Cameo Toddler Time: short screenings exclusively for pre-school children and their parents and carers. Today’s film is Q Pootle 5 Programme 7 (U): Join the stars of the hit CBeebies show, set in outer space on the wonderful planet of Okidoki. With friendship at the heart of the series, Q Pootle 5 and his friends find fun and adventure wherever they go. 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.
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 Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance (PG). The astonishing true story of a champion racehorse, raised on an allotment in one of the poorest mining valleys in Wales. 11am, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets cost £4.50/£3.50 (babies admitted free) and may be purchased from the Filmhouse box office in person or by calling 0131 228 2688.
Edinburgh Careers Fair: a great chance to find out about potential career opportunities and meet employers keen to recruit students and graduates. The fair is organised by the University of Edinburgh but students and graduates of any university are welcome to attend. There will be more than 130 organisations exhibiting at the first two days of the fair – different ones each day – including employers and professional bodies from a variety of sectors, such as business, finance science and engineering companies. Careers advisers and information staff will be on hand to offer guidance on your next steps, as well as highlight useful resources for your own research. 12-4.30pm, Pleasance Sports Hall, 48-60 Pleasance. No booking required; all visitors will be asked to sign in on arrival. The Careers Fair is sponsored by Standard Life and Barclays. Also at same times on Tuesday 6th October. Wednesday 7th October, the third day of the fair, offers a chance to meet with an alternative range of organisations – see Wednesday’s listings.
Guid Blethers: come along to Guid Blethers on the first and third Mondays of every month – make new friends, share stories, exchange ideas and views and take a trip down memory lane. We use a computer and projector to illustrate our topics. It is a most enjoyable afternoon for all ages, with lots of guid blethers over tea and cake. Today’s theme is Pot Luck – short discussions on a variety of topics. 2-4pm, Polwarth Parish Church, Polwarth Terrace. For more information please contact Margaret on 0131 229 2963 or Audrey on 0131 447 5153. The next meeting will be on 19th October 2015.
SMHAFF 2015: Depict, Decode and Denote. Desire line n. An informal path that pedestrians prefer to take to get from one location to another rather than using an official route. ‘Sometimes we need to create our own path and sometimes our own art’. Depict and Decode open today, with Denote, a drama workshop, taking place on 13th October;
(1) Depict: an art exhibition created by participants from Outlook and the Be Arty Be Healthy project in Craigmillar. 12 noon-4pm, Craigmillar Community Arts, 58 Newcraighall Road;
(2) Decode: a site-specific exhibition developed by Outlook students at various workshops during the summer. Open at all times, Porty Light Box, Portobello High Street/Bellfield Street.
Both exhibitions end 30th October 2015.
Edinburgh World Justice Festival continues this week. Today’s events are:
(1) Imagine Our World in 2040 – join Quaker friends in imagining how our world could be in 25 years. ‘Around tables with an informal meal, we will share some of our own enduring concerns and open up to contributions from participants, in the hope that what will emerge is a shared idea of what each of us can do now to realise our vision’. 5.30-8pm, Friends’ Meeting House, 7 Victoria Street. Organised by the Quaker Social Responsibility Group; for more information please contact David Somervell at David.Somervell@ed.ac.uk or 07743 759 528;
(2) Austerity, Debt and Military Spending: a discussion organised by Edinburgh CND, who say ‘There has long been a link between debt and military spending, with governments both rich and poor prioritizing the military (and corporates who gain from military spending) over the needs of the people. The Greek crisis reminded us of this. In the decade before 2010 Greece spent $150 billion on arms and the military, in deals often mired in corruption. Come and discuss how to confront this injustice’. 7-9pm, Friends’ Meeting House, 7 Victoria Street. For more information please contact Eileen Cook on 0131 669 6396 or email edinburghCND@yahoo.com
The Deluge: a lunchtime concert performed by the ESG Choir, Switzerland, conducted by Johannes Gunther. 12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.
Dementia Doesn’t Steal Connection: a public lecture. Dementia can progress so far that it seems impossible to ‘find’ the person inside. Dr. Maggie Ellis explores the scientific evidence revealing that it is always possible to connect with another human being, even during the most advanced stages of dementia. Dr Ellis’s pioneering insights reflect on the deeper meanings of words such as ‘communication’, ‘curiosity’, and ‘respect’. 7pm, Netherbow Theatre, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Free but tickets are required and may be booked in person, by calling the Box Office on 0131 556 9579 or online here.
Broughton History Society: Ian Gardiner talks about Robert Louis Stevenson’s Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes. 7pm (refreshments – lecture starts at 7.30pm), Drummond Community High School, Bellevue Place. Annual membership of the society starts in September and costs £10; visitors are welcome at evening meetings. For further information and/or to join, please contact the Chairman, Richard Love, on 0131 556 1488 or wordsandwalls@blueyonder.co.uk, or the Membership Secretary, Helen Rorrison, on 0131 557 5973 or hec@st-andrews.ac.uk.
Blackwell’s Edinburgh Presents The Monthly Book Quiz: if you know your Waugh from your Peace and your Meyer from your Heyer, try the monthly book quiz, with questions on anything from classics to current bestsellers, Booker Prize winners and celebrity biographies.Teams of up to five people can take part. 6pm, Caffe Nero, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. Please arrive early as space is limited.
Contrasting Perspectives: India and Nepal through the eyes of two atists. Louise Smurthwaite and Sophie Martin travelled together around India and Nepal for 4 months in 2014 and this exhibition will show the work they produced during and inspired by this trip. They had the idea that it would be interesting to replicate views from 2 different artistic perspectives and so the artworks in the exhibition are all from images drawn at similar view-points. Whilst Sophie is showing her original ‘on location’ pen and watercolour illustrations, Louise as a printmaker is exhibiting screen prints directly inspired from her sketchbook drawings. Alongside the original artworks the artists will also exhibit their original sketchbooks, plus prints, cards, books and zines inspired by the trip. During their travels Louise and Sophie also undertook a volunteering placement with Art Refuge UK, spending a few weeks in Dharamsala in Northern India and in Kathmandu in Nepal facilitating art workshops for disadvantaged groups, including refugee children and adults. Proceeds from the exhibition will be donated to Art Refuge UK to help fund ongoing earthquake relief work in Nepal. 11am-5pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 1-5pm Thursdays, Space Artworks Gallery, 410 Morningside Road. Ends 22nd October 2015.
Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival: films for all tastes (‘from the foodies to the fanatics!’), primary and secondary school screenings, a gastronomic evening and opening and closing events. Today’s films are;
(1) at 5pm: 25 Anos desde la muerte de Gil de Biedma. Despite the fact that Catalan Gil de Biedma’s poetry output was brief, he became one of the most respected Spanish intellectuals of the second half of the 20th century; this documentary shows the human side of one of the most important Spanish poets. This screening will be preceded by a Q & A session with director Louis Ordonez. Note: this event takes place at the Screening Room (G.04), 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh and is free, but tickets must be booked via eventbrite here;
(2) 80 Egunean/80 Days (U) see listing for Saturday 3rd October. 6pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased from the Filmhouse box office in person, by calling 0131 228 2688 or online; prices vary.
Cafe Histoire: Les Hussards Noir. A talk by Patrick Landri, Librarian, Alliance Francaise de Glasgow. The term Hussards Noirs was used for the first time in 1913 by Charles Péguy in his novel L’Argent. It refers to the Students-Teachers of the École Normale but also illustrates the teachers’ mission after the vote of Jules Ferry’s school laws: ‘delete the last, the worst disparity from the birth, the education disparity’ (Jules Ferry in 1870). 5.30pm, Institut francais d’Ecosse, 13 Randolph Crescent. Admission £8 (members £5). Please note that this talk will be given in French.
Sofi’s Cult Movies: popular classics on the silver screen in the cosy, darkened back room. Free popcorn! Tonight’s film is Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland (PG) starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. 8pm, Sofi’s, 65 Henderson Street. Free.
LGBT Police Surgery: seek advice, raise concerns around safety issues, report incidents or discuss policing in your area with an officer from Police Scotland. No appointment needed for this informal setting. 6.30-7.30pm (within weekly Drop-In, which runs 5.30-8pm), LGBT Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. For more information, for support around safety issues or to meet with the police outwith the police surgery contact George Burrows on 0131 652 3281 or email george@lgbthealth.org.uk.
Architectural Heritage Society Winter Lecture Series: Andy Law – Reiach and Hall Celebrate 50 Years. Andy Law, a director in the architectural practice of Reiach and Hall, will review the origins and work of the practice, originally Alan Reiach, Eric Hall and Partners, and describe some recent projects. Many buildings Andy has directed in recent years have won awards, including the new Arts Faculty Building for the University of St Andrews, New Stobhill Hospital, Forth Valley College’s campus buildings in Alloa and Stirling, and Heriot Toun Studio – a residential artist’s studio. 6.30pm, St Andrew’s & St George’s West Church, 13 George Street. Admission £5 (students £2.50). Non-members welcome (members may attend 6 lectures for £25).
An Evening with Patrick deWitt: the bestselling and Booker-nominated author reads from and discusses his latest novel, Undermajordomo Minor, ‘a riotous blend of Gothic romance and macabre fairy tale written in exquisitely fine prose. An adventure story, a mystery, and a searing portrayal of rural Alpine bad behaviour, but above all… a love story’. Lucien Minor is the resident odd duck in the bucolic hamlet of Bury. Friendless and loveless, young and aimless, he is a compulsive liar and a melancholy weakling. When Lucy accepts employment assisting the majordomo of the remote, forbidding castle of the Baron Von Aux he meets thieves, madmen, aristocrats, and a puppy. He also meets Klara, a delicate beauty who is, unfortunately, already involved with an exceptionally handsome partisan soldier; thus begins a tale of polite theft, bitter heartbreak, domestic mystery and cold-blooded murder in which every aspect of human behaviour is laid bare for our hero to observe. 6.30pm, Looking Glass Books, Simpson’s Loan, Quartermile. Tickets cost £4 and are available from the shop, by calling 0131 229 2902 or via eventbrite here (transaction fee applies).
