Five things you need to know today
- One week to go in the Scottish Parliamentary Election 2016!
- It’s game on for Game of Thrones at Gladstone’s Land
- Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design – trail open on Saturday
- Young Composer in Season Finale
- Three Edinburgh writers win Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowships
A week today and the campaigning will be over and we will go to the polls to vote. No doubt this last week of touting their wares will have politicians doing all sorts of silly things from kissing babies to sitting on buffalo. We have a series of interviews here with some of the Edinburgh candidates that we could catch up with in recent weeks.
If you are a candidate then we have some interview spaces left on Tuesday and Wednesday 3 & 4 May. Get in touch! editor@theedinburghreporter.co.uk
The National Trust for Scotland’s suitably historic Gladstone’s Land in Edinburgh’s Royal Mile is the venue for a one-off presentation based on the smash-hit Game of Thrones TV series, which began its new run earlier in the week.
On Saturday, 30 April 2016, David C. Weinczok, former ‘battlemaster’ at Bannockburn, historian, castle explorer, writer and “unabashed Game of Thrones geek” is offering visitors to the chance to discover the Scottish inspirations behind the universe depicted in the books and TV series.
He will explain how Scotland’s past has shaped the Game of Thrones phenomenon in a talk that spans 2,000 years of battles and bloody kings, all within the atmospheric setting of Gladstone Land’s 17th century gallery, complete with painted ceiling.
David said: “Ruthless seaborne warriors plunder the North in their longships, a noble and his kin are slaughtered as they sup under a banner of truce, and a wall holds back hordes of painted warriors clamouring for battle.
“But this isn’t Westeros, it’s Scotland!
“I’m going to show how castles and calamities in Scotland’s history match the Game of Thrones universe for every drop of blood spilled, from Tywin Lannister’s real-life role model to a bridge that must be crossed at any cost.”
David will be delivering his talk at 3.00 pm on Saturday and, with audience capacity limited to 23 people, tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis only.
Proceeds will go towards the upkeep of Gladstone’s Land, one of Edinburgh’s most important heritage sites.
David will be touching on some violent episodes throughout history and in the Game of Thrones series, and so a minimum age of 16 plus is advisable. Non-alcoholic drinks will be provided. Tickets cost £10.00 and can be purchased online at www.nts.org.uk or by calling 0131 226 5856.
Canongate institutions will be among those you can visit on a trail to who’s off the area’s world-class architecture all part of the Scottish Government’s Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design.
There are buildings with both modern and historic architecture and a short talk given at each venue will explain the story of each. These include the Scottish Parliament, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh World Heritage, Dynamic Earth, the People’s Story and the Museum of Edinburgh. The public can take these talks as part of a self-guided trail which begins on 30 April.
On 27 May at the Usher Hall one of the final concerts in the RSNO season will take place. The RSNO is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year and will do so with Strauss and Beethoven – and Lillie Harris.
They held a Composers’ Hub at their new centre recently when five participants had their works performed by the orchestra before a panel of judges. 22 year-old Lillie Harris heard her work performed and was then chosen as the composer whose work would be performed at the Usher Hall next month.
Lillie said: “It has been a real honour to have been part of Composers’ Hub – the people and performers of the RSNO have all been incredibly welcoming and generous. The amount of practical workshop time the RSNO gave all five of us feels unprecedented, and I know I have grown so much as a composer this year as a result.
“As a young composer, to be offered the chance to write such a substantial piece for a large orchestra, and not only hear it played, but to participate in a workshop with some of the best orchestral players around, giving us practical and useful feedback in real time, was utterly invaluable. I am so grateful for the time and attention all five of us were given by the players, Jean-Claude Picard, Brett Dean, Stuart MacRae, and all the team at RSNO throughout our time with them. It’s fantastic to learn that Composers’ Hub will run again next year, as such a positive and beneficial scheme for composers deserves to continue, training fresh talent.”
For Usher Hall, Edinburgh concerts call 0131 228 1155. For more information visit www.rsno.org.uk.
Edinburgh-based author Lucy Ribchester, poet and performer Rachel McCrum and journalist and non-fiction writer Claire Prentice have today been named by Scottish Book Trust as three of four recipients of a 2016 Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship, involving a month-long writing residency in France.
What fun! We hope they have a lovely time and come back with great new work.
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