The Scottish Government’s role in the future of the BBC will be guaranteed in a Memorandum of Understanding between it, the UK Government, Scottish Parliament and the BBC.

The agreement follows interventions from Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop to ensure the Scottish Government is consulted in the whole process of charter renewal.

The MoU has been agreed by Scottish and UK Ministers and is expected to be considered and voted on by the Scottish Parliament next week.

The agreement includes a commitment that the UK Government will consult with the Scottish Government throughout the process of the BBC’s Charter Renewal, which will begin in the next few months.

There is also a commitment that the BBC will appear before Scottish Parliament Committees on matters relating to Scotland and will send its annual report and accounts to the Scottish Government, who will lay these before the Scottish Parliament. These commitments are to be enshrined in the next BBC Charter.

The MoU puts into practice the Smith Commission Agreement on the BBC.

The BBC’s Royal Charter sets out how the organisation is run and is due to be renewed during 2016.

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said:

“The Memorandum of Understanding sets out a role for the Scottish Government in the future of the BBC and ensures that the BBC will be held accountable to the Scottish people through their representatives in the Scottish Parliament.

“This commitment that the Scottish Government will be consulted on BBC Charter Renewal means we can in turn consult the Scottish people and develop a national conversation about how the BBC can best serve the people of Scotland.

“Thanks to Scottish Government negotiations, we will not be consulted just at the beginning and end of charter renewal – but will be a part of the whole process, helping to ensure the BBC meets Scotland’s needs.

“The agreement the Scottish Government has reached with the UK Government on this issue will implement the Smith Commission recommendations in this area.”

Deputy First Minister John Swinney with assistance from Thomas and David of Dads Rock launched Year of the Dad 2016 at the National Museum of Scotland earlier today.

The year is designed to celebrate fatherhood and the importance of a father in parenting. Read more about the events to come in the next year on their website.

Dads Rock had the run of the Museum for the second year running. Thomas Lynch the National Development Manager said: “It’s amazing to have been able to come back for the second year to run the free family event at the National Museum of Scotland, it’s one of my favourite buildings in Edinburgh and certainly one of the most beautiful.  There is so much to see as it is, and we know that some families who come along to the event are coming to the museum for the first time.

“The event brought together lots of fun activities for all the family, there was something for everyone, spread throughout the day.  We had art/craft activities, dancing, kids classes, gardening, science experiments, songs, storytelling, yoga, and the day finished off with some rock music.”

by Marco Biagi, MSP for Edinburgh Central and Minister for Local Government and Community Empowerment

Last week I visited the Crags Community Sports Centre, a fantastic community led facility in the shadow of Arthur’s Seat. The centre, which lies between Dumbiedykes and St Leonard’s in the southside of the city, was mothballed by the local authority before being taken over and now run by a charitable community trust.

The Crags is a small but excellent example of the benefits of local communities taking control of local facilities. This is the intention of the Community Empowerment Bill, which was passed by the Scottish Parliament this week. This Bill will give communities the right to buy abandoned or neglected land and buildings – meaning examples like the Crags could become the rule rather than the exception.

The Crags is a home for sport, events, shows, workshops and classes. The centre operates by providing many of the groups who use it with keys – a trust based model unlikely to be used by Council services. This encourages a sense of shared ownership, and brings clubs together with the common interest of having the best centre possible.

When the social-enterprise the Engine Shed closed this year, itself a short walk from the Crags, the Crags became part of a bid to keep the building in community use – cooperating with other organisations and sharing vital experience. This is an important example – by building knowledge and capacity within local communities, this sort of community-led takeover can become completely normal.

There is still a role for local government to provide many of the services we use and enjoy, and often these services are the best model. But there will also be times when it’s best for ordinary people to pitch in and get the services and facilities they want by doing it themselves. This can unleash new energy by involving people who feel more connected to community services precisely because they are directly in charge.

That spirit can achieve things at grassroots level that council management often simply can’t.  It’s a way of ensuring that services reflect the needs and aspirations of residents. Run by local people, for local people, a community run facility can really focus on the priorities in their area. Whether it’s running a city-centre sports hall, saving a much-loved community asset, or using abandoned land for the public good, the Community Empowerment Bill will help turn problems into opportunities.

This man has dedicated his life to getting superpowers and now you can too.

James Bennison has endeavoured to fulfil his lifelong dream to become a superhero, going to extraordinary and often dangerous lengths to gain superpowers so that you don’t have to. In the last year, he has enrolled in Psychic College, hunted aliens and even broken into a nuclear power plant.

Join James as he presents his findings, see if he can bestow powers upon you, and find out if he has indeed achieved his lifelong dream of becoming super.

Based on real life correspondence and events James presents his mission in gaining superpowers and his passion for comic books. Designed for nerds and passing fans alike, find out if you too have what it takes to join his superhero team.

Read more at  http://www.jamesbennison.co.uk.

or see him between 19 – 30 August, 6.25pm, at Voodoo Rooms, 19a West Register Street, EH2 2AA, FREE!

Submitted by James Bennison

Today in the Botanics some Edinburgh cake makers collaborated on an Edinburgh map – made entirely of cakes.

If you are thinking it would be nice to see them then you are too late – they were all eaten up this evening! Some people were so transfixed that we found it a bit tricky to get shots of the masterpieces!

As well as cake there was street food of all kinds some of which continue till 10pm when the Botanic Gardens will close specially late for the Summer Solstice.

Cake Fest Edinburgh is supported as part of Year of Food and Drink Scotland 2015, delivered by VisitScotland and EventScotland.

The Royal Highland Show attracted a record 188,449 visitors this year – an increase of almost 10,000 on the 2014 attendance figure (178,569) and 805 more than the last record attendance at Ingliston – 187,644 in 2010.

As always, the main focus was on around 7000 of the UK’s finest livestock, with over £225,000 of prize money and 280 trophies worth around £2,000,000 awarded.

Following closely behind in terms of popularity was the Show’s brand new food offering, Scotland’s Larder Live! Featuring over 120 of the finest food and drink exhibitors from across Scotland and the UK, Scotland’s Larder Live brought to life the main consumer message of ‘farming equals food’ and was a lively, stimulating, informative and interactive area full of smells, sights and samples.

HRH Princess Royal made a visit to the event on Friday (19^th June), meeting with the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth (RASC), of which she is patron, followed by a visit to the Army’s stand, the Royal Highland Education Trust’s Education Centre (RHET) and also cast her expert eye over the Royal Highland Centre’s brand new Olympic standard all-weather show jumping ring.

Over 30,000 children attended the Show for free over the four days to learn about food, farming and the countryside, at the Royal Highland Education Trust’s Education Centre.

Joining the huge crowds, the BBC Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year, Claire Hastings, BBC Countryfile presenter Adam Henson and some of Scotland’s finest chefs including Nick Nairn, Lady Claire MacDonald, Jacqueline O’Donnell and Adam Handling, along with a number of political figures including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Richard Lochhead MSP, attended Scotland’s largest outdoor event which contributed £47.1M to the Scottish economy in 2014.

What are your favourites from the huge range of events in the city (and out of it) this week? Mine have to be Leith School of Art’s Summer Exhibition, always a joy to visit, and the Canal Festival (it’s got ponies!) – but maybe you prefer bikes, books, or Benji the Play Talk Read Bus? Whatever your choice, there’s plenty for you to enjoy in ‘that small town south of Fife’ (Inspector Rebus: Fleshmarket Close). Have a great week – and please remember to confirm the details of all events before setting out.

MONDAY 22ND JUNE 2015

CONTACT: Young Photographers Group Exhibition. CONTACT is an eight-week photography club for young people aged 16-19; over the duration of the course, the group has learned new skills and worked towards the development of this exhibition. 11am-6pm today and on Tuesday 23rd and Wednesday 24th June, with a special celebration 4.30-5pm on Tuesday 23rd, Stills, 23 Cockburn Street.

Cameo Toddler Time: short screenings exclusively for pre-school children and their parents and carers; no adult will be admitted unaccompanied by a child. Today’s film is Toot the Tiny Tug Boat Programme 4 (U): life on the high seas is a whirl of fun and adventure when you’re a little boat with big ideas – Toot works and plays with his ocean-going friends in the busy waters of the harbour. 11am, Cameo, Home Street. Membership of the Toddler Time Club is free – ask at the Box Office. Tickets for club members cost £3 per child (accompanying adults free) and may be purchased in person, by calling the Box Office on 0871 902 5723 or online here: non-members pay standard prices.

Museum2Go2 Jewellery Showcase. As part of the preparations for the opening of the new Art and Design galleries, school pupils were challenged to create their own pieces of jewellery, inspired by the NMS collections; today you are invited to come and see what they have come up with, and to have a go at making some paper jewellery to take home. The event will begin with a short film and award ceremony in the Auditorium, after which you will be able to explore the pupils’ work, along with pieces from NMS’s handling collection. All ages welcome! 12 noon-12.30pm in Auditorium, Level One, then 12.30-3pm in Event Space, Learning Centre, Level Two, National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street. Free: no booking required.

In Focus: Steven Campbell’s Elegant Gestures of the Drowned after Max Ernst (1986). Primarily associated with 1980’s postmodern painting, Scottish artist Steven Campbell has been the subject of renewed interest following the display of his On Form and Fiction in last year’s SNG GENERATION exhibition. Grainne Rice (NGS/Edinburgh College of Art) will take a focused look at this painting, currently on show at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art ONE as part of the rehang of the permanent collection. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed.

Skylark Surf Week: Mrs Mash Under the Sea. All the usual songs and storytelling for young children, but this time with added marine fun! Coffee and cake for the grown-ups too. 10.30am, The Skylark, 241-243 Portobello High Street.

Forbidden Planet Presents Pat Mills: a signing by the creator of 2000AD and legend of British comics before the EIFF screening of Future Shock! The Story of 2000AD. 5pm, Forbidden Planet, South Bridge.

Wester Hailes Community Connections: a festival celebrating community life, past, present and future. Today: Learning & Health Fair organised by Community Health & Development – a wide range of information on health issues, local courses and learning opportunities. 10am-2pm, Wester Hailes Healthy Living Centre, 30 Harvesters Way. For more information about this or any other event in the Community Connections Festival, please call Sarah Walker on 0131 458 3267 or email sarah@whalearts.co.uk.

Edinburgh International Film Festival continues today! For details of all films and other events see the programme here or pick up a paper copy at EIFF venues and many other locations throughout the city. Tickets are available in person from the Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Cineworld, Fountain Park, Odeon, Lothian Road and the Festival Theatre, by calling 0131 623 8030 or online here. Today’s highlights include 6 Desires: DH Lawrence and Sardinia – Mark Cousins’ documentary takes the form of an open letter to Lawrence, presented as Cousins visits the same places that the novelist discovered over 90 years earlier; (there will be a Q & A session with Mark Cousins after the screening), and Learning to Drive, ‘a charming and genuinely funny study of middle-aged angst’ starring Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson.

My Fountain: Fountainbridge Residents’ AGM and monthly meeting. Speaker: Councillor Andrew Burns.  6.15-7.45pm, Fountainbridge Library, 137 Dundee Street. All welcome: come along and have your say!

Blackwell’s Edinburgh Presents Off the Starting Block: Debut Writers – three brilliant new voices to celebrate Independent Booksellers’ Week. Katerina Bivald’s novel The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is a love letter to books and bookshops; Lucy Ribchester’s The Hourglass Factory features suffragettes and circus performers in 1912 London, and Angela Jackson’s award-winning debut The Emergence of Judy Taylor is much more than the story of a women breaking away. 6.30-8pm, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. Free tickets are available from the shop’s front desk, by calling 0131 622 8218, by emailing events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk or via eventbrite here.

Cameo Culture Shock: bringing you the best in cult and genre films. Today: The Princess Bride (PG) – Rob Reiner’s classic fairy tale with ‘a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek humour’. 9pm, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased in person, by calling the Box Office on 0871 902 5723 or online here: prices vary.

Leith Central Community Council: 7pm, Nelson Room, McDonald Road Library, 2 McDonald Road. All welcome.

Mixing the Colours: Glasgow Women’s Library presents readings from participants in the Mixing the Colours project, which explores the issue of sectarianism in the context of wider gender inequality. 2-4pm, Boardroom, Central Library, George IV Bridge (please note the venue is only accessible by stairs). Please book your free place via eventbrite here. Part of In Their Own Write – Women and Words, facilitated by Edinburgh City Libraries, Glasgow Women’s Library and the Bonnie Fechters’ women’s group.

The Entrance (for Larry Leitch): a performance of Robert Ashley’s innovative 1966 piece, designed for two ‘players’ to perform on a two-manual organ. The recital this evening will be performed by typographer Will Holder and artist Anna McLauchlan. 6.30pm, St Mary’s Cathedral, Palmerston Place. Free: no booking required. This event is organised by the Collective Gallery and LUX Scotland as part of Rhyme or Reason, a five-day intensive study programme investigating the role of notation, improvisation and score across the visual arts and other disciplines, including music, writing and geography.

TUESDAY 23RD JUNE 2015

Parks and Spires: Prague, Edinburgh and Beyond. New paintings by Carolyn Burchell, focusing on landscape. 11am-5pm Tuesday to Saturday, McNaughton’s Bookshop and Gallery, 3a & 4a Haddington Place. Ends 30th July 2015.

Benji The Play Talk Read Bus is in Drylaw today! Free songs, stories and play sessions for young children, their parents and carers. 10am-1pm and 2-4pm, Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre, 67 Groathill Loan.

CONTACT: Young Photographers Group Exhibition. CONTACT is an eight-week photography club for young people aged 16-19; over the duration of the course, the group has learned new skills and worked towards the development of this exhibition. Special celebration 4.30-5pm today; exhibition open 11am-6pm today and on Wednesday 24th June, Stills, 23 Cockburn Street.

Craigmillar Community Arts Marie Curie Tea: a vintage tea party with a chance to browse craft and bric a brac stalls. All proceeds will go to Marie Curie Cancer Care. 11am-2pm, The Jewel Miners’ Club, 56 Duddingston Park South. £2 per person, which includes all refreshments – no booking required, just pay on the door.

Breastfeeding Awareness Week: NHS Lothian’s Infant Feeding Team will answer any questions you may have – plus free gifts and fun goodies for the children! 11am-12.30pm (after Rhymetime), Craigmillar Library, 101 Niddrie Mains Road. Also 10.30am-12 noon at Leith Library on Wednesday 24th and 10.30am-12 noon at Muirhouse Library on Friday 26th June 2015.

Rocks and Rivers: Masterpieces of Landscape Painting from the Lunde Collection. Tico Seifert, SNG Senior Curator Early Netherlandish, Dutch and Flemish Art, will celebrate the long-term loan of thirteen works from the distinguished private collection of Asbjorn Lunde, New York; a series of extraordinary landscape paintings by Norwegian and Swiss artists such as Johan Christian Dahl, Alexandre Calame and Thomas Fearnley will be seen in Scotland for the first time. This lecture will introduce the artists and paintings, to highlight this important but little known chapter in 19th century landscape painting. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed.

eBook Surgery: find out about eBooks, emagazines and audiobooks. 10.30am-12.30pm (drop-in), Newington Library, Fountainhall Road. Also at same times on Tuesday 30th June.

Edinburgh International Film Festival continues today! For details of all films and other events see the programme here or pick up a paper copy at EIFF venues and many other locations throughout the city. Tickets are available in person from the Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Cineworld, Fountain Park, Odeon, Lothian Road and the Festival Theatre, by calling 0131 623 8030 or online here. Today’s highlights include The First Film, the story of Louis Aime Augustine Le Prince’s pioneering work in film projection – and his sudden and still unexplained disappearance in 1890, and Maggie, ‘a zombie film with an art-house sensibility’ in which Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a Midwest farmer who is determined to bring his daughter home after she is infected by cannibalistic zombies, ‘an engrossing, engaging and genuinely moving film’. Plus a special evening of videos by artist Stephen Sutcliffe, who creates moving image collages through a careful and intuitive editing process; the evening is presented by Talbot Rice Gallery in association with LUX, and will be accompanied by the artist in conversation.

Wester Hailes Community Connections: a festival celebrating community life, past, present and future. Today: Big Walk: Paint It Back – featuring The Edinburgh Sketcher! A guided walk with a local historian, highlighting past, present and future sites key to Wester Hailes; The Edinburgh Sketcher will draw selected locations. 12 noon-3pm, meet at the Totem Pole, Westside Waterfront, Wester Hailes. For more information about this or any other event in the Community Connections Festival, please call Sarah Walker on 0131 458 3267 or email sarah@whalearts.co.uk.

Scottish Episcopal Church Diocesan Office Open Day: come and meet the staff and enjoy some tea and cake to raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care. 11am-3pm, Diocesan Office, 21a Grosvenor Crescent.

Blackwell’s Edinburgh Presents Tessa Ransford: A Good Cause. The poet, translator, literary editor and founder of the Scottish Poetry Library launches her new selection of previously uncollected poems. 6.30-8pm, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. Free tickets are available from the shop’s front desk, by calling 0131 622 8218, by emailing events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk or via eventbrite here.

Summer Colour: new paintings by Jonathan Meuli, glasswork by Stuart Ackroyd, ceramics by Rupert Merton, paintings by Alan McPherson and jewellery by Cecile Gilbert. 10.30am-5.30pm, Tuesday to Saturday, closed Sundays and Mondays, Gallery Ten, Stafford Street. Ends 27th July 2015.

Leith Folk Club: Alastair McDonald. The club welcomes one of Scotland’s most loved, most talented and most versatile showbiz personalities who often humbly describes himself as ‘a banjo player’. With support Bare. 7.30pm, Victoria Park House Hotel, 221 Ferry Road. Tickets cost £9 on the door (sta), in advance by texting 07502 024 852 or online here.

Hare: the unreliable final confession of William Hare regarding his acquaintance with William Burke, with interruptions and contradictions by Mrs Margaret Hare. Edinburgh was scandalised when murderer William Hare was released after turning King’s evidence and sending his partner, William Burke, to the gallows; in this dramatic telling, Hare and his wife look back and reluctantly recount, in sordid detail, their memories of the year 1828 and what became known as The Westport Murders. Written and performed by John and Noreen Hamilton of Heritage Stories. For over 16s only. 7.30pm, Netherbow Theatre, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £8/£6 and may be purchased from the Box Office by calling 0131 556 9579 or online here.

WEDNESDAY 24TH JUNE 2015

June Through July: a new mixed exhibition by Morag Muir, Fraser Haston, Jane Binks and Ingrid Nilsson. 9am-5pm Wednesday to Sunday (closed Monday & Tuesday), Bon Papillon Gallery, Cafe and Framers, 15 Howe Street.

[tweet_box design=”default”]Wester Hailes Community Connections: a festival celebrating community life, past, present and future is on this week.[/tweet_box]

Today: Tea in the Park for the Over 50s: tea and scones, old photographs and live music. Organised by Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust. 2-3pm, Hailes Quarry Park, Dumbryden Drive, Wester Hailes.

For more information about this or any other event in the Community Connections Festival, please call Sarah Walker on 0131 458 3267 or email sarah@whalearts.co.uk

Benji The Play Talk Read Bus is in Pilton today! Free songs, stories and play sessions for young children, their parents and carers. 10am-1pm and 2-4pm, West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre, West Pilton Grove.

LGBT Gay Men’s Book Group: an inclusive group where you can meet new people and read and discuss interesting books. 7-9pm, LGBT Health and Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. For more information please contact info@gaybookgroup.co.uk.

Edinburgh International Film Festival continues today! For details of all films and other events see the programme here or pick up a paper copy at EIFF venues and many other locations throughout the city. Tickets are available in person from the Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Cineworld, Fountain Park, Odeon, Lothian Road and the Festival Theatre, by calling 0131 623 8030 or online here. Today’s highlights include Wizards, Ralph Bakshi’s first family film, about a post-apocalyptic world in which techonology has been lost and abandoned, allowing magical forces to resurface on earth, and Battle Mountain: Graeme Obree’s Story, David Street’s documentary that follows ‘The Flying Scotsman’ as he prepares for a human-powered vehicle land speed record attempt in Nevada – plus In Person: Johnnie To, a conversation with the Hong Kong director of Exiled, Election and Mad Detective, known for his sense of realism mixed with cinematic flourish.

Breastfeeding Awareness Week: NHS Lothian’s Infant Feeding Team will answer any questions you may have – plus free gifts and fun goodies for the children! 10.30am-12 noon (after Rhymetime) Leith Library, 28 Ferry Road. Also at 10.30am-12 noon at Muirhouse Library on Friday 26th June 2015.

Storytime with the White Rabbit: a special session to celebrate Independent Booksellers Week, with the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. 3pm, Far From the Madding Crowd, 20 High Street, Linlithgow.

The New Livingstone Online. David Livingstone left one of the most important written legacies of any Victorian traveller to Africa; members of the team will discuss the most recent phase of this 10 year digital project to bring Livingstone’s original works to a global audience. 2pm, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge. Free but please book by calling 0131 623 3734 or online here.

LGBT Icebreakers: if you want to meet new people, don’t feel confident going out on the ‘scene’ or are just coming out, Icebreakers is for you. An informal, fun and friendly social group for LGBT people or anyone questioning their sexuality or gender identity. For over 18s only. 7.30-9.30pm, The Regent, Montrose Terrace. For more information please contact Alison Wren on 0131 652 3283 or email alison@lgbthealth.org.uk.

Remembering Srebrenica: July 2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre, in which more than 8,000 Bosniaks, mainly men and boys, from the town of Srebrenica were killed by units of the army of Republika Srpska under the command of General Ratko Mladic. To mark this anniversary the University of Edinburgh has brought together a distinguished panel of academics and practitioners to consider some of the lessons to be learned from these events in the Bosnian wars. The panelists will be international and human rights lawyer Professor Manfred Nowak (University of Vienna), Adam Boys OBE (Director of Corporate Services, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance) and Christine Bell, Professor of Constitutional Law (University of Edinburgh); moderated by Dr Allison Elliott. 5.30pm, New College, Martin Hall, Mound Place. Free and open to all, but registration is required via eventbrite here.

Skylark Surf Week: Portobello Film Club. Tonight’s film is Point Break (15):  Young FBI agent Utah (Keanu Reeves) infiltrates a surfing community in an attempt to find some unusual bank robbers –  ‘possibly the most gnarly and bodacious film you will ever see in a pub’. 8pm, The Skylark, 241-243 Portobello High Street.

Blackwell’s Edinburgh Presents Moira McPartlin: Day of the Doomed. The author of the highly successful debut novel The Incomers launches her first book for Young Adult readers, set in 2089, when the world is divided into the Privileged few and the Native (Celtic) underclass. 6.30-8pm, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. Free tickets are available from the shop’s front desk, by calling 0131 622 8218, by emailing events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk or via eventbrite here.

Get Organised Summer Recitals 2015: John Kitchen plays another programme of audience requests. 1.10-1.50pm, Usher Hall, Lothian Road. £4 per person on the door, or in advance from the Usher Hall Box Office on 0131 228 1155 or online here (transaction fee applies to phone and online bookings). Recitals resume on 1st September 2015.

Midsummer’s Ceilidh: celebrate midsummer with dancing to the Minnow Band. Stan Reeves will call you through some seasonal dances, and there will be mayhem with the ancient Galoshins folk drama heralding in the light and warmth of summer with a resurrection. 7.30pm, Storytelling Court, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £7/£5 and may be purchased from the Box Office by calling 0131 556 9579 or online here.

Lunchtime Concert: Piano Speak with Will Pickvance. 12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.

THURSDAY 25TH JUNE 2015

Leith School of Art Summer Exhibition: a showcase of the work of the School’s students at the end of their year-long and part-time courses. The School has introduced several new courses in 2014-15, so the exhibition will take place over all three campuses: 10am-4pm today at St James’ campus only, then at same times at St James, North Junction Street and Coburg House Studios on Friday 26th, Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th June (please note: St James campus will be only be open 1-4pm on Sunday 28th). For full details see the School’s website here.

Cameo Big Scream: screenings exclusively for parents and carers with babies under the age of 12 months. Today’s film is Mr Holmes (PG), starring Ian McKellen in ‘a refreshing new perspective on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved literary creation’. 10.30am, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased in person, by calling the Box Office on 0871 902 5723 or online here. Membership of the Big Scream Club costs £5 and lasts until your baby’s first birthday: club members can buy tickets for these screenings at Picturehouse members’ rates – babies are admitted free.

Inspired to be Peace People: A Summer Interfaith Peace Occasion. Hindu and Muslim readings, meditation and music; Dr Roger Hyam will speak on The Buddha: A Life for and of Peace, and the Rev Brian Cooper will talk about Jesus of Nazareth: A Life for and of Peace. 7.30pm, Edinburgh Theosophical Society, 28 Great King Street. All welcome: £2 per person (£1 for members of the Society). Organised by Edinburgh Inter Faith Association.

Benji The Play Talk Read Bus is at Pennywell Shops today! Free songs, stories and play sessions for young children, their parents and carers. 10am-1pm and 2-4pm, Pennywell Shops, Pennywell Road.

Edinburgh College of Art Live Q & A: Life as an Art Student. If you’re thinking of studying art, this is a chance to talk to undergraduate students and ask your questions about ECA programmes, student life at ECA and living in the city. There are three sessions, and you may register for as many as you like: (1) 3-4.30pm: MA Fine Art (2) 4-5.30pm, BA (Hons) Art (Painting and Sculpture) (3) 5-6.30pm BA (Hons) Art (Photography and Intermedia).  Registration may be made via eventbrite here. Please note that students will not be able to provide advice on application processes; these queries should be directed to HSSUG@ed.ac.uk.

Live Music Now: Grainne Brady and Tina Jordan Rees. A young fiddle and piano duo from Cavan and Lancashire, playing unique arrangements of their own exciting compositions, inspired by traditional Irish and Scottish music – with a spot of percussive Irish step dance! 6-6.30pm, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free and unticketed.

Summer Carbon Conversations with the Himalayan Centre: a programme of six free weekly sessions (you can attend as many sessions as you wish) to support people who want to reduce their carbon impact. Today: Introduction to a Low Carbon Future; next week: Energy in the Home. Refreshments provided . 6-8pm, The Junction, 82 Great Junction Street. For more information and to book, please contact victoria@himalayancentre.org or call 07851 802 002.

Edinburgh International Film Festival continues today! For details of all films and other events see the programme here or pick up a paper copy at EIFF venues and many other locations throughout the city. Tickets are available in person from the Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Cineworld, Fountain Park, Odeon, Lothian Road and the Festival Theatre, by calling 0131 623 8030 or online here. Today’s highlights include International Animation: Panorama, a selection featuring some of the best auteur films released over the past year, The Long Riders, Walter Hill’s first true western and the story of the legendary James Gang, and Barry Purves – The Naked Animator, a special in-person event celebrating the 60th birthday of one of Britain’s eminent animators and offering a revealing insight into the creative process of an artist.

Lunchtime Concert: Kiana Shafiei (piano). 12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.

Ragged University: Carbon Conscious Adventures/Genghis Khan. In the first of the evening’s sessions, Simon Byrom will talk about his International Carbon Conscious Bicycle Powered Pedalling Adventures on an inspiring adventure from Sydney through Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, China, Mongolia and Russia. He aims to encourage others to take up independent travel and to raise awareness that another world is possible beyond the current paradigm of power, money and fossil fuel dependency. After a break for refreshments (everyone is asked to bring a food contribution), Donald Carrick will talk on Temujin Rising: How a Slave Would Change World History, using the story of Genghis Khan to show that humans need narrative structure to understand history, and that whether a story is true or not, we seek to make it obey the same rules. 7pm, The Counting House, West Nicolson Street. No booking required, just drop in: all Ragged University events are free. The Ragged Project is about people who love what they do sharing what they have invested their time in. ‘Knowledge is power, but only when it is shared’.

Meet the Glasshouse Staff: find out more about the Botanics’ stunning collection of glasshouse plants from the people who care for them. Each month you can meet a different member of the indoor horticulture team – this time hear about the plants in the Arid House from Gunnar. 1-2pm, Glasshouse, Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Place. Free with admission to the Glasshouse, which costs £5/£4 (accompanied children under 15  and essential carers free).

Skylark Surf Week: Seaside Steve’s Poseidon Adventure Quiz. This time expect to know the average length of a giant siphonophore or the depth of the Marianas Trench…  8pm, The Skylark, 241-243 Portobello High Street.

Waterstones Presents An Evening with Adam Handling: culinary delights with the Scottish Chef of the Year, who will give an insight into what it takes to reach the final of Masterchef: The Professionals and become the Head Chef at one of London’s finest restaurants. Plus a chance to sample Adam’s famed chocolate orange pistachio cake! 6pm, Waterstones George Street, 83 George Street. Free but please book by emailing edinburghgeorgest@waterstones.com. For more information please call 0131 225 3436.

Annuale – Tardis: A Mini Art Exhibition in Leith Walk Police Box. Small-scale objects, paintings, video, sound and light will transform the Police Box in a colourful and playful exhibition by Emma Macleod. 6-9pm tonight and 1-9pm on Friday 26th June, Leith Walk Police Box, Croall Place, Leith Walk. This event forms part of Embassy Annuale 2015

Inside History: John Knox House Revealed. Storyteller and former curator Donald Smith leads a walking tour whilst enacting the true dramas of John Knox House – might Mary, Queen of Scots’ jewels still be hidden there? Why is the building full of Roman Catholic symbolism? And why did John Knox rewrite Scotland’s history – in this house?  1pm or 3pm, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £5 (includes entry to John Knox House) and may be purchased from the Box Office by calling 0131 556 9579 or online here.

Spark Greyfriars: Greyfriars Organ 25th Birthday Afternoon Tea Concert. City organist Dr John Kitchen will play a concert of beautiful and tuneful light organ music, which will be followed by tea and cake to celebrate the birthday of the dedication of the Peter Collins organ. 3pm, Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place. Tickets cost £5 and may be purchased from the Queen’s Hall Box Office in person or by calling 0131 668 2019.

Ladies of Pleasure: an historic guide to the  intimate pleasures available to Gentlemen in Eighteenth Century Edinburgh – not for the faint hearted! Madame will guide you through the opportunities available in conversation with a gentleman, a long-time aficionado of these pleasures. The occasion will be supplemented with songs and poetry of a bawdy nature, penned by Robert Burns and others. Written and performed by John and Noreen Hamilton of Heritage Stories, this revelation of Edinburgh’s historic nightlife still has the power to shock. For over 16s only. 7.30pm, Netherbow Theatre, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £8/£6 and may be purchased from the Box Office by calling 0131 556 9579 or online here.

Guilty As Sin: 9pm, Old Chain Pier, Trinity Crescent.

FRIDAY 26TH JUNE 2015

Inseparable: an exhibition of portraits of people in Russia with Down’s Syndrome, aged from 5 to 50 years. The portraits are by award-winning master of photography Vladimir Mishukov. 9am-1pm and 2-5pm, Monday to Saturday, 12 noon-3pm Sundays, St Mary’s Cathedral, Palmerston Place. The exhibition has been organised by the cathedral in partnership with Down’s Syndrome Scotland and the Russian Consulate. Closes 18th July 2015.

Benji The Play Talk Read Bus is in Castle Street today! Free songs, stories and play sessions for young children, their parents and carers. 10am-1pm and 2-4pm, Castle Street.

Gallery Social: Jean-Etienne Liotard. A relaxed and informal guided tour with refreshments for anyone affected by dementia, and their relatives, friends and supporters. 10.30am-12 noon, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound (meet at the Information Desk, Gardens entrance). Free but please book by calling 0131 624 6560. Supported by the Friends of NGS.

LGBT Age: Scottish Parliament Tour. Come and hear about the history, work and procedures of the Parliament, and the architecture of its award-winning building. 10.30am-12.30pm, Scottish Parliament, Holyrood. Booking is essential and may be made by contacting lynda@lgbthealth.org.uk. LGBT Age is a project run by LGBT Health & Wellbeing for LGBT people over the age of 50; it offers a befriending service, social programme and information sessions. For more information click here.

Edinburgh International Film Festival continues today! For details of all films and other events see the programme here or pick up a paper copy at EIFF venues and many other locations throughout the city. Tickets are available in person from the Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Cineworld, Fountain Park, Odeon, Lothian Road and the Festival Theatre, by calling 0131 623 8030 or online here. Today’s highlights include Kaleidoscope, Telemach Wiesinger’s idiosyncratic, feature-length film poem weaving together numerous journeys across Europe and America, set to an innovative soundtrack, In Person: Malcolm McDowell, in which the actor was to talk about highlights from his career, including his roles in If… and A Clockwork Orange, has been cancelled but the Festival Awards Ceremony, at which you can be the first to find out about this year’s winners and to see the exclusive trophies made by the Grassmarket Community Project’s woodshop.

Breastfeeding Awareness Week: NHS Lothian’s Infant Feeding Team will answer any questions you may have – plus free gifts and fun goodies for the children! 10.30am-12 noon (after Rhymetime) Muirhouse Library, 15 Pennywell Court.

Leith School of Art Summer Exhibition: a showcase of the work of the School’s students at the end of their year-long and part-time courses. The School has introduced several new courses in 2014-15, so the exhibition will take place over all three campuses: 10am-4pm at St James, North Junction Street and Coburg House Studios; also at same times on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th June (please note: St James campus will be only be open 1-4pm on Sunday 28th). For full details see the School’s website here.

Lunchtime Concert: Sacramento Master Singers, California.  12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.

LGBT Women’s Wellbeing Group: an inclusive group that offers the chance to meet other LGBT women in a relaxed environment. Chat, info and activities promoting health and wellbeing. The group welcomes all LGBT women and transgender people who identify primarily as women. Today’s theme is ‘Holiday‘ and the group will take a walk along Portobello Prom before enjoying a well-deserved drink. 2-4.30pm. For information on meeting place and to be added to the group’s email list, please contact Alison Wren on 0131 652 3283 or email alison@lgbthealth.org.uk.

Robert Louis Stevenson and his Literary Networks: writer and researcher Duncan Milne considers Robert Louis Stevenson’s place in a wider Victorian literary society. Stevenson corresponded and even collaborated with a number of iconic writers, from Thomas Hardy to Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, JM Barrie and even Henry James; his contacts give a unique insight into a world of inspiration, emulation, cooperation and dispute – a telling portrait of Victorian publication and the world of literature in general. 10.30am, Museum of Edinburgh, 142 Canongate. Tickets cost £5/£3.50 per person and must be purchased in advance from the Usher Hall Box Office, in person, by calling 0131 228 1155 or online here (transaction fee applies to phone and online bookings).

Skylark Surf Week: Jake and Rory’s Ocean of Psychedelia. Music, visuals, and possibly some very weird dancing..  7.30pm, The Skylark, 241.243 Portobello High Street.

LGBT Film Nights: see LGBT themed and mainstream films in a sociable setting. 7pm (film starts at 7), LGBT Health and Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. For more information and to join the mailing list please contact admin@lgbthealth.org.uk.

Bloody Scotland Presents East vs West Scottish Crime Fiction: Craig Robertson and Michael Malone chair an evening with three of Scotland’s leading crime writers, Neil Broadfoot, Frank Muir and Doug Johnstone. 6.30pm, Waterstones George Street, 83 George Street. Free but please book by emailing edinburghgeorgest@waterstones.com, or for more information please call 0131 225 3436. Read The Edinburgh Reporter on the launch of Neil Broadfoot’s latest thriller, The Storm here.

St Margaret’s House/Edinburgh Palette: New Exhibitions: (1) 14.15: Fourteen former Edinburgh College students ‘trying to figure out their place in the world’; (2) 24: Dominic McIvor – large scale works by the recent Gray’s School of Art graduate; (3) From a Horizontal Line: Robyn Benson – new works exploring the structural capabilities of the curve. Previews tonight, then 10am-6pm daily, St Margaret’s House, 151 London Road. All three exhibitions end 12th July 2015.

The Liar’s Tour of the Scottish Storytelling Centre: a unique and fun tour with storyteller James Spence. It is the stuff of legend, forged from lies, banter, outlandishness and sheer cheek; enter this parallel universe of tall tales, and know that the truth is out there somewhere, but strangely absent from here. See the Centre in a strange new light, through the jaundiced eye of a storyteller. 1pm or 3pm, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £5 (includes entry to John Knox House) and may be purchased from the Box Office by calling 0131 556 9579 or online here.

Guid Crack: Eejits and Hissy Fits. Join storyteller Fiona Herbert for tales of stupidity and stroppiness. Join in with a tale of your own, or just come to listen. Edinburgh’s monthly storytelling night: accompanied young adults welcome. 7.30pm, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Free: suggested donation £3 per person.

Harpsichord Recital: John Kitchen will play Suite in C attrib. Louis Couperin, Handel Overture in Sansom, JS Bach Capriccio on the departure of his beloved brother BWV 992 and Forqueray La Mandoline, La Regente et La Leclair. 8pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Admission is by programme and costs £6, free to Friends of the Music of St Giles’ Cathedral, in association with whom this concert has been organised.

Cream O’ The Croft: your first chance to escape the capital this weekend is a new festival. Although it’s dedicated to Scottish mountain biking, Cream O’ The Croft is aiming to be much more – so in addition to Funduro (‘a mashup featuring multiple timed stages; blue, red and black grade downhills; one hill climb; a head-to-head dual slalom and pump track challenge’ – which presumably makes sense to those of you who need to know…), bike races and challenges for all ages and bike coaching, there will be pedal-powered films, a big bike jumble sale, live music throughout the weekend, lots of children’s activities (water slide, crafts, action, adventure and a pop-up wildlife park) and plenty of local food and drink (including Alchemy’s Bunny Hop ale, brewed specially for the festival). Gates open 3pm today, Comrie Croft, Crieff, PH7 4JZ. The Festival ends at 4pm on Sunday 28th June. For more information, including accommodation options, click here and to book your tickets via eventbrite click here.

SATURDAY 27TH JUNE 2015

Alan Windram: Mac and Bob. A special Independent Booksellers Week event for young children, with the author of the Mac and Bob stories. 12 noon, The Book Bothy, Far From the Madding Crowd, 20 High Street, Linlithgow.

Edinburgh Canal Festival and Raft Race: boat trips, canoe tasters, birds of prey, stalls, food, classic cars, wee boat flotilla, model boats, activities, ponies, Edinburgh Printmakers, water walkers, children’s art and play, music and dance with The Fed Peasants, Little Love and the Friendly Vibes, Rise Kagona, Sylvain Ayite, Mathieu Thomas (Parc en Ciel), Father Jack, Boorach, Lara’s Belly Dancers and Tollcross Galoshins.  Visit The Forge Workshops, Scrapstore and Grove 2 Plants and Crafts at the Fountainbride Meanwhile Site. 12 noon (opening ceremony), 3pm (raft race), 4pm (raft race prizes), Lochrin Basin, Edinburgh Quay, Fountainbridge. If you would like to enter the raft race, please email race@edinburghcanalfestival.org.uk.

Wester Hailes Community Connections: a festival celebrating community life, past, present and future. The festival closes today, with a film night at which you can see Our Place in Time poetry video, The Huts (1984) and Let’s Meet at the Underpass, and also attend the opening of local photographer Raymond Keith’s exhibition celebrating Wester Hailes community life. Raymond  is a professional photographer who also runs monthly WHALE Snappers sessions – photography sessions for all levels of ability and experience. Refreshments will be served and fun will be had! 6pm onwards, WHALE Arts, 30 Westburn Grove. For more information about this or any other event in the Community Connections Festival, please call Sarah Walker on 0131 458 3267 or email sarah@whalearts.co.uk

Opening Lecture: MC Escher. Micky Piller, Chief Curator at Escher in Het Palais, the monographic museum on the life and work of MC Escher in The Hague, discusses the artist’s life and work to celebrate the opening of the MC Escher exhibition at the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art TWO. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Tickets cost £5/£4 and may be purchased from the Information Desk in the National Gallery or by calling 0131 624 6560.

Scottish Waterways Trust Wildflower Survey: become a ‘citizen scientist’ and help to discover more about the plants growing on the canalside in Edinburgh. Develop your plant ID skills, make new friends and have fun. 10.30am-1pm, Water of Leith Conservation Trust, 24 Lanark Road. For more information please contact Anna Canning on 07790 885969 or email anna.canning@blueyonder.co.uk.

Gasland: a film about fracking. 7-10pm, Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh, 17 West Montgomery Place. The Autonomous Centre is a self-managed social resource centre, open for the use of groups and individuals who are trying to make a better society and improve their lives. Newcomers very welcome!

Lunchtime Concert: Dreghorn Musical Society, Edinburgh. 12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.

Leith School of Art Summer Exhibition: a showcase of the work of the School’s students at the end of their year-long and part-time courses. The School has introduced several new courses in 2014-15, so the exhibition will take place over all three campuses: 10am-4pm at St James, North Junction Street and Coburg House Studios; also at same times on Sunday 28th June (please note: St James campus will be only be open 1-4pm on Sunday 28th). For full details see the School’s website here.

National Gallery Highlights Tours: an  introduction to and tour of the National Gallery’s permanent collection, focusing on key paintings. 2-2.45pm or 3-3.45pm, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free: no booking required.

Phyllida Barlow: set. A major new exhibition of work made especially for the Gallery by one of the international art world’s brightest stars. Barlow is known for her monumental sculptures made from simple materials; physically impressive and materially insistent, her sculptures are inspired by the outside world and by the experience of living and looking. 11am-6pm Monday to Saturday, 12 noon-5pm Sundays, The Fruitmarket Gallery, 45 Market Street. Ends 18th October 2015.

Edinburgh International Film Festival continues today! For details of all films and other events see the programme here or pick up a paper copy at EIFF venues and many other locations throughout the city. Tickets are available in person from the Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Cineworld, Fountain Park, Odeon, Lothian Road and the Festival Theatre, by calling 0131 623 8030 or online here. Today’s highlights include Edinburgh Schools Film Competition (Primary) – shorts by young people from the city’s schools, selected by the EIFF Youth Jury, You’re Ugly Too, ‘a bittersweet and gently humorous drama’ focusing on the relationship between newly orphaned 11 year old Stacey and her recently-paroled uncle Will, and Black Box Live: ‘Tyburnia’ with Dead Rat Orchestra, ‘an immersive cine-concert combining the artistry of film with the craft of music’. James Holcombe’s analogue film images tell the story of the Tyburn gallows; they will be accompanied by a live performance of ballads and musical laments.

Skylark Surf Week: Release the Kraken! A night of carousing, maritime folk music and rum. 9pm, The Skylark, 241-243 Portobello High Street.

Ragged University: IT and Biscuits. If you’d like to learn something on your computer, get to grips with basic computer skills, find free (legal) software or have other computer questions, come along to this free IT workshop for tutorials and person to person guidance on all aspects of computers and software. Relax in a social setting: tea and biscuits provided! You will need a laptop (or you can borrow one if you need to) and an active membership of Edinburgh City Libraries. 1-4pm, George Washington Browne Room, Central Library, George IV Bridge.

Edinburgh Printmakers: Photography in Print – a Gallery Discussion. This event complements the new Edinburgh Printmakers Members’ exhibition, Photography in Print, which is part of the ACTINIC Festival. Participating artists and professionals in the fields of printmaking and photography will discuss their work, the conflux of these media and their personal experience of these practices, giving a unique insight into the conceptual and technical aspects of their artistic practice and study. An open dialogue will be encouraged between the panel and visitors, with an opportunity to ask questions and allow a creative free-flow of information and debate. 3-4pm, Edinburgh Printmakers, Union Street. Free: no booking required. The discussion will be followed by a preview of the exhibition from 4pm to 6pm. The exhibition will then be open 10am-6pm, Tuesday to Saturday, until 25th July 2015.

Edinburgh Society of Musicians: The Chapter House Ensemble. Shane Brogan (accordion) and Joern Pfaff (piano) play an eclectic repertoire of Argentine tango, classical, ethnic, jazz and popular music. 7.30pm (prompt), Edinburgh Society of Musicians, 3 Belford Road. The Edinburgh Society of Musicians has been promoting practical music-making in Edinburgh since 1887. Admission is free and non-members are welcomed.

The Chippendale International School of Furniture Edinburgh Exhibition: come and see the work of this year’s graduates from the acclaimed East Lothian School; many pieces will be for sale. 10am-4pm, Gayfield Creative Spaces, Gayfield Square. Also at same times on Sunday 28th June, and 10am-6pm on Monday 29th June, Tuesday 30th June and Wednesday 1st July, with a private view 6-8pm on Monday 29th. For further information please contact Charlie Laidlaw on 07890 396518 or email info@chippendale.co.uk.

St John’s Summer Quiz Night: bring your own team or join one on the night, and test your mettle against Quizmaster and Associate Rector Stephen Holmes. Wine and nibbles provided; prize for the winners. 7.30pm, St John’s Church, Princes Street. £8/£6; all proceeds will go to St John’s Development Fund.

East Neuk Festival: your second chance to get out of the city this weekend is a friendly festival of one-off events in a picturesque corner of Fife. Classical music, from Bach to Britten, and a ‘festival within a festival’, Littoral, a weekend of literary events celebrating our connections with nature, landscape and seascape and featuring Helen Macdonald, Tom Pow, Sir John Lister-Kaye, talks, a photography workshop and a tree walk with Jim Crumley. Littoral begins at 11.30am today and ends on Sunday evening; the music festival begins today at 7.30pm and continues through the week, concluding with the Festival Finale in Cambo Gardens on Sunday 5th July. For information and to book tickets, see the Festival’s website here or pick up a brochure from various Edinburgh venues.

SUNDAY 28TH JUNE 2015

Scotland’s Gardens: Tyninghame House. 17th century pink sandstone Scottish baronial house with herbaceous borders, rose garden, Lady Haddington’s Secret Garden, formal walled garden and beech avenue to the sea, with the Romanesque ruin of St Baldred’s Church giving views across the Tyne estuary and Lammermuir Hills. Refreshments available; plant sales. 1-5pm, Tyninghame House, Dunbar, EH42 1XW. Admission £5 (children free) of which 40% goes to The Project Trust and the net remainder to Scottish Gardens’ beneficiaries.

Storytelling: Tales of Magic and Mystery. Join storyteller and musician Marion Kenny for tales and tunes inspired by the Portrait Gallery murals. For ages 7+. 2pm or 3pm (45 minutes sessions), Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free and unticketed.

Edinburgh City Singers Summer Concert: an evening of musical entertainment – pop, musicals, a bit of classical, and everything in between. Songs featured include Bohemian Rhapsody, California Dreamin’, Penny Lane, For the Beauty of the Earth, and Call Me Maybe. 7pm (doors open 6.20pm), St Cuthbert’s Church, 5 Lothian Road. Tickets cost £7/£5 on the door or in advance here.

Cameo Vintage Sundays: classic films back on the big screen. Today’s film is Goldfinger (PG). 1pm, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased in person, by calling the Box Office on 0871 902 5723 or online here.

Lauriston Castle Teddy Bears’ Picnic. Bring your teddy bear along to a special family day with crafts and woodland trails, and a cartoonist to draw a portrait of your bear! Bring your own picnic – cake, strawberries and ginger beer will be provided. 11am-2pm, Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South. £6 per person: bookings must be made in advance via the Usher Hall Box Office, Lothian Road, in person, by calling 0131 228 1155 or online here. Please note that this is a family event; all children must be accompanied by at least one paying adult.

Leith School of Art Summer Exhibition: a showcase of the work of the School’s students at the end of their year-long and part-time courses. The School has introduced several new courses in 2014-15, so the exhibition will take place over all three campuses: 10am-4pm at North Junction Street and Coburg House Studios, 1-4pm at St James’ campus. For full details see the School’s website here.

LGBT Me & T Monthly: a supportive space for people who have friends, family or partners who are transgender or exploring their gender – an opportunity to meet other people who may have similar experiences, questions or concerns. 2-4pm, LGBT Health and Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. For more information please contact me.and.t.scotland@gmail.com at any time.

Edinburgh International Film Festival concludes today! For details of all films and other events see the programme here or pick up a paper copy at EIFF venues and many other locations throughout the city. Tickets are available in person from the Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Cineworld, Fountain Park, Odeon, Lothian Road and the Festival Theatre, by calling 0131 623 8030 or online here. Today’s highlights include Edinburgh Schools Film Competition (Secondary), The D Train, an edgy comedy-drama starring Jack Black and James Marsden that became a cult buzz-film at Sundance this year, Salem’s Lot, Tobe Hooper’s atmospheric 1979 adaptation of Stephen King’s chilling vampire novel, and the EIFF Closing Night Gala film, Iona, ‘a story that takes in family traumas, religion, domestic violence and pastoral glory, but never loses track of the haunting story of a young woman whose return to the Christian community on the island of her birth is the dramatic core of the film’.

Ragged University Film and Curry Night: come along for a vegetarian meal, watch a film together and chat about it afterwards. This evening’s film is Food Inc. 6pm, Serenity Cafe, Jackson’s Entry, The Tun, Holyrood Road. All welcome: free – including a free vegetarian curry for which the ingredients have been donated: Serenity is, however, a social enterprise, so a donation is requested from those who can afford to make one. The conversation will be filmed to share online with those who cannot attend.

Canongate Concerts: Scottish Waverley Ensemble plays Bach B Minor Mass. 7.30pm, Canongate Kirk, 153 Canongate.

Shore Poets – June: poetry, music and a raffle for the famous lemon cake. 7.45pm, Henderson’s @ St John’s, Lothian Road (down the steps, under the church). £5/£3 on the door.

Rock & Roll Ping Pong: a free, monthly, Sunday night social with DJ Ding and DJ Dong. Free play, silly ping pong games and music of every genre to play along to. 7-11pm, The Bongo Club, 66 Cowgate. Free.

St Giles’ At Six: Con Flauto Dolce. Music for recorder ensemble and harpsichord, including works by Dowland, Handel and Scarlatti. 6pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.

Czech Airlines, the national carrier of the Czech Republic, will fly two new direct routes to Poland from next month, as well as an additional link to Prague.

From 14 July, the airline will fly directly between Edinburgh and Lodz and Rzeszow and will also operate an indirect service between Edinburgh and Prague via Lodz.

The aircraft will fly Tuesdays and Saturdays between Prague and Edinburgh via Lodz, where there is a 30 minute stopover, it will then fly from Edinburgh to Rzeszow before returning to Edinburgh, Lodz then Prague.

These new flights will offer the strong local Polish community in Edinburgh, and indeed tourists from all three countries, more choice of ways to travel to and from Edinburgh Airport and a better selection of services.

Dads Rock Fathers’ Day Family Takeover! Bring the whole family for an afternoon of time travel, with lots of free activities from the past, present – and future! Music, dance, science, storytelling, sketching, crafts, costumed characters and more. Dads Rock, The Edinburgh Sketcher, Macastory, the Scottish Book Trust and Whale Arts are just some of the organisations who will be at the museum to entertain you – for full programme see the NMS website. Please note that some of the activities have limited places, for which you should sign up in the Grand Gallery on the day. 10am-5pm, National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street. Free.

The Great Scottish Walk and Run Festival: run, walk or toddle and raise money for charity (or just do it for fun!) in your choice of six different events, from 20k walks to 1 mile strolls and a special toddle for children under the age of 6. Entertainment; refreshments for sale. First event starts 9.30am, Holyrood Park, Queen’s Drive. For more information and to register see website here.

Hearing Impaired Tour – Artist Rooms: Roy Lichtenstein. A free tour of the exhibition with portable loops, led by Tessa Asquith-Lamb. 11am-12 noon, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art ONE, Belford Road. Booking is required and may be made by calling the Information Desk on 0131 624 6560.

Leith Festival 2015: Hibs Historical Tours. Open gallery displays and tours of the West Stand including dressing rooms, press room, Boardroom, Directors’ Room and pitchside.Visitors will also be able to access the South Stand where the Hibernian Community Foundation has its base, East Stand concourse, Memorial Wall and the club shop in the Famous Five Stand. 12-4pm, Hibernian Football Club, Albion Place. Free. Please note that all children under 12 years must be accompanied by an adult.

Edinburgh International Film Festival continues today! For details of all films and other events see the programme here or pick up a paper copy at EIFF venues and many other locations throughout the city. Tickets are available in person from the Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Cineworld, Fountain Park, Odeon, Lothian Road and the Festival Theatre, by calling 0131 623 8030 or online here. Today’s highlights include In Person: Ewan McGregor – a rare on stage interview with the Creiff boy (and global superstar), Inside Out, the latest animation from Pixar, and The Night Stalker (1972), John Llewellyn Moxey’s cult classic – a stylish, atmospheric horror in which a down-at-heel journalist doggedly tracks a vampire through the neon-lit streets of late-night Los Angeles. 

Fathers’ Day at Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway: steam trains, vintage carriages, classic cars and a special afternoon tea aboard the train. A special timetable and standard fares will apply. Please note that the afternoon tea must be pre-booked. Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway, Bo’ness Station, Union Street, EH51 9AQ.

Edinburgh Festival of Cycling concludes today! The final events are Women, Read & Ride on Tour – a literary tour of Edinburgh by bike with readings, conversation and cake, Learn, then Ride – a workshop for female novice or non-cyclists to build confidence and skill levels (bikes provided if required) and two Audax Rides – the Honest Toun Dander (100km) and the Honest Toun Dawdle (50km). For more information please see the festival’s website here or its Facebook page here, or pick up a programme from many venues across the city and beyond, including libraries, leisure centres and many shops.

Bags of Art – June: cool and creative fun with artists Tessa Asquith-Lamb and Louise Fraser. For ages 4-12 years. 2-4pm (drop-in), Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art ONE, Belford Road. Free: no booking required. Supported by the Friends of NGS.

Behind the Frame…. Members of the acclaimed Lyceum Youth Theatre invite audiences to join them in a site-specific performance that will explore spaces within the Portrait Gallery, where they will share creative responses to the works on show. The performances will consist of self-guided ‘happenings’ around the building. 2-4pm, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free: no booking required.

Botanics Midsummer Cake Fest: the traditional late opening for the summer solstice. 50 teams of amateur and professional bakers will each have produced a cake version of Edinburgh landmarks. Today they will be put together to create a cake map of the city – which will then be eaten (at approx 5pm)! Come along to view the cake map as it takes shape, and help create additional items – buses, trams, cars, boats and more – for the map at free drop-in workshops. Live entertainment throughout the day and into the evening, plus lots of tasty treats from some of Scotland’s leading food and drink producers. 10am-10.30pm, Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Row (see Cakefest’s own website here for full programme). Free, no booking required. Supported by EventScotland as part of Scotland’s Year of Food & Drink.

Picturehouses Vintage Sundays: classic films back on the big screen. Today’s film is The Long Good Friday (18): a prosperous gangster is about to close a lucrative deal when bombs start showing up in very inconvenient places. Starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren, who won an Academy Award for her role as gangster’s moll Victoria. 1pm, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be booked in person, by calling the Box Office on 0871 902 5723 or online here.

Scotland’s Open Gardens: 61 Fountainhall Road. A large walled town garden in which trees and shrubs form an architectural backdrop to a wide variety of flowering plants. Three ponds, with and without fish, have attracted a lively population of frogs. Refreshments available. 2-5pm, 61 Fountainhall Road, EH9 2LH. £4 per person, of which 40% goes to Froglife and the net remainder to SG beneficiaries.

Leith Festival 2015: Kailyard in Concert. Celebrate the longest night of the year with a great selection of music from the past 60 years – from Abba to Ash and many more! 7.30pm, Queen Charlotte Rooms, 56a Queen Charlotte Street, Leith. Tickets cost £5 and are available from South Leith Church Halls, Henderson Street or by emailing Marion Stout at developing@dial.pipex.com.

Scotland’s Open Gardens: Merchiston Cottage. Small walled, urban, wildlife friendly and organic bee-keeper’s garden. This eco-friendly tapestry of wildlife habitats encourages birds, insects and frogs as pest control. Talk on beekeeping by Brian Poole, plant stall by Binny Plants, refreshments available. 2-5pm, 16 Colinton Road, EH10 5EL. £4 per person, of which 40% goes to Alyn Children’s Hospital and the net remainder to SG beneficiaries.

Leith Festival Tattoo 2015. The closing event of this year’s festival is an evening full of dance and music, with Siamsoir Irish dancers, Mary Phelan Dance Academy, The Polish Scottish Heritage Group, Ernie Reynolds singing Italian arias, plus the traditional Pipes and Drums. Organiser: Bob Lawson, compere: Tim Bell. 7pm, Tower Street. Free.

Father’s Day Special: Jazz with George Howden and friends. 4-7pm, Old Chain Pier, Trinity Crescent, Newhaven.

Sofi’s Nocturnes: a special open mic session to mark the end of Sofi’s Midsummer Fruit Festival, featuring an appearance by recently formed 20-piece Edinburgh choral group Castle Chorus. 8pm, Sofi’s Bar, Henderson Street.

St Giles’ At Six: St Mary’s Music School String Quintet plays Schubert String Quintet in C D956. 6pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free, retiring collection.

New homes for Edinburgh

Win your dream wedding at Hopetoun

Meningitis B vaccine

New Kirkliston playground

Bethany get a boost for their winter programme

The Scottish Government has given the go ahead for 80 new affordable homes in Edinburgh, part of almost 1,000 homes earmarked for sites across the city.

Homes delivered through the National Housing Trust initiative (NHT) offer affordable mid-market rents, helping tenants to save a toward purchasing a property.

Developed by the Scottish Government and Scottish Futures Trust, NHT is supported by a Scottish Government guarantee.

The development, on brownfield land at the former Fruitmarket, will also include Edinburgh West Retail Park and private housing, and contribute to the regeneration of the area.

The City of Edinburgh Council has approved loans of over £110 million for almost 1,000 NHT homes at nine Brownfield sites in the city, with four developments completed and another currently under construction.

Across Scotland, the NHT initiative is on track to deliver over 2,000 new homes, all without the need for grant subsidy.

Housing Minister Margaret Burgess said:

“This strategically important site in Edinburgh leads the way as the first development approved under the latest round of the National Housing Trust initiative (NHT).

“NHT is a pioneering example of creative working amongst the public, private and non-profit sectors.

“When complete, these 80 homes for mid-market rent will be a welcome addition to the supply of affordable housing in Edinburgh. Over 400 NHT homes have already been built with almost 600 more planned in the city.

“Housing is at the heart of the Scottish Government’s ambitions and we are on track to deliver our target of 30,000 new, affordable homes over the lifetime of this parliament.”

Edinburgh’s Housing Leader Cllr Cammy Day said:

“Edinburgh has a shortage of affordable housing and the National Housing Trust can enable new mid-market rent homes to be built, which will meet the needs of working households who can’t afford to buy homes or to pay full market rents. A major part of the Council’s Capital Coalition commitment is to ensure that the city’s residents are well housed and we will continue to invest in affordable homes.

“The new development at Fruitmarket will provide 80 much needed affordable homes. The Council has already provided loans of over £58 million for previous phases of National Housing Trust, enabling 422 affordable homes to be built at Telford Road, Lochend, Granton Waterfront and Salamander Place with another 96 new homes under construction at Western Harbour. This innovative way of providing quality affordable housing supports local jobs and the local economy.”

Christa Reekie, Commercial Director at SFT, said:

“The City of Edinburgh Council has fully embraced the highly successful National Housing Trust initiative which SFT leads on, with contracts signed to build a total of 598 homes across 6 sites; 422 homes are already occupied.

“When tenants move into these affordable-rent homes, not only will their rent be lower, but also their energy bills will be dramatically reduced as the homes will be energy efficient.”

Harry O’Donnell, Chairman, Chesser Developments Ltd said:

“As well as having a positive housing impact on this site which has lain derelict for far too long, we also see a number of economic benefits coming from this project.

“Along with our contractor, Hart Builders, we will maximise employment opportunities for local people during the construction phase.

“In addition, the flats will be let to households on moderate incomes including key workers.”

***

One very lucky couple this winter will win a dream wedding at the stunning Hopetoun House in South Queensferry, Scotland, worth an incredible £28,000.

Offered by wedding blog, We Fell in Love, the luxury wedding brings together the finest wedding suppliers and services, with winners chosen from a final five, voted for by the public.

Winners will receive a full, five-star wedding package, including bridal wear from Rachel Scott Bridal Couture; catering from premium caterer Heritage Portfolio; flowers from leading florist Planet Flowers and wedding night accommodation at the world famous Balmoral Hotel.

The couple will also win top-class wedding photography, videography, pre-wedding accommodation, cake, stationery, bridal accessories, a drinks reception and event planning, complete with a spectacular firework display from 21CC Fireworks to round off the unforgettable day.

This magical wedding must take place on Friday 20 November, and can be won by entering online at www.welfellinlove.co.uk

***

The Scottish Government has announced that from 1 September, the meningitis B vaccine will be introduced to the routine childhood vaccination programme in Scotland.

Scotland is now one of the few nations in the world to offer the vaccination, which will offer protection against the life-threatening strain of meningitis to all infants.

The vaccination will be given in three doses at two, four and 12 months, with all infants in Scotland who are aged two months when the vaccine is introduced being eligible. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has also advised that when the programme starts there should be a one-off, catch-up programme for infants aged three and four months of age who will be attending for their routine vaccinations.

Additionally, in response to an increase in the number of cases of meningitis W, and based on advice from the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation, a MenACWY vaccine will be introduced to replace the MenC vaccine used in the adolescents and freshers vaccination programmes.

Read more here

***

Barratt Homes has donated over £2000 to a help a local playgroup in the heart of Kirkliston.

The housebuilder, which is currently delivering new homes at The Elms, donated the money as part of the Kirkliston Village Consortium to Kirkliston Playgroup to help with sustaining and growing the busy playgroup.

The playgroup offers daily care to ten children, 25 children per week, aged between two and three. The playgroup provides a fun, safe and secure environment where children can play and learn together.

Mansoor Ali, development director, Barratt East Scotland, said: “Supporting local communities and businesses within close proximity to our developments is a key priority of ours. We are delighted to help deliver these funds to Kirkliston Playgroup and we are sure it will be put to good use to benefit the children of Kirkliston.”

***

Bethany Christian Trust will use new from Esh Communities as funding to develop its Winter Care Shelter service. The shelters, managed by seven staff and a network of more than 800 volunteers, operate from 32 churches across Edinburgh and help people who are homeless in Edinburgh during the winter months. They provide a safe, warm bed for the night, transport from a central pick-up point, food and support for accessing additional services.

Projects are open to all, regardless of gender, sexuality, ethnicity and religious affiliation.

Read more here

Sign up here for a daily email from The Edinburgh Reporter !
[mc4wp_form]

A life-changing charity which provides support and advice to homeless individuals and families across Edinburgh has received £1,000 from Esh Communities.

Bethany Christian Trust helps vulnerable people address both the causes and consequences of homelessness and works with them to overcome social and educational barriers.

Esh Communities offers funding to groups which help make a positive difference in local areas. Worthy causes across Scotland are eligible to apply for £1,000 each for projects which demonstrate compatibility with Esh Group’s core values.

Bethany Christian Trust will use the funding to develop its Winter Care Shelter service. The shelters, managed by seven staff and a network of more than 800 volunteers, operate from 32 churches across Edinburgh and help people who are homeless in Edinburgh during the winter months. They provide a safe, warm bed for the night, transport from a central pick-up point, food and support for accessing additional services.

Projects are open to all, regardless of gender, sexuality, ethnicity and religious affiliation.

Cameron Black, Care Van and Care Shelter Manager at Bethany Christian Trust, said:

“We are so grateful for the support from Esh Communities. The shelter is a lifesaving service and helps people who would otherwise be sleeping rough during the winter months. There has been a huge need for this service – the average attendance has been really high and during the coldest part of this winter, 68 people made use of one shelter in one 12 hour period.

“The funding will help us to maintain this vital service and to provide shelter, food and company to those who need it most at a very difficult time of the year.”

Simon Phillips, regional managing director for Scotland, said:

“At Esh Group we are committed to engaging with the local community wherever we are working and Esh Communities offers the perfect platform to do that.

“The aim of this initiative is to provide funding for projects that really make a difference to local people, and Bethany Christian Trust does just that. We are pleased that our financial support has already made a difference to the group.”

The Scottish Government has announced that from 1 September, the meningitis B vaccine will be introduced to the routine childhood vaccination programme in Scotland.

Scotland is now one of the few nations in the world to offer the vaccination, which will offer protection against the life-threatening strain of meningitis to all infants.

The vaccination will be given in three doses at two, four and 12 months, with all infants in Scotland who are aged two months when the vaccine is introduced being eligible. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has also advised that when the programme starts there should be a one-off, catch-up programme for infants aged three and four months of age who will be attending for their routine vaccinations.

Additionally, in response to an increase in the number of cases of meningitis W, and based on advice from the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation, a MenACWY vaccine will be introduced to replace the MenC vaccine used in the adolescents and freshers vaccination programmes.

From 1 August that vaccine will be offered to students under the age of 25 attending university for the first time this Autumn, along with a catch-up programme for all 14 to 18 year olds.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said:

“These two new vaccination programmes will offer families in Scotland extra peace of mind.

“We’re delighted to be one of the first countries in the world to introduce a nationwide MenB vaccination programme to help tackle the effects of this disease, which can be devastating for children and their families.

“The Scottish Government has been consistent in its support for the introduction of this vaccine and today’s announcement underlines our commitment to ensuring the health and wellbeing of our children.

“Around 1,200 people – mainly babies and children – get meningitis B each year in the UK, and around one in 10 die from the infection.

“I am also very pleased to see the expedited launch of the MenW vaccine prevention programme for teenagers. This vaccine also protects against MenA, MenC and MenY, making sure young people are protected at such an important time in their academic lives.”

Chief Executive of Meningitis Now, Sue Davie said:

“We’re delighted to see these vaccination programmes moving forward and offering protection to new babies and young people across Scotland. Today’s announcement is a tribute to the tireless and selfless efforts of our supporters, for many of whom sadly these vaccines come too late. We are ready to support the introductions in any way we can.”

Scotland Manager of Meningitis Research Foundation, Mary Millar said:

“On behalf of our Scottish members of Meningitis Research Foundation who have been affected by this deadly disease, we are delighted to welcome the MenB vaccine for babies and MenACWY vaccine for teenagers and students. These two programmes are the culmination of years of research which will spare countless families the trauma of seeing a loved one die or left seriously disabled by meningitis and septicaemia.”

Gemma Lessells from Inverkeithing said:

“My son Matthew contracted meningitis B in 2010 when he was 13 months old. He was quiet and had a temperature at 4pm. He started being sick at 6 pm and by 10 pm he was in hospital fighting for his life. He had cannulas everywhere, they were taking his blood pressure every 15 minutes. His heart rate was 210 and his temperature on admission was 40.9.

“We were incredibly lucky – Matthew survived, though has delayed expressive speech and suffered night terrors following his hospital stay. We are also in the process of discussing possible behavioural side effects with his Health Visitor, but other than that we have a gorgeous healthy happy boy with a laugh that lights up a room. I would not want any parent or child to go through what we did, and welcome news of the implementation of these two new vaccines in Scotland.”

If you were out shopping today and happened to be in a card shop, it can’t possibly have escaped your attention that this Sunday is Father’s Day. As the father of two wonderful girls (so they tell me) I’m sure my daughters will have parted with the princely sum of 29p for a card for their auld man (haven’t you, dears…?) However, to me, this is just another money-making racket for the card manufacturing and gift industry. And all over the country there will be thousands, nay millions, of sons and daughters scratching their heads over what to buy their pater. This will doubtless include…

A Tie

A plain tie, perhaps is acceptable but some ties depict characters in a cartoon. In my case, I’m sure a Homer Simpson tie will have crossed the minds of my two daughters. Or, worse, Mickey Mouse, or even worse…Goofy. As long as their Hibernian supporting partners don’t contribute a green tie, I’ll be happy(ish)

Alcohol

Now a nice bottle of alcoholic refreshment always goes down well with this writer. However, a little variety doesn’t go amiss. For years I enjoyed a little Jack Daniels (okay, a lot of Jack Daniels) This meant that at Christmas or birthdays or on Father’s Day, a bottle or three of the American whisky would be given to me with the words ‘I didn’t know what else to get you’. In recent years, I have taken to Havana Club and delicious it is too. That said, I still have three unopened bottles from Christmas and my birthday in February…

A Pair of Socks

Like the tie, a pair of socks as a gift usually comes with cartoon characters or, in my case, the words left and right emblazoned on them in the event I get confused when getting dressed in the morning. My daughters think I’m at the senile stage already. When eldest daughter and I ran for a bus on Friday only for the driver to pull away with a smirk on his face, said daughter immediately phoned Lothian Buses. She explained she was with her young daughter – and her ‘elderly’ father who was well past the capability of running for a bus….

A Book

Now you can seldom go wrong with a book. But titles such as How to Prepare Your Own Funeral, Coping With Dementia and Dealing with Incontinence are, perhaps, pushing the message too far. I can highly recommend Hearts 50 Greatest Games – hugely entertaining, engrossing, a must read, still available in all good bookshops (that’s enough – Ed)

Chocolates

Again, you can’t really go wrong with sweeties although those who know me know I certainly like my nuts….That said, there is the subsequent guilt as when said daughters see me a few days later there will be the inevitable comments about how much weight I’m putting on, how I really need to go back to the gym and cut back on the chocolates…and the Havana Club and Jack Daniels….

Bearing all this in mind, I’m almost relieved I’ll be incommunicado for most of this Father’s Day as I’ll be attending college on Sunday as I train to become a hypnotherapist and counsellor.

My plan for next year is to put both said daughters into a trance and get them to buy me a Porsche. Meanwhile, I’m going to pour myself a Drambuie. Now there’s a hint, dear girls….

A Young Man Dressed As A Gorilla Dressed As An Old Man Sits Rocking In A Rocking Chair For Fifty-Six Minutes And Then Leaves… 7
Tuesday 18th August 2015
2.30pm – 3.26pm
Voodoo Rooms Ballroom, West Register Street, EH2 2AA
FREE

One performance only.
Turn up early – sellout expected.

More information here.

Loading...

Taking too long?

Reload document

| Open in new tab

Download [162.00 B]

[tweet_box design=”default”]

Katharine Ferns began her stand up career in Vancouver and Toronto where she developed her confessional and relentlessly honest storytelling style of comedy and now will be performing her debut solo show Conscious Incompetent with The Free Festival at The Counting House.

[/tweet_box]

In 2012, she was a finalist in Toronto’s Funniest Comedian at Just For Laughs (JFL42). She has opened for Big Jay Oakerson, Ari Shaffir, Kurt Metzger, Tom Segura, Sam Tripoli, Baron Vaughn, Brian Redban from Deathsquad, and Brendon Walsh. Katharine was featured on ichannel (Canada’s political and social issues network) in the stand-up series No Kidding, and as a panellist on Inside Joke in 2014. She also hosted a monthly show COMEDY INFERNO, and was the weekly headliner at the Hot Box in Toronto.

In 2014, Katharine moved to the UK to continue her career in her family’s home country. That year she was a finalist in the Laughing Horse New Act competition, and this year she has arrived at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with her debut solo show Conscious Incompetent.

Katharine Ferns: Conscious Incompetent

August 6th-30th at 18:15 (Free Show)

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House – The Studio

38 West Nicolson Street, Edinburgh

For Alice, years of watching Oprah re-runs and playing the lottery seem to pay off when she wins a cool $86 million jackpot. A sufferer of borderline personality disorder, she quits her meds, stops meeting her psychiatrist and embarks on a whole new adventure starring in her own daytime talk show.

Kristen Wiig now seems to be the go-to girl for dark comedy. With another film of a similar genre, The Diary of a Teenage Girl (essentially a paedophilic comedy), playing at Edinburgh this year and with the simply brilliant The Skeleton Twins being part of last year’s lineup, she seems to be drawn to characters with an emotional complex. This is by no means a complaint. Wiig’s almost distant dialogue delivery means she has the kind of spaced out detachment that her characters need. Welcome to Me is no different; she does a fine job even if it feels as though she isn’t really stretched.

The sad subtext to Welcome to Me’s script is how exploitative those around Alice seem to be. With the TV network running out money, she happily signs a $15 million cheque to confirm a 100 episode run of her talk show. When it doesn’t look how she wants it to (she demands it looks more like Oprah), she foots the bill once again. Mix in the numerous on stage breakdowns and her complete disregard to the plight of those around her, and the depressing face of Welcome to Me is shown. Its comedic turns are still very, very slight. It’s more the peculiarity we can laugh at, whether that’s her demands for her entry riding a mechanical swan or her cycling segways in to the next slot, it raises a smile but barely hits your gut.

Welcome to Me seems to be purposely, painfully tragic. A sauntering, slightly silly dark comedy dealing with issues that need to be addressed, it falls short of the provocative hystericism (whether that’s emotional or comedic) that would make it truly memorable.

★★★☆☆

Welcome to Me has its European premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2015. Ticketing information can be found here.

We have no real idea what you should expect here so we are including below a Youtube clip of Lewis Schaffer which might help…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORExDv4WuHY]

Following sell-out runs at comedy festivals in Melbourne and Edinburgh, and following his first UK tour this Spring, LA actor Miles Allen will bring his solo show ONE MAN BREAKING BAD – THE UNAUTHORISED PARODY back to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2015, playing at the Gilded Balloon from 7 – 31 August.

Immediately prior to the Fringe, Allen will take the show to the inaugural Great Yorkshire Fringe from 27 July – 2 August – www.greatyorkshirefringe.com – and will then tour the UK again from October – dates and booking info at www.onemanbreakingbad.com

LA actor Miles Allen smacks the senses with his super-charged, hilariously accurate renditions of all the iconic characters, including Walter White, Jesse, Saul, Skyler, Hank, Walt Junior, Mike and Gus Fring.

Allen’s incredible impersonations break all five seasons down into one, exhilarating, and uproarious tour-de-force parody performance.

Miles Allen said, “This show is a love letter for all the fans who lived through the blood, meth, and tears of the greatest television show ever made.”

One Man Breaking Bad – The Unauthorised Parody

GILDED BALLOON TEVIOT – DEBATING HALL

13 BRISTO SQUARE, EH8 9AJ

Ticket details here

An old fashioned toss up between an exhilarating story and the documentary film making technique, Precinct Seven Five is a heart-thumping addition to the crime-doc subgenre. Let’s admit it, New York crime stories are by no means uncharted territory, but the sheer number of them means that burrowing a little deeper can always uncover something seriously good.

Dubbed the dirtiest cop in NYPD history, Michael Dowd spent the majority of the late eighties and early nineties causing corruption in the notorious Precinct 75 in Brooklyn. In an area rife with gun crime, murders and drug abuse, Dowd headed a group of fellow police officers who became responsible for collaborating with the very criminals they were meant to take down.

It’s like the cinematic equivalent of leaning in to get in on the secret. Tiller’s uncompromising documentary style means that every morsel of information has substance if lacking style. Take for example, Dowd working with The Diaz Group – a multi-million dollar drug ring operated from the back of a supermarket by a pubescent, Dominican 20 year old. Tiller doesn’t tell these stories himself. He’s enlisted near enough every dirty cop involved, as well as the Dominican dude at the head of it all.

It’s a striking and relevant film. As hostility grows towards the NYPD you can’t help but feel that these feelings are justified. Things may have come far, but Tiller certainly doesn’t do any favours to the department when it comes to their competence at the time. Seemingly, dozens of cops were running riot at the time; taking drugs, selling weapons and badges, and covering the backs of dirty criminals in exchange for big payouts.

There is, however, a slight ethical dilemma at the center of Precinct Seven Five. With its well humoured protagonists depicted in true Scorsese style, it’s easy to forget that these aren’t characters and their actions weren’t fiction. For a film about a group of policemen who admit stealing savings from families in a seriously poor community, there’s a slightly slapstick element to some of it. While the devilish stories of the bad cops are fascinating to hear, the way in which their presented can’t help but leave you feeling it’s all a little sour and distasteful.

The ethical issue may be hard to ignore, but regardless, Precinct Seven Five is an exhilarating, relevant story; competently told by the deviant men responsible.

★★★☆☆

Precinct Seven Five has its European premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2015. Ticketing information can be found on the EIFF website here.

PRIDE Edinburgh! The 2015 Pride march starts from the Scottish Parliament at 12 noon – prior to this there will be a special Pride Breakfast at Serenity Cafe, just a few minutes walk away; music, delicious food, feel-good community vibes, face-painting, and live entertainment from Courtney Lynn, Charly Houston, Katherine McMahon, Jo McFarlane, Jules & Pawel and Karen Flynn. This is also the chance to meet up with friends before the march and to make sure that everyone feels welcome and included. 9.30am-12 noon, Serenity Cafe, The Tun, 8 Jackson’s Entry. £5 (£2.50 unwaged): please book in advance to help the organisers plan the catering – click here or go to the LGBT Health & Wellbeing website. For more information please contact Jules Stapleton Barnes on 0131 523 1104 or email jules@lgbthealth.org.uk.

West Lothian Cats Protection League Rehoming Family Day: come and meet the cats and kittens! Stalls, tombola, Cat Cafe. If you’re not able to rehome one of the many cats in CPL’s care, you might want to find out more about short-term fostering (they are currently desperate for fosterers), or volunteering in another capacity such as fundraising or home checking – or you could just go along to see the cats, have fun and support the branch in its excellent work. 1-3pm, Newyearfield Farm Community Centre,  Hawk Brae, Livingston, EH54 6AB. All welcome!

Edinburgh Power of Food Festival: a celebration of fabulous community garden initiatives across Edinburgh. Community gardens come in many shapes and sizes, but all have the common goal of bringing people together to grow food. Gardens from Wester Hailes to Portobello, Drylaw to Leith and the City Centre to Craigmillar will all be open, with lots of activities including theatre performances, a cycle ride, children’s workshops, Q & A sessions, cooking demonstrations, garden tours, music, the chance to visit an Iron Age roundhouse and a yurt, insect safari, planting workshops, bouncy castle, facepainting, storytelling, foraging and a printmaking session – for full details and a downloadable map see the festival’s website here. Events continue on Sunday 21st June.

French Family Saturdays: Voyage, voyage! Introduce your children to a popular piece of French culture at these all-in-French Saturday sessions. If you could choose only one thing, what would you put into your suitcase before going on holiday? Today the children will each choose their item to put into the bag – then the story can begin. ‘A great introduction to narration in French’. For children aged 3-10 years. 12 noon-2pm, Institut francais d’Ecosse, 13 Randolph Crescent. £5 (members £3) per child: advance booking is recommended – please email info@ifecosse.org.uk.

Tiger Tales: stories and crafts for children aged 4-8 years. 3-4pm, Fountainbridge Library, 137 Dundee Street. Free.

Morningside Farmers’ Market: fresh, local, seasonal goods direct from the producers, plus preserves, crafts, and refreshments on sale throughout the market and at The Merlin. 9.30am-3.30pm, The Merlin (rear car park), 168 Morningside Road.

Edinburgh Festival of Cycling continues today! Rides, films, talks, drama, books, photos, workshops and lots more. Today’s big event is Pentlands Pursuit – MTB Treasure Hunt; Scottish Mountain Bike Orienteering brings you an event for solo riders, pairs and families – ‘a challenge of strategy, fitness, navigation and luck’. For more information please see the festival’s website here or its Facebook page here, or pick up a programme from many venues across the city and beyond, including libraries, leisure centres and many shops. Ends 21st June 2015.

St Bride’s Family Cinema: see your favourite films for free! Juice and choc ices are available for 50p each during the interval. Today’s film is Peter Pan (U) (1953). 10.30am-12.30pm (includes interval), St Bride’s Centre, Orwell Terrace, Dalry. Please note that all children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

Lunchtime Concert: Faith Builders Chorale. From the Faith Builders Training Institute, Pennsylvania. 12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.

Leith Festival 2015: Trinity House – Maritime Leith. Visit Trinity House and take a self-led tour of Leith’s maritime history, using the latest technologies to uncover the local stories behind the collections. Meet the conservators to learn about the work they carry out on the vast painting collections, and watch digital recordings of Leithers talking about their memories. 10am-4pm, Trinity House, 99 Kirkgate. Free. On Thursday 18th June there will be object handling sessions (11am-2pm) and tours of Trinity House led by Junior Guides Tours (11am-1.30pm). For more information please contact adam.gorysz@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or call 0131 554 3289.

Krazy Kat Theatre Company Presents Mattress! Mattress! The Story of the Princess and the Pea. Set in an ‘awfy drafty’ castle in the remote Highlands, this classic tale is retold by two bemused actors, some tartan ‘troos’ and an extravaganza of exquisite puppet figures. This fast and funny family show features sign language, ‘dancing aboot’ and big laughs. Suitable for deaf and hearing children aged 3-8 years. 11am or 2pm, Netherbow Theatre, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43 High Street. Tickets cost £8/£6 and may be purchased in person, by calling the Box Office on 0131 556 9579 or online here (transaction fee applies to phone and online bookings).

Balerno Village Screen: Percy Jackson and the Olympians – The Lightning Thief (PG). A teenager discovers he is the descendant of a Greek god and sets out on an adventure to settle an ongoing battle. 2.30pm (doors open 2pm), St Joseph’s Hall, 2 Main Street, Balerno. Free; all welcome – but please reserve your place via eventbrite here to enable the organisers to manage numbers (and please also remember to cancel your booking if you can no longer attend). Balerno Village Screen is a community cinema funded by donations.

Dad’s Day: join storytellers and musicians for a positive celebration of fatherhood on the day before Fathers’ Day. A great opportunity for dads to enjoy time with their children, tell stories and listen to tales that promote the importance and joys of active fatherhood. 11am-2pm, Storytelling Court, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43 High Street. Free and unticketed.

Edinburgh International Film Festival continues today! For details of all films and other events see the programme here or pick up a paper copy at EIFF venues and many other locations throughout the city. Tickets are available in person from the Filmhouse, Lothian Road, Cineworld, Fountain Park, Odeon, Lothian Road and the Festival Theatre, by calling 0131 623 8030 or online here. Today’s highlights include Amy, Asif Kapadia’s ‘absorbing, moving, insightful and powerful’ documentary charting the amazing highs and terrible lows in the life of Amy Winehouse, and Paper Planes; 12-year old Dylan is aiming for a place in the world junior paper plane championship. He may not have the latest phone, and he may have some problems at home, but when a teacher shows him how to make the perfect paper plane, his imagination and enthusiasm know no limits. On his journey from his home in rural Australia to the bright lights of Tokyo, he makes new friends and learns how he can make his family heal. Paper Planes is shown as part of the Filmfest Junior strand and is suitable for everyone aged 6 or over.

Ahoy Me Hearties! Use a secret pirate map to navigate the grounds of Lauriston and find ‘treasure’ to help transform yourself in to a pirate! Make your own crazy cutlass and pirate hat – and even your own parrot! With Mike Durnan. 11am-3pm, Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South. Tickets cost £4 and must be purchased in advance from the Usher Hall Box Office, Lothian Road, in person, by calling 0131 228 1155 or online here. Please note: these are family workshops intended for parents and children to enjoy together. Children must be accompanied by a minimum of one paying adult and not be booked into workshops alone.

Bruntsfield Children’s Bookjam: a day of free children’s events to celebrate Independent Booksellers’ Week at various venues around The Edinburgh Bookshop. Authors, storytelling, singlaong, crafting and a Mad Hatters’ Tea Party! 10.30am onwards – please contact The Edinburgh Bookshop, 219 Bruntsfield Place (0131 447 1917) for more information, or see the shop’s Facebook page here.

Photosynthesis: Shedding New Light On Plants. The first exhibition in Scotland by artists from the Dutch art collective Tropism, featuring photographs of plants taken with unusual, often scientific, visualisation techniques – a surprising and spectacularly different view of plants. Botanical installations located around the Garden will fuse art, poetry and science and combine audio, video and classic museum displays. The Tropists are a group of artists who work with phenomena occurring at the edge of perception; events which are hardly noticed but which lead to a reaction similar to the manner in which a plant responds to light. 10am-6pm, John Hope Gateway, Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Row. Ends 27th September 2015. Free.

Unluck: Matthew de Kersaint Giraudeau launches a podcast about chance, probability and luck. Through interviews, music and discussion he explores the contemporary meanings of luck and chance – as faith, myth, folklore, language and neuropsychological activity. 4pm, Rhubaba, 25 Arthur Street. After the launch the podcast will be available to download from the Rhubaba website.

Golden Hare Books and Bloomsbury Present Rebecca Dinerstein: The Sunlit Night. Golden Hare Books launches this year’s Independent Booksellers’ Week with the Scottish launch of ‘one of the most exciting debut novels of 2015’, the story of two people who have come to the Lofoten Islands, 95 miles north of the Arctic Circle, to learn to be alone, but who form a bond that fortifies them against the turmoil of their distant homes. Rebecca will read from her work and discuss it with Peggy Hughes. 7pm, Golden Hare Books, 68 St Stephen Street, Stockbridge. Tickets cost £3 (redeemable against the price of a signed copy of the book on the night) and may be purchased via the shop’s website here.

Balerno Village Screen: The Theory of Everything (12A). The award-winning biopic of Stephen Hawking, starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. 7pm, St Joseph’s Hall, 2 Main Street, Balerno. Free; all welcome – but please reserve your place via eventbrite here to enable the organisers to manage numbers (and please also remember to cancel your booking if you can no longer attend). Balerno Village Screen is a community cinema funded by donations.

Scots Music Group Ceilidh with The Occasionals. 7.30pm (dancing from 8pm) – 12 midnight, St Bride’s Centre, Orwell Terrace, Dalry. Tickets cost £8/£6 in advance, £10/£8 on the door (sta) and are available from the Scots Music Group on 0131 555 7668, the St Bride’s Box Office on 0131 346 1405 or online here. Please note that as there is a licensed bar, only alcohol from that bar may be consumed on the premises: water will be freely available.

The Domestics: eclectic alt. country music from the East Lothian band, with special guests Edinburgh a cappella folk trio The Silver Darlings. 9pm-12 midnight, Dalriada, 77 Promenade, Portobello.

Edinburgh Society of Musicians: Salvatore Tomasino (clarinet) and Elaine Gould (piano) play Poulenc, Debussy and Brahms. 7.30pm (prompt), Edinburgh Society of Musicians, 3 Belford Road. Free admission; non-members welcome. The Edinburgh Society of Musicians was formed in 1887 to promote practical music-making in Edinburgh.

Mairi Orr: the Scottish singer-songwriter performs her debut album Jenny Does Burn ahead of its release on 29th June. ‘Untapped stories and contemporary themes, interweaving fact with fiction, often drawing on her West Highland connections…a refreshing and accessible perspective on this culturally celebrated area….(she) demonstrates the vibrant connection between Scottish and American folk traditions’. Over 18s only. 7.30pm, The Voodoo Rooms, West Register Street. Tickets cost £8 in advance (transaction fee applies) and may be purchased online here, otherwise £10 on the door (sta).

Voting age to lower from next year

New Edinburgh to Poland flights

VisitScotland competition

Summer activities in Inverleith

Power of Food Festival to celebrate the summer solstice this weekend

The voting age for Scottish Parliament and local government elections will be lowered from spring 2016.

The Scottish Elections (Reduction of Voting Age) Bill, passed today, will allow 16 and 17 year olds to vote at next year’s Scottish Parliament elections.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “This Bill provides a detailed, workable and practical framework to allow 16 and 17 year olds to register for and vote in Scottish elections. I welcome the broad cross-party support there has been for our proposals that will give young people a permanent voice on matters that affect them.

“Since we first proposed lowering the voting age, I have been extremely impressed by the thoughtful and passionate contributions that young people have made to the debate – Scotland’s young people have made a persuasive case and should be extremely proud of that.”

***

***

As Scotland looks to its Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design in 2016, VisitScotland, Scotland’s national tourism organisation, is putting young design talent at the heart of plans and is inviting young creatives all over Scotland to design the official logo used to promote the year.

The designer whose logo is selected will win up to £3,000 towards materials, tools or activity to support their own professional development in the design sector.

From textiles to technology, architecture to fashion and design, the year-long programme of events, festivals, business conferences and exhibitions aimed at attracting participation and engagement from visitors and locals, will shine the spotlight on Scotland’s greatest assets and icons, as well as some of our unique hidden gems.

The winning design will become the official logo for the forthcoming themed year and will be used across multiple channels by VisitScotland and partner organisations across national and international promotional activity throughout 2015 and 2016.

The competition is a great opportunity for a young creative to add a design to their portfolio that has the potential to be seen by millions of people and become highly recognisable during the year.  The winner will also be able to see their logo design carried across a programme of major and special events due to take place throughout 2016.

Entries to the competition must be from individuals aged between 16 and 25 years of age, who are resident in Scotland.

Visit http://www.eventscotland.org/funding/year-of-innovation-architecture-and-design-2016/logo-competition/ to download an Entry Form, Design Brief and full Terms and Conditions. Designs should be submitted via email to communications@eventscotland.org.

The closing date for entries is Sunday 12 July 2015 (at midnight).   The winning design will be announced thereafter.

***

Registration takes place on Monday 22 June for the events listed in the programme below.

Loading...

Taking too long?

Reload document

| Open in new tab

Download [162.00 B]

***

Loads of events around the city this weekend to celebrate the summer solstice!

Loading...

Taking too long?

Reload document

| Open in new tab

Download [162.00 B]

Sign up here for a daily email from The Edinburgh Reporter !
[mc4wp_form]

It has been almost two years since the Berlin Wall collapsed. In Rostock, a former East German town, tension is growing following an influx of asylum seekers and immigrants moving into the town. With a sense of societal detachment and an obsession with dwindling fascism, a group of young people join a growing xenophobic force to push the new arrivals out of town.

We Are Young. We Are Strong.‘s director, Burhan Qurbani has crafted a film that feels like This is England and La Haine shaking hands. Beautifully shot with a scintillating score by Matthias Sayer and Tim Ströble, there is a gorgeous underlying sense of discomfort that shadows his young protagonists. In conversation, these teenagers seem incredibly normal. Tongue kissing, camper van hangouts and trips to the beach make up the most of their normal lives. But as darkness draws in, the sweat dews run down their forehead from the searing Molotov cocktail heat and their eyes fill with anger.

The film is, for the most part, presented in black and white; an unambiguous colour scheme that mirrors the almost clueless naivety of these kids. As the emotion and tension heightens, things transform into daunting colour, the usually concrete grey towers glowing with deep orange embers; festooned by shattered glass.

Beneath the sumptuously well thought out visuals, Qurbani has crafted solid characters too. The teenagers act as they should, each either shy, antagonising or downright moody. Passion isn’t short there. The best performance here comes from Trang Le Hong who plays Lien, a young Vietnamese immigrant who spends her days working in a garment cleaning factory. With her hair bleached and styled, she is almost the leader of the opposition against the thugs. This youthful tenacity shines through; her strength as a performer undeniable.

At times, it feels as though Qurbani may have bitten off more than he can chew. There are rare encounters with a local politician that add context but not much else to an already brimming situation. This adds a little unnecessary strain to a run time that already could be fifteen minutes shorter. Thankfully, his depiction of the brutal unrest is so visceral and well crafted that this can be forgiven.

A startling clash of youthful naivety and seething hatred, We Are Young. We Are Strong. is a stunningly crafted companion to a continent’s discomforting and ever-growing xenophobic presence.

★★★★☆

We Are Young. We Are Strong. plays at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2015. For ticketing information, check the EIFF website.

Amy Berg is no stranger to the odious waters that her latest work dabbles in. Having previously dealt with the mistreatment of minors on more than one occasion, she now looks upon the issue of child molestation on a huge and painfully unstoppable scale. Excruciating to watch, Prophet’s Prey is perhaps her most observant and strange work to date, dealing with a man whose ominous presence can always be felt even though he’s never really there.

As his position as the Prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints came closer into his grip, Jeff Warren turned the already dubious tradition of polygamy into a mass brainwashing of thousands of followers; making them obedient to his warped moral stance. But in the isolated FLDS community, Warren can easily get lost when the FBI are desperately trying to get him in their grasp.

Prophet’s Prey backs you into a corner; giving you a damning insight into the life of helpless people born into a community with a indoctrinating leader. Usually, Berg likes to provide balance, but with the closed off nature of the religious cult stopping us from knowing fully what goes on, we’re left to watch from the sidelines. The footage provided sees us fly past the seldom seen colony like we’re watching an Amazonian tribe from the air. This detachment only adds to the mystique.

Warren’s voice often echoes through a dark screen like a sickening, soft-spoken lullaby; reciting his teachings with a hypnotic power. His crimes are abhorrent: mass sexual depravity ranging from taking nearly 90 wives to the caustic abuse of possibly hundreds of children. His looming stature and elongated face are transformed through Berg’s cinematic technique into a creature a kin to what is seen in horror films; his story told by those closest to him, making him even more of a diabolical villain.

The ability to depict these people as twisted but not make their crimes seem like a fantasy is fast becoming Berg’s forte. In West of Memphis, she used the cruel work of the media and the residents of the Arkansas town to make her protagonists seem like the beasts they were therefore perceived as. Similarly, Prophet’s Prey uses the damning evidence that put Jeffs away to depict, rather than invent a real monster. This includes a stomach churning sound recording of his molestation of a pre-teenage girl; justifying his actions through the supposed word of God.

A haunting and blatant telling of a false prophet’s sickening story, Prophet’s Prey secures Amy Berg’s position as one of the most valuable and important documentary filmmakers.

★★★★☆

Prophet’s Prey plays as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2015. For ticketing information, head to the EIFF website.

Hearts will commence the new season in the Ladbrokes SPFL Premiership with a home fixture against St Johnstone on Saturday 1^st August.

This will be the day the SPFL Championship flag is unfurled before what is sure to be a sell-out crowd at Tynecastle.

Hearts then face a tricky trip to Dundee before returning to Tynecastle for the visit of Motherwell on Wednesday, August 12.

Hearts will be at home on Boxing Day with a mouth-watering game with champions Celtic.

Hearts full fixture list is as follows:

Post spilt dates: Apr 23, Apr 30, May 7, May 11, May 14/15

However, fans should note the above dates and kick-off times are subject to change to suit the needs of live television coverage.

Fixtures courtesy of www.heartsfc.co.uk

Fun things happening for kids this Summer, starting at the weekend with Here Comes the Summer on Portobello Beach and Promenade tomorrow (Saturday) from 1pm to 4pm and a Family Fun Day in Brighton Park, 12noon to 3pm.

This Sunday, Bridgend Inspiring Growth (BIG) is throwing a party as part of the Power of Food Festival which is taking place over the Solstice weekend. Lots of community gardens and food projects will be welcoming visitors, old and new, to see what they’re up to and celebrate the power of food! Check out their website to see what’s going on: Power of Food Festival

Lynne Beattie, Regional Development Officer for Scottish Volleyball is letting us know about Beach Volleyball Primary Schools Summer Camp coming up in July.  With all the recent activity on the beach, it has highlighted the need to get the local kids onto the beach playing our amazing sport.  Whether I am down there coaching club volleyball or training for my next competition, we are forever getting asked about our sport and where and when people can join in.  For me, beach volleyball could really be a sport that brings the East neighbourhood community together, giving our local young people a new activity from which they can learn so much more than just volleyball.  It gets them outdoors, with friends and they get a good run around too. The camp is branded as S.H.A.P.E Beach Volleyball (Schools Holiday Aspire Programme Edinburgh).  This is a pilot camp but will hopefully run as a series of camps throughout the school year… all on the beach.  It will be aimed at the new Primary 6/7/S1 age group and no experience is needed.  The camp will take place on Portobello Beach from 9-12 noon from Monday 13 July – Friday 17 July in front of the Portobello Swim Centre.  Most importantly the camp will be fun, with the opportunity to be outdoors and be coached by international players and coaches along the way.   I hope it will engage as many kids as possible in advance of some more targeted work I will be doing within the local schools in the new school year.

Edinburgh Garden Partners matches people who want to garden with people who have space to share. They focus on those who need the most help, often older or disabled individuals or carers. Garden partnerships can help vulnerable people remain independent in their own home and reduce social isolation, while at the same time garden volunteers benefit from access to gardening, befriending, food growing and more.  See here: Garden Partners

Community consultation is beginning on a plan for the new park which will transform the current Portobello High School site, once a new St John’s Primary School is built.  To receive regular updates, or get involved please join the e-mail distribution list by contacting ELGT at: yoursay@ELGT.org.uk or ring 0131 445 4025 and you will be kept informed of upcoming events and ongoing progress. See here on Portobello Community Council website for more details.

Portobello Online has a new Events section, which brings together Facebook Events taking place in the Portobello.

In response to several requests there is now a third Portobello City Car Club car at Windsor Place, EH15 2AJ.  City Car Club is a pay-as-you-go way of driving a car without the hassle and expense of owning one.   Phone 0845 330 1234 or go on line to find out more.

The topping out of the new Portobello High School happened this week.

The story behind The Portobello Reporter has appeared in the media All Media: Portobello Reporter and is being picked up by STV Local next week (we think).

The Jack Kane Centre do some fantastic, groundbreaking work with youngsters, older people and families and is one of the projects being sponsored by Asda right now.  If you are ever in Asda at the Jewel with some spare change then please drop it in one of the charities boxes.

Portobello, 99 ice creams, and Britain’s Lost Seaside Heritage appeared in the national press recently.

Four years ago, Edinburgh was enchanted by mysterious book sculptures. Be involved with the last: paperscissorsstone321.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/if-you…

Which of these five Zero Waste ideas is your favourite?  Make Things Last | Zero Waste Scotland

A new directory to help people in Edinburgh find Trusted Traders has now been launched: bit.ly/1BlLPeH

Huxtable have been announced to headline Fortune Promotions’ monthly gig on 26 June, this time at Sneaky Pete’s with support coming from The Number 9s and Empire By Day.

Huxtable are the latest exciting talent to arrive on the Scottish music scene, with hard-hitting melodies arriving from the two-piece Glaswegians. This gig will come off the back of a gig at Hard Rock Cafe in Glasgow and supporting Fatherson. They’ve notably supported Biffy Clyro at the Troxy in London last year.

The Number 9s are due to give Huxtable a run for their money with their headline performances that are known for being “thunderous and captivating”, while Empire By Day will be looking to build upon their intriguing sound after support slots with Young Aviators and local band Pronto Mama.

Fortune Promotions, headed by Steven Mackay, puts on gigs every month in and around various venues in Edinburgh to showcase some of the latest local talent.

Tickets are available through SEE Tickets for £6, or bought on the door at the venue for £7.

World Champion Curler, Eve Muirhead, awarded more the 80 gold medals to some of the nation’s most inspiring school pupils at the showcase award ceremony for Scotland’s biggest educational supporting legacy project in the Bute Hall, University of Glasgow.

The inspire>aspire National Awards Ceremony earlier this week brought to a close the three-year ‘Global Citizens in the Making’ project, which inspired 100,000 pupils in 58 Commonwealth Nations and Territories.

Over the three-years, more than 300 schools in Scotland from all 32 local authorities participated in the project which asks pupils to use the inspiration of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and consider their own aspirations and ambitions as global citizens. The programme originates in Scotland and many schools have connected classrooms with other Commonwealth nations.

More than 80 National Finalists were awarded gold medals for their exceptional work throughout the academic year. During the awards presenter Eve Muirhead’s keynote, she used her own story of success to emphasise the importance of identifying goals at a young age and using inspiration to achieve these.

In the Secondary awards, Sarah Hutton of Gracemount High School (photographed above) won 2nd Prize for S3 whilst Helena Cassels took out 1st Prize in the S1 category.

Catherine Stilher, MEP and Rector of St Andrews University was among the judges this year and said:

“What I have experienced today is inspiring and enlightening. To learn from young people about their experiences and how they see the world helps me understand better the challenges that young people face today.

“I think this exercise should be conducted with politicians. Perhaps we would make better decisions!”

Programme manager Julie Thompson said:

“Tuesday’s award ceremony showcased the work of only a fraction of the inspiring young people who have participated in this project.

“Our ambition with this project was to use the opportunity of Glasgow 2014 to create a generation of active, connected global citizens and we believe that over the three years, we have successfully contributed to the legacy of the games both at home and abroad.

“It is a privilege to gain this personal insight into our young people and I urge you to go on our website and view this work – our young global citizens will inspire you!”

Submitted by Alex Gregg

It’s that time of year again – whilst many pupils are in limbo, waiting for the results they hope will see them heading to the college of their dreams, the year below is turning its thoughts to UCAS and the perils of the dreaded personal statement. If you or your charges are planning to apply to university for 2016 entry, open days are one of the ways to start – virtually every college runs one, some run two or three, and they are excellent ways not only to find out about courses but also to get a feel for the place – could you really stand this concrete block/ivory tower for four years? What’s the accommodation like? Can you take up drama? Dungeons and dragons? The didgeridoo? Where’s the sports centre (and the bar)?

So here is a round-up of coming open days – you do need to book for most of them, so go to the relevant website and register your intention to take the next step into uncharted territory – the World Beyond School – and please check all dates and details with the universities before setting off.

August 2015

17th – Highlands & Islands; North Highland College

31st – Dundee

September

1st – Strathclyde + Aberdeen

2nd – Glasgow Caledonian

7th – Edinburgh

9th – West of Scotland Dumfries Campus

16th – West of Scotland Hamilton Campus

19th – Stirling

23rd – Abertay

25th – Heriot Watt

26th – Dundee + Edinburgh

30th – St Andrew’s + West of Scotland Paisley Campus

October

3rd – Edinburgh Napier (all campuses) + Glasgow Caledonian + Strathclyde + Robert Gordon’s University (Aberdeen)

7th – Robert Gordon’s University + West of Scotland Ayr Campus

14th – St Andrew’s

24th – Glasgow + University of the Highlands & Islands Theological College (Dingwall)

27th – Dundee (Art & Design only)

28th – St Andrew’s

31st – Heriot Watt + Stirling

November

5th – St Andrew’s

The University of Edinburgh offers some tips on how to get the most from your visit; make sure you study the programme for the day in advance, make a list of the timed events – talks, tours of halls, etc – that you want to attend, and register for any that require advance booking. At Edinburgh some talks are repeated throughout the day – those in the morning are often busiest, so you may have more luck with the later ones. Bring your queries about student finance, study abroad options, student support services, careers and facilities for disabled students, and don’t be afraid to ask – although you can of course contact the universities at any time, there’s no substitute for talking to staff – and current students – on the day. The University of Dundee also suggests visiting a variety of departments – you might find you’re interested in something you hadn’t previously considered, and it’s better to find out now!

Parents, friends and teachers are welcome at open days, but don’t worry if you’re going on your own – there will usually be Student Ambassadors to help you and you’ll soon meet other people. The Universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh even offer low cost bed and breakfast in student halls for the night before the open day, and Aberdeen arranges an optional party in the evening. The University of Glasgow includes tours of the city in its programme and Edinburgh operates a shuttle bus between its various sites.

And if you can’t make the date of an open day, don’t despair – most universities offer private visits, self-guided tours, online chats and lots of ways to help you find out more – contact the admissions offices for information.

Good luck! Soon this could be you:

If you are to look at your diet today, it is fair to say most people see where changes need to be made. Maybe you need to cut out one of the four coffees you drink a day? Maybe you should leave out that doughnut at lunch? While most of us trying to swap the fat-filled fructose treats for granola bars, there is one man intent on showing you that there is simply no way to live your life without feeling bad about it.

A man who cut sugar out of his life three years ago sets himself up on a supposedly ‘healthy’ diet, consuming the average consumed amount of 40 teaspoons of sugar per day.

Director/writer/all-round main star Damon Gameau has used his own apparent achievement of cutting out refined sugar to trape around the globe and point out others who should be doing the same. Enlisting the odd help of Hugh Jackman and Stephen Fry as child friendly spokespeople, he has put together a film that feels like an overly long, ninety plus minute educational tool. But there is little education to That Sugar Film; instead becoming more of a condescending, painfully staged piece on why sugar is so bad and not showing any real resolution.

The film feels as though it has injected caramel into its thirsty veins. There’s an obvious plot comparison here: Super Size Me. While that was a piece that justified its scaremongering tactics, the fear here stems from fast edited shots of large behinds and overweight children eating ice cream. There are only a couple of moments where the effects ring true. An encounter with a seventeen year old Kentucky boy who was near enough weaned on Mountain Dew makes for excruciating viewing, while the refined sugar obsessed Aborigines and their attempts to combat their own problems gives another dimension to what is otherwise a film almost entirely about its director. Gameau’s tactics are wholly ineffective; showing his ‘hyperactivity’ by jumping up and down and delivering psychoactive ticks directly down the camera lens. Super Size Me shocked people into thinking twice about fast food; That Sugar Film convinces you to go out and buy a Snickers.

Condescending, crass and painfully egotistical, Gameau’s attempts to educate the world on sugar in our diets backfires gloriously.

★☆☆☆☆

That Sugar Film has its UK premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2015. More information can be found on the EIFF website here.