No need to be bored just because the holidays are over – there’s plenty going on around the city this week, from films and music to art, books, knitting – and testosterone. Never say we don’t bring you variety… Please do remember to check details with the organisers before setting out – we don’t want you to have a wasted journey.
MONDAY 11TH JANUARY 2016
A Hair’s Breadth of Time: a new exhibition of photographs by Hamish King ‘.…Man’s life lies all within this present, as ’twere but a hair’s breadth of time. As for the rest, the past is gone, the future yet unseen’ (Marcus Aurelius). 10am-8pm Monday to Wednesday, 10am-5pm Thursday-Saturday, closed Sundays, Fine Art Library (within Central Library), George IV Bridge. Ends 26th February 2016.
Polish Bookbug: songs and rhymes for children aged 0-4 years and their parents and carers. 10.30am, McDonald Road Library, 2 McDonald Road. Free: all welcome.
Grassmarket Picture House: Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner? (U). Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn head the cast in this outstanding Stanley Kramer production, which examines its subject matter with perception, depth, insight, humour and feeling. . a landmark in its tasteful introduction of sensitive material to the screen. The story covers 12 hours, from the arrival in, and departure from, San Francisco of Poitier and newcomer Katharine Houghton (Hepburn’s niece, in her screen debut). Tracy and Miss Hepburn are her parents, of long-time liberal persuasion, faced with a true test of their beliefs: do they approve of their daughter marrying an African American? Poitier’s parents, Beah Richards and Roy E. Glenn Sr, also are faced with the 
question when they fly up for dinner (hence, the title). 7pm, Grassmarket Community Project, 86 Candlemaker Row. All welcome, free admission: donations very welcome! The Grassmarket Community Project is a charity providing mentoring, training and education to participants, many of whom are amongst the most vulnerable of Edinburgh’s citizens, in a nurturing environment. It operates a community cafe, woodwork and tartan social enterprises, and a range of social integration and educational activities for members, aimed at enhancing life skills and developing confidence. To read about The Edinburgh Reporter’s afternoon at the Project, click here.
We Are All Born Free: an exhibition of illustrations from Amnesty International’s award-winning children’s book celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 10am-2pm Monday to Friday, Undercroft Cafe, St Andrew’s & St George’s West Church, 13 George Street. Ends 31st January 2016.
Get Organised: Music by Mendelssohn. John Kitchen presents a programme including both original organ works by Mendelssohn, such as the Organ Sonata no. 3 in A and transcriptions such as the Notturno and Wedding March from the incidental music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Adagio and Finale from the ‘Scottish’ Symphony no. 3, plus two of the delightful Songs Without Words, originally for piano. 1.10pm, Usher Hall, Lothian Road. Tickets cost £4.
For Crying Out Loud: screenings for parents and carers and their babies under the age of 12 months. (Maximum of two adults per baby). Babychanging, bottle-warming and buggy parking facilities are available. Today’s film is Joy (12A): a story told across four generations, Joy features Jennifer Lawrence in the title role of the woman who, while single-handedly raising two children, built a business empire through perseverance, work ethic and ingenuity. 11am, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets cost £4.50/£3.50 per adult.
Cafe Histoire: Louis XI, ‘L’universelle araigne’. A talk by Patrick Landi, Head of Library, Alliance Francaise de Glasgow. Becoming king at thirty-eight, Louis XI, called ‘l’universelle araigne’ by his enemies, doesn’t have a good reputation. Even though ugly and disagreeable, he was also an intelligent man. ‘I am France’, used to say this contemporary of Machiavel. 5.30-7pm, Institut Francais d’Ecosse, 13 Randolph Crescent. £5 (members)/£8 (non-members). Please note this talk is in French.
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. Tonight: 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.uk.
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 please contact Alison Wren on 0131 652 3283 or email alison@lgbthealth.org.uk.
Cut ‘n Colour. Print ‘n Paste: New Work by Karl Stern. Karl Stern is of Scottish/Jewish/German origin, born and living in Edinburgh. He has had a mixed career having worked in book and record shops, wildlife parks, bars and latterly in local government as a manager. He’s remained continually curious about people and their relationships to others, their work and their interests. Much of this is reflected in his work. where different moods are expressed through titles, design, colour and any narrative. He has also been an art collector for many years. Karl is a relatively new artist creating mainly colourful figurative works drawn with a knife, cut into card and painted with shellac and raw pigments. This collection was developed on a recent trip to France and will feature both plates and prints and a selection of cards. 9am-4.30pm, Monday to Saturday (closed Sundays), Leith School of Art, North Junction Street. Ends 13th February 2016. Image: Lost in Thought (c) Karl Stern.
Granton Library Knitting Group: 6.30pm today and every Monday, Granton Library, Wardieburn Terrace. All welcome, including beginners!
Picturehouses Toddler Time: exclusive short screenings for pre-school children and their parents and carers. Today: Boj – Pops Special! (U) Pops is Boj’s can-do dad; in ‘Non-Stop Pops’ he finds a way to play music AND get fit thanks to Rupa and Boj’s brilliant Boj-a-boom idea: a One-Man-Band Trike! In ‘The Best Nest’ Poor Pops has lost his hat… the good news is that Boj and Denzil have found it… the bad news is a Giggly warbler is using his hat as a nest! And in ‘Pops’ Outback Trek’ Boj decides to cheer up his homesick Pops by recreating Australia right here in Giggly Park. And when it all ends in a good old-fashioned sing-song it’s not just Pops but the whole community that has a good time! 11am, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets cost £3 per child, accompanying adult free.
Leith Conversation Cafes: weekly friendly, respectful and engaging conversation sessions, where people of different cultures can learn from each other, gain knowledge of their local area, practice their English and feel included. They are a chance for people to share stories, experiences and passions with others they might not normally meet, over a friendly cup of something warm. Conversation topics for each session are decided about a week in advance by volunteer hosts with input from guests; you can find details of topics for each session on the Cafes’ website here. The conversations are structured so that everyone has a chance to speak and be heard, however shy or confident they feel and no matter how many words of English they know. 10-11.30am, Out of The Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street.
Exhibition by St James’ Friends: a varied exhibition by five friends who met through St James the Less Church. David Owen (landscape acrylics), Tony Bramley (portraits and landscapes), Lynsay Downs (religious inspired paintings), Jim McGarva and John Ford (photographs). 10am-4pm, Monday to Saturday, Penicuik Community Arts Association, 4 West Street, Penicuik. Ends 6th February 2016.
Broughton History Society: Sutherland Forsyth will give a talk on ‘The Botanic Cottage Reborn’. 7.30pm (refreshments from 7pm), Drummond Community High School, Bellevue Place. Non-members are welcome at lectures. The Society is a friendly group of local (and not so local) people who share an interest in the history of Broughton ‘village’; it was founded in 1996 to promote an interest in the history of Broughton, and in local history generally. From September to May it holds a wide-ranging programme of monthly lectures on Monday evenings, and throughout the year it organises a number of visits to places of historical interest within the locality. Membership costs £12 per year; benefits include free copies of the Society’s newsletter, free entry to lectures, and priority booking on Society excursions. For further information and/or to join please contact the Chairman, Richard Love, at wordsandwalls@blueyonder.co.uk/tel. 0131 556 1488 or the Membership Secretary, Helen Rorrison, at hec@st-andrews.ac.uk /tel. 0131 557 5973.
Blind Poetics: an open mic night hosted by Alec Beattie and Roddie Shippin and featuring Freddie Alexander. Freddie likes to make people laugh, but isn’t funny enough for stand up comedy. He performs on poetry stages in the Edinburgh area, and also helps to run Inky Fingers. He has been featured by Rally & Broad, Loud Poets, 10RED, Poets Against Humanity, The Poetry Circus, and Soapbox, and was part of the winning team for the National University Poetry Slam in 2013. If you would like to take part in the open mic session, please sign up for a 5 minute slot by emailing blindpoetics@gmail.com. You can see how the open mic is run here. 8-11pm, The Blind Poet, West Nicolson Street. Free and unticketed but please email blindpoetics@gmail.com if you plan to attend.
35 Years of the Open Eye Gallery – Invited Artists: an exhibition of works by over 50 artists represented by the gallery, including both emerging and established names. Artists include Adrian Wisniewski, John Bellany, Henry Kondracki, Joyce Cairns and Alberto Morrocco. 10am-6pm Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm Saturdays, Open Eye Gallery, Abercromby Place. Ends 27th January 2016.
Jonathan Gibbs: Life is But A Dream. A selection of Gibbs’ work inspired by sabbatical leave from his role as Programme Director at Edinburgh College of Art last year. Within this time Gibbs studied riverine literature, songs and imagery as well as travelling to Italy, India, and Norfolk to further his practice. Whilst in Venice, Gibbs paid great attention to Jacopo de’ Barbari’s woodblocks, used for his infamous ‘Map of Venice’, which inspired Gibbs to start working on a larger scale. Gibbs is known for his distinctive approach to illustration through printmaking; this exhibition includes a range of woodcuts with new paintings on mahogany, canvas or oak, and additional pencil drawings. The exhibition is titled ‘Life is But a Dream’ after the largest and most ambitious work in the exhibition, consisting of a woodcut over 4 metres long; a direct response to the children’s nursery rhyme ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat’. The original bloc used for creation will also be on display in the gallery. 10am-6pm Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm Saturdays, Open Eye Gallery, 34 Abercromby Place. Ends 25th January 2016. Image (c) the artist.
The Scottish Gallery: New Exhibitions. (1) Malcolm Appleby at 70: Malcolm Appleby has dedicated his artistic practice primarily to engraving and pushing the boundaries of metalwork; constant experimentation has made him a master of his craft and in 2014 he received an MBE for his outstanding contribution to the arts. This birthday exhibition sets out to provide a snapshot of Malcolm’s current work. (2) Jack Doherty: Waypoint. A solo exhibition of soda fired porcelain ceramics, originally curated by Sarah Frangleton and first exhibited during the St Ives September Festival 2015 across three historic sites in St Ives; fishermen’s chapels and traditional places of refuge. (3) Modern Masters V: part of the gallery’s series of survey exhibitions of 20th Century Scottish painting, covering the hundred years or so that defines the modern period. (4) William Irvine: Ebb and Flow. William Irvine moved to Maine over forty years ago, having had his formal education at the Glasgow School of Art. He is ‘a painter already kindred with a Scottish tradition of gentle expressionism, in tune with nature but highly personal enjoying a golden homecoming’. The Scottish Gallery, 16 Dundas Street. All exhibitions end 30th January 2016. Please contact gallery for opening times.
The Skylark Kids’ Movie: this week Kirikou and the Sorceress (U) (in French with English subtitles). Based on a traditional West African folk tale, the film tells a story of the 10cm tall Kirikou, a small boy who delivers himself from his mother’s womb to emerge walking and talking. Kirikou undertakes a perilous journey in order to discover the secret of the evil sorceress, who had cursed his village, eating up the men-folk and drying up the spring. Director Michel Ocelot’s rich animation plunges his audiences deep into the African bush, a place of myth and spirituality, while the specially commissioned score by Senegalese musician Youssou N’Dour, which uses only traditional African instruments, adds another rich layer to this magical African fairytale. 3.45pm, The Skylark, 241/243 Portobello High Street.
Currie & District Local History Society: The Past, Present & Future of Saughton Park. Speaker: Peter McDougall, Project Development Officer, Saughton House HLF Project. 7.30pm, Gibson Craig Hall, 156 Lanark Road West. All welcome. For more information please contact Mr Douglas Lowe on 0131 449 4349.
Live at the Cafe: a weekly chance for up and coming DJs to get their foot in the door, with the top DJs in Edinburgh on hand to ensure nothing but the best tracks are being played. Tonight the Cafe will host a late night bar set from Daniel Murphy. Bar open from 5pm, DJ set 10pm – 3am, Cabaret Voltaire, Blair Street.
TUESDAY 12TH JANUARY 2016
W Gordon Smith Award: an exhibition of successful entries to the W Gordon Smith Award Painting Competition, in association with Scotland on Sunday, celebrating the life of the distinguished art critic, author, dramatist and film-maker. W Gordon Smith’s understanding of how different art forms, including poetry, painting, music, theatre and film, are interconnected gave his critical writing a special insight and authority. His work as a dramatist proved equally successful with plays such as Jock, Knox and Vincent becoming part of the canon of contemporary Scottish theatre. A pioneer of televised arts programmes in Scotland, his series of films (Scope and Spectrum) for BBC Scotland throughout the late 1960s and 1970s are perhaps his greatest legacy, and now constitute a unique archive of cultural production in 20th century Scotland. Entries to this new competition were invited from artists working in Scotland and Scottish artists working throughout the UK and abroad. Works sold throughout the exhibition are not liable to any commission. Opens today then 10.30am-5.30pm, Monday to Saturday, Dovecot Studios, Infirmary Street. Ends 30th January 2016. Image: WG Smith by Sandy Moffat (c) the artist.
Tangerine (15): set entirely on a very eventful Christmas Eve, Tangerine is an odyssey through the myriad neighbourhoods of Hollywood, as captured entirely on modified iPhone 5s. Sin-Dee, a transgender sex worker who has just been released from a short prison stint, learns that her boyfriend/pimp, Chester, has been cheating on her with a cisgender woman. Accompanied by her best friend, Alexandra, an aspiring singer and fellow trans sex worker, Sin-Dee sets out to confront Chester and wreak vengeance upon the girl he cheated on her with. 8.30pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Also showing at 1.10pm and 8.30pm on Wednesday 13th January and 1.10pm and 6pm on Thursday 14th January 2016.
Edinburgh Gay Men’s Chorus Open Evening: if you love to sing, you should consider joining the jolly fellows at Edinburgh Gay Men’s Chorus! EGMC is opening its doors to members old and new tonight, for a chance to talk, hear some singing and join a community choir with a difference! From show tunes, contemporary pop and American classics to barbershop and traditional Scottish songs, the Chorus sings a diverse repertoire of music. In addition to two major concerts a year, EGMC also performs for charity events, local causes and private functions and holds social events for members. EMGC does not audition! This is an informal event and all are welcome. 7.30pm onwards, Abbey Mount Centre, 2-4 Abbey Mount. EGMC is always looking for new members, so if you can’t get there on the night, please contact them here.
Cameo Silver Screen: if you are 60+, join the Silver Screen club and qualify for discounted tickets costing just £5.50 – plus free tea, coffee & biscuits – at these special weekly screenings. Today’s films are The Danish Girl (15) at 1pm and 3.35pm, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (12A) at 12 noon, 2.55pm and 5.50pm, Bridge of Spies (12A) at 12.20pm and Carol (15) at 3.20pm, Cameo, Home Street. Non-members are welcome but pay standard ticket prices.
LGBT Age Edinburgh: Quite A Queer Quiz. A lively team quiz on a variety of topics. 5.30-7.30pm, LGBT Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. For more information and to book, please contact Kelly Minio-Paluello on 0141 271 2330 or email kelly@lgbthealth.org.uk. 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. It offers: a befriending service, a social programme and information sessions. If you or someone you know is interested in finding out more about what LGBT Age can offer, please get in touch with lgbtage@lgbthealth.org.uk or call 0141 271 2330.
Morningside Heritage Association: The Edinburgh of John Kay, caricaturist, c 1785-1817. Eric Melvin will talk about the Dalkeith-born artist, whose famous shop stood on the Royal Mile. 6.45 for 7.15pm, Morningside Parish Church Hall, 1Braid Road/Cluny Gardens. Morningside Heritage Assocation was formed in 1982 to promote the study of the history of the Morningside area of Edinburgh. Annual membership costs £12 – please contact the Membership Secretary Dr Eleanor Updale at memmha@gmail.com for details. If you would like to attend a meeting first, the admission fee of £3 will be deducted from your subscription if you decide to join.
Leith Folk Club: Gillespie & Wolfe. Playing a wide range of music with more than a strong hint of English, Scottish and Irish traditional, through to Gaelic song, French chanson, Appalachian, Balkan, Klezmer and Arabic – you can expect a lively night from Sam Gillespie and Becka Wolfe. Formerly Gillywolfe, they’re now known as Gillespie & Wolfe and are currently based in Edinburgh. Support: Halfway to Barra. 7.30pm, Victoria Park House Hotel, 221 Ferry Road. Tickets cost £8 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.
WEDNESDAY 13TH JANUARY 2016
Localism and Globalism: New Assemblies in Scottish Photography. A talk by Malcolm Dickson, Director at Street Level Photoworks, who will show work from photographers in some of the collectives and platforms around self-publishing and exhibition making that have emerged in Scotland in the past two years, including Document Scotland, The Forgotten Collective, Not Finished Article, the Photographers Collective, Documenting Britain, Goose Flesh and other recent photo-zines. The ubiquitous nature of photography and the role of camera clubs enters the frame here, such as projects by Queens Park Camera Club in Glasgow, with a historical footnote to the work of photographers associated with Partick Camera Club in the 1970s. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre. Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed.
Edinburgh Napier University Campus Tours: come and 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. Napier has six academic schools across three main campuses, so when selecting which campus you’d like to visit please make sure you select the correct campus for your chosen course – the open days will take place simultaneously at all three. 2pm (tours take approximately one hour), Merchiston Campus, 10 Colinton Road and Craiglockhart Campus, 219 Colinton Road and Sighthill Campus, 9 Sighthill Court. Tours are free but registration is required and may be made here.
Wiff Waff Wednesday: a monthly ping pong night for all ages, with music, drink and great food available to purchase at the Drill Hall Arts Cafe. 6-10.30pm, Out of The Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street. Free entry and all are welcome! ‘Friendship 1st, competition 2nd’.
Let’s Talk About Health – It’s Time for ‘T’: the importance of testosterone for lifelong male health. As part of the series Let’s Talk About Health: Understanding Disease, Dr Rod Mitchell, Wellcome Trust Clinical Fellow (University of Edinburgh) and Professor Lee Smith, Chair of Genetic Endocrinology, MRC Centre for Reproductive Health (University of Edinburgh) will discuss current evidence for how chemical exposure might influence male reproductive health. The talk will also cover the science behind the production and action of testosterone and how this knowledge might be used to develop strategies improve male health. 5.30-6.30pm (doors open 4.30pm, when tea and coffee will be available – refreshments will also be available after the event), The Chancellor’s Building, 49 Little France Crescent. Free but registration is required and may be made via eventbrite here. Image: Zerbor/Shutterstock.
Bookbug: songs and rhymes for children aged 0-4 years and their parents and carers. 2-2.30pm today and every Wednesday, Piershill Library, Piershill Terrace. Free: all welcome.
The Old Edinburgh Club: Lynn Kilpatrick and Miriam McDonald will talk on The Canongate Project. 7pm, Augustine United Church, George IV Bridge. The Old Edinburgh Club is a local history society, concerned with all aspects of the city’s history and development. Membership costs £20 per year: contact the Membership Secretary, Graham Rule, at membership@oldedinburghclub.org.uk for details. Non-members are welcome at lectures and are charged £5 entry.
Paul Kirby’s Resonance Trio: Edinburgh pianist Paul Kirby has been teaching jazz in Seoul for several years, and is home for a minute, touring in Europe with this excellent trio with fellow Seoul jazz tutors, ex-Boston bassist Sean Pentland and phenomenal expat German drummer Manuel Weyand. The Trio has been featured in major jazz festivals in Korea, China, Malaysia and Europe, with a programme of original compositions written by the trio members. 9pm (entry from 8pm), The Jazz Bar, 1a Chambers Street. £7/£5 on the door: please note this venue is cash only. Also at same time on Thursday 14th January 2016.
THURSDAY 14TH JANUARY 2016
Greyfriars Bobby’s Birthday! Come to the Kirk for a celebration of beloved Bobby’s birthday at his grave with Edinburgh City Council and the Sky Terrier Association (period costumes included!) This will be followed by a reception at the Grassmarket Community Project with refreshments and ‘dog’ biscuits! 1pm Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place.
Easel Sketching in the Gallery – January: led by artist Damian Callan. A different subject each month and sometimes with a model. All materials supplied. 2-4pm, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free, no booking required, please ask at information desk for exact location. Also at same times on Friday 15th January.
Mayfield Salisbury Thursday Club: a weekly programme of music, visual presentations, films, talks and demonstrations. Although mainly for retired people, visitors of any age are always welcome. This week Kathleen Hendry will talk about Springtime in Andalucia. 2-4pm, Upper Hall, Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church, 1a Mayfield Road. Annual membership costs £4 per year and 50p a week is charged for tea; new members are most welcome, but you don’t have to be a member to come along. For more information please contact Florence Smith on 0131 663 1234
Blackwell’s Edinburgh and Comely Bank Publishing Present: Our Best Attention. Jane Tulloch’s debut novel is set in Murrays, a fictional Edinburgh department store in the 1970s. It’s a large, gothic, rambling building, but the store’s real heart lies in its staff and its customers. 6.30-8pm, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. Free tickets may be obtained from the shop’s front desk, by calling 0131 622 8222, emailing events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk or via eventbrite here.
Portrait Gallery Curator’s Talk: Document Scotland. Anne Lyden, International Photography Curator, gives a talk on the Document Scotland exhibition, The Ties that Bind. 5-5.30pm, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free, no booking required. Image: Berwick Rangers 2014 (c) Colin McPherson.
Picturehouses Big Scream: exclusive screenings for parents/carers and their babies under 12 months. Today: The Intern (12A), starring Robert de Niro and Anne Hathaway. 70-year-old widower Ben Whittaker has discovered that retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Seizing an opportunity to get back in the game, he becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site, founded and run by Jules Ostin. 10.30am, Cameo, Home Street.
Edinburgh Napier University Postgraduate Networking Evening: an exclusive event for those considering postgraduate study to enhance or re-direct their current career options. Meet academic members of staff from across the University and find out more information on course content, module options, flexibility of study and course fees. Supporting departments will also have information stands and be on hand to offer guidance on all things from career prospects to scholarships and bursaries. 5.30pm, Edinburgh Marriott Hotel, 111 Glasgow Road. Please note this event is being held off campus.
Duddingston Joint Discussion Group: From the Roman Departure to the end of the Mediaeval Period and From a ‘Rough Wooing’ to a ‘Forceful Seduction’. A talk by retired archaeologist Professor Roger J Mercer OBE, who has excavated in Scotland and England. The talk forms part of a series, ‘Duddingston: Village in a Borderland, prehistory to the present’. 7.30pm, Millar Hall, Old Church Lane, Duddingston. No need to book and admission is free, but donations to Dr Neil’s Garden would be much appreciated.
Worldwide Reading In Support of Ashraf Fayadh: Scottish PEN are joining the Literature Festival Berlin’s call for a Worldwide Reading in support of the Palestinian poet Ashraf Fayadh, who was sentenced to death for apostasy in Saudi Arabia. Poems by Ashraf Fayadh will be read by Christine de Luca, Rachel McCrum and Jenny Lindsay. 5.30-6.30pm, Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close. Free, no booking required.
LGBT Language Cafe: a safe, sociable and supportive space for LGBT people whose first language is not English. Improve your spoken English and your confidence and socialise with other LGBT people at these fun and inclusive sessions. Facilitators Sophie and Clare will provide fun and inclusive ways to practice speaking English, build your vocabulary and find out more about the LGBT community in Edinburgh. 6.30-8.30pm, LGBT Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. For more information please contact Jules Stapleton Barnes on 0131 523 1104 or email jules@lgbthealth.org.uk.
African Routes: using art and design to reframe development. A talk and drinks reception in memory of architect and designer Alero Olympio. The talk will be led by Renee Neblett, Director of the Kokrobitey Institute in Ghana. Accra, the capital of Ghana is a city transformed by outside investment in recent years. With new roads, luxury apartments, boutique hotels and world class restaurants, Accra typifies the economic potential of 21st century Africa. But one only need scratch the surface to find a city and ecosystem in crisis. If the global community is sincere about environmental stability then perhaps it can create new models that build on the existing sustainable practice central to local traditions. Renee will explore the role of art and design in this context and how local communities understand their environment in relation to the broader world, providing examples from the pioneering work of the Kokrobitey Institute and Design Centre. 6.30-7.30pm, Gayfield Creative Spaces, 11 Gayfield Square. Free but please register via eventbrite here. For more information please contact info@gayfield.co.uk.
Playtime: Go Get It! New music by Graeme Stephen (guitar) and Tom Bancroft (drums) with special guests Catriona McKay (harp/electronics), Oene Van Geel (viola) and Mario Caribe (bass). ‘An intoxicating brew of composed and improvised material featuring a group of supremely talented performers!’ 8pm, The Outhouse, Broughton Street Lane. Admission £7/5 on the door.
FRIDAY 15TH JANUARY 2016
In Focus: The Lomellini Family by Sir Anthony Van Dyck. As a young artist, Van Dyck spent six years in the wealthy port of Genoa, Italy, where he painted sumptuous portraits of the local nobility. Ola Wojtkiewicz, art historian, discusses Van Dyck’s most ambitious portrait of that period, painted for the Lomellini family, considering how it fits into the National Galleries’ portrait collection while unveiling its symbolism and the intriguing history behind the commission. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre. Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed.
Bookbug: songs and rhymes for children aged 0-4 years and their parents and carers. 10.30-11am today and every Friday, Kirkliston Library, 16 Station Road and 10.30-11.15am today and every Friday, McDonald Road Library, 2 McDonald Road. Free.
Crafts for Children: 2-3pm today and every Friday, Kirkliston Library, 16 Station Road and South Neighbourhood Library, 40 Captain’s Road. Free family sessions: all welcome.
Freeze Frame Film Club: Top Gun. Beat the January blues with Goose, Maverick, Iceman, Viper and Merlin! Doors open 7pm (film starts approximately 8.30pm), Out of The Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street. Admission £3 (includes popcorn!). A three-course meal of dishes inspired by the film is available at £15 per person and must be pre-booked – call 0131 555 7100 or email stephanie.haigh@outoftheblue.org.uk.
The Skylark Presents…Planet Earth Rock & Roll: Space is the place and the Skylark welcomes back its two favourite psychonaughts for their first 2016 outing. 8pm, The Skylark, 241/243 Portobello High Street.
Meet Stuart MacBride: the bestselling crime author will be signing copies of In the Cold Dark Ground, the eagerly-awaited tenth Logan McRae novel. 12 noon, Waterstones West End, 128 Princes Street. For more information please contact the shop on 0131 226 2666.
Headset: Noodles. After a series of successful residents parties in their first year, UK Garage legend Noodles (Groove Chronicles) start 2016 with a UK Garage Special, headlined by original don Noodles (one half of Groove Chronicles) and bringing bass and grooves to the dance floor. Support: local garage producer Guised and Witness (Sneaky Pete’s) residents Skillis, Fault Lines & Squelchy. 11pm-3am, The Bongo Club, 66 Cowgate. £7/£5 on the door (sta). The Bongo Club is an independent nightclub, live venue and all-round artistic hub owned by local arts charity Out of the Blue. ‘Putting the sounds of the underground and imaginative aspirations before the mighty dollar’.
Pocion de Fe: a wild dance party with a spicy blend of Latin and Caribbean rhythms, Cuban salsa and African mambo from a dynamite seven-piece of Edinburgh’s top musicians, with tight funky grooves and irresistible Latino horn licks. Frontman Felipe’s Spanish lyrics blend social and political consciousness with hot Cuban-style wordplay. Plus Funk DJ. 12 midnight (entry from 11.30pm) -3am, The Jazz Bar, 1a Chambers Street. £5/£4 on the door: please note this venue is cash only.
SATURDAY 16TH JANUARY 2016
Lynn Rodgie and Rodger Insh. After studying graphic design at Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen, Lynn Rodgie worked as a Graphic Designer in Glasgow for a number of years before deciding to paint full time. Lynn Rodgie’s design background shows in her paintings. Many of her paintings are stylised rather than fully representational and she is constantly inspired by her environment; the Scottish countryside around her gives endless ideas for paintings. Rodger Insh was born in Kirkcaldy. He graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in 1971 and has continued to paint and exhibit ever since. ‘The passage of time fascinates me. I am particularly intrigued by the apparent permanence of mountainous landscape and the obvious impermanence of human impact on the land and the slow deterioration of man made structures such as buildings’. Opens today, then 11am-6pm Monday to Friday, 10.30am-4pm Saturdays, The Torrance Gallery, 36 Dundas Street. Ends 6th February 2016.
Morningside Farmers’ Market: fresh, local seasonal goods direct from the producers. Meat. fish, vegetables, baking, preserves, gifts and lots more, with hot refreshments available throughout the market and also from The Merlin Pub & Kitchen. 9.30am-3.30pm, The Merlin, 168 Morningside Road.
Lunchtime Concert: Esther Swift and David Douglas, a harp and singing duo from Peebles. 12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free admission.
Nothing But The Poem: Sylvia Plath. A reading session with poet Kate Hendry – read and talk about a selection of poems by Sylvia Plath, but please note that the poet discussed will be there in print only! 11am-12.30pm, Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close. Tickets cost £5/£4 and may be booked via eventbrite here.
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, involving a range of interests, information and activities. Today: ‘Inappropriate Gift Swap’ – bring along friends, family and partners to the first T time of the New Year and swap the gifts/clothes that just aren’t appropriate! Why not de-clutter and cheer somebody else up? 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.
3 RE-ACT Big Humble Jumble Sale>3: a big jumble sale to raise more funds for the RE-ACT’s aid work, with the extra aim of shifting some of the immense amount of stuff taking up space in RE-ACT’s warehouse! Come along and have a good old rummage through the exciting selection, and enjoy good company, music and a relaxing day at the Out of the Blue cafe space. RE-ACT is a registered not-for-profit cooperative focusing on sourcing, sorting and supplying vital aid for the refugees arriving in Europe and those making Scotland their homes. It started as a grassroots movement and grew momentum as more people got involved. In the 4 months it has existed RE-ACT has provided 250 tonnes of vital aid to the various camps and borders hit hardest in Europe. In Scotland it has kitted out homes for families settling here and supplied them with clothing and toys. RE-ACT is entirely volunteer based, no one gets paid, all volunteers fund their own endeavors and take time out of their own working lives to do what they can to help. All funds go directly to those who need it. Come along, get some bargains and find out more about the situation and how you can help. 11am-3pm, Out of The Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street. Admission £1 (of which 50p will go to RE-ACT and 50p to Out of the Blue, who are donating their space for free).
Haiku Circle: an introduction to the craft of haiku composition. In this session, hosted by Edinburgh Haiku Circle, the first circle will commence with one or two New Year haiku, which will be introduced in the original Japanese. Season words and other components will be explained in English, whereupon participants will be invited to work together to come up with an English translation of the Japanese haiku. Having thus gained an insight into what a haiku is, there will then be a workshop session in which participants will compose their own haiku. Guidance will be provided by ‘haiku therapist’ Catherine Urquhart. Finally, each participant’s haiku will be presented to the group for appreciation. 1-3pm, Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close. Tickets cost £5/£2 and may be booked by contacting catherine.urquhart102@gmail.com.
Piano with Arttu: come and listen to some delightful tunes played on the bar’s neglected piano. 7pm, Sofi’s Bar, 65 Henderson Street.
The Domestics: eclectic alt. country music. 9pm, Dalriada, 77 The Promenade, Portobello.
Place + Platform:BYOB. A one-night cross-platform event showcasing artist film, moving image and performance, featuring brand new work by supported artists Anneli Holmstrom, Michael Kay and Sam Wood, Founded in 2014 by Abi Lewis and Susannah Leake, place + platform provides a place and a platform for emerging artists to create and present work. Sourced from an open call and invited artists, BYOB will host an eclectic bunch of artist films screened on projectors, TVs and tablets to create an immersive atmosphere, with music and visuals by Edinburgh’s Eyes of Others and Glasgow’s King Wine, and yummy home brew sponsored by Brew Store. 6.30-10pm, St Margaret’s House, 151 London Road. For more information please contact Abi, Sooz and Emma at Placeandplatform@gmail.com.
Dolly Night: celebrating everything wonderful that is Miss Dolly Parton! Dolly will be celebrating 70 fabulous years on this planet, so come to the Victoria Bar tonight for a party in her honour! Fancy dress lookalike competition for both ladies and gentlemen, sing along, and a dancing contest, and of course some glamorous cocktails to boot! yeeha! 8pm, Victoria Bar, 265 Leith Walk.
Soulsville: DJs Francis Dosoo, Fryer & Mr Mason bring you a monthly night of rapturous soul music, playing rugged rhythms & deep blue grooves long into the midnight hours and featuring glowing visuals downstairs plus rotating guests upstairs. 11pm-3am, The Bongo Club, 66 Cowgate. £5 on the door (sta).
Jambouree: ‘an impressive 5 piece of young multi-instrumentalists, Jambouree melds instrumental jazz fusion and fresh funk with hip-hop and world music inflections. Dynamic improvisation and infectious polyrhythms from horn section Matt Harrold (trumpet) and Callum Mason (alto sax, clarinet), with Joe Nichols (keys, piano, harmonica), Mischa Stevens (bass) and Alex Palmer (drums)’. ‘Very, very groovy’ (Stephen Duffy, Jazz House, BBC Radio Scotland). Plus DJ Astrojazz. 12 midnight (entry from 11.30pm) -3am, The Jazz Bar, 1a Chambers Street. £5/£4 on the door: please note this venue is cash only
SUNDAY 17TH JANUARY 2016
Bags of Art – January: 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 and unticketed. Supported by the Friends of the NGS. Image (c) Alicia Bruce.
Filmhouse Junior: films for a younger audience. This week: Paper Planes (U) – 12-year-old Dylan might not have the latest phone, but when a supply teacher shows him how to make the perfect paper plane, his imagination and his enthusiasm know no limits. On his journey from his home in rural Australia to the bright lights of Tokyo, he makes new friends and learns how he can help his family heal. 11am, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets cost £4 per person, big or small.
LGBT Art Workshop for Carers: are you an LGBT person who takes on an unpaid caring role? This could be shopping and cooking for a partner because they are unwell, or it might be providing practical assistance to a disabled child or parent, or giving emotional support to a friend in recovery from addiction. If you identify as a carer or as someone with regular caring responsibilities, you’re invited to a day of art making. The workshop is time for you, time to meet others in similar situations, time to acknowledge the challenges and triumphs of how an unpaid caring role impacts on your life. If you can only attend part of the day due to caring commitments it is also possible to take part for just some of it. 11am-5.30pm, Serenity Cafe, Jackson’s Entry (off Holyrood Road). Free but booking is essential and may be made here. For more information please contact Alison Wren on 0131 652 3283 or email alison@lgbthealth.org.uk.
Trevelyan College Big Band: big sounds from this touring 16-piece large student ensemble from Durham University’s Trevelyan College, performing a varied programme of jazz, swing and funky stuff. 3-5.30pm, The Jazz Bar, 1a Chambers Street. £3 on the door: please note this venue is cash only
Refugio: a monthly evening Communion set in the context of silence, symbol and reflective prayer. 7-8pm, Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place.
AKVA Plays Pong! Open play 6-7.30pm, followed by a tournament from 7.30pm (last entries 7.15pm). Live DJ, beer and burger deal £10. Every Sunday, Akva, 129 Fountainbridge. Entry £3 (students £2).
St Giles’ At Six: The Edinburgh Kevock Choir, directed by Graham Lovett, sing works by Sullivan, Whiteacre, Knauf, Fettke and Rutter, together with some Scottish folk songs and spirituals. 6pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free admission: retiring collection.
