Five things you need to know today
At the Scottish Storytelling Centre on Thursday
The Remarkable Deliverances of Alice Thornton, a one-woman show set in the 17th-century, will be performed at the Scottish Storytelling Centre on 7 November 2024. Tickets here.
The script is based on manuscripts written by Alice Thornton(1626-1707), a North Yorkshire woman who wrote about her daily life over three hundred years ago.
The play was developed with researchers from The Alice Thornton Books Project at The University of Edinburgh, Alice Thornton is played by the writer, Debbie Cannon.
- The event runs from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm on November 7th 2024 at The Scottish Storytelling Centre
- The one-woman play has been developed as part of the Alice Thornton’s Books project, a partnership between The University of Edinburgh and Durham Cathedral, with funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Being Human Festival
- Tickets £12 (£10 concessions) from Scottish Storytelling Centre
Alice Thornton was the daughter of Christopher Wandesford, briefly Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1639, but is primarily known for her writings which discuss her childhood in Dublin, her return to Yorkshire during the civil war, her royalist views, a distinctly Church of England piety, and the births of nine children (only three of whom made it to adulthood).
The play is set in 1668, when Alice’s husband, William, had just died leaving her with three children: Nally (aged 14), Kate (aged 12) and Robert (age 6).
The main source of information for Alice Thornton are her three books of her life and a book of remembrances.
For many years the whereabouts of her books was unknown. In 2009 the British Library brought the first and third books of her life at auction from a private collector.
In December 2018, Professor of History at University of Edinburgh, Cordelia Beattie, identified a manuscript in private hands as the missing Book of Remembrances. Beattie’s research into Thornton and the Comber family, who had owned the manuscript since Alice Thornton’s death in 1707, took her to Durham Cathedral Library. Here, in January 2019, she found another missing Thornton manuscript, the second of three books of her life. Later the Book of Remembrances was also gifted to Durham Cathedral by Patrick Comber.
Teapot Trust
The Musselburgh based charity will receive funding from The National Lottery Community Fund.
Young Start delivered by The National Lottery Community Fund awards money from dormant bank accounts to projects that help young people across Scotland reach their full potential. And Teapot Trust which supports children with chronic illness through art therapy is being awarded funding which will keep their service going for another two years.
La Dolce Vita Swing Collective – Christmas tickets on sale now
Edinburgh-based swing band La Dolce Vita Swing Collective have announced their festive themed Edinburgh date at the Voodoo Rooms.
As the Festive Season gets underway, the now annual Christmas cabaret show with La Dolce Vita Swing Collective will take place at the Voodoo Rooms, West Register Street on 16 December.
Band leader Tony Delicata said the ‘Cool Yule’ series of shows have become a tradition in certain venues and are always special shows. In line this year we will be heading to Bishopbriggs, Peebles, King’s Kirkcaldy as well as Edinburgh.
He said: “No matter where we play, our audiences both young and old love getting up close and personal with the band, singing and dancing especially when it comes to our Cool Yule Christmas where the show is packed full of Rat Pack Christmas Crackers and Phil Spector festive classics.”
Cool Yule Christmas Show with La Dolce Vita Swing Collective play The Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh on Monday December 16 at 7:30pm Tickets: https://www.dolcevitaswing.com/event-details/voodoo-rooms-cool-yule-christmas-show-1
Leith Annual 2024
The Leith Annual has been published – chronicling a year in the port.
The book has been devised by Muckle Brig the company which owns the Port of Leith Distillery and Lind & Lime Gin. Other businesses have contributed to the annual.
Ian Stirling, Co-CEO of Muckle Brig said: “We are fortunate to operate in one of the most industrious and exciting neighbourhoods to be found anywhere in the world. We have manufacturers of kilts and biscuits, architects and engineers, exceptional bars and restaurants, brand designers and advertising agencies, our very own movie studio, brewers, distillers and an incredible, busy industrial port that’s placing itself at the heart of the transition to net zero. This is a remarkable place, and we wanted to capture and document that wonder for local residents and visitors, as well as future generations.”
The Leith Annual’s editor, Johanna Derry Hall, said: “Leith has always been a colourful and vibrant neighbourhood, with a strong sense of identity and individuality. It’s been a pleasure to collaborate with local writers, illustrators, photographers and artists, as well as local businesses, community organisations and people to create The Leith Annual. It’s a celebration of the area exactly as it is now, and will hopefully continue as a chronicle of the neighbourhood for many years to come.”
The Leith Annual 2024 is the first issue of what will be an annual publication. The inaugural version will be available at £15 from retailers across Leith and Edinburgh, sold in the retail shops at both Port of Leith and Lind & Lime distilleries and online at www.leithexport.com.
Planning news
An application has been made to change an empty office, Edinburgh One, on Morrison Street into a Clayton Hotel.
The application seeks permission for “Change of use and conversion, alteration, partial demolition and extension of vacant office to form hotel, bar and restaurant and associated facilities.”
Read more of the planning documents here.
