From Harry Potter Night to LGBT History Month, there’s a huge variety to choose from in Edinburgh this week. The Further From Festival debuts in Linlithgow, the Manipulate Festival plays on at the Traverse Theatre – and just who are The League of Regrettable Superheroes? (see Tuesday to find out). Finally, please support Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, the Grassmarket Project’s mega-fundraiser on Saturday – they really need your cash to help them deliver their amazing services. Have a fabulous week – and don’t forget to check details with event organisers before you set out.
MONDAY 1ST FEBRUARY 2016
BYOB – Bring Your Own Baby! A fun, relaxed morning planned especially with parents and carers of young children in mind. Enjoy special offers and family-friendly facilities in the café and sign up for a short buggy/baby-friendly art tour for adults. Gurgling, laughing, crying or screaming welcome as well as lots of informal chat. 9-11.30am, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art ONE (meet at cafe – entrance at rear of building, level access from car park), Belford Road. Free but places for tours are limited; sign-up on the day. Image: Mère et enfant [Mother and Child], Pablo Picasso, 1902 − © Succession Picasso/DACS, London 2015.
Lunch and Concert: celebrating Valentine’s Day with a ‘Rose’ theme in piano, poetry and song, with Mairi and Robin Leach. 12.30pm, Eric Liddell Centre, 15 Morningside Road. £6 per person (includes home-made lunch); all welcome – please contact the centre for more information.
Manipulate: Ross Hogg – Play, Look, Paint, Shoot. Focusing on key artistic concepts of inspiration, observation and experimentation, Scottish BAFTA-nominated animator Ross Hogg presents a programme of his own work – The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Spectators and Scribbledub – together with a selection of animated films which have inspired and excited him. This event will be hosted by leading Scottish animator Iain Gardner. For ages 14+. 9pm, Traverse Theatre, 10 Cambridge Street. Tickets cost £8.50 and may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0131 228 1404 or online here. Manipulate is Puppet Animation Scotland’s annual celebration of innovative international visual theatre and animated film; this 9th Manipulate festival runs 29th January-6th February 2016.
Picturehouses Toddler Time: exclusive short screenings for pre-school children and their parents and carers. Today: Hopster Showtime Snow and Ice (U) – Hopster, the children’s learning and entertainment app, is bringing back its nationwide screenings in partnership with Toddler Time, offering hand-picked episodes of Wonderballs, 64 Zoo Lane, Rupert Bear and Pingu, filled with music, fun, laughter – and a lot of snow! All little visitors will also be able to put their paws on some yummy fruit snacks thanks to BEAR, providers of tasty pure fruit and veg snacks that contain no added sugar, salt, stabilisers or concentrates. 11am, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets cost £3 per child, accompanying adult free.
Eric Liddell Centre Open Afternoon. 
Is there anything missing from the Morningside, Merchiston and Bruntsfield area? The Eric Liddell Centre wants to offer more activities and resources to local communities. Please pop in to the Centre this afternoon to find out more about some exciting ideas and to share your own thoughts. All ages welcome; coffee, tea and biscuits provided. 2-6pm, Eric Liddell Centre, 15 Morningside Road. The Eric Liddell Centre is an Edinburgh charity dedicated to inspiring, empowering and supporting people of all ages, cultures and abilities, as an expression of compassionate social values.
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, Inverleith Row. Free, drop-in, no booking required. Also at same times on Tuesday 2nd February.
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 The Assassin (12A): the magnificent fruit of seven years work for director
Hou Hsiao-Hsien, the Taiwanese master’s beautiful cinematic vision of 9th Century China sees him turn his patient, detailed approach to the wuxia genre of Chinese cinema. General’s daughter Nie Yinniang (Qi Shu) is abducted at ten years old by a nun who initiates her into the martial arts, through which she grows up to become an expert assassin.Tasked with eliminating the cruel and corrupt, she is sent back to the land of her birth to kill the man with whom she was betrothed to be wed (Chen Chang). After 13 years, she must return to face her family, her memories, long-repressed feelings and the choice between assassinating the man she cares for or forever breaking away from the sacred order which has raised her. 11am, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets cost £4.50/£3.50 per adult.
Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland Winter Lecture Series: Nick Haynes – Building Scotland’s Canals. Freelance architectural historian Nick Haynes is a writer, researcher, historic environment consultant and treasurer of Docomomo Scotland. He is the author of a number of publications, including An Architectural History of the University of Glasgow, Scotland’s Sporting Buildings and Scotland’s Canals, for Historic Scotland and is currently working on an architectural history of the University of Edinburgh. 6.30pm, St Andrew’s & St George’s West Church, 13 George Street. Admission £5 (students £2.50). Non-members welcome. Members may attend six lectures for £25: membership details may be found here.
Living Our LGBT Memories: The Living Memory Association and LGBT Youth Scotland uncover LGBT histories throughout February 2016. Bring your photos to scan, your stories to share and your enthusiasm for a range of interactive events. Daily throughout February, Ground Floor, Ocean Terminal, 5 Quayside Place, Leith. February is LGBT History Month.
Modern Scottish Painting: JD Fergusson and Scotland. An illustrated talk focusing on Fergusson’s 1943 book, newly edited and annotated by Sandy Moffat and Alan Riach. Why has Fergusson’s artistic manifesto been so neglected? And what does it tell us about the history of modern Scottish art, of modern Scotland, of Scotland in the 21st-century and of the essential values of art, universally? In 1943 Fergusson’s evaluation of his contemporaries, from Picasso and Braque to the Glasgow Boys, William McTaggart and Charles Rennie Mackintosh, revitalised understanding of art and political identity. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre. Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed.
Grassmarket Picture House: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (12A) – Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s very likable film confounds both expectations and prejudices. Thomas Mann is dorky geek Greg, instructed by his mum to spend time with Rachel (Olivia Cooke) who has just been diagnosed with leukaemia, a task that turns from burden to blessing in time-honoured fashion. But, as Greg’s deadpan voiceover keeps telling us, this is not a love story – rather, it is a tale of mismatched friendships; Greg and Rachel rattle along, but the most intriguing character is RJ Cyler’s titular Earl, the ‘co-worker’ (Greg is scared of the word ‘friend’) with whom our unreliable narrator makes such cine-literate movie spoofs as Pooping Tom, Brew Vervet and A Sockwork Orange.
Michel Gondry-esque excerpts from these mini opuses pepper the tragicomic narrative, establishing a cute, off-kilter tone that filters through the main feature. 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.
The Skylark Kids’ Movie: this week Ice Age (U): Manfred the well-meaning mammoth, Sid the fast-talking sloth and Diego the duplicitous sabre-tooth tiger form a reluctant and unlikely alliance when they come across a helpless human baby. As they try to return the tot to his migrating tribe, the trio must battle more than just the elements in this harsh world of predators and prey. There’s plenty of light relief from the dramatic tension and superb action sequences, notably in the form of the brilliant comic invention Scrat, an apparently insane sabre-tooth squirrel who steals any scene in which he – and his acorn – appear. 3.45pm, The Skylark, 241/243 Portobello High Street.
Open Eye Gallery: New Exhibitions. (1) Selected Works: Philip Reeves RSA PRSW RGI. Philip Reeves’ beautifully balanced abstract works stand him as one of the most talented artists and printmakers within Scotland. A lifetime of experimentation with collage and the process of intaglio printmaking has led to works which combine found objects with natural forms to create a moment of aesthetic serenity. (2) Unbuilt: Cate Inglis. Winner of the Open Eye Gallery Prize at the SSA exhibition in 2014, Cate Inglis exhibits her debut solo show exploring transience of urban structures and the relentless process of growth and change. Cate’s practice takes her off the beaten track to buildings and structures at the last point of existence, including cross sections of suburban Glasgow, derelict distilleries and other understated landmarks and wastelands across Perthshire, Paisley and Dumbarton. This exhibition presents a selection of subjects in the process of falling into ruin. Whether through the impact of neglect, unrelenting natural processes or direct human intervention, each building in this exhibition is vanishing or has vanished.
(3) Visions of Scotland and Beyond: Sir David Young Cameron. Coinciding with the Scottish National Galleries’ exhibition The Spirit of Line, Open Eye Gallery is exhibiting a range of etchings by Sir David Young Cameron (1865-1945) including distinctive works such as Ben Lomond. 10am-6pm Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm Saturday, Open Eye Gallery, Abercromby Place. Unbuilt and Visions of Scotland and Beyond close on 15th February, Selected Works – Philip Reeves continues until 17th February 2016.
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 emailalison@lgbthealth.org.uk.
What happened in Paris and where do we go from here? From COP21 into 2016: Climate Activism after the Global Deal. Two decades of negotiations and huge efforts on the part of campaigners finally brought about an agreement in Paris. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s 21st Conference managed to pull together the long anticipated global response to the climate crisis, a text permissable to all countries involved in the negotiations. Some people hailed it a great success while others denounced it as a failure. What actually happened in Paris? What do these negotiations mean for campaigners, activists and anyone else who cares about the future of this planet? Where do we go from here, and what difference does this all make going forward into 2016? This informal discussion will look at these questions with contributions from campaigners who were in Paris during the talks. A relaxed ‘de-brief’ session with food and drink provided. 8pm, Swap and Reuse HUB ‘Shrub’ Co-operative, 13 Guthrie Street.
TUESDAY 2ND FEBRUARY 2016
A Room in Paris and a Room in London: Edouard Vuillard and William Orpen. Exploring aspects of interior painting at the turn of the twentieth century, in this talk art historian Belinda Thomson will compare Vuillard’s intimist treatment of his mother and sister in their cramped Paris apartment with Orpen’s representation of William Nicholson and family in their artistic Bloomsbury dining room. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre. Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed. Image: A Bloomsbury Family by Sir William Orpen, 1907.
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 Spotlight (15) at 12.30pm and 3.25pm, Youth (15) at 12.40pm and 3.15pm, The Big Short (15) at 12 noon and The Revenant (15) at 2.45pm. Cameo, Home Street. Non-members are welcome but pay standard ticket prices.
Lunchtime Concert: David Gerrard (harpsichord) plays JS Bach Fantasia and Fugue in A minor BWV 904, J Kuhnau Biblical Sonata ‘Saul cured through music by David’ JCF Fischer Preludes and Fugues in C# minor and E major from Ariadne Musica and JS Bach Preludes and Fugues in E major and Ab major BWV 878 and 886 from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II. 1.10pm, City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square. Admission free.
North Edinburgh Arts End of Winter Garden Activities: a foraging walk within North Edinburgh to collect willow for lantern-making. A great chance to explore your local wild places and learn how to identify some of our native plants. (The lantern-making workshop will take place 10am-12 noon on Friday 5th February – see listing. Please note these are two separate activities and should be booked separately.) For ages 16+. 1-3pm, North Edinburgh Arts, Pennywell Court. Free but places are limited so early booking is advised.
Morningside Heritage Association: The Reverend Professor David Fergusson will talk about Craiglockhart Hospital (now part of Edinburgh Napier University). During the First World War the hospital was used as a military psychiatric unit for shell-shocked officers, including Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. 6.45 for 7.15pm, Morningside Parish Church Hall, 1 Braid 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.
Campbell’s Ceilidh: a 21st century old style shindig at which there’s no knowing what might happen! Mairi Campbell’s easy and fun approach will facilitate harmony singing for everyone, plus offerings from Mairi and participants in song, story or poems. We may meet in step dancing or have a ceilidh dance with live fiddle! Each event is unique, today’s ceilidh will have a particular focus on Brigid. No experience required. 7pm, Storytelling Court, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £8/£6 and may be booked in person, by calling the Box Office on 0131 556 9579 or online here.
The Jonathan Mills Lectures: Choreographing the City. How do we respond to the intimate details of our surroundings? Our homes, or streets? Our neighbourhoods and offices? Our urban, or decreasingly, our rural environments? Driving through a city, even within speed limits, how much do we really notice? Are the textures and assemblages of buildings and streetscapes ever more than fleeting glances? Are we doing anything other than passing through? What kind of sensory, let alone sensual relationships, exist within these familiar places? Do we perform, through ritual or reverie, consciously or intuitively, simple acts of recognition to reflect upon and evoke the places in which we live? Jonathan Mills explores the idea of performance and most especially choreography as a way in which we might want to inhabit our place in the world. 5.20pm, Room O17, Edinburgh College of Art Main Building, Lauriston Place. Free and open to all.
Picturehouse Discover Tuesdays: Ice and the Sky (U). (In French with English subtitles). Writer-director Luc Jacquet creates a compelling call to arms through charting the work of spry 82-year-old climatologist Claude Lorius. Having first visited Antarctica 60 years ago, Lorius devoted his career to deep drilling for ice cores beneath the frozen tundra and analysing them to investigate changes in the Earth’s climate over thousands of years. Restored Super-8 footage of early expeditions recounts the hardships endured, but it’s the measured detachment with which Lorius explains what his ominous research evidence means for the future of the planet that packs the biggest wallop. 6pm, Cameo, Home Street.
An Evening with Amy Liptrot: the author discusses her remarkable memoir of addiction and recovery, The Outrun, one of the most highly anticipated debuts of 2016. ‘Beautiful, stark and unflinching. Amy Liptrot is an extraordinary new voice’ (Jenni Fagan). 6.30pm,Waterstones West End, 128 Princes Street. Tickets cost £2, redeemable against your purchase of a copy of The Outrun on the night, and may be purchased online here or by calling the shop on 0131 226 2666.
Bookbug: for children aged 0-4 and their parents and carers. 10.30am today and every Tuesday and Friday, Muirhouse Library, 15 Pennywell Court. Free.
LGBT Box of Delights: an early evening’s entertainment to celebrate LGBT History Month. Music and performances from Edinburgh College students and the fabulous Edinburgh Gay Men’s Chorus. Music Box Auditorium, Sighthill Campus, Edinburgh College, Bankhead Avenue. All welcome, free; for time and more information please contact sarah.taylor@edinburghcollege.ac.uk.
Screening Europe: a new season curated by Film Studies at the University of Edinburgh, introducing a varied selection of past and contemporary European films to celebrate and interrogate the history and aesthetics of cinema in Europe. Both members of the public and students are invited to an exciting series of introduced screenings that will chart the development of film across Europe. Tonight’s film is Macbeth (15): director Justin Kurzel’s intensely masculine approach to the Scottish play ruminates on power, corruption and violence in an atmosphere of madness and magic. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard mesmerise as the ultimate power couple. The screening will be introduced by Dr David Sorfa, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies (University of Edinburgh). 6.05pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0131 228 2688 or online. The next film in the series will be La double vie de Véronique/The Double Life of Veronique (15), showing on Tuesday 9th February.
Leith Folk Club: The League of Regrettable Superheroes. Featuring Jon Bews on fiddle, Dave Series on guitar and Willa Davie on pipes, described as ‘…a band comprising a fiddler and guitarist, both with perfectly respectable careers, who are now, for reasons unknown, trying to work with a piper. Their music is a blend of trad, jazz and time signatures designed to induce rage, with a few songs thrown in for good measure’. Support: Martin Lennon. 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.
Quiz Night with Paul Finch. 9pm, Old Chain Pier, Trinity Crescent.
WEDNESDAY 3RD FEBRUARY 2016
A History of Drinking: The Scottish Pub since 1700. Journey through the history of drinking in Scotland with Anthony Cooke. Public drinking places played an important and controversial role in Scottish society over the centuries, providing space for life rituals such as birth, marriage and death; they also provoked a backlash in the form of the temperance movement. 2-3pm, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge. Free but registration is required and may be made by calling 0131 623 3734 or via eventbrite here. In association with the Scottish Local History Forum.
Author Talk: Jane Tulloch – Our Best Attention. Jane Tulloch’s debut novel is set in Murrays, a fictional Edinburgh department store in the 1970s, whose watchword for a hundred years has been ‘Assuring you of our best attention at all times’. It’s a large, gothic, rambling building, but the store’s real heart lies in its staff and its customers. 6.30-8pm, Corstorphine Library, Kirk Loan. Free tickets are available from the library.
Lunchtime Concert: string players from Edinburgh Napier University with Chris Harding (piano). 12.15pm, St Giles Cathedral, High Street. Free.
The Scottish Gallery: New Exhibitions. (1) Life Studies: David Eustace, Rebecca Westguard, William Crosbie. An exhibition bringing together three very different artists exploring three media; all the narratives depicted are connected by the exploration, study and observation of the human form. (2) Julie Blyfield: Panorama. Julie’s work is inspired by the botanical landscape in Australia; she interprets this in metal using the techniques of ‘metal raising’ and ‘chasing’. (3) David Poston: Showcase. David Poston is a highly unusual artist and is currently the subject of a touring retrospective of his work Necklace for an Elephant and Other Stories: The Working Lives of David Poston. The gallery presents a small showcase of David’s work to coincide with this exhibition. David worked as an artist-jeweller using mainly non-precious metals and other materials from 1970 until 1984, and then again from 2000 until the present day. In between he has worked to assist in the development of sustainable livelihoods in twelve different African countries; he has contributed inventions through medical technology research, introduced a 3D haptic interface to potential developers in the UK, 
was involved internationally in several high-tech start-up companies and spent three years as leader of Loughborough University’s Jewellery and Silversmithing programme. (4) William Crosbie: Works on Paper. To coincide with the artist’s collection of Life Studies, the gallery has brought together an exhibition of Works on Paper from his estate. 10am-6pm Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm Saturdays, The Scottish Gallery, 16 Dundas Street. All exhibitions close 27th February 2016.
Bi and 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.
THURSDAY 4TH FEBRUARY 2016
Scotland-Russia Forum: Yakety Yak. Sparkling Russian/English conversation over tea and cakes. Open to all; no need to book, just turn up – you will be warmly welcomed by the group. 11am, Summerhall Cafe, Summerhall, 1 Summerhall. No charge apart from any drinks and cakes you choose to purchase. For more information please contact info@scotlandrussiaforum.org or tel 0131 560 1486.
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: George Ross and friends – Tre Voce. 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.
Picturehouses Big Scream: exclusively for babies under the age of twelve months and their parents and carers. Today’s film is The Hunger Games: Mockinjay Part 2 (12A). 
The fourth episode of the mega-popular fantasy franchise finds Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) leading her closest friends from District 13 – Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and Finnick (Sam Claflin) – in a bold attempt to assassinate Panem’s autocratic President Snow (Donald Sutherland). 10.30am, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets are at usual matinee prices: babies admitted free.
Music Research Seminar Series 2015 – 2016: Dr Tom Wagner, Teaching Fellow in the Reid School of Music, holds a PhD in ethnomusicology from Royal Holloway University and an MMus in ethnomusicology from Goldsmiths College, together with degrees in Percussion Performance from Rutgers University and the New England Conservatory of Music. Tom’s research explores the intersections of music, marketing and religiosity in various non-, quasi- and religious contexts and his talk is entitled ‘Very space opera’: The Scientology aesthetics of L. Ron Hubbard’s music’. 5.15pm, Lecture Room A, Alison House, Reid School of Music, Nicolson Square. All welcome: please contact Dr Benedict Taylor at B.Taylor@ed.ac.uk if you have any queries.
History of Art Research Seminar Series 2015-2016: Dr Lisa Skogh, a Research Fellow in the Research Department at the Victorian and Albert Museum, gained her MA at the Bard Graduate Centre in New York and her PhD at Stockholm University and has worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rosenborg Castle, Copenhagen, and at Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. Lisa runs What was Europe?, a British Academy-funded series of salons engaging emerging scholars with the V&A’s collections. Her talk is entitled: ‘The Kunstkammer and the Early Modern Consort: Knowledge, Networks and Influence’. 5.15pm, Lecture Theatre, Hunter Building, Edinburgh College of Art, Lauriston Place. All welcome.
Harry Potter Book Night: A Night of Spells. Celebrate the second worldwide Harry Potter Book Night – A Night of Spells; come in your wizarding robes or best muggle attire – there will be prizes for the best costumes. Fun and games from 5pm, followed by a screening of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban at 6pm with popcorn and potions. 5pm, Waterstones West End, 128 Princes Street. Reserve your free place by calling the shop on 0131 226 2666. All ages welcome!
Live Music Now: Champagne Flutes. Champagne Flutes is a refreshing ensemble that strives to explore the variety that the flute can offer, taking inspiration from all around the globe. For their Gallery performance, Alasdair Garrett, Matthew Howells and Elizabeth Lawton will present works inspired by Scottish painter and etcher David Young Cameron’s own artistic influences, including music from France, Italy and of course, Scotland. 6-6.30pm, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed.
Word Power Books Presents Robin Yassin-Kassab: Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War. Robin Yassin-Kassab is an author and a regular media commentator on Syria and the Middle East. His new book Burning Country explores the horrific and complicated reality of life in present-day Syria with unprecedented detail and sophistication, drawing on new first-hand testimonies from opposition fighters, exiles lost in an archipelago of refugee camps, and courageous human rights activists (among many others). These stories are expertly interwoven with a trenchant analysis of the brutalisation of the conflict and the militarisation of the uprising, of the rise of the Islamists and sectarian warfare, and the role of governments in Syria and elsewhere in exacerbating those violent processes. 6.30pm, Word Power Books, West Nicolson Street. All welcome, free – donations also very welcome!
Opacities: the first in a series of screening and discussion events programmed with artist Kathryn Elkin and Peter Taylor (Director, Berwick Fim & Media Arts Festival). What do we mean by ‘understand’ when we are talking about artworks? How can we talk about the artwork or describe it in a way that expands rather than reduces? Opacities will explore new ways to talk about the experimental moving image outside an academic framework. The programme includes work by film-makers and artists who all seem to refuse categorisation and deal with personal logic/illogic, missing histories or the esoteric; the films selected will deal with elusive impressions and sensations, double takes and alternative narratives, and, in turn, invite creative responses. Tonight’s films are Kevin Jerome Everson & Claudrena Harold’s Sugar Coated Arsenic, Filipa César Ramos’ Conakry and Pauline Boudry & Renata Lorenz’s To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe in Recognition of their Desperation. 7-9pm, Collective Gallery, City Observatory and Dome, 38 Calton Hill. Free but registration is required and may be made via eventbrite here. Further events will take place on 6th and 11th February; see separate listings.
Harry Potter Night! Youngsters of all ages are invited to dress up as their favourite Harry Potter character and join in Potion Making, Spell Casting, a Magical Quiz and other Potter japes… Expelliarmus! 6.30-7.30pm, The Edinburgh Bookshop, 219 Brunstfield Place. Please contact the shop for further details.
From Renaissance to Referendum: Women’s Voices in Modern Scottish Poetry. Many of the strongest voices in Scottish poetry today are those of women, yet only 40 years ago successful female poets were marginal figures. Critic Glenda Norquay will discuss the emergence of women writers from the 1970s onwards. In the second part of the evening, Liz Lochhead will share her memories of the Scottish poetry scene in the 1970s, in conversation with Colin Waters. 6.30-8.30pm, The Mezzanine, Scottish Poetry Library, Crichton’s Close. Free but please book via eventbrite here. Image (c) Norman McBeath
Living Woodblock – the craftsmen behind the tradition: Rebecca Salter will outline the historical context of Japanese woodblock printing and introduce some of the craftsmen she met and interviewed while researching her books Japanese Woodblock Printing and Japanese Popular Prints, and her subsequent film project. These craftsmen are all involved with woodblock printing, as carvers or printers or as makers of the materials or tools used in the process. Salter will also highlight the cultural context of woodblock at its zenith during the Edo period (1603-1868) which is familiar to a Western audience through the medium of ukiyo-e prints; with Japan effectively closed to the outside world during this period, the art and craft of woodblock had deep roots in all layers of society and illustrated the mores of the time. The talk will offer an overview of the state of Japanese woodblock in 2016 and the challenge of keeping it alive as craftsmen retire without training apprentices. How might Japanese woodblock survive and could its future rely on printmakers working outside Japan? Salter will conclude with images from a project she has initiated with one of the remaining workshops in Kyoto, Sato Woodblock Workshop, to print editions of her work. 6.30-7.30pm, Edinburgh Printmakers, Union Street. Tickets cost £5 or £8 for two (EP members free) and may be purchased via eventbrite here.
Katrin Hanusch: Artist’s Talk. Current ESW Micro Resident Katrin Hanusch will present an overview of her practice, showing a selection of past works and discussing her working methods and materials. Katrin explores the impact of broken structures, missing bits of information and/or the lack of understanding: miscommunication. Balancing between beauty and coarseness, her works play with the opposed intensities of quick gestures and labour-intensive processes; the works situate themselves between painting, drawing and sculpture. Katrin is on residency at the Sculpture Workshop 12 January – 22 February 2016. 6-7pm, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, 21 Hawthornvale. Image: Seascape by Katrin Hanusch © the artist.
Pat Dennis and the Rash Gamblers: Edinburgh-based American singer/songwriter Pat Dennis is well known on the Edinburgh music scene, playing in numerous venues across the capital and beyond. Pat’s band, The Rash Gamblers, was formed in late 2014 and features Mary Robbs on violin and Suzy Cargill on percussion, mandolin, and backing vocals. They play a mix of originals and covers influenced by Americana, Blues, and American based Folk. As a songwriter Pat’s influences range from Woody Guthrie to Neil Young and many more. He has released two albums, Mystery Train To Infirmary Street and Blessings…and Curses, and returns to the studio later this year to record his third album, provisionally titled Transamericana. 8pm, Victoria Bar, Leith Walk.
Guilty As Sin: a great lively 3 piece band; if you feel like getting your dancing shoes on, tonight is the night! 9pm, Old Chain Pier, Trinity Crescent.
FRIDAY 5TH FEBRUARY 2016
The Further From Festival: a brand new literary festival for Linlithgow, with everything from fiction, history, nature and travel writers to poetry and children’s events, an open mic night and a book fair. Tonight you can come and see Tam Dalyell and Bruce Jamieson in conversation, followed by the Further From Poetry Slam with Liz Lochhead, Jenni Fagan, Michael Pedersen,William Letford and Ian McCartney; lots more events tomorrow – see separate listing. All events will take place in the Queen Margaret Hall, Blackness Road, Linlithgow. Tickets are available from Far From the Madding Crowd, 20 The High Street, Linlithgow (drop in, call 01506 845509 or email sally@maddingcrowdlinlithgow.co.uk); prices £6-£10 – but family tickets for the children’s events on Saturday are just £5.
Bookbug: for children aged 0-4 and their parents and carers. 10.30am today and every Friday and Tuesday, Muirhouse Library, 15 Pennywell Court. Free.
North Edinburgh Arts End of Winter Garden Activities: Lantern Making Workshop. (The foraging walk to collect materials for the workshop will take place 1-3pm on Tuesday 2nd February – see listing. 
Please note these are two separate activities and should be booked separately.) For ages 16+. 10am-12 noon, North Edinburgh Arts, Pennywell Court. Free but places are limited so early booking is advised. The workshop will be followed at 4pm by a dusk lantern wassail procession in the NEA garden to encourage the coming of spring and a good fruit harvest in the year to come – with mulled apple juice and other refreshments.
Friday Recital: the University of Edinburgh’s weekly Friday recitals return for 2016. Works will include Milhaud Suite for violin, clarinet and piano Op.157b performed by Roanna Tait (violin), Sophia Turner (clarinet) and Marianne Sice (piano). 1.10-1.40pm, Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place. Free.
The Fine Art Society in Edinburgh: new exhibitions. (1) Graham Rich: Sailing with Ghosts. The Devon based artist returns with a new exhibition of 50 works, including an installation consisting of over 30 individual works, Conceptual Voyages. Having had a passion for boats since the age of ten, Graham Rich uses marine paint on wood and boat fragments he finds during his voyages along the coast of Devon and Cornwall. Ever since his wife was dangerously ill in hospital, the sailing boat in his paintings has become a metaphor for existence; ‘I began cutting the boat into found wood as a result of this medical emergency. The eidetic image of the boat was accompanied by a repetitive mantra in my brain that said, ‘I must sail my wife safely home’. I cut the image of the boat into pieces of found wood day after day until my wife returned to me safe and well’. The title Sailing with Ghosts refers to the votive paintings the artist discovered in Venice’s Maritime Museums, commissioned by sailors after they survived maritime disasters, shipwrecks and terrible storms. (2) Art Between The Wars: an exhibition of English and Scottish art from the years 1918-39. Artists include James Cowie, Gerald Brockhurst, JD Fergusson, Alastair Morton, Graham Sutherland, Anne Redpath, James McIntosh Patrick and Sybil Andrews. 10am-6pm Monday to Friday, 11am-2pm Saturdays, Fine Art Society of Edinburgh, 6 Dundas Street. Both exhibitions end 27th February 2016.
A Trip to the Tropics: social sessions inspired by the Garden, for people affected by dementia, their friends, relatives and supporters. Sessions include sensory activities and informal chat with refreshments. 10.30am-12.30pm, meet at John Hope Gateway reception, Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Row. Booking is required; please call 0131 248 2981. This event is part of the Garden Social Programme October 2015 – March 2016.
Collective Hush: Keep meaning to put some time aside for reading and writing poetry each week? Bring your lunch if you like and join this silent drop-in group, reading/writing/making time every Friday in The Space. Sharing the silence, everyone can work together to achieve their artistic and poetic goals. 12 noon-2pm, Scottish Poetry Library, Crichton’s Close. No booking required, just drop in. Free: donations welcome.
Charlotte Duffy aka Waste of Paint Productions: Make As If. ‘We all seem to have universally vivid memories of building dens as children. To build something together, whether it is a shelter, a sanctuary or a hideout, is an empowering experience and the act of interacting with objects and the environment around us in a different, less mundane way is an important exercise to partake in. Make As If hopes to restore the den builder in all of us, challenging the way we look and relate to the spaces around us’. Opens tonight 6-9pm, Coburg House Gallery, 15 Coburg Street. Ends 13th February 2016. Please contact gallery for subsequent opening times.
Manipulate: Snapshot – Artists and Work: Winnie Hopper. Snapshots are free early evening events, offering an intriguing insight into the creative process as leading artists present a flavour of their different current explorations and experiments. Andrew Simpson and Jenny Lyn have trained together since 2009, at Queen Margaret University and Physical Theatre Scotland. As they develop their professional practice they utilise a wide variety of performance techniques and styles, including puppetry, mask, song and dance, to make their work. They received a Puppet Animation Scotland Creative Fund 2015-2016 grant to create Winnie Hopper, a highly physical work of visual storytelling, exploring the family tales that transform through generations of telling. ‘We have found Winnie Hopper, and she’s brandishing a turnip, and aiming it at a man’s head’. For ages 14+. 6.05pm (NB no latecomers admitted), Traverse Theatre, 10 Cambridge Street. This event is ticketed but tickets are free and may be obtained from the Box Office in person, by calling 0131 228 1404 or online here. Manipulate is Puppet Animation Scotland’s annual celebration of innovative international visual theatre and animated film; this 9th Manipulate festival runs 29th January-6th February 2016.
Blackwell’s Edinburgh Presents Claire Askew: This Changes Everything. The poet’s much awaited debut collection focuses on the lives and experiences of women – particularly the socially or economically marginalised – at pains both to empathise and to recognise the limits of this empathy. They embody a need to acknowledge and challenge the poet’s privileged position as documenter and outsider, a responsibility to the poem’s political message and to that message’s human subject. 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.
Carnival at Akva! Celebrated in every Roman Catholic country and culminating with the Mardi Gras, Carnival is the last celebration before the beginning of Lent. Traditionally everybody wears a costume and celebrates not only with friends, but with everyone and anyone they bump in to. Akva has decided to bring carnival to Scotland, reserving its entire events space for the biggest costume party of the year. The night will be jam-packed with all sorts of Carnival goodies – special drinks, carnival music from DJ Chico, a prize for the best dressed guest and a sweet surprise during the night – Akva’s twist on street carnival classics! For over 18s only. 8pm-1am, Akva, 129 Fountainbridge. Tickets £6 (students £4) on the door, sta.
A Song Among The Stones: poet and author Kenneth Steven performs a live reading of poems from his book, first commissioned by BBC Radio 3’s The Verb. In the sixth century, Celtic Christian monks are thought to have made dangerous and difficult journeys from Scotland’s west coast to seek solitude in Iceland. This evocative, pared down sequence of poems – the imaginary fragments of a lost manuscript – tells their remarkable story, one that is all but forgotten today. Steven’s words are accompanied and enhanced with specially composed harp music by Wendy Stewart, one of Scotland’s renowned clarsach players. 7.30pm Netherbow Theatre, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £8/£6 and may be booked in person, by calling the Box Office on 0131 556 9579 or online here.
Head Shake Society with Adam and Danny. Adam and Danny will be spinning records to make your head nod and your hips shake; beats, funk, soul, electronica, trip hop, reggae, 60s garage, northern soul and hip hop. 8.30pm, The Skylark, 241/243 Portobello High Street.
The Portobello Comedy Night: the first comedy night of 2016, starring former Scottish Comedian of the Year, Jamie Dalgleish, Lubna Kerr, Scotland’s newest comedy hero Ross Thomson and a very special guest, plus regular MC Steven Davidson. 8.30pm, Dalriada, 78 The Promenade, Portobello. Tickets cost £10 and are available from the Dalriada bar direct or from Brown Paper Tickets here (administration fee applies).
SATURDAY 6TH FEBRUARY 2016
Kitty Kitty Bang Bang : a fantastic fundraiser in a wonderful award-winning venue for an important cause – to top up the Grassmarket Project’s kitty. Four incredible, amazing live bands – The Rising Souls, Cera Impala & the New Prohibition,The Hills Have Eyes and Red Sayles and the Sunsets, plus live DJ until the early hours. Stovies and hot dogs available all night! Amazing raffle prizes including a free* wedding for up 120 people! (*conditions apply). All bands are playing for free, so 100% of your revelry and ticket money will go to the charity. 7pm onwards, Grassmarket Community Project, 86 Candlemaker Row. Tickets cost £10 in advance from Brown Paper Tickets here, £15 on the door. All 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.
The Further From Festival: a brand new literary festival for Linlithgow, with everything from fiction, history, nature and travel writers to poetry and children’s events, an open mic night and a book fair. Today there’s a panel event with esteemed nature writer Jim Crumley, nature artist Leo du Feu and musician and writer Mallachy Tallack, authors Jean Rafferty and Shirley McKay will discuss historical and contemporary fiction writing, polymath Ron Butlin and artist and musician (and Art Director at Birlinn Books) John Hutcheson will talk about their first children’s book together, Here Come The Trolls, and the multi-talented Nick Sharratt – who, on top of illustrating all those books for Jacqueline Wilson and Julia Donaldson, has also written Shark in the Park and Vikings in the Supermarket – will round off the day in a session that’s bound to be specially popular. The Far From Book Fair will also be open 10am-4pm, with special offers and local authors on hand to sign your purchases from 11.30am to 1.30pm. All events will take place in the Queen Margaret Hall, Blackness Road, Linlithgow. Tickets are available from Far From the Madding Crowd, 20 The High Street, Linlithgow (drop in, call 01506 845509 or email sally@maddingcrowdlinlithgow.co.uk). Prices £6-£10 – but family tickets for the children’s events with Ron Butlin, John Hutcheson and Nick Sharratt are just £5.
National Libraries Day: drop in and meet the author Joan Lennon (Patron of Reading at Queensferry Primary School), find out more about her books and what inspires her writing. Get fresh ideas on what to read in 2016, make your own bookmark and take part in the library’s competition to design a library card (running 6th-20th February). Come and tell the staff what you think about the library, or simply pop in for a chat. 10.30am-12.30pm, South Queensferry Library, Shore Road. (Image: Prague National Library – but I’m sure South Queensferry is just as lovely).
£eith Decides: £eith Decides is a Leith Neighbourhood Partnership initiative giving the decision-making power on the allocation of community grants to the people of Leith. Voting opens for the 2016 £eith Decides at this community event; come along and speak to groups about their projects, and enjoy the unique atmosphere in which local money for local projects is decided by local people! Anyone aged 8+ who lives, works, studies or volunteers in the Leith Neighbourhood Partnership area can vote, so tell your neighbours, colleagues and friends. And if you can’t make it along on the day, you can still vote at Leith Library or McDonald Road Library from 3pm today until 5pm on 16th February. 
You can also vote by post. Results will be announced at McDonald Road Library at 5.30 pm on 22nd February. 1-3pm, Leith Community Centre, 12a Newkirkgate, Leith.
St Mark’s Coffee Morning: books, home baking, tombola, food, Lego club – and a warm welcome! In aid of the church but 10% of all fundraising goes to St Mark’s chosen charities – Refugee Survival Trust, Teapot Trust and Basics Bank. 11am-1pm, St Mark’s Church, 287 Portobello High Street.
Joseph McKenzie: Women of Dundee & Photographs from the Margaret Morris collection. A two-part exhibition presenting a body of work by Joseph McKenzie dating from the 1960s, alongside photographic material from the Margaret Morris collection, dating from the early 20th century. Joseph McKenzie is considered by many to be the ‘father of modern Scottish photography’. Women of Dundee is a section of his major photographic essay, Dundee – City in Transition, a collection of over 400 prints that were first exhibited in 1966 to mark the opening of the Tay Road Bridge. Margaret Morris is widely regarded as a pioneer of modern dance, celebrated for her eponymous technique, the Margaret Morris Movement, and influential teaching and writing on the benefits of movement to creativity and health. Throughout her life, Morris commissioned photographic documentation of her work. 11am-6pm Monday to Saturday, Stills, 23 Cockburn Street. Ends 9th April 2016.
St Bride’s Family Cinema: see your favourite films for free! Adventure, excitement, fun and laughs – everyone welcome. Juice and choc ices are available to purchase in the interval at 50p each. This week’s film is Toy Story 3 (U). Please note that all children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. 10.30am-12.30pm (includes interval), St Bride’s Centre, Orwell Terrace, Dalry. Next week’s film is Sleeping Beauty (U).
Exchange – Kate Bajic: Lichenology. Sometimes two very different things can work together in surprising ways. Discover how the two organisms that make up lichens – algae and fungi – share the abilities to enhance their lives and ours, and view a collection of lichen-inspired brooches by contemporary art jeweller Kate Bajic. Opens today then 10am-5.45pm daily, Gateway Gallery, John Hope Gateway reception, Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Row. Kate Bajic: Lichenology is a touring exhibition from The National Centre for Craft & Design, Sleaford. This exhibition is made possible through direct support from Arts Council England. Closes 15th May 2016. Image: brooch (c) Kate Bajic.
Poetry By Heart 2016 National Final: Here comes tomorrow! Students compete for the title of Scotland’s best young poetry performer. High-profile poets will be on hand to judge and talk about their craft, while the audience is treated to live poetry, classic and contemporary, read by the country’s most talented young adults. 1pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre. Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free tickets may be obtained from eventbrite here.
LGBT Swimming: exclusive swimming for the LGBT community is back! Enjoy the use of Warrender Swim Centre’s fantastic 25 metre pool, sauna and gym. Join friendly staff from both LGBT Health and the Swim Centre and meet other LGBT people in a safe and supportive environment. 5-7pm, Warrender Swim Centre, 55 Thirlestane Road. If you would like to attend, please register online here or contact Jules Stapleton Barnes on 0131 523 1104/email jules@lgbthealth.org.uk. Free but a donation of £3 per session is suggested.
Portrait Gallery Thematic Tours: the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion. In this month’s themed tour of the Portrait Gallery’s collection, Susanna Kerr, former senior Curator, Portrait Gallery, will focus on the rebellion that almost ended the reign of George I. 2-2.45pm or 3-3.45pm, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free and unticketed.
Henry Dyer Collection of Japanese Art: Drop-in Sessions. A rare chance to view selected items from Edinburgh Libraries’ Henry Dyer Collection, featuring woodblock prints, bound volumes of prints and paintings, photographs of Japan and a facsimile of the libraries’ 44 foot long painted handscroll `Theatres of the East’ by the Japanese artist Furuyama Moromasa, now under conservation at Restorient Studios, Leiden, thanks to funding from the Sumitomo Foundation. Find out more about Henry Dyer and the amazing collection gifted by his family to the Central Library. Staff will be on hand to talk about the art works on display. 10.30-11.15am or 11.30am-12.15pm, Boardroom, Central Library, George IV Bridge. It is advisable to book a ticket to ensure entry but people dropping by will be welcome if the room isn’t too busy; bookings may be made via eventbrite here (1st session) and here (2nd session). This event forms part of Edinburgh City Libraries’ National Libraries Day celebrations.
LGBT: Countering Microaggressions Through Words and Images. As part of LGBT Health & Wellbeing’s Living With arts and mental health project, award-winning interdisciplinary artist & writer Sandra Alland will lead an all-day workshop where participants can creatively explore, write, discuss and make art. Themes include countering the stereotypes and microaggressions that can hold LGBTQ+ people back, as well as inventing dynamic ways to mix words with images. Art made on the day will be welcomed to an exhibition the following week. This workshop may be of particular interest to LGBTQ+ people with intersectional identities. No previous experience of creative writing or art making required. BSL interpretation provided. For over 16s only. 11am-5.30pm, Serenity Cafe, 8 Jackson’s Entry, The Tun. Free but booking is essential and may be made by contacting Alison Wren on 0131 652 3283 or alison@lgbthealth.org.uk, or online here.
Ingleby Gallery: New Exhibitions. (1) Jonny Lyons: Dream Easy. Lyons’s practice explores the fragility of friendship and adventure through performances documented by photography and film. He creates ingenious and mischievous devices which are presented – having fulfilled their one purpose – as relics of the event, together with the photographic evidence. The photographs, however, are not simply documentation of a sequence of anarchic events; they fix the moment between ’cause’ and ‘effect’ and are imbued with wit, melancholy and the physical humour of early silent cinema. (2) Andrew Cranston: Paintings From A Room. Cranston’s work is seductive in terms of its use of narrative and humour, but it is the humour of Samuel Beckett or Buster Keaton, always touching on the strangeness and pathos of ordinary life. He draws on a variety of sources, in particular his own personal history, questioning the veracity of memory. This autobiographical activity is combined with passages culled from literature, anecdotes and jokes, second hand accounts, images from cinema and observations of life. Often working directly onto hardback book covers, his work is not pre-conceived but emerges through the manipulation of materials – paint, varnish, collage – and the suggestions that this activity provokes, layering and re-working the images until something essential coalesces. 10am-6pm Monday to Saturday (closed Sundays), Ingleby Gallery, Calton Road. Both exhibitions end 26th March 2016.
Nothing Ever Happens Here and Mediterraneo Present Carnevale with Orkestra Del Sol, The Badwills and Niavent: a wild night of Balkan brass, Italian Pizzica, Greek rembetiko, and masks… lots of masks. It’s that time of the year when the world is upside-down. When Harlequin the Servant is master for the day. When the Fool is wise, the King is poor, and Music rules them all! After sell out editions since 2013, Mediterraneo is back with its annual Carnevale concert, and this year it’ll be bigger than ever. Headlining the night are Edinburgh’s very own, world famous, 9 piece brass maestros, Orkestra del Sol. They are the honk-step pioneers, bringing the swagger of a Balkan wedding band mixed with their own brand of klezmer and global funk. For over 18s only. 9pm-1am, Summerhall, 1 Summerhall. 
Tickets cost £11, or £10 with own mask, and may be purchased from the Box Office, in person, by calling 0131 560 1580 or online here (transaction fee applies).
The Skylark Presents Josephine Sillars: an evening with the Glasgow-based indie-pop/anti-folk singer-songwriter, who released her new single Vincent in December. 8pm, The Skylark, 241/243 Portobello High Street.
Edinburgh Trans Women: a support group aimed at transsexual women at any stage of transition, women who are transgender and live as women full-time or part-time or those who are questioning their gender identity. 
‘We look forward to meeting you and prefer you to email us the first time you want to visit. This helps with security and helps us get ready to welcome you’. 7.30-9.30pm, LGBT Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. For more information please email info@edinburghtranswomen.org.uk.
Opacities: a series of screening and discussion events programmed with artist Kathryn Elkin and Peter Taylor (Director, Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival). What do we mean by ‘understand’ when we are talking about artworks? How can we talk about the artwork or describe it in a way that expands rather than reduces? Opacities will explore new ways to talk about the experimental moving image outside an academic framework. The programme includes work by film-makers and artists who all seem to refuse categorisation and deal with personal logic/illogic, missing histories or the esoteric; the films selected will deal with elusive impressions and sensations, double takes and alternative narratives, and, in turn, invite creative responses. Tonight’s films are Ben Rivers’ Things, Chick Strand’s Elasticity and Laida Lertxundi’s Vivir Para Vivir. 7-9pm, Collective Gallery, City Observatory and Dome, 38 Calton Hill. Free but registration is required and may be made via eventbrite here. The final event in the series will take place on 11th February; see separate listing.
Manipulate: Snapshot – Artists and Work: How the Light Gets in. Snapshots are free early evening events, offering an intriguing insight into the creative process as leading artists present a flavour of their different current explorations and experiments. Currently in development, Laura Cameron-Lewis and Shona Reppe’s collaborative theatre performance and research project is about compulsive hoarding. The creative team will share scenes from the script and musical score and discuss the ideas and the science behind the project. In recent years the phenomenon of hoarding has received extensive media coverage – much of it sensationalist; this project will go beyond the headlines to explore the subject in depth, drawing on psychology, therapy, genetics, and its emotional impact on family members. Stelios Kiosses, one of the UK’s leading experts on hoarding, is a script consultant for the project. Created by Laura Cameron-Lewis in partnership with singer Camille O’Sullivan and stage designer Shona Reppe, the project is supported by the Wellcome Trust and the Mental Health Foundation. For ages 14+. 6.05pm (NB no latecomers admitted), Traverse Theatre, 10 Cambridge Street. This event is ticketed but tickets are free and may be obtained from the Box Office in person, by calling 0131 228 1404 or online here. Manipulate is Puppet Animation Scotland’s annual celebration of innovative international visual theatre and animated film; this 9th Manipulate festival runs 29th January-6th February 2016.
Duo Hyperborea and Friends: Music and Stories from the Middle East. Duo Hyperborea (Helena MacGilp and Chris Elmes) present a seductively diverse selection of vocal and instrumental music from the Middle East and Turkey, interwoven with traditional Arabic storytelling. Featuring Helena MacGilp (vocal, oud, bendir, kudüm) & Chris Elmes (oud, tambura) with Florian Schmidinger (percussion, ney) & Marion Kenny (storyteller). 7.30pm, Netherbow Theatre, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £10/£8 and may be booked in person, by calling the Box Office on 0131 556 9579 or online here. Part of the Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace Festival 2016.
Singles Night: Singles Night is back after the cold snap! With a brand new postman, Kurt, to deliver your love letters, speed dating host Anna and lots of wonderful fun singles to spend the evening with. The evening will start with name badges; speed dating will kick off as soon as there are enough people. 8pm, Victoria Bar, Leith Walk.
Punk in the Basement feat. All Stations Go, Benny Monteux, Turtle Lamone and Highland Park Optimist Club. Come and dance, drink and singalong; all door takings go to the artists and all corkage monies go to supporting the cafe. 7pm, Sketchy Beats Cafe, 208 Great Junction Street. £2 on the door (additional donations appreciated) + £3 unlimited corkage.
The Show Must Go On: come and enjoy some singing, dancing and poetry at this multi-cultural cabaret fundraiser in support of a new multi-faith Courts’ Chaplaincy service for Edinburgh. 
This City of Edinburgh Methodist Church initiative, in association with Augustine United Church, The Well Cafe, Edinburgh Interfaith Association and The One World Shop, is to provide a team of multi-faith chaplains at the Sheriff Court in Edinburgh, who will provide an independent, confidential listening and support service to court users of all faiths and none. The chaplaincy group will provide support and training to volunteers. 7pm, City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square. Tickets cost £10/£5 and are available from eventbrite here or by contacting the church office on 0131 662 8635 or email cemc.office@gmail.com.
Linlithgow Jazz Club: Rose Room. Scottish Jazz Awards finalists Rose Room have become one of Scotland’s leading ensembles influenced by the Gypsy Jazz genre. Sharing a love of Swing music and the style of the great Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, their vigorous and vivacious performances go down a storm with any audience, as they serve up their 1930s ‘Hot Club’ standards and self-penned originals with virtuosity and panache. 7.30pm, (doors open at 7), Queen Margaret Hall, Blackness Road, Linlithgow. Tickets cost £8. Tea and coffee are provided and you are free to bring your own drinks (and glasses) and snacks. For further information see the club’s website here or email them at info@linlithgowjazzclub.co.uk.
SUNDAY 7TH FEBRUARY 2016
Sofi’s Dug Day: the famous socialiser for dogs and their people has changed day but still promises to be lots of fun! 12 noon, Sofi’s Bar, Henderson Street.
Filmhouse Junior: films for a younger audience. This week: Finding Nemo (U): Marlin, an overprotective clown fish father, desperately searches the sea for his missing son, Nemo. His journey leads him beyond the Great Barrier Reef into deeper and darker waters, where he meets Dory, a forgetful yet optimistic blue tang, and a number of other aquatic creatures. 
Meanwhile, Nemo finds himself in a dentist’s fish tank in Sydney, Australia, along with other underwater captives. As Nemo works with his new friends on a plan to escape their tank, Marlin and Dory swim closer, but they’ll need more than fins to get into the dentist’s office… 11am, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets cost £4 per person, big or small.
Iolanthe Singalong! Edinburgh Gilbert & Sullivan Society invites you to join in with one of Gilbert & Sullivan’s best known romantic operettas; this is your chance to be a part of the pompous March of the Peers and enjoy Tripping Hither, Tripping Thither as a fairy. EDGAS will bring the soloists and the orchestra; the audience provides the chorus. Some scores will be available to borrow and the words will also be projected onto a screen (you can also just come to listen). 7.30pm, St Andrew’s & St George’s West Church, 13 George Street. Tickets cost £10 (under 16s £5) and may be booked via the Usher Hall Box Office, Lothian Road, in person, by calling 0131 228 1155 or online here (transaction fees apply to telephone and online bookings).
The 5th American Football Varsity Game: Edinburgh Napier Knights v Edinburgh University Predators. Scotland’s largest student sporting event offers a day of sport, fun and festivities – in addition to the game itself, there will be a DJ, a medieval knights’ display, face painters, The Edinburgh Napier Big Band, Cheerleaders and a Pre-Game Youth come & try. Hot food and drink will be available in the stadium bar. Tickets include entry for Edinburgh’s biggest Superbowl Party at The Three Sisters in the Cowgate (starts 8pm). Gates open 1pm, kick off 2.30pm, Meggetland Sports Pavilion, EH14 1AS. Tickets cost £4 adult, £2 student, free entry for under 16s, and are available in advance via Napier Students Association or on the gate. For more information please contact americanfootball@napierstudents.com.
Art Maker – February: join the Art Maker Club and make your own masterpieces with artists Tessa Asquith-Lamb and Louise Fraser. For ages 4-12. 2-4pm (drop-in), Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed. Supported by the Friends of the NGS. Image (c) Andy McGregor.
Nitekirk: one evening each month, Nitekirk provides a creative, drop-in experience of church. This ministry, rooted in Greyfriars Kirk and supported by its local ecumenical partners, seeks to create a welcoming sacred space for all. The church will be lit with candles, the atmosphere contemplative. There will be a time of reflection, gentle music and, throughout the sanctuary, places of activity – 
pictures to consider, Scripture, prayers and poems to read, something to feel with your hands, art supplies to focus your creativity. People come and go as they like, joining in songs and quiet conversations or sitting in silence and enjoying the space. ‘A place of welcome, a space for stillness, a pause on your journey, an open door’. 5-8pm (drop-in), Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place. For more information please contact nitekirkedinburgh@yahoo.co.uk
St Giles At Six: Edinburgh Napier University Composers’ Concert: The Edinburgh Quartet. New works for string quartet by student composers Stuart Murray Mitchell, Jonathan Grant, Ian Sutherland and Fraser Greenwood. 6pm, St Giles Cathedral, High Street. Free; retiring collection.
