Meet the Glasshouse Staff: come and find out more about the Botanics’ stunning collection of plants from the people who care for them. Each month meet a different member of the indoor horticulture team in one of the ten glasshouses, each with different specialist knowledge. 1-2pm, Glasshouse, Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Row. Free with Glasshouse entry (£5/£4, children under 16 and essential carers free).
Rannagan Na Chloinne – Gaelic Songs and Rhymes! For young children and their parents and carers. For more information please call in to the library or call 0131 529 5595. 10.30am, Blackhall Library, Hillhouse Road. Next session: 22nd October 2015.
Architectural Society of Scotland Public Meeting: to consider the society’s opposition to the proposed hotel development at the former Royal High School. Find out what you can do if you wish to oppose this application. 6pm, Sanctuary, St Andrew’s & St George’s West Church, 13 George Street.
Cameo Big Scream: screenings exclusively for parents/carers and their babies under the age of one year. Today’s film is Everest 2D (12A), a gripping drama based on a disastrous 1996 expedition when eight climbers lost their lives attempting an ascent on the mountain. 10.30am, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0871 902 5723 or online here.
Women Getting Together – Making A Difference: a follow-up to the conference in June organised by the Women’s International Group. Today’s event will be looking at what the idea of home means, what community action has achieved in the past to support victims of racism, and how we can take action to ensure people are made safe and welcome in our communities. Come and join in the discussion, see films and enjoy a free lunch – all women welcome, creche available (please book creche in advance). 10am-12.30pm, Royston Wardieburn Community Centre, Pilton Drive North. For more information, for transport or to book a creche place please call Lynn on 0131 552 5700 or Rachel on 07891 525 663.
Edinburgh’s World Heritage: the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. In this talk David Hicks, Edinburgh World Heritage Communications Manager with responsibility for promoting awareness and understanding of the city’s World Heritage Site, will explain why the city has this status and how Edinburgh World Heritage works to conserve, promote and enhance the Old and New Towns. 10.30am, Museum of Edinburgh, Huntly House, 142 Canongate. Tickets cost £5/£3.50 and must be booked in advance via the Usher Hall Box Office, Lothian Road, in person, by calling 0131 228 1155 or online here.
Italian Women Writers: Gender and Everyday Life in Fiction and Journalism, 1870-1910. Katharine Mitchell, Lecturer in Italian (University of Strathclyde), discusses her book with Italian writer and journalist Caterina Soffici. Italian Women Writers looks at the work of three of the most significant women authors of Post-Unification Italy: La Marchesa Colombi, Neera and Matilde Serao. These writers, whose works had been largely forgotten for much of the last century only to be rediscovered by the Italian feminist movement of the 1970s, were widely read and received considerable critical acclaim in their day. In their realist fiction and journalism, they documented and brought to light the ways in which women participated in everyday life in the newly independent Italy, and how their experiences differed profoundly from those of men. 6pm, Italian Cultural Institute, 82 Nicolson Street.
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LGBT Age: What You Need To Know – Lingoflamingo. A tailored and playful foreign language workshop with an LGBT twist – crack open a suitcase-load of tips and tricks to increase concentration and improve memory and communication. 2-4pm, LGBT Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. Booking is preferred; please call 0131 523 1100. LGBT Age is a project run by LGBT Health and Wellbeing for LGBT people aged 50 and over in Greater Glasgow, Edinburgh and the Lothians. The project aims to promote health and wellbeing and create social opportunities by offering a befriending service, social programme and information sessions. For more information please call 0141 271 2330 or email lgbtage@lgbthealth.org.uk.
Scrum Down Scotland: a workshop to mark the 2015 Rugby World Cup.  See a selection of the many items on Scottish rugby held in the National Library’s collections; subjects covered include the Calcutta Cup, the Five Nations, club rugby, women’s rugby and great Scottish players. Among the highlights is ‘The rugby football internationals roll of honour’, which includes biographies and portraits of the Scottish rugby players who died in the First World War. 2.30-3.30pm, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge. Booking is required and may be made by calling 0131 623 3734 or online here.
The Scotland-Russia Forum: Student Welcome Party. Students from Russia and its neighbours, students studying Russian or interested in the history, culture and politics of the area are all invited to meet each other at the Forum’s Student Welcome Party. 6.30-8.30pm, Cafe, Summerhall, 1 Summerhall. Please RSVP to Jenny Carr on 07846 917 627 or email info@scotlandrussiaforum.org to enable the organisers to cater for all.
My Favourite Tree in the Garden: RBGE’s tree expert William Hinchliffe will give a talk about the five most popular trees in the Garden, chosen by the public in a recent poll. He will give an insight into the history, care and botany of the trees and of the current tree collecting programme. 7.30pm, Lecture Theatre, Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Row. Admission £6 (members £5): no booking required.
Blackwells Presents An Evening with Margaret Attwood: on the publication date of her new novel, The Heart Goes Last, the award-winning author of more than forty books (The Handmaid’s Tale, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin) will be in conversation with author and literary critic Stuart Kelly. 7pm, Assembly Rooms, George Street. Tickets cost £10 (or £24 with a copy of the book) and may be purchased from Blackwell’s front desk, by calling 0131 622 8229 or via eventbrite here.
CAESURA #33: since 2012 CAESURA has been exploring the recesses of poetics, language and sound with a series of stripped-back events that include experimental writing and avant garde miscellany, in intimate performances by innovative artists from across the UK and beyond. This first event after the summer break features a quintet of poets: Michael Farrell, Gavin Selerie, Frances Presley, Jane Goldman and Iain Morrison. 6.30pm, Saltire Society, 9 Fountain Close, 22 High Street. Tickets cost £5/£4 and may be booked via eventbrite here. For more information about this event please contact the Scottish Poetry Library on 0131 557 2876.
Take One Action! Film Festival: ‘connecting people, world-class cinema and creative action for a better world’. Twelve days of screenings and discussions, in Edinburgh and Glasgow, on issues as diverse as environmental activism, LGBT rights in African countries, cycling, the value (or not) of university degrees, the Arab Spring, literacy, the global financial system, food chains and much more. Today’s film is The Divide (15): a moving and urgent account of how inequality impacts our societies, inspired by best-seller The Spirit Level. As Britain today faces yet another round of harsh austerity measures while rising wealth is concentrated in ever fewer hands, what is the true cost of inequality? Director Katharine Round presents moving, personal stories from across the income spectrum. From the carer on a zero-hour contract to the ambitious Wall Street psychologist who aspires to the affluent lifestyle of the burnt-out traders he supports, The Divide successfully articulates how the rising gap between rich and poor negatively impacts people from the bottom to the top of society. Plus short: Hotel 22. Presented in association with Oxfam. 6pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased from the Filmhouse box office in person, by calling 0131 228 2688 or online; prices vary. The director, Katharine Round, and Marco Biagi MSP will join today’s screening. The films will be shown again at 1pm on Friday 25th September.
The King Lot: the critically acclaimed West Lothian-based melodic rock band plays a home turf headline show before heading out on tour. Supported by Welsh rockers Fireroad and heavy rock band Mason Hill. Over 18s only. 7pm, Voodoo Rooms, West Register Street. Tickets cost £10 (booking fee applies) and are available in advance from Skiddle here.
Ragged University: Evolving for Girls + Power, People and Progress: How We Make Decisions About What We Want for the City and its Communities. In the first of this evening’s talks, Doreen Soutar looks at theories of sexual selection, as mooted in Charles Darwin’s The Descent of Man: ‘This book and the theories it contained were pretty much ignored by mate selection theorists for over a hundred and thirty years. However, since the turn of the 21st century it has been making a come-back. This could be seen as a good move for feminists….’ After a break for food and discusson, Ewan Aitken will suggest that ‘our conflict ridden culture means that much of what passes for public debate is destroyed by point scoring and a serious inability to disagree with condemnation. I see the third sector as a place of hope and change but it too needs to think about how it models that new way of living and working’. 7pm, The Counting House, West Nicolson Street. All welcome; free, but please bring some food to put on the table if you are able to do so. ‘Knowledge is power, but only when it is shared’.
City Link 2015: City Link Festival starts today! An international event celebrating culture and urban life between cities through symposiums, artist exchange, workshops, study trips, city walks, performances and social bonding, inspiration and co-creation, City Link started in 2012 as a co-creation project between cultural communities in Copenhagen and Hamburg. Until 2014, the network primarily consisted of people from those cities, but the City Link Festival in Hamburg in September 2014 kick-started City Link as a global network connecting people, projects and communities throughout the world. This year the festival’s theme is democratic renewal; it will bring together people from Edinburgh and Copenhagen with ideas that could link cities, discuss local initiatives, inspire each other and investigate possibilities of co-creating cities across Europe. The festival opens today with the following events – more follow on 25th, 26th and 27th September:
Hold Me Dear: Four Cities, Four (Extra) Ordinary Places. A co-created gallery and exhibition of stories and photographs of Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Istanbul and Hamburg. Curated by HERE + NOW, the exhibition provides a unique and exciting opportunity for people to share the places that matter most to them, building up a very personal insight into a residents’ view of their Edinburgh – the places that matter personally to local people Âbeyond the usual tourist landmarks. From 9am, Rodney Street Tunnel. There will be a launch event at 12 noon on Sunday 27th September – see listing. Ends 20th October 2015;
Classic Copenhagen: Copehagen Street Art. Danish urbanist and photographer Sandra Høj gives her insight in to Copenhagen’s street art scene with a unique collection of photographs. 10am-5pm, Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street. Ends 26th September 2015.
Polar Twins: the launch of an exhibition by five Danish and Scottish artists, whose work is part of a six month cultural exchange between Copenhagen and Edinburgh. Curated by Miriam Wistreich and Morvern Cunningham, the exhibition also features as the closing event for this year’s LeithLate festival. Launch 6-9pm tonight, exhibition 12 noon-6pm daily, The Biscuit Factory, Anderson Place. Free: all welcome. Ends 27th September 2015.
Opening Doors: The Urban Revolution in Denmark. The non-profit organisation Givrum.nu involves Danish civil society, the public sector and businesses in neighbourhood development; by literally opening the doors to empty buildings, GivRum allows cultural projects and creative businesses to thrive. Via their City Link Festival initiative GivRum hopes to share best practice with cities around the world. Come to hear Jesper Koefoed-Melson, Director of GivRum, and Sara Melson, City Link Project Manager, explain more, and take part in a discussion on whether this trend could make its way to Scotland. 6-8pm, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Free but booking is required via eventbrite here.
Guilty As Sin: get up and dance, or just relax and sing along! 9pm, Old Chain Pier, Trinity Crescent.
