From fan dancing to fiesta, your entertainment options are nothing if not varied this week. And if you thought you’d said goodbye to the f-word for another year, think again – the Take One Action Film Festival starts on Wednesday, Stockfest continues, and at the weekend the Botanic Garden offers its own take on Harvest. Our escape from the city ideas are back too – though you’ll need to plan well ahead this week, they’re both in far-flung (but lovely) parts. As ever, please check details with the organisers before you set off – and have a great week!
MONDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER 2015
Cameo Toddler Time: short screenings for pre-school children, their parents and carers. Today: Boj (U) – CBeebies favourite Aussie bilby (rabbit-bandicoot) pops up to make things better for his buddies with all his funny surprises and creative thinking. 11am, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets cost £3 per child (accompanying adults free) and may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0871 902 5723 or online here.
Meet the Edible Gardening Team: take a look around the productive garden with the Edible Gardening Project volunteers. Find out what jobs need doing in your own garden now and have your vegetable growing questions answered. 1-3pm, Demonstration Garden, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Inverleith Row. Free, no booking required; also at same times on Tuesday 15th September.
The Emergence of Judy Taylor: Angela Jackson discusses her debut novel, which was awarded Edinburgh International Book Festival’s First Book Award in 2013, and was selected as an Edinburgh Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year. Angela was also recently named one of Amazon’s Rising Stars. 6.30-7.30pm, Stockbridge Library, Hamilton Place. Please book your free place by calling the library on 0131 529 5665 or emailing stockbridge.library@edinburgh.gov.uk. This event is part of Stockfest 2015.
LGBT Spiritual Space. Maxwell Reay, NHS Mental Health Community Chaplain, offers a supportive space for people to discuss and develop ideas of spirituality and identity. Suitable for people of all faiths or no faith at all. Today: opportunities for individual conversations and information regarding spiritual needs. 6.30-7.30pm (within weekly Drop-In, which runs 5.30-8pm), LGBT Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. For more information please contact Alison Wren on 0131 652 3283 or email alison@lgbthealth.org.
Dramarama: fun drama games, the basics of acting including mime and improvisation work with scripts, and a final performance at the end of term. If you are interested in acting, theatre or drama, want to build up your confidence, meet new friends or just try something new, come along to Dramarama! For ages 12-16. 5.30-6.30pm tonight and every Monday in the autumn term, Corstorphine Library, 12 Kirk Loan. For more information and to book your free place, please ask in the library or call 0131 529 5506.
Grassmarket Community Cinema: Last Orders (15). Jack Dodd was a London butcher who enjoyed a pint with his mates for over 50 years. When he died, he died as he lived, with a smile on his face watching a horse race on which he had bet – with borrowed money. But before he died he had a final request, ‘Last Orders’, that his ashes be scattered in the sea at Margate. The film follows his mates, Ray, Lenny and Vic and his son Vince as they journey to the sea with the ashes. Along the way, the threads of their lives, their loves and their disappointments are woven together in their memories of Jack and his wife. Based on Graham Swift’s Booker Prize-winning novel; directed by Fred Schepisi. Starring Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Ray Winstone & Tom Courtenay. ‘…one of the most rewarding and authentic depictions of or tributes to the Cockney way of life in recent years’ (Time Out). 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!
For Crying Out Loud: exclusive screenings for parents/carers (maximum of two adults per baby) and their babies under 12 months old. Baby changing, bottle-warming and buggy parking facilities are available. Today’s film is Irrational Man (12A), Woody Allen’s 45th feature, set on Rhode Island, where a bored writer and professor (Joaquin Phoenix) finds himself drawn down an unexpected path, leading him towards philosophical crises, hidden dangers and late-night games of Russian roulette… 11am, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets cost £4.50/£3.50 (babies admitted free) and may be purchased from the Filmhouse box office in person, by calling 0131 228 2688 or online here.
Ray Scoble: Photographs – an exhibition of abstracted views taken in and around Edinburgh. By focusing on a small area, Ray’s subject matter becomes concealed and supplanted with alternative interpretations. 10am-3pm Monday to Thursday, 12 noon-3pm Fridays, 12.30-2.30pm Saturdays, St Bride’s Centre, Orwell Terrace, Dalry. Ends 9th October 2015.
Inspired by MC Escher: Relativity/Endless Stair/Scale Infinite. Professor Alex de Rijke, Co-Founding Director dRMM Architects (Royal College of Art) will speak about his Endless Stair project, which took inspiration from the structural, social and artistic possibilities of the staircase, the aspect of architecture most closely associated with sculpture and a place where people inevitably cross paths. Devised with M.C. Escher’s popular drawings in mind, Endless Stair is not a stair without end, but a stair designed to be endlessly reconfigured: an entirely prefabricated construction, each piece an essential part of the additive structure, where loads are transferred through demountable flights that can be recycled on another site in a different configuration. Endless Stair was reconfigured in 2014 for the FuoriSalone exhibition in Milan, where it provided dramatic contrast to the Ca’ Granda Renaissance building. Prof de Rijke will discuss its conception, journey and possibilities. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed.
David Bailey and the Spirit of the Sixties. Nobody better embodied the spirit of the sixties than David Bailey. In an amusing and enlightening talk, Dominic Sandbrook, historian, broadcaster and columnist, takes a closer look not just at Bailey’s meteoric rise to fame, but at the often surprising realities of sixties Britain. Where did the idea of Swinging London come from? How did an East London tailor’s son rise to become its leading visual chronicler? And what was life really like behind the myths of the Swinging Sixties? 6-7.30pm, Hawthornden Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Tickets cost £5/£4 and may be purchased in person from the Information Desk in the Gardens Entrance of the Scottish National Gallery, or by calling 0131 624 6560 9.30am-4.30pm with credit/debit card. Bailey’s Stardust continues at the Scottish National Gallery until 18th October 2015.
These Dangerous Women: a screening of this film, made by the Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom and the Clapham Film Unit, which tells the stories of the British women who attempted to get to The Hague during World War I to attend a conference, the aim of which was to bring a negotiated settlement to the conflict. A few short video clips from last years Wool Against Weapons campaign to create a 7-mile pink peace scarf as a protest against the renewal of Trident nuclear weapons will also be shown . 7-9pm, Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street. Free: donations welcome.
Sheila Dalgleish: North. An exhibition of textile art by Edinburgh-based Sheila Dalgleish. ‘Where is north? This may sound like an easy question, but of course, north is anywhere north of where the person asking is standing. So, if you are standing at the South Pole, then the whole world is north of you….’ Sheila has travelled in Norway, Iceland and Alaska; her first solo exhibition is a celebration of ‘North’. 10am-4pm daily, Gayfield Creative Spaces, 11 Gayfield Square. Free. Ends 19th September 2015.
Sofi’s Cult Movies: popular classics on the silver screen in the cosy, darkened back room. Free popcorn! Tonight’s film is Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited (15). Estranged brothers Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman) reunite for a train trip across India. 8pm, Sofi’s, 65 Henderson Street. Free.
Golden Hare Books Presents Helen McClory: On the Edges of Vision. The author launches her debut collection of short stories, ‘Dark, unflinching and utterly glorious. Every page is a surreal world compressed, every sentence breathless and bruising’ (Kirsty Logan). 7-9pm, Golden Hare Books, St Stephen Street, Stockbridge. Free tickets may be obtained via eventbrite here. This event is part of Stockfest 2015.
Cameo Culture Shock: ‘the best in cult and genre films’. Tonight’s film is The Evil Dead (18): five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons. ‘Much imitated, but never bettered, The Evil Dead was the birth of an independently-spirited, viscerally-minded new wave in low budget horror cinema’. 9pm, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0871 902 5723 or online here; prices vary.
Old Chain Pier Folk Music Jam Session: feel free to bring your instrument and join in the jam! 7.30pm, Old Chain Pier, Trinity Crescent.
TUESDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER 2015
Storytime: for children aged 0-6. Lots of stories and storytellers lined up! 4pm today and every Tuesday, Portobello Library, Rosefield Avenue.
The Amazing World of MC Escher: Curator’s Talk. Patrick Elliot, Senior Curator at the Gallery of Modern Art, will talk about curating The Amazing World of M.C. Escher exhibition. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed, but places are limited so please arrive early to avoid disappointment. The Amazing World of MC Escher continues at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art TWO until 27th September 2015.
Mrs Mash the Storytelling Cook: stories, songs and joining-in fun for the under 5s. 10.30-11am today and every Tuesday, Filmhouse Cafe, Lothian Road. Free: no booking required.
The Georgian House: Dr Sheonagh Martin, Property Manager of the National Trust for Scotland’s Georgian House, Charlotte Square, will speak about the Georgian House, putting the property in the context of Stockbridge, the New Town and Charlotte Square in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. 2.30-3.30pm, Stockbridge Library, Hamilton Place. Please book your free place by calling the library on 0131 529 5665 or emailing stockbridge.library@edinburgh.gov.uk. This event is part of Stockfest 2015.
Read All About It! An introduction to online newspaper resources available via NLS. The session will include demonstrations of a selection of resources and tips on how to search and discover the information you need. 10am, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge. Free but booking is required and may be made in person, by calling 0131 623 3734 or online here. For more information please email enquiries@nls.uk.
Meet the Edible Gardening Team: take a look around the productive garden with the Edible Gardening Project volunteers. Find out what jobs need doing in your own garden now and have your vegetable growing questions answered. 1-3pm, Demonstration Garden, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Inverleith Row. Free, no booking required.
Defamation: a documentary questioning the definition of anti-Semitism and its presence in the world today. Director Yoav Shamir looks for an answer in both the political and cultural spectrum, exploring the topic with Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League and controversial author Norman Finkelstein, then taking a trip to Auschwitz with Israeli high school students, before travelling to Brooklyn, New York where there is a large Jewish community. 6pm, Area C Coffeehouse, 239 Leith Walk.
Odeon Silver Cinema: if you are 55+ these special screenings cost you only £3 (including tea and biscuits before the show). Today’s films are A Royal Night Out (12A) at 11am (doors open 10.15am) and Far From the Madding Crowd (12A) at 2pm. Available at Odeons Lothian Road and Fort Kinnaird; please contact cinemas for full details and to book.
Dyslexic Lexxic Meet Up: come and hear from an expert about what online support is available – from the library and elsewhere – to adults with dyslexia. Share your stories and network with peers. 6.30-8pm, Central Library, George IV Bridge. Reserve your place via meetup here.
Blow-Up (15): a special screening in association with National Galleries of Scotland. Michelangelo Antonioni’s provocative look into the world of mod fashion, and an engaging murder mystery that examines the existential nature of reality through photography. Featuring David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, Jane Birkin and Peter Bowles. The screening will be introduced by Dr Glyn Davis, Reader in Screen Studies (Edinburgh College of Art). 6.10pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased from the Filmhouse box office in person, by calling 0131 228 2688 or online here; prices vary.
Golden Hare Books and Tapsalteerie Present An Evening of Poetry with Ann MacKinnon and Stewart Sanderson. Prize-winning Scots language poet Ann MacKinnon launches her new pamphlet Nae Words; Eric Gregory Award-winning Glaswegian Stewart Sanderson presents his debut collection Fios: both are published by Aberdeenshire-based press Tapsalteerie. 7pm, Golden Hare Books, St Stephen Street, Stockbridge. Free tickets may be obtained via eventbrite here. This event is part of Stockfest 2015.
Cameo Silver Screen: if you are over 60, join the Silver Screen Club (it’s free to join – ask at the Box Office) and get tickets for just £5, plus free tea, coffee and biscuits, at these special weekly screenings. Today’s films are Legend (18) showing at 1.40pm and 3.15pm, Me And Earl And The Dying Girl (12A) showing at 3.40pm and 45 Years (15) showing at 1pm and 4.25pm. Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0871 902 5723 or online. Non-members are also welcome at these screenings, but will be charged standard ticket prices.
Merchiston Community Council: 7pm, Merchiston Tennis and Bowling Club, Polwarth Terrace. All local residents welcome.
Leith Folk Club: Nae Plans. Pianist/vocalist Hamish Napier and fiddler Adam Sutherland join forces again; their original concept was to record an album that was strictly unrehearsed, capturing the duo’s raw creativity and demonstrating its outstanding musical intuition. ‘Each performance is unique and demonstrates the incredible talent of two of Scotland’s foremost musicians’. With support from Iona Grace Fyfe. 7.30pm, Victoria Park House Hotel, 221 Ferry Road. Tickets cost £7 and may be reserved by completing the online form here or texting the club’s dedicated booking line on 07502 024 852. Reserved tickets must be collected by 7.30pm on the night.
Cameo Discover Tuesdays: Marshland/La isla minima (15) (in Spanish with English subtitles). In 1980 Spain is moving nervously from dictatorship to democracy. A principled rookie cop and his older partner arrive in the Guadalquivir wetlands, a community riven by suspicion, misogyny and a whiff of sexual abuse, to investigate the disappearance of two young sisters. Their differing methodologies – moral and otherwise – soon give rise to additional tension between them. Directed by Alberto Rodriguez. 6pm, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0871 902 5723 or online here.
Ragged University: Film Screening and Discussion – Orwell Rolls in his Grave. A 2003 American documentary film directed by Robert Kane Pappas, written by Pappas and Tom Blackburn, “Orwell Rolls In His Grave” is a critical examination of the Fourth Estate. It asks whether America has entered an Orwellian world of doublespeak where outright lies can pass for the truth, and explores what the media doesn’t like to talk about: itself. ‘Meticulously tracing the process by which media has distorted and often dismissed actual news events, Pappas presents a riveting and eloquent mix of media professionals and leading intellectual voices on the media’. 6-9pm, Stills, 23 Cockburn Street. All welcome: free: please RSVP here.
WEDNESDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER 2015
Take One Action! Film Festival starts today: ‘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, food chains and much more. Today’s opening event is free; filmmakers, organisers and changemakers will provide an overview of this year’s Festival with exclusive short films and live music. 6.45pm. Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets are required and may be obtained online here. The launch will be followed at 8.20pm by The Price We Pay (12+), an incendiary documentary examining the UK and global financial system and arguing that the inheritance of generations of entrepreneurs and workers has been appropriated by a tiny global elite. Plus short: Iron Sky. After the film there will be a discussion with Alvin Mosioma (Tax Justice Network – Africa), 
Chris Hegarty (Christian Aid) and Jamie Livingstone (Oxfam Scotland). Tickets for The Price We Pay are available from the Filmhouse box office in person, by calling 0131 228 2688 or online here; prices vary.
Baby and Me: a new book group that you can bring your baby to! Relax with your baby, meet other parents, chat, discuss one of the ‘Quick Reads’ collection and find out about books for your child. 11am-12 noon, then fortnightly at the same time, Craigmillar Library, 101 Niddrie Mains Road. All welcome. For more information please speak to the library staff or email craigmillar.library@edinburgh.gov.uk.
Conversation Cafe: if English is your second language and you would like to meet new people and find out more about life in Edinburgh, your local services and Scottish culture, come along to the cafe and chat with people from around the world. These meetings facilitated by a TEFL volunteer and a creche can be provided on request. 12.30-2pm today and every Wednesday, Tynecastle Community Wing, 17-19 McLeod Street. For more information please contact Marzena or Maysoon on 0131 337 1376 or email marzena@healthallround.org.uk or maysoon@healthallround.org.uk.
National Library of Scotland Guided Tour: a tour of the building and introduction to the Library’s collections and history. The tour will last approximately 45 minutes. 10.30am, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge. Free but booking is essential as places are limited; please call 0131 623 3734 or book online here. Please let NLS know if you have special access requirements.
Edinburgh Napier University Campus Tours: an opportunity to see the university in action. Student Ambassadors will guide you around your chosen campus, show you the facilities on offer and give you an insight into life as an Edinburgh Napier student, with the chance for you to ask questions as you go along. There are six academic Schools across 3 main campuses, each of which will be open today, so when selecting which campus you’d like to visit please make sure you select the correct one for your chosen course. Tours will last approximately one hour. 2pm, Merchiston Campus, 10 Colinton Road, 
Craiglockhart Campus, Glenlockhart Road and Sighthill Campus, Sighthill Court, Edinburgh Napier University. Please register for your tour online here.
Bailey’s Stardust Visually Impaired Tour and Workshop: a free descriptive tour and practical workshop for the visually impaired. 10am-3.30pm, meet at back door of Royal Scottish Academy building, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Booking is required: please contact the Information Desk on 0131 624 6560.
Nine Valiant Academicals: the Victoria Cross…the most exclusive military decoration in the world. Stockbridge’s own Edinburgh Academy has produced nine great heroes, each awarded the VC – but who were these ‘Nine Valiant Academicals’? How did they win the world’s top military decoration? Stockbridge-bas
Chatterbooks: if you like books and reading, come along to this group and meet new friends, chat about books and join in games and competitions. For ages 8-12. 3.45-4.45pm, Fountainbridge Library, 137 Dundee Street. For more information please ask at the counter, call 0131 529 5617 or email Mohammed.boussabou@edinburgh.gov.uk.
Morningside Community Council: open meeting preceded by a confidential Police Surgery. The agenda items will include the current consultation on schools in South Edinburgh. 7.30pm (Police Surgery from 7pm), The Open Door, 420 Morningside Road. All local residents and traders welcome. If you have an issue that you would like to raise, please let the secretary know in advance: contact details may be found here.
Literary Dundee 2015 Programme Launch: special guests, wine, and book love! 6.30pm, Looking Glass Books, Simpson’s Loan, Quartermile. Free; please RSVP to literarydundee@dundee.ac.uk. Literary Dundee is a cultural organisation for book events and projects. It supports the literary community in Dundee and is part of the University of Dundee.
Gasland: when Josh Fox receives a $100,000 offer from a natural gas company interested in exploring his land in Pennsylvania’s Delaware River Basin, he decides to do his own research on drilling and the process known as fracking. Josh sets out to interview those who live near drilling sites, and his findings are frightening — their wells contaminated, residents can actually set their tap water on fire. Visits to sites in Colorado, Wyoming and Texas yield similar horrific findings. There will also be a screening of Our Forth’s short film about underground coal gasification, followed by discussion. 8.30pm, The Skylark, 241-243 Portobello High Street. Free entry. Organised by Porty & Craigmillar Greens. For more information please contact portobello-craigmillar@edinburghgreens.org.uk.
Stockbridge and Inverleith Community Council: all members of the community are welcome to attend and to participate. 7pm, Stockbridge Parish Church, Saxe Coburg Street. The community council may be contacted via Stockbridge Library, Hamilton Place, or its own website here.
LGBT: Bi & Beyond Edinburgh. A fortnightly social gathering for people who identify as bisexual and non-monosexual. With organised social activities and refreshments provided, whatever your label, or lack of label, we welcome you. 7-9pm, LGBT Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. For more information please contact biandbeyondedinburgh@gmail.com.
Jamie Oehlers Quartet: one of Australia’s leading jazz artists, saxophonist Jamie Oehlers has won the World Saxophone Competition, Australian Jazz Artist of the Year and multiple Jazz Release of the Year awards, and has performed with Charlie Haden, Eric Harland, Ari Hoenig, and Reuben Rogers. He’s on a UK tour to promote his new CD ‘The Burden of Memory’, appearing at The Jazz Bar for two nights with Oz colleague Tal Cohen (piano) and locals Euan Burton (bass) and Doug Hough (drums). 9pm (entry from 8pm), The Jazz Bar, Chambers Street. £7/£5 on the door: please note this venue is cash only. Also at same time on Thursday 18th September.
THURSDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER 2015
Joan Eardley: Another Look. Join Stellar Quines and Heroica Theatre Company’s to hear about their work in progress, a play on the life and work of Joan Eardley RA (1921-63), whose painting career was dedicated to portraits of Glasgow street urchins and land and seascapes of Catterline. The hour will include a Q&A session with the play’s writer and director. Heroica Theatre Company champions the achievements of maverick women; ‘The experience of a Heroica production is unique’. 5-6pm, Farmer Suite, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free but places are limited and booking is required: tickets may be obtained from the Information Desk in the Gardens Entrance of the Scottish National Gallery or by calling 0131 624 6560.
National Library of Scotland Map Images Website and Digital Mapping: the map images website includes over 50,000 zoomable images of maps, primarily relating to Scotland over the last four centuries. This workshop in the NLS IT training suite will help you to make best use of the map images website and the related modern digital map resources available at NLS. 2pm, Maps Reading Room, 159 Causewayside. Please book by calling 0131 623 3734 or online here.
Cameo Big Scream: screenings exclusively for parents/carers and their babies under the age of one year. Today’s film is The Misfits (PG) starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift, directed by John Huston and written by Arthur Miller. 10.30am, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0871 902 5723 or online here.
Coffee morning: coffee, tea, homebaking and chat. 10.30am-12 noon, Morningside United Church (small hall via side entrance), 15 Chamberlain Road, Holy Corner. All welcome.
Sing and Sign for Babies: a gentle class for babies aged approximately 2-6 months, aiming to build the foundations for good communication. The class is relaxed, gives you lots of face to face time – and cuddle time – with your baby, and is the place to begin your baby signing journey. 2-2.30pm, Stockbridge Library, Hamilton Place. Please book your free introductory session here; a block of 9-10 sessions normally costs £50 and classes are currently offered in Stockbridge, Portobello and Marchmont. If you have any questions about today’s session please call the library on 0131 529 5665. This event is part of Stockfest 2015.
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, the global financial system, cycling, the value (or not) of university degrees, the Arab Spring, literacy, food chains and much more. Today’s film is Shield and Spear (15+), a ‘beautiful, spirited and challenging art-doc…charting the interventions of a whole new generation of black and white South African activist-artists tackling issues of race, human rights and equality through music, photography and dialogue. Plus short: Dis/connect. Novelist and Subversive Festival founder Dr Igor Stiks will join this screening. 8.30pm Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased from the Filmhouse box office in person, by calling 0131 228 2688 or online here; prices vary.
Scottish Art in the Age of Change: 1945-2000. The course of Scottish art 1945-2000 was one of continuous achievement. Bill Hare (Honorary Teaching Fellow in Scottish Art, University of Edinburgh) will look at some of Scotland’s most renowned artists that this period produced, from Alan Davie, Joan Eardley and Eduardo Paolozzi, through Ian Hamilton Finlay and the Boyle Family to Douglas Gordon and Alison Watt; his illustrated talk will trace the development of this most remarkable era from post-war to devolved Scotland. 10.30am, Museum of Edinburgh, Huntly House, 142 Canongate. Tickets cost £5/£3.50 and must be purchased in advance via the Usher Hall Box Office, Lothian Road, in person, by calling 0131 228 1155 or online here.
LGBT Social Circle: a social group for people with learning difficulties or learning disabilities to meet other people, have fun and discuss sexuality and gender identity. Today’s theme is Feeling Good. 2-4pm, Lifecare Centre, 2 Cheyne Street, Stockbridge. For more information please contact George Burrows on 0131 652 3281 or email george@lgbthealth.org.uk.
Easel Sketching in the Gallery – September: led by artist Damian Callan. A different subject each month, sometimes with a model. All materials supplied. 2-4pm, Scottish National Gallery (main floor), The Mound. Free: no booking required. Also at same times on Friday 18th September.
Live Music Now: Andrew Waite and Seth Tinsley. Andrew and Seth have been performing together for 10 years. An accordion and guitar duo, their music explores a vast array of traditional and contemporary folk styles, played with a virtuosity and joyfulness that has captivated audiences across the UK. In this concert, Andrew and Seth perform a mixture of traditional and self-penned songs and tunes. 6-6.30pm, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free.
Odeon Silver Cinema: if you are 55+ these special screenings cost you only £3 (including tea and biscuits before the show). Today’s films are Far From the Madding Crowd (12A) at 11am (doors open 10.15am) and A Royal Night Out (12A) at 2pm. Available at Odeons Lothian Road and Fort Kinnaird; please contact cinemas for full details and to book.
Scotland’s Churches Trust: Professor John Hume, former Chief Inspector for Historic Scotland and a leading expert in Scottish church architecture, will talk on 1,000 Years of Scottish Churches. 7.30pm (doors open 6.30pm), St Cuthbert’s Church, 5 Lothian Road. Free admission; refreshments will be served before the lecture,which will last approximately 40 minutes and be followed by a Q & A session.
Cafe Voices: East Meets West. Storytellers Mio Shapley and Ken Shapley will celebrate the differences and similarities between two sides of our world through story, song and music, plus an open-floor section for storytellers to tell their own tales. 7pm, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43 High Street. Tickets cost £5 and may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0131 556 9579 or online.
Waterstones Presents Catherine Simpson: Truestory. The Edinburgh-based author launches her debut novel, a ‘blackly comic, heart-breaking and heart-warming’ tale of a woman struggling to raise her Aspergic son on a failing and isolated farm that he refuses to leave. ‘Truestory looks at what happens when sacrifice slithers towards martyrdom’; it was included in the Scottish Book Trust’s 21 Scottish Novels to Look Forward to in 2015. 6pm, Waterstones West End, 128 Princes Street. Free tickets may be obtained from the shop or by calling 0131 226 2666.
Ceol Cholasa: your first chance to get out of the city this weekend is a long trip, so start packing… Ceol Cholasa is the tiny Isle of Colonsay’s 8th music festival, and this year it will feature Blazin Fiddles, Breabach, The Mischa MacPherson Trio, Jenn Butterworth & Laura-Beth Salter, Canach, Kris Drever & Ian Carr, Ross Hull & Cameron Grant, plus local acts, workshops and a Saturday night ceilidh. For more information, including tickets, transport advice and accommodation options, please visit the Isle of Colonsay’s website here. Ends Sunday 20th September.
Nothing Ever Happens Here Presents Book Group + Quarterbacks: Scottish four-piece ‘almost rock band’ Book Group perform story-driven songs about friends, escaping the city, and the failures of technology. Quarterbacks from New Paltz, NY are on a UK tour and define their genre as ‘twee punk’. For over 18s only. 8pm-late, The Dissection Room, Summerhall, 1 Summerhall. Tickets cost £10 and may be purchased from the Summerhall Box Office, in person, by calling 0131 560 1580 or online here.
FRIDAY 18TH SEPTEMBER 2015
Oriental Fan Dancing: whilst celebrating grace, delicacy and beauty, fan dancing is an exotic, fun way to relax, its changing rhythms and body positions helping to develop physical fitness and mental awareness. All ages and abilities welcome. Tutor: Jianping Yu. 1.30-2.30pm today and every Friday until 4th December 2015, St Bride’s Centre, Orwell Terrace, Dalry. £2 per session.
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 films are;
(1) The Price We Pay (12+) (see Wednesday) plus short: Iron Sky;
(2) The Shore Break (12+) in which two cousin living in a close-knit South African community take opposite sides over an Australian company’s plans to mine titanium (followed by a Q & A session with director Ryley Grunenwald, below). Plus short: A Sense of Place;
(3) We Are the Giant (15),‘the most powerful, shocking and ultimately inspiring film to have come out of the Arab Spring so far’ (followed by a discussion with protagonist and human rights activist Maryam al-Khawaja). Plus short: Aliah.
All films at Filmhouse, Lothian Road; please check programme for times. Tickets may be purchased from the Filmhouse box office in person, by calling 0131 228 2688 or online; prices vary.
Take One Action! Film Festival Director Masterclass: Ryley Grunenwald, director of The Shore Break, offers a free masterclass on the development journey and outreach campaign behind this documentary project. 2.30-4.30pm, Edinburgh College of Art, Lauriston Place. Booking is required and may be made here.
Craigie’s Education and Environment Project Open Weekend: in the past months the project’s dedicated group of volunteers have created allotments, raised beds, a polytunnel and orchard & bee hives – and now the farm wants you to come along and see what they’ve been up to! An event for anyone interested in gardening and the outdoors – and who would possibly like to get involved in the project. The Edinburgh School of Food & Wine will also be in attendance, and there will be information on bee keeping and much more. 11am-3pm, Craigie’s Farm Shop & Cafe, West Craigie Farm, EH30 9AR. All welcome: free. Also at same times on Saturday 19th September.
BBC Radio Scotland: The Big Debate Referendum Anniversary Special. A year on from the independence referendum BBC Scotland presents topical discussion from Greyfriars Kirk, as members of the public question politicians and other prominent people on the news of the week. 12 noon-1pm, Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place. If you would like to attend the debate, please book via BBC Radio Scotland’s website here.
Finding the Audiences: The Future for Traditional Arts. Where are the audiences for the live arts, in particular for folk music, storytelling and traditional dance? This structured session grapples with the key challenges for reaching your target market and sets out an agenda for audience growth. This event will be followed by the AGM of TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland) which is open to all members of the Traditional Music Forum, the Scottish Storytelling Forum, and the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland, along with interested guests. 2.30pm, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43 High Street. Tickets cost £8 (£6 for Network members) and may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0131 556 9579 or online.
Boeing Employees Choir and The Dalkeith Singers: Grand Concert. 7.30-9.30pm, Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place. Free admission: donations invited for Madame Curie Hospice.
Freeze Frame Film Club: Quiz Night – Sounds of the Cinema. If you know your Jefferson Starship from your Starship Troopers, come along and test your music and movie knowledge at the first ever Freeze Frame Quiz Night, with Swiss style fondue, schnapps and prizes! Share your love for film trivia and iconic soundtracks, and hear the Freeze Frame 2015/16 season details. Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street. Tickets cost £10, which includes entry to the quiz, fondue, sharing platters and schnapps (for over 18s only) PLUS the chance to win a Freeze Frame Season Ticket and other cinematic prizes. Pre-booking is essential: call the Drill Hall Arts Cafe on 0131 555 7100.
The Russian Word in Edinburgh: Writing A Guide Book for the Enlightened Audience – the Case of St Petersburg. St Petersburg journalist Lev Lurie is editor-in-chief of Kvartalny Nadziratel magazine, a journalist and host of various radio and TV programmes and a multiple winner of Golden Pen and Antsiferov Prizes. Lev is also a historian and has written over 100 articles and 5 books. In 1989 he founded a classical school № 610, where he teaches history. As he is a fourth generation Petersburger, that city figures heavily in his work; he is the author of a popular guidebook to the city, produced by Afisha magazine. Please note that this talk will be in Russian with an introduction in English. 6.30-8pm, The Princess Dashkova Centre, University of Edinburgh, 14 Buccleuch Place. Free but booking is required and may be made via eventbrite here.
Hispanic Festival Fiesta: Arriba Edimburgo! Baila! A double gig as Edinburgh’s Hispanic community celebrate with a colourful, vibrant party night. Music of Flamenco, Salsa, Merengue, Mexico, Latin Jazz, Cumbia and Bachata, starting with a Flamenco Jam Session with an array of musicians, singers and dancers, followed by Secreto Tropical, Edinburgh’s very own 9-piece Cumbia Latin band, with music rooted in the Amazon Jungle and the Latin American continent, and winding up with late night dancing with Latin DJ Freddie Ramirez. 9pm-3am (entry from 8pm), The Jazz Bar, Chambers Street. £8/£6 on the door: please note this venue is cash only.
Balerno Village Screen: Silver Lining Playbook (15). Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro star in this film about life not going to plan: after a stint in a psychiatric institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own. 7.30-9.35pm, St Joseph’s Hall, Balerno. Free tickets are available from the Mill Cafe and Balerno Post Office or via eventbrite here. Balerno Village Screen is a community cinema, free to attend and funded by donations. If you can no longer attend after booking, please cancel your ticket to allow someone else to see the film.
Sneaker Shoe Arcade: 9pm-1am, Boda Bar, 229 Leith Walk.
Jason Webley + A New International. Webley is a Seattle-based troubadour who started as a street performer in 1998 and has built up an international following with his self produced recordings and uninhibited live performances. He has released seven albums and numerous collaborations on his own Eleven Records label, and one of his many side projects is the duo Evelyn Evelyn with Amanda Palmer. He has taken his passionate accordion-driven music to dozens of countries, performing everywhere from the 2014 TED conference to a former Siberian gulag. A New International perform the sounds of street music, carnival, music hall, cabaret, chanson, circus, movies, gypsy, folk + pop. 7.30pm, Henry’s Cellar Bar, 16a Morrison Street. £5 on the door.
Planet Earth Rock & Roll: Jake and Rory back in the Skylark ‘twisting your melon with rare 60s and 70s psychedelia and original tripped out visuals’. 9pm, The Skylark, 241-243 Portobello High Street.
Jazz Live At Canalside: John Burgess Hot Four. ‘Hot and sweet’ jazz from the 20s and 30s, featuring Colin Steele (trumpet) and Ross Milligan (banjo and guitar). 7.30pm (music starts 8.15pm), Canalside Cafe-Bar, Boroughmuir Rugby & Community Sports Club, Meggetland Wynd. Tickets cost £10 and may be purchased from the Canalside Cafe-Bar in person or by calling 07557 680 995 or emailing sinagraham@gmail.com.
SATURDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER 2015
St Bride’s Family Cinema: see your favourite films for free! Juice and choc ices available in the interval for 50p. Today’s film is Penguins of Madagascar (U). Please note: all children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Subtitles are available on request. 10.30am-12.30pm, St Bride’s Centre, Orwell Terrace, Dalry. Next week’s film will be The Nut Job (U). All welcome.
Great British Beach Clean: join in a survey of a section of the beach, then take part in a clean-up. 10am-12 noon, start of causeway to Cramond Island, Cramond. If you would like to get involved please register first with the organisers, the Marine Conservation Society, here. For more information please email calum.duncan@mcsuk.org. There are other Beach Cleans at various times over the weekend at South Queensferry, Tyninghame, North Berwick and Gullane (all E Lothian) and Bo’ness (W Lothian); see the MCS website for details.
Storytime with BB and Hardy: 11am today and every Saturday, Book Bothy, Far From the Madding Crowd, 20 High Street, Linlithgow. For more information please call 01506 845231 or email sally@maddingcrowdlinlithgow.co.uk.
Morningside Farmers’ Market: keeping foods fresh, reducing food miles and keeping the pounds within the local economy. Baking, meat, fish, cheeses, preserves, confectionery, deli products, crafts, dog treats, plants, herbs and plenty more, with refreshments available throughout the market and from The Merlin. 9.30am-3.30pm, The Merlin (rear car park), 168 Morningside Road.
Balerno Village Screen: Guardians of the Galaxy (12A). A group of intergalactic criminals are forced to work together to stop a fanatical warrior from taking control of the universe. 2.30-4.30pm, St Joseph’s Hall, Balerno. Please note (12A) certificate. Free tickets are available from the Mill Cafe and Balerno Post Office or via eventbrite here. Balerno Village Screen is a community cinema, free to attend and funded by donations. If you can no longer attend after booking, please cancel your ticket to allow someone else to see the film.
Fresh Fruit: Dance Intensive – Topsy Turvy. Fresh Fruit is a programme of workshops designed with and for young people and based on current exhibitions. This weekend you are invited to discover the work of Phyllida Barlow (set) with dancer and choreographer Rosalind Masson, using contact improvisation in the Gallery and at Dance Base. For ages 16-25. No experience is required. The session will be filmed by Goat Media. 11am-6pm today and Sunday 20th September, The Fruitmarket Gallery, 45 Market Street. Free: to reserve your place please text or phone Caitlin on 07527 927 916 or 0131 226 8186 or email caitlin@fruitmarket.co.uk. For more information visit the Fresh Fruit blog here.
Edinburgh Gorgie Salvation Army Big Birthday Tea: celebrating 150 years of the Salvation Army. Face painting, Beat the Goalie, baking stall, bouncy castle, crafts, sponge throwing, cafe and more. 10am-2pm, Salvation Army, 431 Gorgie Road. Free entry: everyone welcome!
Balerno Village Screen: Birdman (15): a black comedy telling the story of an actor (Michael Keaton) struggling to mount a Broadway play. In the days leading up to opening night, he battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career, and himself. 7.30-9.30pm, St Joseph’s Hall, Balerno. Free tickets are available from the Mill Cafe and Balerno Post Office or via eventbrite here. Balerno Village Screen is a community cinema, free to attend and funded by donations. If you can no longer attend after booking, please cancel your ticket to allow someone else to see the film.
Edinburgh Chamber Music Day: Edinburgh Quartet and Dance Ihayami. Western classical music meets Eastern classical dance in this one-off special event, as Edinburgh Quartet & Dance Ihayami (Scotland’s Indian dance company) perform the première of a new choreographed dance work set to movements of Shostakovich’s String Quartet No.8. 7.30-8.20pm, Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street. Free and unticketed. This event is part of Enterprise Music Scotland’s National Chamber Music Day.
LGBT ‘Living with….’ Creative Writing and Performance Workshops: a series of creative writing and performance workshops as part of LGBT Health’s latest arts and mental health project ‘Living with…’. The project aims creatively to capture and give a platform for people to express the impact that living with, or caring for, someone with a long term condition has on people’s mental wellbeing. Established Scottish authors, poets and playwrights will be leading a series of workshops to help to you build confidence in developing or perfecting creative writing and performance skills, with no pressure to take to the stage. 
To be followed by an evening performance on Saturday 17th October as part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival. Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace. Booking is essential: please email alison@lgbthealth.org.uk to be the first to know when booking and further details for the workshops are announced.
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 films are:
(1) Black Ice: The Story of the Arctic 30 (12+) – a documentary charting the fate of the Greenpeace ship that set sail to protest the first oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean (preceded by 30 minutes of the best new international short films about humanity and the environment);
(2) Stories of Our Lives (15+), a montage of poetic short films by art collective The NEST, ‘a deeply humane look at the challenges facing LGBT men and women in many parts of Africa’ ,preceded by TOA’s inaugural Campaign Short Film Awards and followed by conversations with Sunny Dolat (NEST collective) and Zara Kitson (LGBT Youth Scotland);
(3) Tigers (15+), a thriller that goes behind the scenes in Pakistan to the origins of the Tap Water Awards campaign, started in response to Perrier Award sponsor Nestle’s aggressive marketing of baby milk powder in countries lacking clean water. Plus short: Reclaiming Pakistan, followed by conversations with Liz Murray (Global Justice Now), Patti Rundall (Baby Milk Action), Dana MacLeod (The Tap Water Awards) and Liz Grant (Global Health Academy, University of Edinburgh).
All films at Filmhouse, Lothian Road; please check programme for times. Tickets may be purchased from the Filmhouse box office in person, by calling 0131 228 2688 or online; prices vary.
Take One Action! Film Festival: Shine A Light – Take One Action Locals. If you are interested in showing critically acclaimed films in your community, office, church or club on a regular basis, and want to inspire people in your orbit to create a better world, TOA can help you to access inspiring films, market your activities and empower your community. Come to this free introductory session and find out how you can join the new Take One Action Locals Network. 11am, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Free but booking is recommended and may be made here.
Botanics Harvest Festival: the garden’s celebration of the vegetable growing year will include fun activities, gardening advice, information about harvesting, cooking and storing crops, tasters and more. Be inspired by the community garden produce show and discover the delights of growing your own vegetables with the Edible Gardening Project team. 1-4pm, Demonstration Garden and Real Life Science Studio, John Hope Gateway, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Inverleith Row. Free, no booking required; also at same times on Sunday 20th September.
LGBT: T-time in Edinburgh. An informal monthly social gathering open to all transgender people, their friends, families and supporters. Come along for tea/coffee and a chat in a friendly, relaxed environment. An optional event runs alongside each T time, starting usually at 2pm and involving a range of interests, information and activities; today: ‘Write to Recovery Taster Session’ – rescheduled from June, an opportunity to meet others and explore how writing can help with mental wellbeing. 1-4pm, LGBT Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. For more information please contact Jules Stapleton Barnes on 0131 523 1104 or email jules@lgbthealth.org.uk.
Spark Greyfriars: The Lewis Psalm Singers in Concert. A powerful evening of psalms sung in Gaelic, led by Calum Martin of Stornoway. ‘An unforgettable and soulful evening that taps into the deepest wells of Gaelic spirituality’. 7.30pm, Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place. Tickets cost £10/£8/£5 and are available from The Queen’s Hall Box Office, 85-89 Clerk Street, in person, by calling 0131 668 2019 or online here.
Sofi’s Saturday Sessions: Hoban and Scott. An afternoon with the Edinburgh-based country, bluegrass, harmony and Americana duo. 2pm, Sofi’s Bar, 65 Henderson Street.
Invercharron Highland Games. Your second chance to get out of Edinburgh is an event that started 127 years ago – the Invercharron Games has everything you would expect from a traditional gathering, 
including tossing the caber, putting the shot and throwing the hammer, piping, cycling, Highland dancing, tug of war, hill races and an evening ceilidh. There’ll be a children’s art competition, assault course, bouncy castle, drag slide, trade stalls, refreshments and amusements too, all set in the beautiful Kyle of Sutherland. The Games attracted visitors from over 20 countries in 2014! Full programme details can be seen on the Games’ website here. Opens 10am (registration from 9.30am), Chieftain’s March Past 12.45pm, Balbair Farm, Bonar Bridge (A836), Argyll. Admission £6 (children £1), parking £1.
Limbo: ‘English noise/space rock/dream pop/psyche innovators’ The Telescopes, supported by ‘psychedelic/experimental’ Delta Mainline and ‘Glasgow’s premier fuzz pop noise specialists’ St Deluxe, plus Black Spring DJs. For over 18s only. 8pm, The Voodoo Rooms, West Register Street. Tickets cost £8 (+ booking fee) in advance from eventbrite here or £10 on the door, sta.
SUNDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER 2015
Scottish Waterways Trust: Bee Scene in Edinburgh. Join a volunteer bumblebee survey along the Union Canal to learn more about these fascinating furry creatures and the vital role they play in the environment. Using resources provided by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BBCT), help to assess a stretch of the canal; surveys are carried out once a month between March and October. Bumblebee sightings will contribute to the BBCT’s National Bee Walk database and to the work of the Scottish Canals environmental heritage team, who will be pleased to have up-to-date information on these crucial contributors to the general health of the canal environment. 1-3.30pm, (meet at) Water of Leith Trust Visitor Centre, 24 Lanark Road. For more information please call Alan Forrester on 07768 951740.
Bags of Art – September: cool and creative fun with artists Tessa Asquith-Lamb and Louise Fraser. For ages 4-12. 2-4pm, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art ONE, Belford Road. Free: supported by the Friends of the NGS.
Botanics Harvest Festival: the garden’s celebration of the vegetable growing year will include fun activities, gardening advice, information about harvesting, cooking and storing crops, tasters and more. Be inspired by the community garden produce show and discover the delights of growing your own vegetables with the Edible Gardening Project team. 1-4pm, Demonstration Garden and Real Life Science Studio, John Hope Gateway, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Inverleith Row. Free, no booking required.
Filmhouse Junior: screenings for a younger audience. Today’s film is The Lego Movie (U). 11am, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets cost £4 per person, big or small, and may be purchased from the Filmhouse box office in person, by calling 0131 228 2688 or online here.
Dungeon Fun: Colin Bell and Neil Slorance: to celebrate the launch of the collected edition of their Dungeon Fun comic, Colin and Neil will be visiting the shop to chat and sign copies of the collection. (They also create strips for the Dr Who comic). 2-3pm, Forbidden Planet, 40/41 South Bridge.
Cameo Vintage Sundays: classic films back on the big screen. Today’s film is The Searchers (U) (1956): ‘often cited as the best Western ever made, The Searchers turns Monument Valley into an interior landscape as John Wayne pursues his five-year odyssey, 
a grim quest to kill both the Indian who abducted his niece and the tainted girl herself’. 1pm, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0871 902 5723 or online here.
Garden Sculpture Tours: join Alexander ‘Twig’ Champion for a meditative tour around the Garden’s outdoor sculptures, including the works of John Chamberlain. The tour explores both Chamberlain’s outdoor works, installed as part of the summer exhibition in Inverleith House, and the Garden’s collection of outdoor sculptures, including major works by Ian Hamilton Finlay, Andy Goldsworthy, Barbara Hepworth and Alan Johnston. 2-3pm, meet at Inverleith House reception, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Inverleith Row. Free, all welcome, no booking required.
Edinburgh Interfaith Group Annual Inter Faith Peace Walk: a walk past many of Edinburgh’s places of worship, including Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, St Andrew’s Orthodox Church, Central Mosque, St Mark’s Unitarian Church, St John’s Episcopal Church, Kagyu Samy Dzong Buddhist Centre, St Mary’s RC Cathedral, Baha’I Community, Annandale Street Mosque, Sikh Gurdwara and Hindu Mandir. Join the walk at 1.45pm at Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation, 4a Salisbury Road or at 3pm at St John’s Church, Princes Street or at 4.10pm at St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral, York Place. The walk will end with refreshments at Edinburgh Hindu Mandir, St Andrew Place, Leith at 5.40pm. If you plan to join in, please email info@eifa.org.uk to help the organisers arrange enough refreshments.
Hearing Impaired Tour: Head to Head. Artist Tessa Asquith-Lamb leads a free tour (with portable hearing loops) of this exhibition of portrait sculpture, ancient and modern, from across the National Galleries of Scotland. The exhibition illustrates how sculptors continue to reference the illustrious tradition of the portrait bust, but in various ways also seek to break free from it. 11am-12 noon, Scottish National Gallery (gardens entrance), The Mound. Booking is required: please contact the Information Desk on 0131 624 6560.
Alzheimer Scotland Memory Walk 2015: the walk will take place at Dalkeith Country Park, and there will be a 7km or 3.5km route available. Alzheimer Scotland’s marquee will be offering information displays, crafts, face painting and home baking. Dogs must be kept under close control. 1pm (prompt), Dalkeith Country Park, Dalkeith High Street, Dalkeith. Registration costs £10 (£5 for 12-16 year olds, free for under 12s) and may be made by calling 0300 303 7777, emailing events@alzscot.org or visiting www.memorywalkscotland.org.
Foam, Foil and Form Workshop: explore the materials and techniques used by the artist in these drop-in art workshops inspired by the sculptures of John Chamberlain. Experiment with colour and form by making miniature foam sculptures, sculpt with foil or create through collage – take your work home! For ages 4+ – please note that children must be accompanied by an adult. 2-4pm, Inverleith House (Lower Ground Floor), Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Inverleith Row. Free: no booking required.
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 films are:
(1) Life is Sacred (15+): violence is part of everyday life in Colombia…but the unorthodox presidential candidate Antanas Mockus and his enthusiastic young activist supporters attempt to reverse the vicious cycle with an imaginative and positive election campaign. Can good ideas and an idealistic drive alone change a political culture where violence is rampant? The portrait of an inspiring man and a powerful youth movement, whose stories are relevant far beyond Colombia’s borders. 5.45pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road; Tickets may be purchased from the Filmhouse box office in person, by calling 0131 228 2688 or online; prices vary.
(2) Sunu (12+); Sunu (maize) is a captivating immersion into the hearts and fields of Mexican farmers who refuse to give up indigenous agriculture, despite immense external pressure. This will be an interactive bike-powered screening as part of the Harvest Festival at the Botanics; you are invited to pedal through the film beneath the stars. Please bring warm clothing and waterproofs as rain cover is limited. 7.30pm (doors and bar from 7pm), Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Row. Tickets cost £6/£4.50 and may be booked via the TOA website here.
Epic Epoch: travel back in time with Dr When to discover life from the Ice Age to Doomsday – 11,000 to 1,100AD. Follow a treasure trail of enactments, activities and hands-on fun through the Dells to seek out extinct animals, early man, Bronze and Iron Age Camps, and join the battle to claim Edinburgh for the Scottish King. 12 noon-4pm, Water of Leith Visitor Centre, 24 Lanark Road. £10 for a map and Reward Bag for your whole family or group. To avoid a wait, call in advance and reserve a start time: 0131 455 7367 (email admin@waterofleith.org.uk).
Not The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. For over 18s only. 8pm (doors 7.30pm), The Voodoo Rooms, West Register Street. Tickets cost £10 (+ booking fee) in advance from See Tickets here.
St Giles’ At Six: Philomusica of Edinburgh and Gladstone’ Bag – Those Radio Times. A concert of theme music and signature tunes from the golden age of radio, from Music While you Work to The Archers, featuring the lush vocal tones of Lah Dee Dah. Director: Lawrence Dunn. 6pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free: retiring collection.
