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Five things you need to know today

August 18, 2016 6:00 am

Elsie Inglis to be commemorated in Edinburgh
First Minister welcomes EU nationals at Q & A in Edinburgh
Oysters and champagne on the Fringe
Worbey and Farrell – an Edinburgh act!
Dumbiedykes Community Art Project

The doctor Elsie Inglis who gave her name to a hospital in the city, and who worked tirelessly during the First World War to open field hospitals, may be commemorated in the capital. The council will decide next Tuesday whether the women’s rights campaigner will be remembered by a street in her name just ahead of the centenary of her death.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Edinburgh’s Culture Convener, said: “Elsie Inglis established better medical practices and conditions for women in hospitals and was a central figure in the suffrage movement. As we edge towards the centenary of her death, a street named in her honour would provide a new tribute to this pioneering figure.”

The historian Alan Cumming (no, not the one singing at The Hub this week….) spoke to Edi Stark on BBC Radio Scotland about Elsie Inglis and her legacy:

The First Minister Nicola Sturgeon welcomed several hundred EU nationals to the Corn Exchange Edinburgh yesterday.

The purpose of the event was to give some of the EU nationals living in Scotland the opportunity to hear from the First Minister and then speak directly to the Scottish Cabinet who were all there with her.

It is clear that the First Minister does not have all the answers. She referred to the fact that the Scottish Government will protect Scotland’s interests in light of the Brexit vote, but the powers still lie with the UK Government.

“I know that the subject of our discussion today matters a great deal and it matters in a very real and a very direct way to all of you and all of your families.

“Among other things I hope that today’s event underlines to all of you just how important it is to me and to the Scottish Government to do everything we can to protect Scotland’s relationship with Europe, not as some article of faith, but because key interests in Scotland depend on that relationship with Europe and also our commitment to protecting your place and your future here in Scotland.

“You have done us the privilege of making Scotland your home and you make a significant contribution to our economy, to our society to our culture to our very sense of who we are.

“More than 20,000 of you study at our universities. You make up around 5% of our NHS workforce. Quite simply we would be poorer without you not just economically but in many many different ways.

“So at the very outset let me reiterate just how welcome you are here. It is your home.”

But the First Minister made clear that there are limitations to what the Scottish Government can do : “Let me be absolutely frank with you. Because immigration law and policy is not the responsibility of The Scottish Parliament I cannot at this stage do the one thing that I really want to do, and that is to give you a cast iron guarantee that your right to stay here will be unaffected by the outcome of the referendum. However I do continue to argue that such a guarantee should be given without any further delay by the UK Government and other EU countries should do likewise for UK citizens living there.

The mood of the meeting was quiet and reflective. There were no difficult questions for the First Minister or her Cabinet to field. Nobody was hysterical, although there was one German couple from Kirkcaldy who spoke to us about their desire to leave Scotland now ahead of any Brexit moves.

Elke and Thomas Westen are upset, but resolute in their decision. They are originally from Dortmund and came to live here some time ago following a stint in Ireland, but will now move elsewhere in the EU. Their worry is that they would have to apply for visas or work permits to live in their own house and work in their own company.

Humera Ashraf Director of Services with Fusion Bites a social enterprise in Glasgow said: “It was useful but we will see who it was useful for. I am all for consultation but what we have to wait and see is what happens now. Watch this space!”

You may think that the Fringe is all about comedy, music, theatre and singing, but actually there is food too. At Cannonball on the Rock, the nearest building to Edinburgh Castle, there is an unusual show at 4pm daily, and one where you will learn lots!

Book your tickets here to go along and discover the history of champagne and oysters. There is a new Pommery champagne served on ice. Yes ice!

Fringe venue 169 @Continibites Cannonball with Victor and Carina! #foodonthefringe pic.twitter.com/nBLHE9cGm3

— Edinburgh Reporter (@EdinReporter) August 17, 2016

This is, according to Victor and Carina Contini, the ‘new thing’. And yes it is delicious. This is a tutored oyster tasting with bubbles to go along with it.

So how can you refuse the invitation? In their new Glengoyne Room (which is devoid of whisky during the Tattoo while it is a rest area for some of the Tattoo pipers) there is plenty of room for you and your chums! More details here.

Worbey and Farrell live in Edinburgh – and they could be the best pianists you ever see. They have a Steinway which they use to produce musical ballet. Arms overlapping and intertwining (and just wait till they play Fur Elise!) they will simply astound you.