Monday in Edinburgh – What’s On Today

Cameo Toddler Time: Bing Programme 4 – Bake, Train, Say Goodbye, Lost and Picnic (U). Short screenings for pre-school children, their parents and carers. Bing is a groundbreaking TV series for CBeebies, celebrating the noisy, joyful, messy reality of life as a preschooler and also offering carers strategies for dealing with the trickier moments. 11am, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets cost £3 per child (accompanying adults free) and may be obtained from the Box Office in person, by calling the Box Office on 0871 902 5723 or online here. No adult will be admitted without a child.

Guided Tour of the National Library: a guided tour of the building and an introduction to the library’s collections and history. 2pm, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge. Free but booking is essential and may be made in person, by calling 0131 623 3734 or online here.

Lunchtime Recital: Ivor Clayman (baritone) and John Bryden (piano). 1.10pm, St Mary’s Cathedral, Palmerston Place. Free: retiring collection.

Grassmarket Community Cinema: Night on Earth (15). A collection of five stories involving cab drivers in five different cities – Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Rome and Helsinki – starring Winona Ryder, Gena Rowlands, Lisanne Falk and Beatrice Dalle. Written & directed by Jim Jarmusch, this is a ‘compassionate comedy of missed connections….In Jarmusch’s decidedly un-Disneyish view, it’s not a small world after all’ (Rolling Stone). 7pm, Grassmarket Community Project, 86 Candlemaker Row. All welcome; free – donations to the Project also very welcome. The cafe will be open – please use it!

Machines that Make Art: Sol LeWitt and Martin Creed. Professor Andrew Patrizio (University of Edinburgh) discusses Sol LeWitt, the pioneer of conceptual art well-known as both an artist and writer, who developed a beautifully systematic approach to creating his work. LeWitt exhibits in the same space as Scottish artist and Turner Prize-winner Martin Creed, who has taken LeWitt’s certainty with systems and made it his subject too, yet in a more obviously humorous spirit. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed.

For Crying Out Loud: exclusive screenings for parents and carers and their babies under 12 months. Baby changing, bottle-warming and buggy parking facilities are available. Today’s film is Love & Mercy (12A): Bill Pohlad’s ‘mesmeric’ film focuses on two contrasting periods in the life of Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson. ‘An elusive and enthralling film’. 11am, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets cost £4.50/£3.50 per adult (maximum 2 adults per baby) and may be obtained from the Box Office in person or by calling 0131 228 6382.

Meet the Edible Gardening Team: take a look round the productive garden with the Edible Gardening Project volunteers. Find out what jobs need doing in your own garden now and have your vegetable gardening questions answered. 1-3pm, Demonstration Garden, Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Row. Free and unticketed. Also at same times on Tuesday 1st September 2015.

Cameo Culture Shock: the best in cult and genre films. Today: Godzilla vs King Kong Double Bill (PG). Godzilla, Ishiro Honda’s 1954 classic – the country’s first foray into the big budget feature – is a fierce indictment of the atomic age, and spawned more than twenty sequels over fifty years, whilst Schoedsack and Cooper’s original King Kong (1933) still impresses for its technical effects, though its real strength lies in the story (by Edgar Wallace) and the script. 7pm, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be obtained from the Box Office in person, by calling the Box Office on 0871 902 5723 or online here: prices vary.

Just Together – Festival Closing Party: bringing together many strands of the festival in words, music and dance, featuring guest performers from a mixture of cultures and wisdom. The party will be followed by a lantern release and reception – see the fireworks from St John’s terrace at 9.30! 8-9pm (reception follows), St John’s Episcopal Church, Princes Street. All welcome, free – no booking required.

Leith Links Community Council Meeting: 7pm, Persevere Room, Leith Community Education Centre, 12a New Kirkgate. All members of the local community welcome.

Write Shoot Cut (18). Presented by Screen Education Edinburgh in partnership with Filmhouse, the Write Shoot Cut platform is dedicated to celebrating and showcasing independent short films from Scotland. This month’s screenings are Willy and His Balls by Craig James Moncur, Miami by Robin Haig, Work by Ross Hornby and Mark Cox, Something Pure by Sean Young and Radge Land by Robbie Davidson. Each film will be followed by a Q & A session with the filmmakers involved. An excellent opportunity for filmmakers and anyone interested in Scottish film to connect with the local scene, watch some great films, network afterwards in the bar and meet potential collaborators. Please note this event is for over 18s only. 6.10pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets cost £6/£5 and may be obtained from the Box Office in person, by calling 0131 228 6382 or online here.

LGBT Drop-In: an informal weekly gathering open to new faces and regular attendees alike. For anyone who is LGBT or questioning their sexual and/or gender identity. 5.30-8pm, LGBT Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street.

Portobello Community Council Meeting: the agenda, which may be downloaded here, includes consideration of  the Baileyfield development, the new park consultation and the Telferton allotments. 7.30pm, Portobello Baptist Church Hall, 185 Portobello High Street.

BE-United and Henry’s Cellar Bar End of Fringe African Celebration. A fun-filled evening with dancing, laughter and live music from Street Rat, Mellow Chants, Asazi Space Funk Explosion and Simply Soweto Encha, with special Afro-beat DJ set from Patrick Walker. All profits will go to BE-United, a charity dedicated to inspiring change, currently based in Scotland and South Africa. BE-United aims to motivate and inspire young people to realise and reach their dreams, regardless of race, wealth or background, and to create conscious global citizens. 8pm till late, Henry’s Cellar Bar, 16a Morrison Street. Admission £5 per person.

Keith Edwards Quintet; five-piece fronted by Big Band co-leader Keith Edwards (sax) along with another regular Big Band member Donald Corbett (trumpet/flugelhorn) playing some arrangements by Edwards of classic ‘Hard Bop’ jazz, plus some attractive original compositions by Corbett. Robert Pettigrew (piano), Ed Kelly (bass) and Bill Kyle (drums) complete the line-up. 8-10.45pm, The Jazz Bar, 1a Chambers Street. £5/£4 on the door: please note this venue is cash only.

Harrison Park Bats Night: listen to the bats living in Harrison Park, and find out more about them with an expert. A free community event. Please dress warmly. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult. 7.45pm, meet at the Play Area, Harrison Park, West Bryson Road. For more information please contact Esperanza Martin on 0131 445 4025 or email esperanza@elgt.org.uk.