Bookbug Teddy Bears’ Picnic: songs, stories and picnic snacks – bring along your Teddy’s best friend! For ages 5-12. 11am-12 noon, Granton Library, Wardieburn Terrace.
Golden Hare Book Group: this month the group will discuss Evie Wyld’s highly acclaimed novel All The Birds, Singing. 6.30pm, Golden Hare Books, St Stephen Street, Stockbridge. All welcome: for more information please contact the shop on 0131 629 1396. Next month’s book will be Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Spotlight Tours: Scottish Art: People, Places, Ideas. Guided tours of the City Art Centre’s Scottish Art collection, focusing on people, places and ideas. 11am or 3pm, City Art Centre (meet at reception), 2 Market Street. Free (suggested donation of £2), no booking required. Also at same times on 6th and 8th August 2015.
Celtic Summer School: The Celts – History and Archaology. What does ‘Celtic’ mean in contemporary history and archaeology? A people? A culture? A fiction? A modern movement? Neil Hargraves investigates. 11am, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £7/£5 and may be purchased in person, by calling the Box Office on 0131 556 9579 or online here. The Celtic Summer School runs until 7th August 2015; you can buy tickets for individual events, or save money with a day or weekly pass – see the Centre’s website for details.
Record Breakers Big Tower Build-Off: help to create a massive skyscraper – then knock it down! For ages 5-12: children under 8 years must be accompanied by someone over the age of 12. 11am-12 noon, Drumbrae Library Hub, Drum Brae Drive. All welcome!
Summer Wilderness Survival Skills: water, food, shelter and fire are the keys to survival – learn new skills from the ‘wild women’. 2-3.30pm, Water of Leith Visitor Centre, 24 Lanark Road. £4 per child, accompanying adult free. Booking is essential and may be made by calling 0131 455 7367 or emailing admin@waterofleith.org.uk.
Celtic Summer School: The Scottish Novel – Enlightened Fictions. Why has the novel been so important in shaping Scotland’s sense of itself? Fred Freeman encourages you to see Scottish fiction with fresh eyes. 1pm, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £6/£4 and may be purchased in person, by calling the Box Office on 0131 556 9579 or online here. The Celtic Summer School runs until 7th August 2015; you can buy tickets for individual events, or save money with a day or weekly pass – see the Centre’s website for details.
Picturehouses Discover Tuesdays: the best in new and topical documentaries covering issues around the world. Today’s film is Alive Inside (12A): social worker Dan Cohen’s mission is to help people with Alzheimer’s, dementia and Parkinson’s by waking up care establishments to the fact that an i-pod can be more revitalising than a pill. Winner of the Audience Award at Sundance, this part crowd-funded film celebrates the rejuvenating power of music and its profound ability to define who we are and reconnect us with who we were. 6pm, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0871 902 5723 or online; prices vary.
The Stunning Snail: crafts for children. 2pm, Portobello Library, Rosefield Avenue. Free: all welcome!
Celtic Summer School: The Scottish Bagpipe and its European Connections. Follow the remarkable evolution of what has come to be seen as Scotland’s defining traditional instrument, and experience a range of pipes and piping first hand, with James MacDonald Reid. 2.30pm, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £9/£7 and may be purchased in person, by calling the Box Office on 0131 556 9579 or online here. 
The Celtic Summer School runs until 7th August 2015; you can buy tickets for individual events, or save money with a day or weekly pass – see the Centre’s website for details.
Nail Chat: polish, fake nails – and chat! For ages 12+. 6-7pm tonight and every Tuesday, Muirhouse Library, Pennywell Court.
St Mary’s Cathedral Tours: free tours of Scotland’s largest cathedral, a renowned masterpiece of Victorian Gothic architecture, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott. 10am today and every Tuesday in August, St Mary’s Cathedral (meet inside West Door), Palmerston Place. Free. Also at 2.15pm each Friday in August.
LGBT Language Cafe: a groundbreaking new project offering four facilitated sessions for LGBT people whose first language is not English. Each session will offer games and activities to help you improve your spoken English and the opportunity to meet other people in a safe and supportive environment. 6.30-8pm, LGBT Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. For more information and to book your free place please contact Jules on 0131 523 1104 or jules@lgbthealth.org.uk – or just turn up on the night.
Glass 2015: a festival exhibition of the work of 30 glass makers, including Peter Layton, Paul Musgrove, Keiko Mukaide, Laura Birdsall and Laura McKinley. 10.30am-5.30pm, Gallery Ten, Stafford Street. Ends 31st August 2015.
Bernat Klein: A Life in Colour Panel Discussion. To coincide with the retrospective exhibition A Life in Colour, journalist Jackie McGlone, Lisa Mason (National Museum of Scotland) and Alison Harley (Heriot-Watt University) discuss the life and work of the acclaimed designer Bernat Klein. 6pm (please arrive by 5.45pm), Dovecot Studios, Infirmary Street. Tickets cost £10/£8 (price includes a glass of wine) and may be booked via eventbrite here. A Life in Colour continues at Dovecot Studios until 26th September 2015: see The Edinburgh Reporter’s listing here.
Cameo Silver Screen: if you are aged 60+, join the Silver Screen Club and pay just £5 for these special screenings – with free tea, coffee and biscuits before the show! Today’s films are Eden (15) showing at 12.30pm, Inside Out (U) showing at 1.15pm and 3.40pm, Southpaw (15) showing at 3.20pm and The Legend of Barney Thomson (15) showing at 1pm and 3.30pm, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0871 902 5723 or online.
Curated by…. a season of films hand-picked by invited Festival regulars. Each screening will feature an in-person introduction by the curator, revealing their passion for the film and their reasons for choosing it. Today: Withered Hand (Edinburgh-based musician Dan Willson) presents Gummo (18). 9pm, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0871 902 5723 or online.
Sofi’s Knitting Club: for knitters of all abilities – bring a project and learn or share skills. Other crafts welcome too! 7pm tonight and every Tuesday, Sofi’s, Henderson Street.
Edinburgh Art Festival: Embassy Presents Film Club. An evening of screenings curated by the artist-led gallery and shown in conjunction with Platform: 2015. 7-9.30pm, Festival Hub, 9 Blair Street. Free but booking is required and may be made via eventbrite here.
