Mac’s Munchkins: hands-on sessions for preschoolers with Ali of Lighter Parenting. A mixture of stories, craft, animal encounters and other farm treats! For ages 2+. 10-11am today and every Thursday, Gorgie City Farm (meet at the Red Tractor), 51 Gorgie Road. Suggested donation £2 per child.
Autumn Music and Reflection: George Gershwin. Music and Reflection returns for four weeks this autumn, with the theme of Composers’ Lives and Music. Enjoy music performed by talented Edinburgh music graduates and learn a little of the composer’s life in a short talk. Today Rachael Liddell (mezzo soprano) will perform songs by Gershwin, accompanied by Chris Harding (piano). Speaker: Ian Gilmour. 1-1.30pm, Sanctuary, St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church, 13 George Street. Free.
Cameo Big Scream: screenings exclusively for parents/carers and their babies under the age of one year. Today: Monty Python and The Holy Grail (re: 2015) (12A): the 40th anniversary of this hilarious romp, starring Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, Eric Idle and John Cleese. 10.30am, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0871 902 5723 or online here.
Mayfield-Salisbury Thursday Club: Chris Short talks about Scottish Women’s Hospitals in World War One. 2pm, Upper Hall, Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church, 18 West Mayfield. The club meets weekly from October to May, with an attractive programme of music, slides, talks and demonstrations. New members warmly welcomed; annual membership costs £4 and there is a 50p charge for tea at each meeting. For more information please contact Florence Smith on 0131 663 1234.
Lunchtime Concert: students from the Reid School of Music, University of Edinburgh. 12-12.45pm, Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place. Free.
Holiday Activities with the Water of Leith Conservation Trust: Rotten! Delve in to the decomposing worlds of fungus, compost and poo. A ‘rotten’ event which promises to leave you mucky. 2pm, 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.
Art On A Plate with Lauren Wayland: take inspiration from the Museum’s ceramic collection and design and decorate your own piece of ceramic art (plate provided). 2.30-4pm, Museum of Edinburgh, Huntly House, 142 Canongate. Tickets cost £4 and must be booked in advance via the Usher Hall Box Office, Lothian Road, in person, by calling 0131 228 1155 or online here. Please note that these sessions are intended for families working together: at least one paying adult must accompany your child, and no child should be booked into a session alone.
SMHAFF: Cafe Voices. Storytellers Kate Craik and Michael Williams lead an evening of stories in the relaxed surroundings of the Storytelling Court. They are joined by Playback Edinburgh, who invite participants and audiences to share moments and stories from their lives. 7pm, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £5 and may be purchased from the Box Office on 0131 556 9579 or online here. Part of Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival 2015.
Romanian Film Season: acclaimed director and author Mark Cousins curates a series of Romanian film, revisiting 100 years of cinematic haunting eeriness, delicious sarcasm and groundbreaking miserabilism, which have amassed some of the highest distinctions of the seventh art. Tonight’s film is a cult classic of Romanian cinema, Stone Wedding/Nunta de piatra (U), comprised of two separate stories of different tone set in the same small town in the Apuseni mountains, both with a wedding as a central story point and the timeless quality of old folktales. The screening will be followed by a Q & A session via skype with one of the films directors, Dan Pita. 7pm, Red Lecture Theatre, Summerhall, 1 Summerhall. Tickets cost £5/£4 and may be purchased by calling the Box Office on 0131 560 1580 or online here. The season will continue throughout November and December. Part of Romanian Cultural Days in Edinburgh, a week-long foray into some of the most spectacular facets of contemporary Romanian culture through a programme of classical & electronic music, film, theatre, literature, traditional culture, food & wine. The project is organised by the Romanian Cultural Institute in London.
Harvest Concert with the Castle Chorus: an evening of autumnal music from Scotland and around the world, plus brand new original songs performed with local songwriters, and featuring sets from Dog On A Swing and Matt Norris and The Moon. Castle Chorus is a new Edinburgh mixed-voice unaccompanied choir, led by Caro Overy and singing a range of beautiful traditional and contemporary music. 7.30pm, Victoria Bar, 265 Leith Walk. Entry by donation.
Blackwell’s Edinburgh Presents Margaret Skea: A House Divided. The award-winning author launches the sequel to her debut novel Turn of the Tide. A House Divided is a sweeping tale of compassion and cruelty, treachery and sacrifice, set against the backdrop of feuding clans, the French Wars of Religion, and the Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1597. This event will be chaired by Professor Ian Campbell (University of Edinburgh). 6.30pm, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. Free tickets may be obtained from the shop’s front desk, by calling 0131 622 8229, emailing events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk or via eventbrite here.
Play Poland Film Festival: the largest mobile film event in the UK, presenting and promoting contemporary Polish cinema: today’s film is A Grain of Truth/Ziarno Prawdy (in Polish with English subtitles), the highly anticipated thriller adapted from the bestselling Polish novel by Zygmunt Miloszewski. A crime is committed in the picturesque town of Sandomierz. The body of a woman is found naked in a public place. Local law enforcement officers, under the command of a newly arrived metropolitan prosecutor (Robert Wieckiewicz), will have to solve a crime that has all the hallmarks of a ritual killing. This screening will be followed by a Q and A session with director Borys Lankosz. 5.45pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Box Office on 0131 228 2688 or online here; prices vary.
Miracle Glass Company: the psychedelic indie rock trio return with a headline show in their home city, blending their soaring three-part harmonies with ‘foot-stomping rock’n’roll, beautifully crafted songs and the odd psychedelic freak-out!’ This date will feature guest DJ Dr. Awkward,‘curing all your ills with his psychedelic thrills’. For over 18s only. 7pm, The Voodoo Rooms, West Register Street. Tickets cost £6 and may be purchased via eventbrite here.
