Some people are life’s heroes: leading men and women full of swash, buckle and derring-do. Others just hold their jackets.

Ben Van der Velde has been peeping out through his drawn curtains and isn’t feeling too sure about the future for him, his wife or his vaguely imminent kids. The world seems like a tinderbox ready to explode and he’s not prepared for the fallout. He’s on the hunt for a hero to see him through World War 3 (and possibly 4 or 5), whilst trying to find any upsides in the life of a perennial sidekick.

Join Ben as he salutes the Barney Rubbles, Boo-Boos and Dr Watsons of the world.

Ben Van der Velde is a stand-up comedian, actor, improviser and presenter. He is a regular host and act for respected British comedy clubs such as The Stand, Komedia, the Frog & Bucket and The Boat Show as well as hosting stages for Bestival among other festivals. Ben is currently helmsman of the Chortle Award-winning Good Ship Comedy Club in Kilburn.

Outside the circuit, Ben has performed a voodoo re-marriage ceremony, founded the Church of the Holy Kazoo with comedy legend Mark Thomas, and walked the entire London Underground net- work to raise money for The Refugee Council.

Ben is a regular performer at the Edinburgh Festival, where he has performed three critically-ac- claimed shows. In 2016, his most recent show, Barbarians, received 5 and 4 star reviews, whilst several of its jokes made it into ‘Best Joke at the Fringe’ lists compiled by The Scotsman, i-News and The Huffington Post.

Title: Ben Van der Velde – Sidekick
Venue: Espionage (Pravda Room)
Fringe venue number: 185
Address: 4, India Buildings, Victoria St, EH1 2EX

Venue website: http://www.laughinghorsecomedy.co.uk/freefestival/espionage-specs.htm

Dates: August 3 – 27 (not 15) Reviewers invited from: August 4 Time: 8.45pm
Age: 14+
Duration: 1 Hour Entry: Free (Donations)

• The Friends of Burdiehouse Burn Valley Park AGM
• Bank of Scotland grants programme
• Barney’s Beer on tour
• Tanabata Star Festival
• Poetry Al Fresco with Ryan van Winkle

The Friends of Burdiehouse Burn Valley Park are holding their AGM tonight Monday 3 July 2017. They welcome you to join them. Gareth Barwell Head of Place Management will be addressing the meeting . he is the council officer responsible for looking after the local environment and the park. he is also responsible for the city’s cleansing services and maintenance of roads and footways.

The group’s Natural Heritage Officer Andrew Law will also report to the meeting at Gilmerton Library on Newtoft Street

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The Bank of Scotland Foundation is accepting applications for its Medium Grants and Small Grants Programmes for its summer 2017 round.  The Bank of Scotland Foundation is an independent charity supporting local, regional and national charities working at the heart of communities across Scotland.

The Foundation is able to provide its grants programmes each year thanks to an annual donation of £2 million from the Lloyds Banking Group.
Charities registered in Scotland can apply to the small and medium grants programmes once every 12 months and to the large grants programme after a one-year gap or a two-year gap depending on whether or not they were successful in their bid.

(The large grants programme with grants of between £50,000 and £100,000 is expected to open again in 2018.)

Applications are currently being accepted to the:

• Medium Grants Programme which offers grants of between £10,000 and £25,000 for projects that address developing and improving local communities and financial literacy and financial inclusion.
• Small Grants Programme which offers grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 for projects that address social inclusion and life-long learning.

There are two more application rounds for 2017.   For further information – http://bankofscotlandfoundation.org/funding-programmes

The next deadline for applications is 7 July 2017.

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Scottish Beer Tours team up with Barney’s Beer

As of last month, the brewery has officially teamed up with new company Scottish Beer Tours to provide led tours of the site as well as a tasting of their core range beers. Scottish Beer Tours, run by Sara Robertson, started up earlier this year to provide a craft beer experience in the city – a niche which can be seen being filled in most global major cities these days. The tours take full advantage of some of the city’s best craft venues including The Hanging Bat and sister-bar Salt Horse, OX184, Andrew Usher & Co, and of course The Royal Dick Bar. The guides on the walking tours teach groups how to go about tasting beer – utilising all 5 senses – for the best experience, while expanding their knowledge of the brewing process and of Scotland’s fascinating and extensive brewing history.  Tickets for both the brewery and walking tours are sold at www.scot.beer

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Nobody can accuse the Scottish Storytelling Centre of having a dull programme of events! This week on Wednesday they celebrate the launch of a new exhibition with an evening of stories and star-lore, with Linda Williamson, Mio Shapley and Joseph Kennedy.

The Japanese Star Festival or ‘Tanabata’ is traditionally held on 7th July, where legend says the Cowherd Star (Altair) and Weaver Star (Vega), lovers separated by the Milky Way, can meet just once a year – on the 7th day of the 7th month.

At 7.00pm at The Scottish Storytelling Centre Royal Mile t 0131 556 9579

More details and online booking here.

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Book ahead for an evening of poetry with Ryan van Winkle at Jupiter Artland on 27 July 2017.

Join Saltire Prize-winning poet and curator Ryan Van Winkle for an engaging evening of poetry on a walkabout reading. Inspired by Jupiter Artland’s unique grounds and contemporary art, the Scottish Poetry Library and Jupiter Artland are showcasing the work of this original Scotland-based writer in a special, site-specific event.

Poetry Al Fresco | Tickets £12.00 available here

Mitchell Davey had hoped to top the podium in the Caledonian Riders’ Championship but Friday’s big night at Armadale was washed out and the rider anxiously awaits a re-staging date.

The former Glasgow Tigers and Berwick Bandits racer hopes for a break in the weather so he can track for Stoke Potters in their home National League fixture against Cradley on Sunday (6pm).

And the Queensland-born racer is booked for Kent Kings at Belle Vue in Manchester on Wednesday.

Davey admitted to being excited at racing in the National Speedway Stadium.

But the Glasgow-based rider is hugely disappointed at Friday’s Armadale rain-off.

He said: “It was something I was really looking forward to. They’re talking about a new date for the meeting which I’m delighted about.”

Davey believes meetings like this are key to developing speedway and said: “I think it’s important for speedway at this level in Scotland to have meetings like this.

“Credit to Edinburgh for putting it on. It shows real commitment to giving less experienced guys an opportunity to race.”

Detailed work on how a potential deposit return scheme might operate in Scotland has been commissioned by the Scottish Government.

Deposit return schemes, in existence round the world, see consumers pay a small deposit that is fully refundable once the empty bottle is returned and this, it is believed, can reduce litter and increase recycling.

Roseanna Cunningham, Environment Secretary, confirmed Zero Waste Scotland will investigate design options and the associated costs and benefits of how a deposit return scheme could operate in Scotland’s unique environment.

Options will then be put to the public for consultation before Ministers come to a final decision on the future of deposit return.

Ms Cunningham said: “I am grateful to Zero Waste Scotland for its work so far on deposit return and to everyone who provided evidence to help us better understand the benefits of deposit return for recycling and reducing litter, and potential impacts on retailers and local authorities.

“Clearly there are a number of issues for the Scottish Government to consider when it comes to deposit return schemes that can only be addressed by carrying out work to understand the design of a potential system. I have asked Zero Waste Scotland to start this work.

“Progress will be overseen by a steering group involving representatives from the packaging industry, retailers and environmental groups, and followed by a full public consultation to ensure we are as well-informed as possible before any decisions are made.”

It is known as one of the most iconic opening scenes in modern cinema – Trainspotting’s Renton and his hapless sidekick Spud running full tilt along Edinburgh’s Princes Street.

Now, in a hilarious homage to the ‘Choose Life’ scene that kick-started Danny Boyle’s 1996 cult classic, RZSS Edinburgh Zoo has recreated the film’s curtain raiser with panda and penguin mascots reprising the famous sprint.

Shoppers watched in bemusement as the mascots re-enacted Ewan McGregor and Ewen Bremner’s infamous slalom through the Capital during recent filming for the 40-second video. In the video’s opening sequence, the panda drops his bamboo before beginning to race his penguin pal around Edinburgh city centre, finally arriving at Edinburgh Zoo.

The release of the video, premiered on YouTube, marks the launch of the new T2 movie release on DVD as well as the closing weekend of the Edinburgh International Film Festival and the start of the Scottish school summer holidays.

The footage is accompanied by an on-screen monologue in the mode of Trainspotting

Choose Scotland, Choose Edinburgh, Choose visiting the giant pandas, Choose meeting a meerkat, Choose brilliant birds, Choose the penguin parade, Choose Tiger Tracks, Choose a great day out, Choose Edinburgh Zoo!

Barbara Smith, Chief Executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), said: “Trainspotting contains some of Edinburgh’s most iconic characters and we decided to bring them together with a few of our own. It’s been tremendous fun making our parody and we hope the public enjoy watching it as much as they enjoy visiting RZSS Edinburgh Zoo this summer.”

Free tickets will be available from today for the Standard Life Opening Event: Bloom, which is a digital artwork that will open the 2017 summer festival season.

The event will run from 10 until midnight over two nights on Friday 4 and Saturday 5 August 2017 and will take place in St Andrew Square

The event is organised by The Edinburgh International Festival which is celebrating its 70th anniversary and Edinburgh’s status as the Festival City .

St Andrew Square will be transformed into a canvas of animations filled with colour, texture, sounds and sensations.

59 Productions, the company behind the video designs used at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games  have been commissioned to create the animations on display. The company also produced the marvellous Harmonium and Deep Time displays in the last two years.

Accompanied by music composed by Nick Powell, Standard Life: Bloom will take audiences  to the darkness of post-war Edinburgh, and will take inspiration from Edinburgh’s rich culture for the bright and bold animations you will see.

Book tickets here eif.co.uk  You are advised to book which will ensure entry.

Non-ticket holders are welcome on the night but entry to the square will operate on a first come first served basis.

The Standard Life Opening Event: Bloom is made possible by support from a portfolio of partners across the private and public sector. This is the second event in a three year partnership between the International Festival and Standard Life – the International Festival’s Opening Event Partner – which supports the event alongside other key funders including EventScotland and the University of Edinburgh, which have supported the Festival’s Opening Event since its inception in 2015.

This year the Standard Life Opening Event: Bloom also enjoys support from the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals EXPO Fund. This year the EXPO Fund has made an additional £300,000 available to support the Festivals celebrating 70 years of the Festival City. Edinburgh International Festival is working with Essential Edinburgh to realise the event.

Edinburgh Capitals defenceman Tyler Plews believes new coach Dmitiri Khristich can be the man to bring the best out of him.

The 19-year-old has re-signed for a third season at Murrayfield and keen to kick on after impressing in his previous two campaigns.

And he admits he’s excited to find out who else will be joining the club as excitement builds over the new era in Scotland’s capital.

Plews said: “It was an easy choice to return with the announcement of Dmitri Khristich as head coach.

“Being coached by a person of his calibre will only bring out the best of me as a player.

“Looking at next season, there’s only been a few signings before me but so far its looking good and having Pav (Vorobyev) back is a huge boost.

Plews has made over 100 appearances since signing for the club under Riley Emmerson’s regime and he earned himself a Great Britain call-up to last year’s under-20’s World Championships.

Coach Khristich said: “I’m looking forward to working with Scottish youngsters like Tyler (Plews). I want to work with players who know they have to work hard to play on a regular basis in this league.

“Tyler has good size and, combined with the right attitude, he can progress.”

Three Edinburgh venues could win a prestigious Food and Travel Magazine Reader Award.

Wedgwood the Restaurant, The Voyage of Buck and Millers64 have all been short listed and now face a public vote before the final in September.

Wedgwood the Restaurant hopes to defend its crown in the Best Restaurant Outside London category which it successfully won last year.

Paul and Lisa Wedgwood opened the restaurant in 2007 to offer their version of the perfect night out, exemplary service in a relaxed setting.

Wedgwood has been joined by one other Scottish restaurant this year, the Champany Inn in Linlithgow.

Cocktail bar The Voyage of Buck has been recognised in the Bar of the Year category less than a year after it opened.

It is only one of two outside of London to be recognised and it takes its name from fictional character William “Buck” Clarence who inspired the drinks list with his global adventures.

This summer The Voyage of Buck has a special Milan cocktail menu paying homage the gallerias and aperitivo of 1930’s Milan.

Millers64 is a bed and breakfast venue in an up-graded Victorian terrace on Pilrig Street and is the only Scottish venue to be recognised in its category.

The B&B is run by sisters Louise and Shona Clelland who, inspired by their own global travels, wanted to offer the best hospitality experiences for visitors.

Guests of Millers64 are welcomed to one of its two luxuriously finished rooms with freshly-baked shortbread and homemade tablet.

Winners will be presented their awards at a ceremony in London on 18 September and you can vote for these local businesses as well as Edinburgh for Best City at http://foodandtravel.com/awards until the first week in September.

The Culture and External Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop is in Dublin today to meet the new Irish Foreign Affairs Minister.  A cabinet reshuffle took place after the election of the new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar last month.

Ms Hyslop said: “Scotland and Ireland already have a strong and long-standing relationship and we want to develop economic, diplomatic and cultural links with our neighbour. We want to make more of the relationship between Scotland, its cities and regions, and those of Ireland – this isn’t just about Edinburgh and Dublin.

“The Scottish Government views Ireland as a key partner within the EU 27 – but it is also important that despite the forthcoming negotiations, relations between our countries do not become too narrowly defined by Brexit.

“While our academic and culture sectors are already collaborating well together, there is potential in the agricultural sector and areas like Ireland’s growing financial services sector. It’s important that we build on this potential and deepen economic ties between the two nations.”

The Cabinet Secretary will undertake a series of cultural site visits, where successful collaborations are taking place with the input of Scottish expertise. She will also host a business breakfast with a range of sector leaders spanning tourism, energy, food and agriculture, finance and the sciences.

A vaccination programme for men who have sex with men (MSM) has started in Scotland to protect against the HPV (Human Papillomavirus).

The vaccine will be offered to MSM up to and including the age of 45 attending sexual health or HIV clinics.

MSM prisoners aged up to and including 45 years of age will also be eligible to receive the vaccine through prison health services.

Introducing such a programme follows a recommendation by the UK’s independent, expert panel on vaccination matters, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

HPV is the name for a group of viruses, which can lead to genital warts and some forms of cancer. Vaccination helps to provide the best protection against high risk HPV types which can cause cancer.

Aileen Campbell, Public Health Minister, said: “Its introduction is based on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination (JCVI) and Immunisation.

“The JCVI recognises that MSM are a group at high risk of HPV infection and associated disease who receive little indirect health benefit from the existing, highly-successful, HPV vaccination programme for girls.”

Former Edinburgh Capitals star Marc Lefebvre stunned Dundee Stars by suddenly quitting the club.

The Canadian has signed for a team in North America and leaves after two years in charge. Lefebvre arrived in Dundee following a spell coaching in Hungary having previously been head coach at Coventry Blaze.

The former Capitals forward replaced Jeff Hutchins who is now an assistant coach at Fife Flyers. Last season, Stars qualified for the play-off semi-finals for the first time where they lost to Cardiff Devils.

His departure has stunned the Dundee support and the move comes as Lefebvre was re-building his squad for next season.

A statement on the club website said: “Dundee Stars can confirm that Marc Lefebvre has left the club with immediate effect. “Marc has agreed terms with a North American organisation. We wish Marc the very best in his future career. “The Dundee Stars are now actively seeking a head coach for the 2017/18 season.”

Marc said this on Twitter :

A lot of people to thank… pic.twitter.com/Xm2jt7iIhZ

— Marc LeFebvre (@OfficialFavor11) June 30, 2017

The UK’s chief medical officers released new advice on physical activity for expectant mothers, believed to be the first of its kind in the world last week.

The new recommendations aim to reduce issues such as obesity, diabetes and other health concerns during pregnancy.

The latest evidence suggests pregnant women should do around 150 minutes of ‘moderate intensity’ activity every week.

This is described as activity that makes you breathe faster while still being able to hold a conversation.

This new advice is being issued in the form of an infographic aimed at giving health professionals, as well as the leisure sector, the best advice to pass on to pregnant women.

Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer Catherine Calderwood said: “We want to make pregnant women aware of the benefits of being active throughout their pregnancy and make sure they’re clear about the type of activities that are safe.

“The latest evidence shows that regular, moderate exercise during pregnancy reduces blood pressure problems, improves fitness, lowers weight gain and reduces the risk of diabetes.

“My advice to pregnant women is to listen to their body and adapt their exercise regime accordingly. If you’re not already active, start gradually – and if you are active, just keep going. If anything feels uncomfortable, then stop and seek advice.”

Women who have not been active before pregnancy are recommended to follow a gradual progression of exercise beginning with ten minute bouts of moderate intensity exercise gradually building up to 150 minutes.

The activity should be spread throughout the week and the government says it is important to remember that every activity counts.

Young disabled people will be able to access a £5m fund to help them live more independent lives, Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell announced this week.

The Independent Living Fund (ILF) will provide a short-term award to people aged 16-to-21 to help the transition into adulthood.

It can be used to help the young disabled person to be active, participate and contribute to their local community; aimed at helping them to reach their potential and make a lasting difference to young lives.

It follows the set-up of the Scottish Independent Living Fun, in 2015 following the UK Government’s closure of the previous UK ILF scheme.

Ministers had previously committed that on top of the £47.2m a year of support provided to 2,600 existing Scottish ILF users, extra funding of £5 million would be made available to create a new ILF scheme.

Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell said: “We want everyone in society to have the same quality of life and providing support to disabled people is one of the areas we have worked on.

“This fund will support young disabled people to take up opportunities to contribute to and participate in their communities, to help them live as independently as possible.”

Views are being sought on the best way to spare child witnesses from having to give evidence during criminal trials.

The consultation seeks views on the Government vision that all child witnesses will have their evidence recorded as early as possible, and asks how a model for prerecording evidence could work best for Scotland.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said: “Giving evidence to a court can be extremely difficult and emotional for anyone, particularly a child or vulnerable witness.

“Making sure those witnesses feel safe, secure and able to share their account of events effectively not only protects them from ongoing risk, but helps them give the best evidence.

“That is why we are seeking views on reforms which would stop children having to give evidence in court during a criminal trial. This is a positive step in the right direction to protect the most vulnerable.

“This is an ambitious aim and it is likely to take time to fully achieve. But I believe it is vital and necessary that we make this important progressive change whilst also ensuring that the rights of a person accused of a crime are maintained.”

The Scottish Government is already working with partners to encourage earlier pre-recording of evidence as part of the Joint Investigative Interview process.

This includes looking at how practical support is provided and how technology and facilities can be enhanced.

Whilst, the initial focus is on child witnesses, any new model will be flexible enough to accommodate vulnerable adult witnesses in the future. The consultation will run until Friday 29 September.

SGB Championship: Glasgow Tigers 55, Sheffield Tigers 37

Glasgow: Richard Lawson 14, Nike Lunna 7, Aaron Summers 9, Dan Bewley 7, Richie Worrall 9, Tom Perry 4, Jack Smith 5

Sheffield: Josh Grajczonek 13, Todd Kurtz 3, Lasse Bjerre 13, rider replacement for Josh Bates, Kyle Howarth 6, Rob Branford 1, Nathan Stoneman (guest) 1

Edinburgh Monarchs saw their lead at the top of the SGB Championship shrink to two points.

Glasgow Tigers are hot on their heels after a 55-37 win at Ashfield over Sheffield Tigers.

Richard Lawson powered to 14 points and the Cumbrian racer was backed by a solid performance from the seven-man squad.

Glasgow have 39 points from 16 matches and have three matches in hand over Monarchs, their arch rivals.

They moved above Ipswich Witches into second spot despite former Ashfield favourite Josh Grajczonek collecting 13 points for the visitors.

The home side got into gear from the off, winning the first heat 4-2 and the second race 5-1 for a 9-3 lead.

Two 4-2 scorelines followed and they were 17-7 ahead after Heat Four.

A 5-1 in the tenth race courtesy of Lawson and Nike Lunna handed Glasgow a 41-21 lead and there was no way back.

“I don’t think I’m going to live a long life because I’ve never seen any really tall old ladies.”

In her UK debut hour LYNCHED, Carmen Lynch (The Late Show with David Letterman, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) shares her twisted, singular stand-up comedy that frequently dips into the dark side. Childless and drug-free (but only because of her heart murmur), she’ll share her views on Jesus, giraffes, scoliosis, her Spanish mother, and very often, death.

Carmen Lynch comes to the Edinburgh Fringe after enjoying a host of high profile tele- vision appearances. As well as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and twice on The Late Show with David Letterman, she has been featured on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Conan, @midnight (Comedy Central), Inside Amy Schumer, and The Good Wife.

On the big screen Carmen appeared in Miu Miu’s series of Women’s Tales directed by Chloë Sevigny entitled Carmen.

Carmen has performed for US troops in Iraq and Kuwait, and continues to tour in Spanish- speaking countries doing standup in Spanish. When she isn’t on the road, Carmen can usually be found at The Comedy Cellar in NYC.

Carmen Lynch: LYNCHED
Venue: Counting House (Loft)
Address: 38 West Nicolson Street, EH8 9DD Fringe venue number: 170
Venue website: www.freefestival.co.uk
Tel: 0131 667 7533
Dates: August 3 – 27 (not 15)

Time: 4pm
Age: 16+
Duration: 1 Hour
Entry: Free (Donations)

Website link: carmenlynch.com

Twitter: @lynchCARMEN
Instagram: @lynchCOMIC

Higher Education Minister Shirley-Anne Somerville has welcomed the publication of new statistics showing 91 per cent of Scotland’s university graduates are going into positive destinations.

Statistics released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that Scotland’s graduates have maintained a high percentage of leavers going into work or further study and a higher median salary for full-time first degree leavers compared to the other nations of the UK.

The report also highlights that 93 per cent of those that studied a ‘Science subject’ have gone on to employment, further study or a combination of the two, the highest level of all the UK countries.

Ms Somerville, said: “These are very positive statistics with 91 per cent of our university graduates are going into positive destinations, either work or further study.