Five things you need to know today

• Aldi’s Moo Crew
• Our Dynamic Earth this summer
• HM The Queen to visit Musselburgh Races this Friday
• Late nights at the Edinburgh International Book Festival
• VisitScotland #iknowscotland

The creative designs of five talented school children have been brought to life by Aldi at this year’s Royal Highland Show with the unveiling of its brand new Moo Crew.

The colourful collection is part of the supermarket’s commitment to help showcase Scottish farming and sourcing to its customers.

The Moo Crew is a herd of five, life-size fibre glass cows that have been created by the imaginations of pupils aged between nine and 14 years old from Edinburgh, Dumfries, Aberdeen and Inverness who won a national competition.

Each decorative coating illustrates the creator’s favourite things about Scotland, taking inspiration from favourite Scottish outdoor scenes, the countryside and favourite Scottish foods.

Richard Holloway, managing director at Aldi in Scotland, said: “Thanks to the outstanding designs from the winning schools we had a very colourful and eye-catching artistic display at the Royal Highland Show.
“This was the best place to unveil the Crew to the public for the first time and it provided a great opportunity for Aldi to talk to people about the beef and farming industries in Scotland.

“Aldi is committed to supporting local suppliers and the Aldi Moo Crew is a great way to demonstrate the Scottish produce that we are lucky to find available on our doorstep every day.”

The winning artists include Mhairi Hamilton from Broughton High School S1! Well done Mhairi.

This summer, Edinburgh’s five star attraction Dynamic Earth is taking visitors on an epic journey deep into the universe beyond the earth’s atmosphere with a jam-packed programme of space-themed events and activities for budding astronauts.

On selected days Dynamic Earth will be hosting a 360° immersive multi-media theatre experience, Cosmos Planetarium, which takes visitors on a virtual tour of the night sky where they will see all 88 constellations in the northern and southern hemisphere skies.

Coinciding with the planetarium, visitors can get hands on with fun and interactive space themed activities. From learning about some of the amazingly simple science that makes space flight possible to taking part in simulated astronaut training challenges, a whole range of activities are planned for all the family.

The summer activities will run from the beginning of July until 14 August, and are free with admission to Dynamic Earth.

Pre booking for Wild Wednesdays is essential and must be done by Midday on the Monday before the workshop.

For more information on events and activities happening at Dynamic Earth, visit www.dynamicearth.co.uk.

The last time the Queen had a runner at Musselburgh was on the 30th April 2004 when Maclean, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, landed a 1m 1f maiden at odds of 4/9 for recently retired former champion jockey Kieren Fallon.

Her Majesty has ended that 12-year drought by fielding two entries at the Bi-Centenary Celebration Race Day which marks 200 years of racing at the East Lothian track

In the feature race, the Musselburgh Bi-Centenary Cup (Fillies Handicap), Forecaster will bear the Royal silks, with course debutant Donnacha O’Brien taking the saddle on the Michael Bell trained filly which was a close third at Hamilton recently.

Donnacha, the youngest son of legendary Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien, also has the mount for the Queen’s other horse Elementary which will compete in the Musselburgh Silver Arrow Maiden Stakes.

Five-time Musselburgh winner La Bacouetteuse, trained by Currutherstown-based Iain Jardine, must have a chance of more course success off bottom-weight in the Musselburgh Fair Day Association Handicap.

Racing at the East Lothian track dates back to 1816 when the Royal Caledonian Hunt resumed racing after a brief sojourn at Leith Sands and during the visit Her Majesty will unveil a plaque beside a specially commissioned steel sculpture which commemorates Musselburgh’s place as Scotland’s oldest racecourse.

Musselburgh Racecourse chief executive, Bill Farnsworth, said: “It would be wonderful to mark the racecourse’s bi-centenary year with a Royal winner in the presence of Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh. The Queen is synonymous with horseracing and we are delighted she has decided to visit Musselburgh and put the Royal seal on our 200^th birthday celebrations.”

Sarah Montgomery, the racecourse’s senior operations and commercial manager, added: “This is an opportunity for families, friends and work colleagues to come to Musselburgh to mark the Queen’s 90^th birthday and our own 200 years as a horse racing venue. We are all looking forward to what will be a very special occasion and we could not have hoped for a better way to crown our Bi-Centenary year.”

The racecourse is offering a £5 discount on the usual £25 admission fee to racegoers booking online and all children aged 17 and under are admitted free when accompanied by an adult.

For more information and to book tickets please visit www.musselburgh-racecourse.co.uk

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Unbound is the late night series of free events which take place in the Spiegeltent at Edinburgh International Book Festival from 14-29 August 2016.

A spokesman said: “Offering an eclectic line-up of top talents, with a mischievous mixture of words, music and comedy for your entertainment, our Unbound events will surprise, soothe and stimulate your imagination.

“This year’s line-up includes Liz Lochhead and The Hazey Janes: a night of sensational sounds and sonnets with the former Scots Makar and the much loved indie pop band; The Phoenix Rises which sees a collection of comic artists from The Phoenix including Jamie Littler and Adam Murphy leading a night of interactive drawing and performances; and Tongue Fu, a riotous experiment in live literature, music and improvisation, featuring Luke Wright, Hollie McNish and some surprise guests.

“The culmination of collaborations with cultural organisations around the world, From Sutherland to Saskatoon uncovers the make-up and mix of modern, multilingual Canada, hosted by Charlene Diehl, the director of Winnipeg International Writers Festival; and From Lewis to Lahore features creatives from Scotland and Pakistan sharing the results of our Highlight Arts residency at the Lahore Literary Festival.

“There will also be evenings hosted by Neu! Reekie!, Stanley Odd, Macastory and Book Festival Guest Selector Bidisha, plus a fabulous Festival Finale night with Vic Galloway and friends on 29 August.”

Find out more about all of this year’s Unbound events on the website.

VisitScotland has put out a global call to those who live and work in Edinburgh and the Lothians to share the region’s memorable places, hidden gems and fascinating stories as part of a new online community.

Revealed today, the national tourism organisation has introduced a new global online community to allow Scots and those who love Scotland to bring alive the streets, characters and landscapes of the country.  The community will mean everyone worldwide from New York to New Guinea can go online in their own homes and ‘talk to a Scottish local’.

From the family-friendly delights of the Almond Valley Heritage Centre in West Lothian to the fascinating optical illusions in Camera Obscura in Edinburgh; from stopping for a spot of tea and cake in the wonderful green house of the Secret Herb Garden in Midlothian to watching the puffins at the Scottish Seabird Centrein East Lothian, locals are being asked to share their insider knowledge to inspire and excite visitors to make their own memories and adventures in the region.

Entitled iKnow Scotland, the new online and face to face community will give businesses, industry and visitors the tools to enable them to share the Spirit of Scotland with others.

VisitScotland also hopes that the new community will ensure Scotland remains one of the top holiday choices after a rapid rise of destinations worldwide.

To find out more about the VisitScotland online community, visit www.visitscotland.com/community

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