Although we still have lots of school holiday fillers this week, we’re not forgetting the grown-ups! If you’re looking for a laugh, The Stand has a great charity night in aid of Leuchie House, if you prefer history head to the lovely Nomad’s Tent to hear the story of Yangon (Rangoon’s) heritage buildings, and if vinyl and whisky are just what you need, Blackwell’s can offer you both! The Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival continues all this week, Inverleith House opens a new retrospective exhibition covering the last 30 years at the gallery – and just how did ‘the most dismal town in Scotland’ bounce back? Find out at Out of the Blue! Please remember to check details of all events with the organisers before setting out.
MONDAY 18TH JULY 2016
North Edinburgh Arts Summer Programme: a packed timetable of activities throughout the holidays. This morning’s sessions (10am-12 noon) for ages 5-12 (two age groups) are: Cardboard 3D Animals and Hip Hop & Street Dance; in the afternoon (3.30-4.30pm) it’s Library Garden Club. North Edinburgh Arts, Pennywell Court, Muirhouse. £1.50 per session (50p for Good Neighbours card holders), healthy snack provided. No booking required but sessions can be very busy, so please arrive early to secure a place. For details of all activities and events at NEA this summer, click here or call NEA on 0131 315 2151.
Picturehouses Toddler Time: exclusive short screenings for pre-school children and their parents and carers. Today: Hey Dugee July 2016 [U]. 11am, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets cost £3 per child, accompanying adult free.
Macmillan Cancer Support Information Sessions: information, support and signposting for people affected by cancer. Macmillan are looking to recruit volunteers with good listening skills and an interest in helping people – full training will be given and expenses are payable. Come and find out about Macmillan’s holistic and accessible service in local communities. 11am-3pm, Craigmillar Library, 101 Niddrie Mains Road. For more details just ask library staff or call the library on 0131 529 5597.
For Crying Out Loud: special screenings exclusively for parents, carers and their babies under the age of 12 months, with a maximum of two adults per baby. Baby-changing, bottle-warming and buggy parking facilities are available. Today’s film is Miniscule: Valley of the Lost Ants (U). In a peaceful clearing, the remains of a hastily abandoned picnic sparks warfare between two tribes of ants. A bold young ladybug finds herself caught in the middle of the battle. She befriends one of the black ants, and must help him save the anthill from the assault of the terrible red ant warriors. This award-winning animation will charm audiences of all ages, with its dialogue-free soundtrack of music and sound effects contributing to its unique comedy. 11am, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets cost £4.50/£3.50 per adult.
Surrealism’s Collections/Collecting Surrealism: in the 1920s and 1930s many Surrealist artists accumulated their own collections of art which, as well as the work of their peers and friends, included objects from outside the official canon such as non-Western art, paintings by spiritualist mediums, natural artefacts and the like. In this lecture, Professor Dawn Ades (University of Essex) will explore how these surreal collections influenced visual art and became central to the movement. She will also consider how the four collections of Surrealism amassed by Edward James, Roland Penrose, Gabrielle Keiller and Ulla and Heiner Pietzsch that feature in the Surreal Encounters exhibition followed rather than shaped the movement. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed. Image: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, 1943, Dorothea Tanning − © the artist. DACS 2016. Surreal Encounters continues at Modern ONE, Belford Road, until 11th September 2016.
PDSA Pets Craft Workshop: 1.30-2.30pm, Colinton Library, Thorburn Road. Free, no booking required – just come along!
PDSA Pets Craft Workshop: 1.30-2.30pm, Currie Library, 210 Lanark Road. Free, no booking required – just come along!
Moredun Library Summer of Crafts. Today and every Monday: Music Makers. For ages 5-12. 1.30pm, Moredun Library, 92 Moredun Park Road. Free.
Summer at Craigmillar Library – different activities every day throughout the holidays! Today: Sandra George Art Club, Minecraft Club and Game Club. Please check the library’s Facebook page here (or call into the library) for full details, age groups and times. Craigmillar Library, 101 Niddrie Mains Road.
Gilmerton Library Summer of Crafts. Today and every Monday: Minecrafters. For ages 5-12. 2pm, Gilmerton Library, Newtoft Street. Free.
Strange Lands and Peculiar Places. Don’t dilly Dalí; find your way to the studio this summer! Inspired by two exhibitions Inspiring Impressionism and Surreal Encounters – Collecting the Marvellous come along and try your hand at activities for all the family. Play Exquisite Landscape and watch fantastic landscapes appear before your eyes, try drawing en plein air, learn the surrealist technique of automatic drawing and add to an ever-changing 3D landscape. 2-4.30pm daily to 14th August, Clore Education Studios, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed – just drop in. Image: Alicia Bruce.
Storytime: storytelling sessions for younger children. 2-2.30pm today and every Monday, Balerno Library, 1 Main Street. Free: all welcome.
Spacecrafts: for ages 4-12 (children under 8 must be accompanied by someone over 12). 2pm today and every Monday during the holidays, Sighthill Library, 55 Sighthill Road. Free.
Professor Neil’s Incredible Science Crafts: for ages 4-12 (children under 8 must be accompanied by someone over 12). 3pm today and every Monday during the holidays, Ratho Library, School Wynd. Free.
The Big Friendly Read – Summer Reading Challenge Scotland: events at Fountainbridge Library throughout the summer holidays. Today and every Monday: Dahlastic Challenge. 3pm, Fountainbridge Library, 137 Dundee Street. For more information drop into the library or call 0131 529 5616.
The Big Friendly Read – Summer Reading Challenge Scotland: events at Colinton Library throughout the summer holidays. Today (and every Monday & Friday): Roald Dahl Crafternoons – help build volcanoes, design your own fancy dress, create your own Mr or Mrs Twits’ beard and much, much more! For ages 4-12. 2.30pm, Colinton Library, Thorburn Road. Free, no booking required – just come along!
The Big Friendly Read – Summer Reading Challenge Scotland: events at Stockbridge Library throughout the summer holidays. Explore a Roald Dahl story each week, with fun activities and the chance to make new friends. Today: Easily an Enormous Adventure? – a storymaking workshop. For ages 7-10. 3.30pm, Stockbridge Library, Hamilton Place. Free, no booking required – just come along! Next week at the same time Game Out! There is also a Dahl-themed event every Friday afternoon for all ages – see separate listing.
Live at the Café: up and coming DJ’s have a chance to get their foot in the door while the top DJs in Edinburgh ensure nothing but the best tracks are being played. Tonight a late night bar set from Daniel Murphy. 10pm-3am (bar open from 5pm), Cabaret Voltaire, Blair Street.
LGBT Activity Information Night: an opportunity to pick up the new programme, ask questions and get advice on what services and supports might be best for you. This might be of particular interest to people who used to regularly attend the Monday night drop in and are looking for new groups or activities to participate in. Drop by any time between 5.30 and 7.30pm for a cuppa and a chat. 5.30-7.30pm, LGBT Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. For more information please contact Alison Wren on 0131 652 3283 or email alison@lgbthealth.org.uk.
Blackwell’s Edinburgh Book Group: join Blackwell’s Book Group for lively, friendly book chatter – no previous experience required! The group meets monthly to discuss a wide range of books – fiction and non-fiction, classic and contemporary, prizewinners and cult heroes – in short, whatever you fancy! Currently reading Olaf Stapledon’s Last and First Men. 6pm, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. To join just email your details to events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk.
Adult Colouring Group. A brand new group – come and relax with some colouring in. Refreshments available. 6.15pm tonight and every Monday, Oxgangs Library, 343 Oxgangs Road North. Free – for more information please contact the library on 0131 529 5549.
Grassmarket Community Cinema: Moonrise Kingdom (12A). In this evocation of young love in a more innocent America Wes Anderson takes us back to 1965, in a little coastal town in New England called New Penzance, in a charming, beautifully wrought, if somehow depthless film, heartfelt and thought through to the tiniest, quirkiest detail in classic Anderson style. 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.
Carbuncle Town: Film Screening & Discussion: a film about people and buildings, and why you should never underestimate either. Out of the Blue based filmmakers Adam Barnett and Ann McCluskey screen their new documentary Carbuncle Town, which will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers, Councillor Brian McCabe and magazine editor John Glenday, both important participants in the documentary. The ‘Carbuncle Award’ is a controversial prize given annually to the most dismal town in Scotland; this documentary delves into the gritty, poignant, and often-humorous world of places tarred with the award. 
Local firebrand Brian McCabe and the good burgers of Denny set about ridding their town centre of its monstrous 1960’s carbuncle of a shopping centre; it took five years of emotional and political struggle. Meanwhile John Glenday, editor of the magazine that invented the award, visits potential nominee towns for the next competition; during his eventful journey around Scotland, he meets a whole host of ardent characters, all passionate about their towns. What emerges is more than a lampoon of urban rejuvenation; this affectionate story celebrates the people who are fighting to bring back dignity to their town centres. 7pm (film starts 7.30pm), Out of the Blue, 36 Dalmeny Street. This screening is part of the Architecture Fringe Festival 2016.
The Edinburgh International Jazz & Blues Festival continues this week. Acts include Colin Steele Quintet, Curtis Stigers, Jan Garbarek Group ft. Trilok Gurtu, Konrad Wiszniewski & Pawel Kaczmarczyk Quartet, Rumba de Bodas, New Orleans Swamp Donkeys, Ole Seimetz, Tommy Smith & Brian Kellock, Jools Holland & his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, Edinburgh Schools Jazz Orchestra, Pasadena Roof Orchestra, Lucky Peterson and many, many more. Various venues throughout the city; for full details of all events, tickets, etc click here. Ends 24th July.
TUESDAY 19TH JULY 2016
North Edinburgh Arts Summer Programme: a packed timetable of activities throughout the holidays. This morning’s sessions (10am-12 noon) for ages 5-12 (two age groups) are: Picture Frames and Hip Hop & Street Dance; in the afternoon (1.30-3pm) it’s Film Club: The Jungle Book (U). North Edinburgh Arts, Pennywell Court, Muirhouse. Activities £1.50 per session (50p for Good Neighbours card holders), healthy snack provided. No booking required but sessions can be very busy, so please arrive early to secure a place. Film Club is free but you do need to register in advance. For details of all activities and events at NEA this summer, click here or call NEA on 0131 315 2151.
Tiger Tales: stories and crafts for ages 4-7. 10.30am today and every Tuesday throughout the summer, Balerno Library, 1 Main Street. Free.
WHALE Arts Children’s Summer Programme: free art, crafts, dance, circus skills and films throughout the holidays. Today Expecting Something: for parents under 25 with a bump or a child under 2. A variety of fun creative sessions geared towards young parents and young children, with space to chat and a free, fresh, healthy lunch. 10.30am-1pm, WHALE, 30 Westburn Grove, Wester Hailes. For more information call 0131 458 3267 or drop in to WHALE.
Summer at Craigmillar Library – different activities every day throughout the holidays! Today: Books for Babies, Just Dance Off, Video Game Tournament and Quiz Night. Please check the library’s Facebook page here (or call into the library) for full details, age groups and times. Craigmillar Library, 101 Niddrie Mains Road.
The Hairy Maclary & Friends Show: Nonsense Room Productions presents an official stage adaptation of the much-loved Hairy Maclary children’s books by celebrated writer Lynley Dodd. This hugely popular show is packed with live music, singing, colourful costumes and six of your favourite Hairy Maclary stories – sing along and do the actions with all the characters! ‘You’d be barking mad to miss it!’ 12noon, 2pm and 4pm, Church Hill Theatre, Morningside Road. Tickets cost £10/£9 and may be purchased via TicketSource here.
Musselburgh Racecourse Family Day. Enjoy some holiday fun at Musselburgh Racecourse; seven thrilling races plus plenty of children’s entertainment, including two large bouncy castles, two roundabouts and live music on the bandstand. Children 17 years and under are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. ‘Bring a picnic and come and enjoy a great family day out.’ Doors open 12 noon, first race 2.15pm, last race 5.15pm, Musselburgh Racecourse, Linkfield Road (shuttle bus available from Wallyford station – click here for times). Tickets cost £20/£15 (accompanied under 18s free) and may be purchased online here or at the gates on the day.
The Self-Portrait: From Scarcity to Ubiquity. Even before the selfie pandemic, self-portraiture had become a key genre with many artists (Gilbert & George, Tracey Emin) specialising in it. James Hall, (The Self-Portrait: A Cultural History) explains the historical shift from rarity, where one ‘definitive’ image might suffice, to ubiquity. He will also explore changing attitudes towards the narcissus myth. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed. Image: Self-Portrait with Platinum Bouffant Wig, Andy Warhol, 1981 − © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / DACS, London 2015.
Moredun Library Summer of Crafts. Today and every Tuesday: Minecrafters. 1.30pm, Moredun Library, 92 Moredun Park Road. Free.
Picturehouses Silver Screen: if you are over 60, join the Silver Screen Club (it’s free) for discounted tickets at these special weekly screenings, plus a free tea or coffee before the show. This week’s films are The Neon Demon (18) (1.05pm and 3.50pm), Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (15) (1.45pm), Maggie’s Plan (15) (1.30pm and 3.40pm) and Men and Chicken (15) (4.05pm). Non-members are welcome at these screenings but pay standard prices. Cameo, Home Street.
Gilmerton Library Summer of Crafts. Today and every Tuesday: Art Attack. For ages 5-12. 2pm, Gilmerton Library, Newtoft Street. Free.
Water of Leith Visitor Centre Children’s Summer Events. Today: River Dipping – join staff IN the river for this favourite activity! Children must be accompanied by an adult. 2-3.30pm, Water of Leith Visitor Centre, 24 Lanark Road. £4 per child, accompanying adult free:
booking is essential and may be made by calling 0131 455 7367 or emailing admin@waterofleith.org.uk. For details of the centre’s summer and autumn programme – which includes events for all ages – click here.
Around the World Crafts: for ages 4-12 (children under 8 must be accompanied by someone over 12). 2pm today and every Tuesday during the holidays, Sighthill Library, 55 Sighthill Road. Free.
Chatterbooks: come along and discuss your favourite Roald Dahl books. For ages 8-10 (approx.). 2.30pm, Colinton Library, Thorburn Road. Free, no booking required – just come along!
The Big Friendly Read – Summer Reading Challenge Scotland: events at Currie Library throughout the summer holidays. Today (and every Tuesday & Thursday): Roald Dahl Crafternoons – help build volcanoes, design your own fancy dress, create your own Mr or Mrs Twits’ beard and much, much more! For ages 4-12. 2.30pm, Currie Library, 210 Lanark Road. Free.
The Big Friendly Read – Summer Reading Challenge Scotland: events at Fountainbridge Library throughout the summer holidays. Today and every Tuesday: Xbox Summer Football Challenge. 3pm, Fountainbridge Library, 137 Dundee Street. For more information drop into the library or call 0131 529 5616.
The Big Friendly Read – Summer Reading Challenge Scotland: events at Corstorphine Library throughout the summer holidays. Today Chocolate Factory Cakes. For ages 4+. 3pm, Corstorphine Library, Kirk Loan. Free, no booking required – just come along! Next Tuesday at the same time: Giant Peach (ages 5+).
Traditional Tales: a summer season of traditional tales from Scotland. Hear the truths, myths and legends of Scottish folklore, past and present, with some of our nation’s best storytellers. Authentic entertainment and insight, all in one hour! This week’s storytellers are Beverley Bryant & Joshua Bryant. For ages 12+. 3pm, Library, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43 High Street. Please book in advance: tickets cost £8/£6/£5 and may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0131 556 9579 or online here. Also at same times on Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st July.
Granton Garden Buddies Club: meet new friends, enjoy outdoors and help the library take care of the garden every Tuesday at the Garden Buddies Club. Today’s Fun Facts and Crafts Workshop is Fluttery Butterflies. 3.30-4.30pm today and every Tuesday this summer, Granton Library, Wardieburn Terrace. Free, all welcome. Next week at the same time: Creepy Crawlies!
Spacecrafts – Out of This World Crafts: for ages 4-12 (children under 8 must be accompanied by someone over 12). 3pm today and every Tuesday during the holidays, Ratho Library, School Wynd. Free.
LGBT Age: Faith & Belief Discussion. LGBT Age invites you to join an inclusive LGBT discussion about faith and belief; come and explore LGBT friendly faith organisations across Edinburgh. This will be a safe place to discuss and explore, and tea and coffee will be provided. 5.30pm, Lifecare Centre, 2 Cheyne Street, Stockbridge. Booking is essential; please contact Jean Monaghan on 0131 523 1100 or email jean@lgbthealth.org.uk.
Waterstones Graphic Novel Book Group: the monthly group at will be discussing Translucid by Claudia Sanchez and Chondra Echert, with stunning neon art from newcomer Daniel Bayliss, an exciting examination of the relationship between heroes and villains in comic books. 6pm, Waterstones West End, 128 Princes Sreet.
Picturehouses Discover Tuesdays: cult classics, art-house gems and riveting documentaries – there’s always a chance to see something different and brilliant in the Cameo’s weekly slot. Today’s film is A Poem is a Naked Person (15). After seeing Les Blank’s seminal film, The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins, musician Leon Russell and record producer Denny Cordell wanted to work with him. Les directed, filmed, and edited, A Poem Is A Naked Person (which focuses on Leon Russell) during 1972-74, while he was living at the Russell/Shelter Records recording studio compound on Grand Lake Of The Cherokees in NE Oklahoma. 
This feature-length film includes appearances by Willie Nelson, George Jones, and some amazing characters in Oklahoma, where much of it was shot. The film was never released, and was rarely shown in public, except at non-profit institutions with Blank in attendance. After Les Blank’s death in 2013, his son Harrod Blank came to terms with Leon Russell in order to re-master and finally release the film, some forty years later. At least two major critics have declared it the best film ever made about Rock and Roll. 6pm, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0871 902 5723 or online.
Blackwell’s Edinburgh Presents: Fantastic Worlds with Maria Lewis and Elizabeth May. The fantasy authors will be chatting about their latest novels, Lewis’ s Who’s Afraid? – a new urban fantasy for fans of Darynda Jones, Patricia Briggs and Keri Arthur, and The Vanishing Throne, the much awaited sequel to May’s 2013 debut The Falconer. 6.30pm, 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.
The Stand Leuchie House Benefit. A fantastic night of comedy with Vladimir McTavish, Keir McAllister, Gareth Mutch, Kimi Loughton and host Jay Lafferty, in support of Leuchie House, a charity dedicated to providing respite breaks with 24 hour expert nursing care, to enhance the lives of people and their families living with long term degenerative conditions. 
There is a country house feel at Leuchie rather than a clinical atmosphere, with the emphasis on social as well as health care, and a variety of activities and entertainment. 7.30pm (show begins 8.30pm), The Stand, 5 York Place. Admission £5 –tickets can be reserved by calling The Stand Box Office on 0131 558 7272 or contacting Tracy or Jackie at Leuchie House on 01620 892864, email tlonie@leuchiehouse.org.uk.
Leith Folk Club: Mairi Campbell. Viola player and singer/songwriter, Mairi Campbell is an influential and pioneering figure in Scottish music. Her work has a rooted and powerful quality and her musical interests are wide ranging, from playing Scottish dance music to pushing the boundaries of the traditional music scene, and even the soundtrack of the Sex in the City film. With support: Graham Carter. 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 20TH JULY 2016
North Edinburgh Arts Summer Programme: a packed timetable of activities throughout the holidays. This morning’s sessions (10am-12 noon) for ages 5-12 (two age groups) are: Toy Cameras and Hip Hop & Street Dance; in the afternoon (1.30-3pm) it’s Film Club: Paddington (PG). North Edinburgh Arts, Pennywell Court, Muirhouse. Activities £1.50 per session (50p for Good Neighbours card holders), healthy snack provided. No booking required but sessions can be very busy, so please arrive early to secure a place. Film Club is free but you do need to register in advance. For details of all activities and events at NEA this summer, click here or call NEA on 0131 315 2151.
WHALE Arts Children’s Summer Programme: free art, crafts, dance, circus skills and films throughout the holidays. This morning (10.30am-12 noon): Hip Hop; funky grooves for ages 5+, and this afternoon (1-3pm) Hip Hop for ages 7+ – a Dance Division Hip Hop class. Booking is required for each session. WHALE, 30 Westburn Grove, Wester Hailes. For more information and to reserve your place call 0131 458 3267 or drop in to WHALE.
Visually Impaired Tour and Workshop – Inspiring Impressionism: a free descriptive tour and practical workshop for the visually impaired. 10am-3.30pm, Scottish National Gallery (meet at information desk, Gardens entrance), The Mound. Please book your place by contacting the Information Desk on 0131 624 6560. Image: Poplars on the Epte, Claude Monet, 1891.
Summer at Craigmillar Library – different activities every day throughout the holidays! Today: Reading Group, Edinburgh Art Festival Workshop, Minecraft Club, Dramarama and #artcore writers. Please check the library’s Facebook page here (or call into the library) for full details, age groups and times. Craigmillar Library, 101 Niddrie Mains Road.
Lunchtime Concert: The Tudor Rose Ensemble of Tyler, Texas. 12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.
Adapting Miss Highsmith: described by Graham Greene as the ‘poet of apprehension’, Patricia Highsmith specialised in tightly plotted thrillers exploring the fear, jealousy, guilt and violence bubbling under the surface of outwardly civilised characters. Neurotic men dominate her fiction, antiheroes with a plethora of dark secrets and obsessions, though she was equally capable of studies of great sensitivity and tenderness, as evidenced by one of her few forays outside the thriller genre, Carol. The artistry and intelligence of her work is widely considered to have transcended the thriller genre and rival that of mainstream literature, and has made for much compelling cinema. Today: The Two Faces of January (12A) (in English, Greek and Turkish with English subtitles); set in 1962, Hossein Amini’s accomplished take on Highsmith’s ninth novel sees wealthy American fraudster Chester MacFarland (Viggo Mortensen) and his wife Colette (Kirsten Dunst) encounter unscrupulous ex-pat tour guide Rydal Keener (Oscar Isaac) while holidaying in Greece. When Chester’s criminal past catches up with him, Rydal agrees to help the couple evade the authorities. Sumptuously shot in widescreen, yet lean and economical in terms of narrative, 
mini’s film captures the cynicism and ambiguity typical of Highsmith’s best work. 1.15pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0131 228 2688 or online. Also showing today at 6.05pm and on Thursday 21st July at 3.40pm and 8.40pm The next film in this series is The Glass Cell/Die Gläserne Zelle, screening 22-24th July.
Moredun Library Summer of Crafts. Today and every Wednesday: Art Attack. 1.30pm, Moredun Library, 92 Moredun Park Road. Free.
Free RAP workshops: with Jay of Supa and Da Kryptonites. 2-4pm, North Edinburgh Arts, Pennywell Court, Muirhouse. Free but you do need to register in advance; call NEA on 0131 315 2151 or email admin@tinderboxproject.co.uk. There will be another workshop at the same time on Wednesday 27th July.
Professor Neil’s Incredible Science Crafts: for ages 4-12 (children under 8 must be accompanied by someone over 12). 2pm today and every Wednesday during the holidays, Sighthill Library, 55 Sighthill Road. Free.
Introduction to maps at the Library. The National Library is home to one of the largest map collections in the world; its shelves hold everything from town plans to world atlases, railway maps to star charts. Learn about the range of maps available, and view a selection of highlights from the collection. Includes an introduction to the Maps Reading Room. 2pm, Maps Reading Room, 159 Causewayside, Edinburgh EH9 1PH — please follow signs to public entrance. Free but booking is required and may be made by calling 0131 623 3734 or via Eventbrite here.
Howzat Scotland! The story of Scottish cricket; find out about the history of cricket in Scotland. Hear how a Scot played the central role in the Bodyline controversy in 1932, and for a time became the most hated man in Australia, and learn more about great Scottish cricket players and teams. This is an informal hour that gives you the chance to see items from the Library’s collections. Although cricket might not be a sport that you immediately associate with Scotland, it is widely played here and has a long and interesting history. 2pm, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge. Free but booking is required and may be made by calling 0131 623 3734 or via Eventbrite here.
Gilmerton Library Summer of Crafts. Today and every Wednesday: Roald Dahl Day. For ages 5-12. 2pm, Gilmerton Library, Newtoft Street. Free.
The Big Friendly Read – Summer Reading Challenge Scotland: Roald Dahl Scavenger Hunt: follow the clues around the library! For ages 5-12. 2pm, South Queensferry Library, Shore Road. Free, no booking required – just come along. The next event will be Roald Dahl Creative Writing on Wednesday 27th July.
Edinburgh Living History : Eighteenth Century People. Meet some upper-class people who lived and worked in Edinburgh and who helped shape the city. Edinburgh Living History is a multi award-winning team who interpret the history of Edinburgh’s museums in a variety of ways. Each performance is carefully scripted with intrigue, drama and humour. Watch the stories unfold… For all ages. 2-3pm, Museum of Edinburgh, Huntly House, 142 Canongate. Suggested donation £3 per person.
The Sunflower Dementia Café: the Café offers a welcoming and caring environment for those struggling with issues of memory loss, and for their carers, to enjoy companionship and stimulating activity. If you would like to register to attend or to find out more information please contact the church office at admin@palmerstonplacechurch.com or on 0131 220 1690. 2pm, Palmerston Place Church, 10 Palmerston Place.
Chatterbooks: come along and discuss your favourite Roald Dahl books. For ages 8-10 (approx.). 2.30pm, Currie Library, 210 Lanark Road. Free.
The Big Friendly Read – Summer Reading Challenge Scotland: events at Fountainbridge Library throughout the summer holidays. Today and every Wednesday: Big Friendly Crafts. 3pm, Fountainbridge Library, 137 Dundee Street. For more information drop into the library or call 0131 529 5616.
Explore Learning Creative Writing Workshop: for ages 7-10. 4.30pm, Fountainbridge Library, 137 Dundee Street. For more information drop into the library or call 0131 529 5616.
VISIONS 2100: Stories from Your Future. As part of the VISIONS 2100 Project, John O’Brien’s book tells of the power of Visions and invites the reader to create and share their own vision of a better world, on the basis that only by starting conversations of the future will we manage to build the world we really want. VISIONS 2100 balances worries about catastrophe with social and environmental improvements by referencing psychology, management thought, case studies and personal anecdotes. Framed around eighty short visions by some of the world’s leading environmental thinkers, including 
Mary Robinson, Christiana Figueres, Bill McKibben, Connie Hedegaard, Yvo de Boer and many others. VISIONS 2100 also references the parallels between the world’s journey and coping with the chronic illness of the author’s wife. Tonight’s speakers are John O’Brien, Prof Campbell Gemmell (former CEO, EPA), Professor Chris West (CEO, Edinburgh Zoo) and Tessa Tennant (green investment pioneer). 6pm, Word Power Books, West Nicolson Street. Free, all welcome – donations also very welcome!
Blackwell’s Edinburgh Presents: Gearbox Records Showcase. An evening of fantastic jazz, whisky and exclusive insights into one of Britain’s most successful new record companies. These purveyors of fine vinyl will bring a crate of the finest vinyl money can buy, their own record player to play it on AND free whisky. 
Darrel Sheinman (head of Gearbox Records) will play a selection of incredibly rare original first pressing Blue Note releases, the holy grail for many audiophiles, as well as some highlights from the Gearbox catalogue. Nikka Whisky will be offering free tasters of their award-winning Japanese whisky. 6pm, 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.
Poor Cow (15): Ken Loach’s first feature film is a heart-rending, sensitive adaptation of Nell Dunn’s novel, told with the director’s signature improvised performance style, dry wit and refusal of sentimentality. Joy (an exceptional performance from Carol White) leaves home at 18 years old to marry Tom (John Bindon), with whom she has a son. This marks the first of a series of both poor decisions, doomed relationships and circumstances outside of her control as she contends with domestic abuse, single parenthood and dead-end jobs. 6.10pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0131 228 2688 or online. Also showing at 3.35pm and 8.45pm on Thursday 21st July.
Edinburgh In The Shadows: after a spectacular run at the 2015 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Alec Beattie & Max Scratchmann return with a stunning sequel to their hugely successful spoken word show about the darker side of Edinburgh’s history! 6.30pm, Piershill Library, Piersfield Terrace. Please reserve your free place by dropping into the library, calling 0131 529 5685 or emailing piershill.library@edinburgh.gov.uk.
Bi & 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 email biandbeyondedinburgh@gmail.com.
THURSDAY 21ST JULY 2016
North Edinburgh Arts Summer Programme: a packed timetable of activities throughout the holidays. This morning (10am-12 noon) it’s Create Lite: Adventures Sea Monsters and Mythical Creatures – for ages 0-5 with parents or carers; in the afternoon (1.30-3pm) it’s Film Club: The Railway Children (U). North Edinburgh Arts, Pennywell Court, Muirhouse. £3 per first child, £1 for subsequent siblings, (50p for Good Neighbours card holders), healthy snack provided. No booking required but sessions can be very busy, so please arrive early to secure a place. Film Club is free but you do need to register in advance. For details of all activities and events at NEA this summer, click here or call NEA on 0131 315 2151.
Creative Storytelling with The Dogs Trust: for ages 5-10. 10.30am, Oxgangs Library, 343 Oxgangs Road North. Free – for more information please contact the library on 0131 529 5549.
Picturehouses Big Scream: exclusive screenings for parents or carers with babies under the age of one. Today’s film is The Wind Rises (PG): young Horikoshi is fascinated by flight, and dedicates his life to building flying machines. But with Japan’s entry into World War II, 
he begins to feel a terrible guilt because of the machines he has devised and the deaths they have caused. This profound and beautiful film deftly combines Studio Ghibli’s mesmerising style with an achingly beautiful love story, and asks hard questions about humanity, creation and invention. With The Wind Rises, visionary director Hayao Miyazaki delivers his farewell masterpiece
– and once again defies the conventional limitations of animation. 10.30am, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0871 902 5723 or online.
Macmillan Cancer Support Information Sessions: information, support and signposting for people affected by cancer. Macmillan are looking to recruit volunteers with good listening skills and an interest in helping people – full training will be given and expenses are payable. Come and find out about Macmillan’s holistic and accessible service in local communities. 11am-3pm, Central Library, George IV Bridge. For more details just ask library staff or call the library 0131 242 8000.
Summer at Craigmillar Library – different activities every day throughout the holidays! Today: Face Painting and Knitting & Craft Club. Please check the library’s Facebook page here (or call into the library) for full details, age groups and times. Craigmillar Library, 101 Niddrie Mains Road.
Deaf Action Drop-In: if you are finding life difficult with your hearing loss, Deaf Action can help you. Come along and meet Gordon Veitch to see a range of equipment available to increase quality of life and promote your independence. 11am-1pm, Newington Library, Fountainhall Road.
Moredun Library Summer of Crafts. Today and every Thursday: Potter Madness. 1.30pm, Moredun Library, 92 Moredun Park Road. Free.
Water of Leith Visitor Centre Children’s Summer Events. Today: BEASTS!! Discover the wild beasts who call the river home. Children must be accompanied by an adult. 2-3.30pm, Water of Leith Visitor Centre, 24 Lanark Road. £4 per child, accompanying adult free: booking is essential and may be made by calling 0131 455 7367 or emailing admin@waterofleith.org.uk. For details of the centre’s summer and autumn programme – which includes events for all ages – click here.
WHALE Arts Children’s Summer Programme: free art, crafts, dance, circus skills and films throughout the holidays. This afternoon (2-3.30pm): Early Years Play – a play session for children aged 0-5 and their parents and carers. Booking is required for each session. WHALE, 30 Westburn Grove, Wester Hailes. For more information and to reserve your place call 0131 458 3267 or drop in to WHALE.
The Big Friendly Read – Summer Reading Challenge Scotland: events at Currie Library throughout the summer holidays. Today (and every Thursday & Tuesday): Roald Dahl Crafternoons – help build volcanoes, design your own fancy dress, create your own Mr or Mrs Twits’ beard and much, much more! For ages 4-12. 2.30pm, Currie Library, 210 Lanark Road. Free.
The Big Friendly Read – Summer Reading Challenge Scotland: Roald Dahl Crafts: for ages 4-12 (children under 8 must be accompanied by someone over 12). 3pm today and every Thursday during the holidays, Ratho Library, School Wynd. Free.
Live Music Now: David Foley and Jack Smedley. The multi-instrumentalist duo will play a mix of traditional and contemporary folk music. 6-6.30pm, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. No booking required: free and unticketed.
Golden Hare Books presents An Evening of Poetry from Tapsalteerie. One of Scotland’s most interesting independent poetry publishers launches two new collections, Stuart A Paterson’s Aye and Owersettin: A Three-way Conversation by Sheila Templeton, Maggie Rabatski and AC Clarke, with readings from all four poets. 6.30pm, Golden Hare Books, St Stephen Street, Stockbridge. Free but booking is required and may be made via Eventbrite here.
Yangon Echoes: Inside Heritage Homes. Authors Virginia Henderson and Tim Webster present their new book, which welcomes readers behind the facades of Yangon’s heritage buildings to offer intimate views of life in the cosmopolitan Burmese city formerly known as Rangoon. An unprecedented work of oral history, Yangon Echoes is a rich anthology of fascinating life stories that explores notions and values of heritage and home, charting social space and urban folklore, linking past to present via living memories. 
At this social evening Virginia and Tim will give a brief talk on the making of this anthology of oral histories from people living in the city’s old palaces; the talk will be accompanied by a show of Tim’s outstanding photographs. 7pm, The Nomad’s Tent, St Leonard’s Lane.
Good Shepherd Chamber Singers: a free recital in the glorious setting of St Mary’s Cathedral, with Dr Sterling Allen (baritone) and Ms Mary Box (piano). 7pm, St Mary’s Cathedral, Palmertson Place. All welcome.
Amelia White + Dan Webster. East Nashvillian Amelia White’s newest album Home Sweet Hotel has just been chosen by The Daily Telegraph as one of its top country albums of 2016. Dan Webster’s delivery ‘sits perfectly within English folk and American styles through rock and roll to Country/Americana and beyond’. For over 18s only. 7.15pm, The Voodoo Rooms, West Register Street. Tickets £10 + booking fee here or from Skiddle, Ticketweb, Ripping Records and Tickets Scotland.
FRIDAY 22ND JULY 2016
North Edinburgh Arts Summer Programme: a packed timetable of activities throughout the holidays. This morning’s sessions (10am-12 noon) for ages 5-12 (two age groups) are: Typographic Posters and Hip Hop & Street Dance; in the afternoon (1.30-3pm) it’s Film Club: Finding Nemo (PG). North Edinburgh Arts, Pennywell Court, Muirhouse. Activities £1.50 per session (50p for Good Neighbours card holders), healthy snack provided. No booking required but sessions can be very busy, so please arrive early to secure a place. Film Club is free but you do need to register in advance. For details of all activities and events at NEA this summer, click here or call NEA on 0131 315 2151.
Summer at Craigmillar Library – different activities every day throughout the holidays! Today: Friday Cartoons and Illustration Workshop. Please check the library’s Facebook page here (or call into the library) for full details, age groups and times. Craigmillar Library, 101 Niddrie Mains Road.
WHALE Arts Children’s Summer Programme: free art, crafts, dance, circus skills and films throughout the holidays. Today: a trip to Jupiter Artland. for ages 7+. Booking is required. WHALE, 30 Westburn Grove, Wester Hailes. For more information and to reserve your place call 0131 458 3267 or drop in to WHALE.
Adapting Miss Highsmith: described by Graham Greene as the ‘poet of apprehension’, Patricia Highsmith specialised in tightly plotted thrillers exploring the fear, jealousy, guilt and violence bubbling under the surface of outwardly civilised characters. Neurotic men dominate her fiction, antiheroes with a plethora of dark secrets and obsessions, though she was equally capable of studies of great sensitivity and tenderness, as evidenced by one of her few forays outside the thriller genre, Carol. The artistry and intelligence of her work is widely considered to have transcended the thriller genre and rival that of mainstream literature, and has made for much compelling cinema. Today: The Glass Cell/Die Gläserne Zelle (cert tbc) (in German with English subtitles); director Hans W Geissendörfer is perhaps best known as the creator of Lindenstrasse, Germany’s longest-running soap opera. In 1978, he adapted Highsmith’s The 
Glass Cell, shifting the action to Frankfurt. Philip (Helmut Griem) is an architect who’s released from prison after serving time for a crime he didn’t commit. Struggling to find work and troubled by his wife’s relationship with his lawyer, he soon finds that – like many a Highsmithian protagonist – his life is tumbling dangerously out of control. 1.10 and 6.10pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0131 228 2688 or online. Also showing at 3.45pm and 8.45 pm on Saturday 23rd July and 6.10pm on Sunday 24th July. At 6.30pm on Monday 25th July Adrian Wooton, CEO of Film London, explores Highsmith’s colourful life, her extraordinary career and the films of her stories with slides and film clips.
Moredun Library Summer of Crafts. Today and every Friday: Art Club. 1.30pm, Moredun Library, 92 Moredun Park Road. Free.
Gilmerton Library Summer of Crafts. Today and every Friday: Tiger Tales. For ages 4-8. 2pm, Gilmerton Library, Newtoft Street. Free.
Roald Dahl Crafts: for ages 4-12 (children under 8 must be accompanied by someone over 12). 2pm today and every Friday during the holidays, Sighthill Library, 55 Sighthill Road. Free.
The Big Friendly Read – Summer Reading Challenge Scotland: events at Stockbridge Library throughout the summer holidays. Dahl-lightful events suitable for all ages, with fun activities and the chance to make new friends. Today: Rhyme stew – jokes, word games and alphabet crafts. 2.30pm, Stockbridge Library, Hamilton Place. Free, no booking required – just come along! Next week at the same time: Make fly away kites to escape The Witches!
The Big Friendly Read – Summer Reading Challenge Scotland: events at Colinton Library throughout the summer holidays. Today (and every Monday & Friday): Roald Dahl Crafternoons – help build volcanoes, design your own fancy dress, create your own Mr or Mrs Twits’ beard and much, much more! For ages 4-12. 2.30pm, Colinton Library, Thorburn Road. Free, no booking required – just come along!
Junior Knitting: come and learn some knitting skills with the library staff. For ages 7+. 2.30pm today and every Friday throughout the holidays, Balerno Library, 1 Main Street. Free: all welcome.
Lego Club: for ages 5+. 2.30pm today and every Friday, Corstorphine Library, Kirk Loan. Free.
Around the World Crafts: for ages 4-12 (children under 8 must be accompanied by someone over 12). 3pm today and every Friday during the holidays, Ratho Library, School Wynd. Free.
I still believe in miracles: Celebrating 30 Years of Inverleith House. An exhibition celebrating the originality and significance of the gallery’s programme over the past 30 years. Taking its title from a work by Douglas Gordon that is permanently installed in Inverleith House’s upper galleries, I still believe in miracles will feature the work of 30 leading Scottish and international artists (including Nicolas Party, Raoul De Keyser, Ciara Phillips, Douglas Gordon, Louise Bourgeois, William Eggleston, Andy Warhol, Jim Lambie and Andy Goldsworthy) who have made solo exhibitions for Inverleith House. The exhibition will also feature botanical drawings from the collections of John Hope, John Hutton Balfour, Francis Buchanan-Hamilton and Hugh Cleghorn. Tonight’s open preview will include a performance by Olivia Norris, Isabel Palmstiema, Aniela Piasecka and Paloma Proudfoot. 6-8pm tonight, then 10am-5.30pm Tuesday to Sunday, Inverleith House, Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh, Inverleith Row. Ends 23rd October 2016. Image: Juergen Teller, William Eggleston 1, Memphis, 2004. Courtesy of Juergen Teller.
Voltaire Live Presents Richy Neill and Guests The Tide Inside and Monosapiens. Richy Neill performs looping music in ‘a mash-up of dance beats and blues/rock – 1 man 1 acoustic guitar’; The Tide Inside has been described as ‘atmospheric post-punk that sends shivers down your spine in the subtlest manner’ (The National Student). For over 14s only. 7pm, Cabaret Voltaire, Blair Street. Tickets £5 + booking fee in advance from Skiddle.com here, £7/£5 on the door.
*WANT TO GET AWAY THIS WEEKEND?* How about…
Glen Clova Music & Ale Festival: a weekend of outstanding scenery, live entertainment and some of the country’s finest real ales, ciders and food. Music Friday (7-11pm), Saturday (12 noon-12 midnight) and Sunday (12 noon-9pm), with acts including The Coaltown Daisies, Backlash, Heidrum, Sons of the Soil, Shackleton Banjos and many more. Barbecues, breakfast rolls, and the local spit roast pig on Sunday. Camping available, but please note that no dogs, children or under 21s will be allowed in the campsite. Hotel, lodge and bunkhouse accommodation, subject to availability. Glen Clova Hotel, Glen Clova DD8 4QS. Tickets are available from bookitbee here. For more information and accommodation details contact the hotel on 01575 550 350. ‘A great selection of real ales and ciders on tap, along with a great line up of bands!’
UnstFest: Britain’s most northerly festival! UnstFest is a locally organised family festival, with music, dance, food, quizzes, craft sessions, sandcastle competitions, garden parties, a half marathon, a Viking longhouse open day and lots more. The festival begins on Saturday 16th but continues all week, finally winding down late on the afternoon of Sunday 24th: to see the full day-by-day programme click here. No booking is required, just turn up – some events are free, some make a small charge. Unst is nearer to Bergen than to Aberdeen; ‘the festival is an adventure, and so is getting here’ – but we’re told it’s not difficult; fly or sail to Shetland then take the ferry to Unst, though the organisers strongly advise booking your crossings in advance, as they can be very busy. Full details on the festival’s website here or Facebook page here.
