Five things you need to know today Edinburgh!

• Today at the Edinburgh Interational Book Festival
• One More Time with Feeling coming to Edinburgh in September
• The Show must go on! 
• Therapy Ponies Scotland
• Kwik Fit set up new training programme

Today is indeed a day for big names. Beginning with Mariella Frostrup at 10:00 who is recording a session of Open Book for Radio 4 so even if you can’t get a ticket for today you will be able to listen to it later.

A L Kennedy has written a novel after a four year break and in Serious Sweet we are promised a love story with a good-hearted civil servant and a bankrupt accountant among the characters.

The University of Edinburgh Event at 13.30 features Carol-Ann Duffy and Jackie Kay. The Poet Laureate and the Makar will discuss poetry to a musical accompaniment by John Sampson.

Later in the afternoon Roy Hattersley a former UK Government Minister and one of former Prime Minister, Harold Wilson’s fiercest critics will talk about the time and the man.

Alexander McCall Smith will be on at much the same time as Val McDermid making the decision a difficult one for Edinburgh residents wanting to be faithful to local authors! However McDermid is chairing a discussion between Richard T Kelly and Mark Lawson, rather than talking about her own work.

Susan Tomes a locally based classical pianist will talk about her four books about making music. There may we understand be some tinkling of the ivories!

Do remember that if you don’t have tickets there is a returns queue for every event. You may be lucky!

Feature film One More Time With Feeling will screen in cinemas for one night only on 8th September, launching the new Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album Skeleton Tree.

The first opportunity anyone will have to hear any of the songs from the new Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds album, Skeleton Tree, will be to watch the feature film One More Time With Feeling, directed by Andrew Dominik (Chopper, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Killing Them Softly). 

The film will be shown in a select 150 cinemas across the UK and Ireland (check listings below for your nearest participating cinemas) and more than 850 cinemas worldwide on 8th September 2016, immediately prior to the release of Skeleton Tree the following day.

In Edinburgh the film will be shown at The Filmhouse, Lothian Road. 

The old saying, The Show Must Go On, came true for Edinburgh writer Robin Mitchell when a key cast member dropped out of his Edinburgh Festival Fringe play Princess Pumpalot: The Radio Show – Live on Stage! due to illness with only 48 hours until the opening show.

Several attempts were made to secure another actor to take the part in the play at Sweet Venues but to no avail, so Robin stepped onto the boards to save the day.

“People keep telling me it should be easy as the writer of Princess Pumpalot but I keep telling them, it’s one thing writing a play, it’s a completely different thing learning the script, rehearsing and performing it in 48 hours”, said Robin.

Princess Pumpalot: The Farting Princess returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for a fourth consecutive year in a brand new show, Princess Pumpalot: The Radio Show – Live on Stage! Performed in the style of a radio play and based on characters from Robin’s successful children’s book, this fast paced, fun packed show is for all the family.

“The first show has come and gone and although at times we were sailing close to the wind, I must say I really enjoyed it”, said Robin. “I might consider doing it again but perhaps next time with more notice”.

Residents at a care home in Edinburgh have been horsing around thanks to an in-house visit from Therapy Ponies Scotland.

Bupa’s Braid Hills care home, on Liberton Drive, welcomed the Shetland ponies into the home, giving the residents the chance to hold and touch the animals and learn about their new miniature friends.

Residents were encouraged to interact with the two ponies – named Herbie and Flicker – both of which have been highly trained to handle any situation.

Animal-assisted therapy has been shown to have significant benefits for care home residents, especially those with dementia, as physical contact with the animals is therapeutic, stimulates a social response and reduces stress.

Stephen Hagan, Home Manager at Bupa’s Braid Hills care home, was delighted with how well the session with Herbie and Flicker was received.

He said: “It was a really entertaining day for everyone involved and all the residents adored having the ponies with us at the home, as did the staff and our visitors that were in at the time.

“As well as being fun and interesting, animal therapy is also especially beneficial for our residents as it is relaxing and can also be a very social activity. Herbie and Flicker really lifted everyone’s spirits and were adorable.

“Here at Braid Hills, we try to enrich the lives of our residents as much as possible and the visit from Therapy Ponies Scotland is just one example of how we aim to do this.”

Kwik Fit, the automotive repair company, has partnered with Action for Children Scotland to create a new training programme to help disadvantaged young people from Corstorphine in exploring careers in the automotive engineering industry.

In June 2016, under the Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) contract, Action for Children Scotland teamed up with Kwik Fit to create the six week training programme designed to assist young people to explore the automotive engineering industry. Trainees will be supported to complete a work placement opportunity and create a CV to capture all the knowledge, skills and experience gained. Care support will be provided to assist participants to secure employment, education or further opportunities.

Eight young people have completed the programme after four weeks of employability workshops followed by two weeks on placement. The group spent a full day at Kwik Fit’s Broxburn Training Academy for hands on experience where they learnt to jack up vehicles, remove and refit a tyre, balance wheels and check tyre pressure. After completing the programme, each member of the group now has certifications in Manual Handling and Safety Awareness – which are both recognised by employers.

Action for Children Scotland provides a series of employability workshop programmes for socially excluded 16 to 24 year olds across Scotland. The organisation provides a range of industry led training, SQA qualifications and workshops focusing on personal development.

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