edinburgh Presents Off the Starting Block: Debut Writers – three brilliant new voices to celebrate Independent Booksellers’ Week. Katerina Bivald’s novel The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is a love letter to books and bookshops; Lucy Ribchester’s The Hourglass Factory features suffragettes and circus performers in 1912 London, and Angela Jackson’s award-winning debut The Emergence of Judy Taylor is much more than the story of a women breaking away. 6.30-8pm, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. Free tickets are available from the shop’s front desk, by calling 0131 622 8218, by emailing events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk or via eventbrite here.
Cameo Culture Shock: bringing you the best in cult and genre films. Today: The Princess Bride (PG) – Rob Reiner’s classic fairy tale with ‘a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek humour’. 9pm, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased in person, by calling the Box Office on 0871 902 5723 or online here: prices vary.
Leith Central Community Council: 7pm, Nelson Room, McDonald Road Library, 2 McDonald Road. All welcome.
Mixing the Colours: Glasgow Women’s Library presents readings from participants in the Mixing the Colours project, which explores the issue of sectarianism in the context of wider gender inequality. 2-4pm, Boardroom, Central Library, George IV Bridge (please note the venue is only accessible by stairs). Please book your free place via eventbrite here. Part of In Their Own Write – Women and Words, facilitated by Edinburgh City Libraries, Glasgow Women’s Library and the Bonnie Fechters’ women’s group.
The Entrance (for Larry Leitch): a performance of Robert Ashley’s innovative 1966 piece, designed for two ‘players’ to perform on a two-manual organ. The recital this evening will be performed by typographer Will Holder and artist Anna McLauchlan. 6.30pm, St Mary’s Cathedral, Palmerston Place. Free: no booking required. This event is organised by the Collective Gallery and LUX Scotland as part of Rhyme or Reason, a five-day intensive study programme investigating the role of notation, improvisation and score across the visual arts and other disciplines, including music, writing and geography.
TUESDAY 23RD JUNE 2015
Parks and Spires: Prague, Edinburgh and Beyond. New paintings by Carolyn Burchell, focusing on landscape. 11am-5pm Tuesday to Saturday, McNaughton’s Bookshop and Gallery, 3a & 4a Haddington Place. Ends 30th July 2015.
Benji The Play Talk Read Bus is in Drylaw today! Free songs, stories and play sessions for young children, their parents and carers. 10am-1pm and 2-4pm, Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, 67 Groathill Loan.
CONTACT: Young Photographers Group Exhibition. CONTACT is an eight-week photography club for young people aged 16-19; over the duration of the course, the group has learned new skills and worked towards the development of this exhibition. Special celebration 4.30-5pm today; exhibition open 11am-6pm today and on Wednesday 24th June, Stills, 23 Cockburn Street.
Craigmillar Community Arts Marie Curie Tea: a vintage tea party with a chance to browse craft and bric a brac stalls. All proceeds will go to Marie Curie Cancer Care. 11am-2pm, The Jewel Miners’ Club, 56 Duddingston Park South. £2 per person, which includes all refreshments – no booking required, just pay on the door.
Breastfeeding Awareness Week: NHS Lothian’s Infant Feeding Team will answer any questions you may have – plus free gifts and fun goodies for the children! 11am-12.30pm (after Rhymetime), Craigmillar Library, 101 Niddrie Mains Road. Also 10.30am-12 noon at Leith Library on Wednesday 24th and 10.30am-12 noon at Muirhouse Library on Friday 26th June 2015.
Rocks and Rivers: Masterpieces of Landscape Painting from the Lunde Collection. Tico Seifert, SNG Senior Curator Early Netherlandish, Dutch and Flemish Art, will celebrate the long-term loan of thirteen works from the distinguished private collection of Asbjorn Lunde, New York; a series of extraordinary landscape paintings by Norwegian and Swiss artists such as Johan Christian Dahl, Alexandre Calame and Thomas Fearnley will be seen in Scotland for the first time. This lecture will introduce the artists and paintings, to highlight this important but little known chapter in 19th century landscape painting. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed.
eBook Surgery: find out about eBooks, emagazines and audiobooks. 10.30am-12.30pm (drop-in), Newington Library, Fountainhall Road. Also at same times on Tuesday 30th June.
Edinburgh International Film Festival continues today! For details of all films and other events see the programme here or pick up a paper copy at EIFF venues and many other locations throughout the city. Tickets are available in person from the Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Cineworld, Fountain Park, Odeon, Lothian Road and the Festival Theatre, by calling 0131 623 8030 or online here. Today’s highlights include The First Film, the story of Louis Aime Augustine Le Prince’s pioneering work in film projection – and his sudden and still unexplained disappearance in 1890, and Maggie, ‘a zombie film with an art-house sensibility’ in which Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a Midwest farmer who is determined to bring his daughter home after she is infected by cannibalistic zombies, ‘an engrossing, engaging and genuinely moving film’. Plus a special evening of videos by artist Stephen Sutcliffe, who creates moving image collages through a careful and intuitive editing process; the evening is presented by Talbot Rice Gallery in association with LUX, and will be accompanied by the artist in conversation.
Wester Hailes Community Connections: a festival celebrating community life, past, present and future. Today: Big Walk: Paint It Back – featuring The Edinburgh Sketcher! A guided walk with a local historian, highlighting past, present and future sites key to Wester Hailes; The Edinburgh Sketcher will draw selected locations. 12 noon-3pm, meet at the Totem Pole, Westside Waterfront, Wester Hailes. For more information about this or any other event in the Community Connections Festival, please call Sarah Walker on 0131 458 3267 or email sarah@whalearts.co.uk.
Scottish Episcopal Church Diocesan Office Open Day: come and meet the staff and enjoy some tea and cake to raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care. 11am-3pm, Diocesan Office, 21a Grosvenor Crescent.
Blackwell’s Edinburgh Presents Tessa Ransford: A Good Cause. The poet, translator, literary editor and founder of the Scottish Poetry Library launches her new selection of previously uncollected poems. 6.30-8pm, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. Free tickets are available from the shop’s front desk, by calling 0131 622 8218, by emailing events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk or via eventbrite here.
Summer Colour: new paintings by Jonathan Meuli, glasswork by Stuart Ackroyd, ceramics by Rupert Merton, paintings by Alan McPherson and jewellery by Cecile Gilbert. 10.30am-5.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday, closed Sundays and Mondays, Gallery Ten, Stafford Street. Ends 27th July 2015.
Leith Folk Club: Alastair McDonald. The club welcomes one of Scotland’s most loved, most talented and most versatile showbiz personalities who often humbly describes himself as ‘a banjo player’. With support Bare. 7.30pm, Victoria Park House Hotel, 221 Ferry Road. Tickets cost £9 on the door (sta), in advance by texting 07502 024 852 or online here.
Hare: the unreliable final confession of William Hare regarding his acquaintance with William Burke, with interruptions and contradictions by Mrs Margaret Hare. Edinburgh was scandalised when murderer William Hare was released after turning King’s evidence and sending his partner, William Burke, to the gallows; in this dramatic telling, Hare and his wife look back and reluctantly recount, in sordid detail, their memories of the year 1828 and what became known as The Westport Murders. Written and performed by John and Noreen Hamilton of Heritage Stories. For over 16s only. 7.30pm, Netherbow Theatre, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £8/£6 and may be purchased from the Box Office by calling 0131 556 9579 or online here.
WEDNESDAY 24TH JUNE 2015
June Through July: a new mixed exhibition by Morag Muir, Fraser Haston, Jane Binks and Ingrid Nilsson. 9am-5pm Wednesday to Sunday (closed Monday & Tuesday), Bon Papillon Gallery, Cafe and Framers, 15 Howe Street.
[tweet_box design=”default”]Wester Hailes Community Connections: a festival celebrating community life, past, present and future is on this week.[/tweet_box]
Today: Tea in the Park for the Over 50s: tea and scones, old photographs and live music. Organised by Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust. 2-3pm, Hailes Quarry Park, Dumbryden Drive, Wester Hailes.
For more information about this or any other event in the Community Connections Festival, please call Sarah Walker on 0131 458 3267 or email sarah@whalearts.co.uk
Benji The Play Talk Read Bus is in Pilton today! Free songs, stories and play sessions for young children, their parents and carers. 10am-1pm and 2-4pm, West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre, West Pilton Grove.
LGBT Gay Men’s Book Group: an inclusive group where you can meet new people and read and discuss interesting books. 7-9pm, LGBT Health and Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. For more information please contact info@gaybookgroup.co.uk.
Edinburgh International Film Festival continues today! For details of all films and other events see the programme here or pick up a paper copy at EIFF venues and many other locations throughout the city. Tickets are available in person from the Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Cineworld, Fountain Park, Odeon, Lothian Road and the Festival Theatre, by calling 0131 623 8030 or online here. Today’s highlights include Wizards, Ralph Bakshi’s first family film, about a post-apocalyptic world in which techonology has been lost and abandoned, allowing magical forces to resurface on earth, and Battle Mountain: Graeme Obree’s Story, David Street’s documentary that follows ‘The Flying Scotsman’ as he prepares for a human-powered vehicle land speed record attempt in Nevada – plus In Person: Johnnie To, a conversation with the Hong Kong director of Exiled, Election and Mad Detective, known for his sense of realism mixed with cinematic flourish.
Breastfeeding Awareness Week: NHS Lothian’s Infant Feeding Team will answer any questions you may have – plus free gifts and fun goodies for the children! 10.30am-12 noon (after Rhymetime) Leith Library, 28 Ferry Road. Also at 10.30am-12 noon at Muirhouse Library on Friday 26th June 2015.
Storytime with the White Rabbit: a special session to celebrate Independent Booksellers Week, with the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. 3pm, Far From the Madding Crowd, 20 High Street, Linlithgow.
The New Livingstone Online. David Livingstone left one of the most important written legacies of any Victorian traveller to Africa; members of the team will discuss the most recent phase of this 10 year digital project to bring Livingstone’s original works to a global audience. 2pm, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge. Free but please book by calling 0131 623 3734 or online here.
LGBT Icebreakers: if you want to meet new people, don’t feel confident going out on the ‘scene’ or are just coming out, Icebreakers is for you. An informal, fun and friendly social group for LGBT people or anyone questioning their sexuality or gender identity. For over 18s only. 7.30-9.30pm, The Regent, Montrose Terrace. For more information please contact Alison Wren on 0131 652 3283 or email alison@lgbthealth.org.uk.
Remembering Srebrenica: July 2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre, in which more than 8,000 Bosniaks, mainly men and boys, from the town of Srebrenica were killed by units of the army of Republika Srpska under the command of General Ratko Mladic. To mark this anniversary the University of Edinburgh has brought together a distinguished panel of academics and practitioners to consider some of the lessons to be learned from these events in the Bosnian wars. The panelists will be international and human rights lawyer Professor Manfred Nowak (University of Vienna), Adam Boys OBE (Director of Corporate Services, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance) and Christine Bell, Professor of Constitutional Law (University of Edinburgh); 
moderated by Dr Allison Elliott. 5.30pm, New College, Martin Hall, Mound Place. Free and open to all, but registration is required via eventbrite here.
Skylark Surf Week: Portobello Film Club. Tonight’s film is Point Break (15): Young FBI agent Utah (Keanu Reeves) infiltrates a surfing community in an attempt to find some unusual bank robbers – ‘possibly the most gnarly and bodacious film you will ever see in a pub’. 8pm, The Skylark, 241-243 Portobello High Street.
Blackwell’s Edinburgh Presents Moira McPartlin: Day of the Doomed. The author of the highly successful debut novel The Incomers launches her first book for Young Adult readers, set in 2089, when the world is divided into the Privileged few and the Native (Celtic) underclass. 6.30-8pm, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. Free tickets are available from the shop’s front desk, by calling 0131 622 8218, by emailing events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk or via eventbrite here.
Get Organised Summer Recitals 2015: John Kitchen plays another programme of audience requests. 1.10-1.50pm, Usher Hall, Lothian Road. £4 per person on the door, or in advance from the Usher Hall Box Office on 0131 228 1155 or online here (transaction fee applies to phone and online bookings). Recitals resume on 1st September 2015.
Midsummer’s Ceilidh: celebrate midsummer with dancing to the Minnow Band. Stan Reeves will call you through some seasonal dances, and there will be mayhem with the ancient Galoshins folk drama heralding in the light and warmth of summer with a resurrection. 7.30pm, Storytelling Court, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £7/£5 and may be purchased from the Box Office by calling 0131 556 9579 or online here.
Lunchtime Concert: Piano Speak with Will Pickvance. 12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.
THURSDAY 25TH JUNE 2015
Leith School of Art Summer Exhibition: a showcase of the work of the School’s students at the end of their year-long and part-time courses. The School has introduced several new courses in 2014-15, so the exhibition will take place over all three campuses: 10am-4pm today at St James’ campus only, then at same times at St James, North Junction Street and Coburg House Studios on Friday 26th, Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th June (please note: St James campus will be only be open 1-4pm on Sunday 28th). For full details see the School’s website here.
Cameo Big Scream: screenings exclusively for parents and carers with babies under the age of 12 months. Today’s film is Mr Holmes (PG), starring Ian McKellen in ‘a refreshing new perspective on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved literary creation’. 10.30am, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased in person, by calling the Box Office on 0871 902 5723 or online here. Membership of the Big Scream Club costs £5 and lasts until your baby’s first birthday: club members can buy tickets for these screenings at Picturehouse members’ rates – babies are admitted free.
Inspired to be Peace People: A Summer Interfaith Peace Occasion. Hindu and Muslim readings, meditation and music; Dr Roger Hyam will speak on The Buddha: A Life for and of Peace, and the Rev Brian Cooper will talk about Jesus of Nazareth: A Life for and of Peace. 7.30pm, Edinburgh Theosophical Society, 28 Great King Street. All welcome: £2 per person (£1 for members of the Society). Organised by Edinburgh Inter Faith Association.
Benji The Play Talk Read Bus is at Pennywell Shops today! Free songs, stories and play sessions for young children, their parents and carers. 10am-1pm and 2-4pm, Pennywell Shops, Pennywell Road.
Edinburgh College of Art Live Q & A: Life as an Art Student. If you’re thinking of studying art, this is a chance to talk to undergraduate students and ask your questions about ECA programmes, student life at ECA and living in the city. There are three sessions, and you may register for as many as you like: (1) 3-4.30pm: MA Fine Art (2) 4-5.30pm, BA (Hons) Art (Painting and Sculpture) (3) 5-6.30pm BA (Hons) Art (Photography and Intermedia). Registration may be made via eventbrite here. Please note that students will not be able to provide advice on application processes; these queries should be directed to HSSUG@ed.ac.uk.
Live Music Now: Grainne Brady and Tina Jordan Rees. A young fiddle and piano duo from Cavan and Lancashire, playing unique arrangements of their own exciting compositions, inspired by traditional Irish and Scottish music – with a spot of percussive Irish step dance! 6-6.30pm, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free and unticketed.
Summer Carbon Conversations with the Himalayan Centre: a programme of six free weekly sessions (you can attend as many sessions as you wish) to support people who want to reduce their carbon impact. Today: Introduction to a Low Carbon Future; next week: Energy in the Home. Refreshments provided . 6-8pm, The Junction, 82 Great Junction Street. For more information and to book, please contact victoria@himalayancentre.org or call 07851 802 002.
Edinburgh International Film Festival continues today! For details of all films and other events see the programme here or pick up a paper copy at EIFF venues and many other locations throughout the city. Tickets are available in person from the Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Cineworld, Fountain Park, Odeon, Lothian Road and the Festival Theatre, by calling 0131 623 8030 or online here. Today’s highlights include International Animation: Panorama, a selection featuring some of the best auteur films released over the past year, The Long Riders, Walter Hill’s first true western and the story of the legendary James Gang, and Barry Purves – The Naked Animator, a special in-person event celebrating the 60th birthday of one of Britain’s eminent animators and offering a revealing insight into the creative process of an artist.
Lunchtime Concert: Kiana Shafiei (piano). 12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.
Ragged University: Carbon Conscious Adventures/Genghis Khan. In the first of the evening’s sessions, Simon Byrom will talk about his International Carbon Conscious Bicycle Powered Pedalling Adventures on an inspiring adventure from Sydney through Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, China, Mongolia and Russia. He aims to encourage others to take up independent travel and to raise awareness that another world is possible beyond the current paradigm of power, money and fossil fuel dependency. After a break for refreshments (everyone is asked to bring a food contribution), Donald Carrick will talk on Temujin Rising: How a Slave Would Change World History, using the story of Genghis Khan to show that humans need narrative structure to understand history, and that whether a story is true or not, we seek to make it obey the same rules. 7pm, The Counting House, West Nicolson Street. No booking required, just drop in: all Ragged University events are free. The Ragged Project is about people who love what they do sharing what they have invested their time in. ‘Knowledge is power, but only when it is shared’.
Meet the Glasshouse Staff: find out more about the Botanics’ stunning collection of glasshouse plants from the people who care for them. Each month you can meet a different member of the indoor horticulture team – this time hear about the plants in the Arid House from Gunnar. 1-2pm, Glasshouse, Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Place. 
Free with admission to the Glasshouse, which costs £5/£4 (accompanied children under 15 and essential carers free).
Skylark Surf Week: Seaside Steve’s Poseidon Adventure Quiz. This time expect to know the average length of a giant siphonophore or the depth of the Marianas Trench… 8pm, The Skylark, 241-243 Portobello High Street.
Waterstones Presents An Evening with Adam Handling: culinary delights with the Scottish Chef of the Year, who will give an insight into what it takes to reach the final of Masterchef: The Professionals and become the Head Chef at one of London’s finest restaurants. Plus a chance to sample Adam’s famed chocolate orange pistachio cake! 6pm, Waterstones George Street, 83 George Street. Free but please book by emailing edinburghgeorgest@waterstones.com. For more information please call 0131 225 3436.
Annuale – Tardis: A Mini Art Exhibition in Leith Walk Police Box. Small-scale objects, paintings, video, sound and light will transform the Police Box in a colourful and playful exhibition by Emma Macleod. 6-9pm tonight and 1-9pm on Friday 26th June, Leith Walk Police Box, Croall Place, Leith Walk. This event forms part of Embassy Annuale 2015
Inside History: John Knox House Revealed. Storyteller and former curator Donald Smith leads a walking tour whilst enacting the true dramas of John Knox House – might Mary, Queen of Scots’ jewels still be hidden there? Why is the building full of Roman Catholic symbolism? And why did John Knox rewrite Scotland’s history – in this house? 1pm or 3pm, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £5 (includes entry to John Knox House) and may be purchased from the Box Office by calling 0131 556 9579 or online here.
Spark Greyfriars: Greyfriars Organ 25th Birthday Afternoon Tea Concert. City organist Dr John Kitchen will play a concert of beautiful and tuneful light organ music, which will be followed by tea and cake to celebrate the birthday of the dedication of the Peter Collins organ. 3pm, Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place. Tickets cost £5 and may be purchased from the Queen’s Hall Box Office in person or by calling 0131 668 2019.
Ladies of Pleasure: an historic guide to the intimate pleasures available to Gentlemen in Eighteenth Century Edinburgh – not for the faint hearted! Madame will guide you through the opportunities available in conversation with a gentleman, a long-time aficionado of these pleasures. The occasion will be supplemented with songs and poetry of a bawdy nature, penned by Robert Burns and others. Written and performed by John and Noreen Hamilton of Heritage Stories, this revelation of Edinburgh’s historic nightlife still has the power to shock. For over 16s only. 7.30pm, Netherbow Theatre, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £8/£6 and may be purchased from the Box Office by calling 0131 556 9579 or online here.
Guilty As Sin: 9pm, Old Chain Pier, Trinity Crescent.
FRIDAY 26TH JUNE 2015
Inseparable: an exhibition of portraits of people in Russia with Down’s Syndrome, aged from 5 to 50 years. The portraits are by award-winning master of photography Vladimir Mishukov. 9am-1pm and 2-5pm, Monday to Saturday, 12 noon-3pm Sundays, St Mary’s Cathedral, Palmerston Place. The exhibition has been organised by the cathedral in partnership with Down’s Syndrome Scotland and the Russian Consulate. Closes 18th July 2015.
Benji The Play Talk Read Bus is in Castle Street today! Free songs, stories and play sessions for young children, their parents and carers. 10am-1pm and 2-4pm, Castle Street.
Gallery Social: Jean-Etienne Liotard. A relaxed and informal guided tour with refreshments for anyone affected by dementia, and their relatives, friends and supporters. 10.30am-12 noon, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound (meet at the Information Desk, Gardens entrance). Free but please book by calling 0131 624 6560. Supported by the Friends of NGS.
LGBT Age: Scottish Parliament Tour. Come and hear about the history, work and procedures of the Parliament, and the architecture of its award-winning building. 10.30am-12.30pm, Scottish Parliament, Holyrood. Booking is essential and may be made by contacting lynda@lgbthealth.org.uk. LGBT Age is a project run by LGBT Health & Wellbeing for LGBT people over the age of 50; it offers a befriending service, social programme and information sessions. For more information click here.
Edinburgh International Film Festival continues today! For details of all films and other events see the programme here or pick up a paper copy at EIFF venues and many other locations throughout the city. Tickets are available in person from the Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Cineworld, Fountain Park, Odeon, Lothian Road and the Festival Theatre, by calling 0131 623 8030 or online here. Today’s highlights include Kaleidoscope, Telemach Wiesinger’s idiosyncratic, feature-length film poem weaving together numerous journeys across Europe and America, set to an innovative soundtrack, In Person: Malcolm McDowell, in which the actor was to talk about highlights from his career, including his roles in If… and A Clockwork Orange, has been cancelled but the Festival Awards Ceremony, at which you can be the first to find out about this year’s winners and to see the exclusive trophies made by the Grassmarket Community Project’s woodshop.
Breastfeeding Awareness Week: NHS Lothian’s Infant Feeding Team will answer any questions you may have – plus free gifts and fun goodies for the children! 10.30am-12 noon (after Rhymetime) Muirhouse Library, 15 Pennywell Court.
Leith School of Art Summer Exhibition: a showcase of the work of the School’s students at the end of their year-long and part-time courses. The School has introduced several new courses in 2014-15, so the exhibition will take place over all three campuses: 10am-4pm at St James, North Junction Street and Coburg House Studios; also at same times on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th June (please note: St James campus will be only be open 1-4pm on Sunday 28th). For full details see the School’s website here.
Lunchtime Concert: Sacramento Master Singers, California. 12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.
LGBT Women’s Wellbeing Group: an inclusive group that offers the chance to meet other LGBT women in a relaxed environment. Chat, info and activities promoting health and wellbeing. The group welcomes all LGBT women and transgender people who identify primarily as women. Today’s theme is ‘Holiday‘ and the group will take a walk along Portobello Prom before enjoying a well-deserved drink. 2-4.30pm. For information on meeting place and to be added to the group’s email list, please contact Alison Wren on 0131 652 3283 or email alison@lgbthealth.org.uk.
Robert Louis Stevenson and his Literary Networks: writer and researcher Duncan Milne considers Robert Louis Stevenson’s place in a wider Victorian literary society. Stevenson corresponded and even collaborated with a number of iconic writers, from Thomas Hardy to Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, JM Barrie and even Henry James; his contacts give a unique insight into a world of inspiration, emulation, cooperation and dispute – a telling portrait of Victorian publication and the world of literature in general. 10.30am, Museum of Edinburgh, 142 Canongate. Tickets cost £5/£3.50 per person and must be purchased in advance from the Usher Hall Box Office, in person, by calling 0131 228 1155 or online here (transaction fee applies to phone and online bookings).
Skylark Surf Week: Jake and Rory’s Ocean of Psychedelia. Music, visuals, and possibly some very weird dancing.. 7.30pm, The Skylark, 241.243 Portobello High Street.
LGBT Film Nights: see LGBT themed and mainstream films in a sociable setting. 7pm (film starts at 7), LGBT Health and Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. For more information and to join the mailing list please contact admin@lgbthealth.org.uk.
Bloody Scotland Presents East vs West Scottish Crime Fiction: Craig Robertson and Michael Malone chair an evening with three of Scotland’s leading crime writers, Neil Broadfoot, Frank Muir and Doug Johnstone. 6.30pm, Waterstones George Street, 83 George Street. Free but please book by emailing edinburghgeorgest@waterstones.com, or for more information please call 0131 225 3436. Read The Edinburgh Reporter on the launch of Neil Broadfoot’s latest thriller, The Storm here.
St Margaret’s House/Edinburgh Palette: New Exhibitions: (1) 14.15: Fourteen former Edinburgh College students ‘trying to figure out their place in the world’; (2) 24: Dominic McIvor – large scale works by the recent Gray’s School of Art graduate; (3) From a Horizontal Line: Robyn Benson – new works exploring the structural capabilities of the curve. Previews tonight, then 10am-6pm daily, St Margaret’s House, 151 London Road. All three exhibitions end 12th July 2015.
The Liar’s Tour of the Scottish Storytelling Centre: a unique and fun tour with storyteller James Spence. It is the stuff of legend, forged from lies, banter, outlandishness and sheer cheek; enter this parallel universe of tall tales, and know that the truth is out there somewhere, but strangely absent from here. See the Centre in a strange new light, through the jaundiced eye of a storyteller. 1pm or 3pm, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £5 (includes entry to John Knox House) and may be purchased from the Box Office by calling 0131 556 9579 or online here.
Guid Crack: Eejits and Hissy Fits. Join storyteller Fiona Herbert for tales of stupidity and stroppiness. Join in with a tale of your own, or just come to listen. Edinburgh’s monthly storytelling night: accompanied young adults welcome. 7.30pm, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Free: suggested donation £3 per person.
Harpsichord Recital: John Kitchen will play Suite in C attrib. Louis Couperin, Handel Overture in Sansom, JS Bach Capriccio on the departure of his beloved brother BWV 992 and Forqueray La Mandoline, La Regente et La Leclair. 8pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Admission is by programme and costs £6, free to Friends of the Music of St Giles’ Cathedral, in association with whom this concert has been organised.
Cream O’ The Croft: your first chance to escape the capital this weekend is a new festival. Although it’s dedicated to Scottish mountain biking, Cream O’ The Croft is aiming to be much more – so in addition to Funduro (‘a mashup featuring multiple timed stages; blue, red and black grade downhills; one hill climb; a head-to-head dual slalom and pump track challenge’ – which presumably makes sense to those of you who need to know…), bike races and challenges for all ages and bike coaching, there will be pedal-powered films, a big bike jumble sale, live music throughout the weekend, lots of children’s activities (water slide, crafts, action, adventure and a pop-up wildlife park) and plenty of local food and drink (including Alchemy’s Bunny Hop ale, brewed specially for the festival). Gates open 3pm today, Comrie Croft, Crieff, PH7 4JZ. The Festival ends at 4pm on Sunday 28th June. For more information, including accommodation options, click here and to book your tickets via eventbrite click here.
SATURDAY 27TH JUNE 2015
Alan Windram: Mac and Bob. A special Independent Booksellers Week event for young children, with the author of the Mac and Bob stories. 12 noon, The Book Bothy, Far From the Madding Crowd, 20 High Street, Linlithgow.
Edinburgh Canal Festival and Raft Race: boat trips, canoe tasters, birds of prey, stalls, food, classic cars, wee boat flotilla, model boats, activities, ponies, Edinburgh Printmakers, water walkers, children’s art and play, music and dance with The Fed Peasants, Little Love and the Friendly Vibes, Rise Kagona, Sylvain Ayite, Mathieu Thomas (Parc en Ciel), Father Jack, Boorach, Lara’s Belly Dancers and Tollcross Galoshins. Visit The Forge Workshops, Scrapstore and Grove 2 Plants and Crafts at the Fountainbride Meanwhile Site. 12 noon (opening ceremony), 3pm (raft race), 4pm (raft race prizes), Lochrin Basin, Edinburgh Quay, Fountainbridge. If you would like to enter the raft race, please email race@edinburghcanalfestival.org.uk.
Wester Hailes Community Connections: a festival celebrating community life, past, present and future. The festival closes today, with a film night at which you can see Our Place in Time poetry video, The Huts (1984) and Let’s Meet at the Underpass, and also attend the opening of local photographer Raymond Keith’s exhibition celebrating Wester Hailes community life. Raymond is a professional photographer who also runs monthly WHALE Snappers sessions – photography sessions for all levels of ability and experience. Refreshments will be served and fun will be had! 6pm onwards, WHALE Arts, 30 Westburn Grove. For more information about this or any other event in the Community Connections Festival, please call Sarah Walker on 0131 458 3267 or email sarah@whalearts.co.uk
Opening Lecture: MC Escher. Micky Piller, Chief Curator at Escher in Het Palais, the monographic museum on the life and work of MC Escher in The Hague, discusses the artist’s life and work to celebrate the opening of the MC Escher exhibition at the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art TWO. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Tickets cost £5/£4 and may be purchased from the Information Desk in the National Gallery or by calling 0131 624 6560.
Scottish Waterways Trust Wildflower Survey: become a ‘citizen scientist’ and help to discover more about the plants growing on the canalside in Edinburgh. Develop your plant ID skills, make new friends and have fun. 10.30am-1pm, Water of Leith Conservation Trust, 24 Lanark Road. For more information please contact Anna Canning on 07790 885969 or email anna.canning@blueyonder.co.uk.
Gasland: a film about fracking. 7-10pm, Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh, 17 West Montgomery Place. The Autonomous Centre is a self-managed social resource centre, open for the use of groups and individuals who are trying to make a better society and improve their lives. Newcomers very welcome!
Lunchtime Concert: Dreghorn Musical Society, Edinburgh. 12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.
Leith School of Art Summer Exhibition: a showcase of the work of the School’s students at the end of their year-long and part-time courses. The School has introduced several new courses in 2014-15, so the exhibition will take place over all three campuses: 10am-4pm at St James, North Junction Street and Coburg House Studios; also at same times on Sunday 28th June (please note: St James campus will be only be open 1-4pm on Sunday 28th). For full details see the School’s website here.
National Gallery Highlights Tours: an introduction to and tour of the National Gallery’s permanent collection, focusing on key paintings. 2-2.45pm or 3-3.45pm, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free: no booking required.
Phyllida Barlow: set. A major new exhibition of work made especially for the Gallery by one of the international art world’s brightest stars. Barlow is known for her monumental sculptures made from simple materials; physically impressive and materially insistent, her sculptures are inspired by the outside world and by the experience of living and looking. 11am-6pm Monday to Saturday, 12 noon-5pm Sundays, The Fruitmarket Gallery, 45 Market Street. Ends 18th October 2015.
Edinburgh International Film Festival continues today! For details of all films and other events see the programme here or pick up a paper copy at EIFF venues and many other locations throughout the city. Tickets are available in person from the Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Cineworld, Fountain Park, Odeon, Lothian Road and the Festival Theatre, by calling 0131 623 8030 or online here. Today’s highlights include Edinburgh Schools Film Competition (Primary) – shorts by young people from the city’s schools, selected by the EIFF Youth Jury, You’re Ugly Too, ‘a bittersweet and gently humorous drama’ focusing on the relationship between newly orphaned 11 year old Stacey and her recently-paroled uncle Will, and Black Box Live: ‘Tyburnia’ with Dead Rat Orchestra, ‘an immersive cine-concert combining the artistry of film with the craft of music’. James Holcombe’s analogue film images tell the story of the Tyburn gallows; they will be accompanied by a live performance of ballads and musical laments.
Skylark Surf Week: Release the Kraken! A night of carousing, maritime folk music and rum. 9pm, The Skylark, 241-243 Portobello High Street.
Ragged University: IT and Biscuits. If you’d like to learn something on your computer, get to grips with basic computer skills, find free (legal) software or have other computer questions, come along to this free IT workshop for tutorials and person to person guidance on all aspects of computers and software. Relax in a social setting: tea and biscuits provided! You will need a laptop (or you can borrow one if you need to) and an active membership of Edinburgh City Libraries. 1-4pm, George Washington Browne Room, Central Library, George IV Bridge.
Edinburgh Printmakers: Photography in Print – a Gallery Discussion. This event complements the new Edinburgh Printmakers Members’ exhibition, Photography in Print, which is part of the ACTINIC Festival. Participating artists and professionals in the fields of printmaking and photography will discuss their work, the conflux of these media and their personal experience of these practices, giving a unique insight into the conceptual and technical aspects of their artistic practice and study. An open dialogue will be encouraged between the panel and visitors, with an opportunity to ask questions and allow a creative free-flow of information and debate. 3-4pm, Edinburgh Printmakers, Union Street. Free: no booking required. The discussion will be followed by a preview of the exhibition from 4pm to 6pm. The exhibition will then be open 10am-6pm, Tuesday to Saturday, until 25th July 2015.
Edinburgh Society of Musicians: The Chapter House Ensemble. Shane Brogan (accordion) and Joern Pfaff (piano) play an eclectic repertoire of Argentine tango, classical, ethnic, jazz and popular music. 7.30pm (prompt), Edinburgh Society of Musicians, 3 Belford Road. The Edinburgh Society of Musicians has been promoting practical music-making in Edinburgh since 1887. Admission is free and non-members are welcomed.
The Chippendale International School of Furniture Edinburgh Exhibition: come and see the work of this year’s graduates from the acclaimed East Lothian School; many pieces will be for sale. 10am-4pm, Gayfield Creative Spaces, Gayfield Square. Also at same times on Sunday 28th June, and 10am-6pm on Monday 29th June, Tuesday 30th June and Wednesday 1st July, with a private view 6-8pm on Monday 29th. For further information please contact Charlie Laidlaw on 07890 396518 or email info@chippendale.co.uk.
St John’s Summer Quiz Night: bring your own team or join one on the night, and test your mettle against Quizmaster and Associate Rector Stephen Holmes. Wine and nibbles provided; prize for the winners. 7.30pm, St John’s Church, Princes Street. £8/£6; all proceeds will go to St John’s Development Fund.
East Neuk Festival: your second chance to get out of the city this weekend is a friendly festival of one-off events in a picturesque corner of Fife. Classical music, from Bach to Britten, and a ‘festival within a festival’, Littoral, a weekend of literary events celebrating our connections with nature, landscape and seascape and featuring Helen Macdonald, Tom Pow, Sir John Lister-Kaye, talks, a photography workshop and a tree walk with Jim Crumley. Littoral begins at 11.30am today and ends on Sunday evening; the music festival begins today at 7.30pm and continues through the week, concluding with the Festival Finale in Cambo Gardens on Sunday 5th July. For information and to book tickets, see the Festival’s website here or pick up a brochure from various Edinburgh venues.
SUNDAY 28TH JUNE 2015
Scotland’s Gardens: Tyninghame House. 17th century pink sandstone Scottish baronial house with herbaceous borders, rose garden, Lady Haddington’s Secret Garden, formal walled garden and beech avenue to the sea, with the Romanesque ruin of St Baldred’s Church giving views across the Tyne estuary and Lammermuir Hills. Refreshments available; plant sales. 1-5pm, Tyninghame House, Dunbar, EH42 1XW. Admission £5 (children free) of which 40% goes to The Project Trust and the net remainder to Scottish Gardens’ beneficiaries.
Storytelling: Tales of Magic and Mystery. Join storyteller and musician Marion Kenny for tales and tunes inspired by the Portrait Gallery murals. For ages 7+. 2pm or 3pm (45 minutes sessions), Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free and unticketed.
Edinburgh City Singers Summer Concert: an evening of musical entertainment – pop, musicals, a bit of classical, and everything in between. Songs featured include Bohemian Rhapsody, California Dreamin’, Penny Lane, For the Beauty of the Earth, and Call Me Maybe. 7pm (doors open 6.20pm), St Cuthbert’s Church, 5 Lothian Road. Tickets cost £7/£5 on the door or in advance here.
Cameo Vintage Sundays: classic films back on the big screen. Today’s film is Goldfinger (PG). 1pm, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased in person, by calling the Box Office on 0871 902 5723 or online here.
Lauriston Castle Teddy Bears’ Picnic. Bring your teddy bear along to a special family day with crafts and woodland trails, and a cartoonist to draw a portrait of your bear! Bring your own picnic – cake, strawberries and ginger beer will be provided. 11am-2pm, Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South. £6 per person: bookings must be made in advance via the Usher Hall Box Office, Lothian Road, in person, by calling 0131 228 1155 or online here. Please note that this is a family event; all children must be accompanied by at least one paying adult.
Leith School of Art Summer Exhibition: a showcase of the work of the School’s students at the end of their year-long and part-time courses. The School has introduced several new courses in 2014-15, so the exhibition will take place over all three campuses: 10am-4pm at North Junction Street and Coburg House Studios, 1-4pm at St James’ campus. For full details see the School’s website here.
LGBT Me & T Monthly: a supportive space for people who have friends, family or partners who are transgender or exploring their gender – an opportunity to meet other people who may have similar experiences, questions or concerns. 2-4pm, LGBT Health and Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. For more information please contact me.and.t.scotland@gmail.com at any time.
Edinburgh International Film Festival concludes today! For details of all films and other events see the programme here or pick up a paper copy at EIFF venues and many other locations throughout the city. Tickets are available in person from the Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Cineworld, Fountain Park, Odeon, Lothian Road and the Festival Theatre, by calling 0131 623 8030 or online here. Today’s highlights include Edinburgh Schools Film Competition (Secondary), The D Train, an edgy comedy-drama starring Jack Black and James Marsden that became a cult buzz-film at Sundance this year, Salem’s Lot, Tobe Hooper’s atmospheric 1979 adaptation of Stephen King’s chilling vampire novel, and the EIFF Closing Night Gala film, Iona, ‘a story that takes in family traumas, religion, domestic violence and pastoral glory, but never loses track of the haunting story of a young woman whose return to the Christian community on the island of her birth is the dramatic core of the film’.
Ragged University Film and Curry Night: come along for a vegetarian meal, watch a film together and chat about it afterwards. This evening’s film is Food Inc. 6pm, Serenity Cafe, Jackson’s Entry, The Tun, Holyrood Road. All welcome: free – including a free vegetarian curry for which the ingredients have been donated: Serenity is, however, a social enterprise, so a donation is requested from those who can afford to make one. The conversation will be filmed to share online with those who cannot attend.
Canongate Concerts: Scottish Waverley Ensemble plays Bach B Minor Mass. 7.30pm, Canongate Kirk, 153 Canongate.
Shore Poets – June: poetry, music and a raffle for the famous lemon cake. 7.45pm, Henderson’s @ St John’s, Lothian Road (down the steps, under the church). £5/£3 on the door.
Rock & Roll Ping Pong: a free, monthly, Sunday night social with DJ Ding and DJ Dong. Free play, silly ping pong games and music of every genre to play along to. 7-11pm, The Bongo Club, 66 Cowgate. Free.
St Giles’ At Six: Con Flauto Dolce. Music for recorder ensemble and harpsichord, including works by Dowland, Handel and Scarlatti. 6pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.
