Fife Flyers’ coach Tom Coolen believes fans will love 28-year-old Swedish forward
Anthon Eriksson who has put pen to paper for the Kirkcaldy club.

The 6 foot 3 inch, left shooting forward made his playing debut in the Swedish top tier, the Swedish Hockey League, at the age of 18 with Luleå HF. Eriksson then went on to play 91 games in the HockeyEttan and 207 appearances in the HockeyAllsvenskan.

During the 21/22 season, Eriksson headed to Poland icing with GKS Katowice contributing 14 goals and 8 assists across 37 games during the Championship winning season.

Last season saw Eriksson return home to Sweden icing with IK Oskarshamn in the SHL and latterly Vastërås IK in the HockeyAllvenskan.

Coolen (pictured) said: “Anthon Eriksson is a big, strong winger with experience at the highest level in Sweden. He plays with passion and skill. He will win battles on the ice and win the hearts of the fans in Fife.”

Eriksson said: “I’m excited to meet my teammates and to get to know the organisation.”

Flyers have also secured the signature of Swedish forward Johan Eriksson after playing for Guildford Flames and Dundee Stars last term scoring 42 points from 56 games.

He is 6ft 1in and has spent most of his playing career in Sweden and Coolen said: “He is a proven goal scorer and has been working hard all summer.”

Stellar Monarchs’ team manager John Campbell went into the club’s Cab Direct Championship meeting at Poole Pirates minus No 1 Craig Cook and they were beaten 59-31.

Campbell admitted to Pirates TV: “We’ve had a tough season. You can’t come to probably the best team in the league when you’ve got your No 1 missing and no suitable guest, without it being a very difficult match. We did get one or two decisions going against us.”

Monarchs were forced to use rider replacement for Craig Cook and that yielded one point. Josh Pickering (pictured) top scored with 11 points.

Monarchs started badly and were 14-4 behind after three heats, but the first boost came from Pickering’s win from the back in heat 4 against Steve Worrall.

Kye Thomson also beat Worrall in winning heat 7, flying round him on the opening bends. In between these two race wins, Josh suffered an awful dec ision in heat 6 when Kyle Newman came down on the opening bends and came off trying to squeeze through on the outside. An obvious all-4 decision seemed inevitable, and Poole manager Middleditch agreed, but the ref threw Josh out of the heat.

Paco Castagna came down in heat 8 when there seemed a chance he was going ahead, but it was Josh up next to win heat 9 from the Cook brothers.

Poole then took two 5-1s to put the match well beyond doubt, but the heat of the night was probably heat 13. Pickering made a terrible start but flew after the Poole boys, with passing and re-passing between Josh and Richard Lawson before Josh just got squeezed out.

Bastain Borke got some reward for his efforts with a second place in heat 14 and we finished the match with an advantage as Josh Pickering raced a long way clear in the last heat. Kye Thomson also made it into double figures with third place in our only race advantage.

Poole Pirates (59): Richard Lawson 10+2, Kyle Newman 9+1, Ben Cook 8+0, Zach Cook 7+2, Steve Worrall 12+0, Anders Rowe 9+2, Joe Thompson 4+2

Edinburgh Monarchs (31): Craig Cook 0+0, Paco Castagna 5+0, Kye Thomson 9+1, Bastian Borke 2+0, Josh Pickering 11+1, Dayle Wood 1+0, Max Clegg 3+0

Meanwhile, Connor Coles faces a spell on the sidelines after breaking his collar bone in two places riding for Berwick Bandits against Glasgow Tigers on Saturday. He has been released from hospital.

Festivals

It is the fourth day of the six day Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), a shorter and smaller programme of films in the wake of the collapse of the Centre for the Moving Image which owned EIFF. The Edinburgh International Festival stepped in to take over the assets and ensure that film featured among this years festivals.

The opening night event at Everyman was much scaled back from the extravaganza of last year when there was a party at the Museum after the opening film.

This year the opening film Silent Roar may not be as impressive as last year’s Aftersun which went on to box office success, but it is a showcase for two young actors and also the beautiful scenery of Uist – and the singing in the church is simply tremendous.

Our pick of the EIFF today has to be Chuck Chuck Baby

Helen (Louise Brealey) leads a dull life in a Welsh town, her days split between packaging chickens at the local processing plant and caring for her ex-husband’s mother. Her unexciting routine is broken by the mysterious arrival of Joanne (Annabel Scholey), an old high-school friend whose appearance stirs dormant feelings. Together, the duo rediscovers the joys of living and falling in love, finding in their beloved community of fierce, independent working-class women the strength necessary to overcome small-town prejudice. Mixing big laughs, romance tropes, and musical elements, Janis Pugh’s vibrant directorial debut Chuck Chuck Baby tells a modern love story that is as refreshing as it is heartwarming.

The full programme for 2023 is below.

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Fringe recommendation

Today there is only one show to see and that is Mervyn Stutter’s Gala at Pleasance. Stutter is the man in the pink suit who curates a show from all the 3,000+ performed in the city each day.

The gala is a fundraiser for a charity close to his heart

Star guests include some of this year’s Fringe hits, with comedian Ed Byrne, Yes-Ya-Yebo! and magician Colin Cloud, as well as Fringe favourites Showstopper! The Improvised Musical. Joined by last year’s Pick of the Fringe winner and 2021’s Comedy award winner, Jo Caulfield, the evening will dazzle audiences with song and dance, with performances from Spirit of Ireland, A Comedy of Operas and Havana Street Party.

The gala is on Monday 21 August, 2.30pm, at Pleasance Grand. Tickets from the Pleasance website.

Urgent call for replacement public toilets in Gorgie/Dalry

Following a petition signed by 178 people the council has now called on the firm behind the development at Haymarket Yards to honour a previous commitment to build new public toilet facilities.

It comes as Gorgie residents demand action on public toilets in the area, which has been without any for eight years.

Read more here.

School Uniform at Leith Collective

Pupils are already back at school, but if anyone is missing items of school uniform then you are urged to visit Leith Collective at Fort Kinnaird or at Ocean Terminal.

The organisation is running a free school uniform exchange to give parents good quality, pre-loved options for back to school and encourage more sustainable shopping habits.

The independent store, located between Trespass and WHSmith, is inviting locals to donate good quality school uniform items in exchange for something they need.

Everything from polo shirts and jumpers to school bags and shoes will be accepted and available for collection to help get little ones ready for the new term.

Read more here.

Our August issue

Our August newspaper has been out since 1 August, and we are about to begin working on the September paper.

Our cover story is about Mademoiselle Macaron Rachel Hanretty, with a strapline to our exclusive story about Alex Cole-Hamilton, the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Inside there is a feature by George Mair who is writing for us for the first time this month – and loads of sport from both Nigel Duncan and Bill Lothian.

If you would like to receive a copy just a wee bit ahead of everyone else then please subscribe by clicking on the image below. It helps us with the overheads of producing a paper and also ensures that we can keep all of our news output free for all.

(And do read about Rachel and the Barbie story here)

Hibs and Hearts prepared for their European adventures in midweek with wins in the Viaplay Cup.

Hibs now host St Mirren in the quarter-final thanks to their victory over Raith Rovers and Hearts progress to a meeting with Kilmarnock after the Rugby Park men knocked holders Celtic out of the competition.

The rest of the draw features Rangers v Livingston and Aberdeen visit Ross County and the ties will be played on midweek September 26 to 28.

Back to the Capital clubs had Hearts proved too good for Thistle as the Jambos collected a 4-0 win.

A Brian Graham own goal and a powerful header by new defender Odel Offiah, signed on-loan from Brighton and Hove Albion, saw Hearts 2-0 ahead at the break and Lawrence Shankland and substitute Kyosuke Tagawa netted in the second of a one-sided contest.

Steven Naismith, Hearts technical director, told BBC Scotland Sport, said: “We were really good. It is a really pleasing day.”

Hibs made six changes but edged past Raith Rovers thanks to goals from Elie Youan after 57 minutes but Callum Smith levelled. His goal came in 68 minutes but Dylan Vente struck a minute later to calm home nerves. Raith defender Liam Dick was sent off four minutes into injury time. 

Adam Owen, Hibs’ assistant manager, told the club’s website that said these games are about making the next round. About the changes, he said Lee Johnson trusted the players to do the job.

When you see a Michelle Brasier show you can be guaranteed of two things: you will laugh and you will feel.

This is the unique talent of a comedian whose act is as much an examination of the human condition as it is an attempt to raise a smile. Brasier is a masterful storyteller, combining stand-up, song and visual props to weave real life tales that are absolutely spellbinding. Reform is no exception, and retells the extraordinary story of how she befriended a scammer from whom she’d bought a $500 pilates reformer machine on Facebook marketplace in the depths of Melbourne’s 2020 lockdown. 

The tale continues to get more murky and increasingly absurd as she finds herself feeling strangely responsible for the mental health of a man who is quite clearly trying to steal her money. At one point during a stay in hospital she even agrees to be his emergency contact, taking him through a guided meditation as she’s forced to ponder how he’s scamming her but, “I’m still doing all the admin.”

How she got to this point and why, by her own admission she is, “riddled with empathy” is at the heart of the show. What makes us want to believe the best of people? And is anyone ever truly beyond redemption? What particularly resonated for me was her exploration of the uniquely female experience of trying to change or save broken men, and how women have been socially conditioned to be polite to a fault, endlessly accommodating bad behaviour for fear of bothering people or being seen as too aggressive. 

Despite falling victim to a scam, Brasier’s message is one of compassion and deep humanity, inviting us to look for the bruises that inform our decisions, because we “can’t keep putting people in the bin.” Ultimately, she concludes that she’d rather be a fool than a cynic and in these divisive and febrile times, there’s something quite beautiful about that. An exhilarating, profound and incredibly funny hour of comedy that left me wanting more.

Michelle Brasier is at Gilded Balloon Teviot (Dining Room) until 27 August.

Picture yourself at a birthday party hosted by the twins from The Shining and a collection of aggressive ghosts, where you’re forced to play “pass away the parcel” as you try to get through the event without being murdered.

This is the nightmarish premise behind Party Ghost, a creepy drag cabaret, meets circus, meets physical comedy show that is both entertaining and deeply unsettling. Australian performers Olivia Porter and Jarred Dewey deliver an hour of macabre, absurdist mayhem featuring dismembered limbs, demonic possession and carefully choreographed physical theatre set against some spiky strobe lighting, all adding to the sinister afterlife atmosphere.

The skill, dexterity and athleticism of the two seasoned circus artists was obvious but it was a shame their physicality was not showcased more. The opening scene sees Dewey perform some impressive trapeze work as he tries to work himself free from a noose around his neck. But from there the show veered more towards dark slapstick than circus acrobatics, which was disappointing for an act that promised to appeal to “fans of high-level circus.” 

Audience participation was a key feature, which you’d expect for an energetic show like this, and for the most part it was funny and executed well. But an errant stiletto flung gaily into the audience was perhaps a bit more interaction than the woman whose face it connected with was anticipating. And when the first three rows were sprayed with water directly from the performer’s mouth, it seemed that even Covid is now a distant ghost.

Overall, this was an enjoyable and darkly comic ‘Death Day’ celebration, with a lot to like about it. A vignette set to Adele’s haunting ballad, Hello – where both performers wore small doll’s heads while dancing maniacally – was a highlight that was both hilarious and disturbing.

But with these accomplished performers at the helm, I would like to have seen more of their circus skills.

Party Ghost is at Assembly Checkpoint until 27 August.

A failure by developers behind new offices and a hotel in Edinburgh’s West End to replace public toilets demolished for the scheme has been called “an absolute scandal”.

City councillors have called on the firm behind Haymarket Yards to honour a previous commitment to build new facilities.

It comes as Gorgie residents demand action on public toilets in the area, which has been without any for eight years.

A petition which received 578 signatures lodged by Living Rent’s local branch was considered at the council’s transport and environment committee on Thursday.

Oli Brown, from the group, argued a new, 24-hour accessible toilet needed to be built in Gorgie, citing concerns over “frequent public urination in valued green spaces”. 

Land on Morrison Street which included loos was sold off by the council to make way for Haymarket Yards, with Gorgie’s remaining facility at Ardmillan Terrace subsequently shut in 2015 due to local authority cutbacks – one of ten closed across Edinburgh to save £300,000 – with these later knocked down. 

SNP councillors said at the time of the sale a burden was put on the title that “any development on this land would provide replacement public conveniences”.

An addendum tabled by the group at the meeting said this was “not just a contractual agreement but forms a burden registered in the Land Register of Scotland” but this had “not been enforced”. 

Cllr Finlay McFarlane said it was “an absolute scandal” that the toilets hadn’t yet been replaced. “It’s just outrageous,” he added. 

Mr Brown said: “Having access to public toilets is a basic human need and a vital necessity for public health and hygiene. 

“These facilities serve our community ensuring residents and visitors can enjoy their streets, neighbourhoods and cities with ease.

“The lack of accessible toilets is felt particularly strongly in Gorgie-Dalry, the area is densely populated, bustling streets attract high footfall throughout the day. 

“Most significantly the two stadiums of Murrayfield and Tynecastle – with capacities of 67,000 and just under 20,000 respectively – draw in huge numbers from across Scotland and beyond. 

“On match days local residents have been subject to frequent cases of public urination in valued green spaces.”

Cllr Dan Heap said the nearest public toilet available was two kilometres away at Saughton Park. 

“There have been opportunities for better public toilet provision in the past but they have been missed,” he told the committee. 

He added: “We can’t be a 20 minute neighbourhood if the nearest loo is 25 minutes away. 

“I hope Gorgie-Dalry can be prioritised for future public toilet provision.” 

Transport and environment convener Cllr Scott Arthur said there had been “some uncertainty” about what had happened with the previous agreement between developers and the council. 

He suggested a “deliberate decision” may have been taken “just to close that off” but could be “still hanging somewhere”. 

A future report to committee will set out potential options for opening new facilities in the area. Councillors also requested legal advice on the agreement relating to former Morrison Street toilets.

Cllr Ross McKenzie said: “I’m delighted that the Gorgie Dalry Living Rent petition has successfully pushed the council to explore options for a public toilet in the area. If we’re serious about creating 20 minute neighbourhoods, we need accessible public toilets to be part of that.”

There’s lots of comedy and visual humour in Silent Faces Theatre Company’s Godot is a Woman, but this is a clever, slick and entertaining show which conveys a serious message.

Why are people so keen to hang on to outdated ideas about gender, and what can be done to challenge not only those ideas but also the entrenched power of the patriarchy in general?

In Samuel Beckett’s famous play Waiting for Godot, Vladimir and Estragon spend their entire time hanging about waiting for the unseen Godot. While they wait they have mundane and apparently pointless conversations; they have to pass the time somehow. They talk about leaving but can’t. They are stuck in a kind of purgatory, and have no idea what to do about it.  One of the few stage props is a tree. The characters could hang themselves from it, but they never do (‘no rope’).

Waiting for Godot is a philosophical consideration of the human condition and the meaning (or lack of meaning) of life. Beckett himself told one actor that it was ‘all about symbiosis’ – a relationship of mutual benefit.  Other than that, he largely refused to comment on it and often said he was fed up with people trying to force meaning into it.

But one thing Beckett was clear about was this: he didn’t ever want a woman to play any of the parts. Beckett died in 1989 and his estate has vigorously upheld his wishes ever since. A few productions starring women have taken place over the years, but one was (unsuccessfully) taken to court by the estate, and others have been restricted to making the actors dress as men.

When a French judge ruled that a woman-only production by the Brut de Beton company should be allowed to proceed, it was only on condition that an objection by Beckett’s representative had to be read before each performance.

Godot is a Woman opens with three tramp-like characters standing on a stage. A stage with a tree. But no, we are not going to see a production of Waiting for Godot, because the group is still waiting for permission to stage it with two female and one non-binary actors. And this set also has a phone box, because the actors have been trying to contact the estate for ages, and now they’re stuck in a call centre queue.  Welcome to a modern day nightmare.

Josie Underwood, Jack Wakely and Cordelia Stevenson are masters of visual comedy. They clown about, they dance, they mutter, they bicker, they joke; their facial expressions are both communicative and hilarious, and their jokes are very funny. They re-enact the hat-swapping scene from the original play; they eat carrots; they hug. But like Vladimir and Estragon they are fundamentally just passing the time, waiting for a man’s estate to give women/non-binary people permission to do something. From time to time they wonder what they should do, but the answer is always the same;

A particularly clever device is the suspension of a battered copy of Waiting for Godot above the stage. It hovers just out of reach, but every time one of them makes a grab for it, thunder booms, lightning flashes, and the book shoots higher and higher. At one point a disembodied voice from the phone shouts ‘PUT IT DOWN!’

The characters want it, but they’re scared to take it. They fear the consequences. When they are finally connected to an answering service, Underwood is so taken aback that she leaves a grovelling passive-aggressive plea

They’re pleading for permission to be allowed to be a woman/non-binary. And as one of them points out, even Helen Mirren and Fiona Shaw gave up when faced with the wrath of the Beckett estate; it’s not just these three who’re feeling intimidated.

A voiceover programme that sounds suspiciously like Front Row captures the tone of pompous theatre critics perfectly. They drone on about Beckett’s (‘Bickett’s”) genius in creating ‘a classic’, and suggest a nonsensical reason for the playwright not wanting a female cast; Vladimir (they allege) has prostate problems. And daft as it may sound, this excuse was at one point even dredged up by Beckett himself.

But none of this moves our actors any closer to their goal

They begin to realise that they are turning into Vladimir and Estragon. They keep saying they’ll leave but they don’t

Then they have an idea; they could play the estate at its own game, and take it to court; retaliate first.

The court scene is brilliantly staged; although the actors frequently swap roles, with just minimal props – a wig, a file, a briefcase – they quickly inhabit each one. Sorting out which character is which is often a problem in these short Fringe productions, but Silent Faces Theatre are impressively adept at conveying what the audience needs to know; there is no confusion whatsoever here.

The prosecution argument in the case is both ingenious and logical. Neither a pompous judge nor an arrogant defence can put the actors off their stride. They run rings around a pivotal witness, assert that all the ‘female’ roles in Beckett’s other plays objectify, patronise and belittle women, destroy (in a hugely entertaining scene) the argument about Vladimir’s prostate, and make inspired use of Madonna’s Like a a Prayer (‘a CLASSIC!’ and also – coincidentally and helpfully – released in the year of Beckett’s death) to prove their point

Wakeley gives an illuminating explanation of just how long non-binary people have been on this earth (with no trouble at all until Europeans invaded their various countries), and Underwood gets to the core of the issue in one short sentence

And as the actors rehearse their arguments, the chains that bind them start to fall away. In a spectacular, energising, triumphant finale they stop waiting for approval and set themselves free.

To combine slapstick comedy with political message is a skill in itself; to create a play as multi-layered, funny and well acted as Godot is a Woman is nothing short of remarkable. The standing ovation the cast received from the audience when I was there bore full witness to that.

Godot is a Woman is at Pleasance Courtyard (Forth) at 3.35pm until 27 August. Please note there is no performance on Monday 21 August. Silent Faces Theatre Company’s website is here.

It includes full details of the remaining tour dates for this production, which will move on to Cambridge, Nottingham, Chester, Doncaster and Halifax.

Tom Robinson shot to fame in the late 1970s when the (‘modestly named’) Tom Robinson Band had hits with 2-4-6-8 Motorway and Glad to Be Gay.

Over 40 years later he’s still going strong, still performing and now also broadcasting on BBC Radio 6. Three weeks ago he had long overdue knee replacement surgery, but he’s still here at The Stand New Town Theatre to talk to Graham Spiers about his career in music. Of course he’s here; he’s a trooper, and as someone who not only danced to both songs back in the day, but danced to them again at Cropredy a few years ago, I am thrilled to see him. And so is the audience, most of whom are probably of the same vintage, and no less enthusiastic for that.

Spiers opens by mentioning his own nostalgia for the days of his youth; does Robinson feel the same?

He most certainly does not. He may have found success in the 70s, but that’s all he found

The Met Police were, he says, completely out of control. They started by beating up people of colour in areas like Brixton and Notting Hill, then turned to the gay community in Earls Court. The notorious ‘sus’ (suspected person) laws gave them almost unfettered agency. Every minority group was facing the same struggle

Growing up gay back then in a small Essex town can’t have been easy, says Spiers. Robinson says it’s never easy for LGBT+ children growing up with straight parents; they have to find their own identity. At the age of 13 he realised that;

He was taunted at school, felt guilty all the time, and thought he was the only gay boy in the school, in Saffron Walden and most probably in the entire world.

Then along came David Bowie.

Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust hit Robinson like a benevolent bolt of lightning

Robinson swore that if he ever had a mass audience himself he’d do the same for those ‘different’ young people as Bowie had done for him. Ten years later, along came punk rock.

At the 100 Club he saw the Sex Pistols before they were famous; they hadn’t yet written most of their own songs, and were instead doing covers of stuff Robinson recognised from school – ‘they were terrible!’ But Johnny Rotten was screaming out the lyrics, and Robinson’s eyes were opened

Robinson says there are so many stars that simply could not have done what they did without punk rock; Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Sting and Robinson himself all felt its influence. More importantly though, punk broke the record industry’s iron grip on success

Before punk the industry made all the choices and decided who was, and who was not, going to be a star. In 1976 bands like The Clash and the Pistols made records that were immediately banned on radio and in all the shops; their notoriety alone made them famous. People wanted more, and nothing – and certainly neither the BBC nor EMI – was going to stop them getting it.

in 1977 the Tom Robinson Band released 2-4-6-8 Motorway, a song about driving back to London at night after gigs. The chorus is based on a Gay Liberation chant. EMI rejected it so Tom and his band took it round the clubs; they polished it up, expanded the riffs and gave it more energy. When EMI came back six months later they couldn’t get into the gig

The song went on to reach No 5 in the charts.

A year later the band released a live EP that included what was to become its most famous song. Robinson wrote Glad to Be Gay for the 1976 Gay Pride march in London. The Met was persecuting the LGBT community; he wanted to write a song about it. He’d noticed that although people would wear Glad to Be Gay badges in clubs, they took them off as they left; the message of the song’s chorus  is, sing even when all these bad things are happening. In other words, don’t hide; be loud and proud.

Although the song was only written for that one afternoon, Robinson decided to sing it in the punk clubs anyway. The band ended up performing it in places as diverse as prisons and public schools.

So if Robinson is glad to be gay, how is it, asks Spiers, that he’s been married to a woman for 35 years (Sue Brearley; together they have two children)?

His answer is simple; he always liked both sexes, he just liked men better

In the early 80s he went along to a Gay Switchboard benefit and met Brearley;

It was a slow burner; two years passed before they finally clicked. When he realised how things were going he spoke to the queer community about it

‘They said “why are you even telling us this? We all have interesting sex lives’.

It didn’t end there of course. The Sunday People pursued him (and Brearley, Robinson’s parents, and even his neighbours) relentlessly. When no-one would speak to them, the journalists simply made it up; a two page spread appeared under the banner headline

Alongside this was a photo of David Bowie – ‘stars who go straight’.

You can see why he’d rather live in the 2020s; forty years ago this kind of thing sold newspapers. Would it still sell them today?

At least, Robinson says, young LGBT+ people now have Queer role models – and not just pop stars either. They can also look to the internet for information; forty years ago it was much more difficult to find.

By 1982 the band had split up and Robinson was horribly in debt to HMRC. He moved to Hamburg, and after getting ‘completely smashed’ one night on a super-strong joint he’d acquired at a dinner party, he drove around the city for four hours, went home and scribbled down eight pages of stream of consciousness writing. In the morning he looked at this magnum opus again

War Baby was released in 1983 and reached No 6 in the charts. It remains one of his most popular songs. What’s it about?

Drugs, he says, are often accused of having had a pernicious effect on pop, but he’s not sure – they inspired punk, they inspired War Baby. In his 30s he spent some years in psychotherapy, during which he was offered a trip of LSD

He’d had a difficult relationship with his father, but now he was able to stop fighting with him. He wrote to his Dad apologising for all the trouble he’d caused him; his Dad wrote back telling him not to worry about it and that he boasted about Tom to all his friends.

Nevertheless, he advocates caution with modern day drugs

Not knowing what War Baby is about leads Robinson into another story, this time about his collaboration with Elton John. Bernie Taupin, he says, admits that he too often has no idea what his songs are about. In 1979 Taupin and John had a ‘slight separation.’ Robinson met John completely by chance as they both made their way to a photoshoot for the Guinness Book of Hit Singles. Robinson was on his Honda 125; John rolled up alongside him in his Bugatti and asked for directions. The result was Elton’s Song, for which John already had the music but no words. Robinson decided to write a song about their lives. (He still doesn’t like the title. John, however, loved it.)

Robinson now hosts three BBC Radio 6 programmes, and also stood in for Johnny Walker when the presenter of Sounds of the 70s was having surgery (‘I even interviewed Mike Batt from The Wombles!’) He sees plenty of connections between his broadcasting and performing careers

He’s very excited about new music

He has a tip for us, and it’s a band from Edinburgh

Streaming, and all the other changes in the industry, have changed music; for his generation it had a different place in their lives

But success, he says, still goes back to the songs

Robinson himself has made a new album Only The Now, with guests including Ian McKellen, Billy Bragg, TV Smith, Nitin Sawhney and Colin Firth; he’ll be touring it from October. For tonight’s gig he’ll play some songs from that

And with that our time is up; it’s flown by. Tom Robinson is one of the genuine greats in British music and activism, and this hour has been such a pleasure, not just for me but for the everyone in the room; the applause is real. Robinson does indeed have a relationship with the audience, he always has and he always will.

The Stand’s In Conversation events continue at The New Town Theatre in George Street with Tam Cowan (21 August) Andy Burnham (22 August), Ken Loach (23 August), Jeremy Corbyn (24 August) and Anas Sarwar (25 August.)

Tom Robinson’s website is here and includes full details of his upcoming tour. Waverley will play at The Mash House in Guthrie Street on 24 November 2023. Find out more about them here.

The winner of an award made by Popcorn Group will be announced on Thursday in a ceremony at Gilded Balloon.

This award is made to the best of new writing at the Fringe – championing “fearless new writing” and “distinctive unique voices” and awards a prize of £6,000 offering access to the BBC commissioners. BBC Writersroom headed by Jessica Loveland nurtures talent into the screen industry.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a vital springboard for the careers of up-and-coming talent in the arts having in the past launched the careers of creatives such as Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman and Rachel Weisz. The Popcorn Writing Award plays a huge part in highlighting new voices from all over the world, and the Fringe is its perfect partner in discovering and uplifting some incredible stories.

Jess Loveland, Head of New Writing said: “BBC Writersroom is delighted to partner with the Popcorn Group for a second year. This year’s longlist is incredible, and we can’t wait to get up to Edinburgh to immerse ourselves in the fantastic new writing there. We very much enjoyed meeting last year’s longlisted writers and look forward to developing connections with this talented collection of writers.”

Charlotte Colbert and Natalie Denton from Popcorn Group said: “The Fringe is one of the best events of the year. It is so wonderful to connect with the incredible talent who showcase their bold and fearless work there each year. The festival is a pure celebration of creativity and such a wonderful platform for new voices as well as audiences who always leave energised and inspired.”

The Popcorn Award 2023 longlisted plays are:

24, 23, 22 by Doug Deans, Underbelly
It’s just an ordinary day. At the beginning of the day, Fran is late for work. At the end of the day, Brendan is bleeding out in the street. Time flows forwards and spirals backwards. Fran progresses through the worst day of her life. Brendan rewinds through his last day alive. Soon they’ll meet in the middle, and we’ll find out what has happened to him, and what will happen to her.

Asexuality! The Musical by Rebecca McGlynn, Gilded Balloon
Asexuality! is an autobiographical musical comedy about transgender playwright Rebecca McGlynn’s pre-transition life. The story follows Robert, an asexual man navigating a hypersexual world. Through music and comedy, he explores sex, romance, love and loss… and, eventually, HER true gender identity.

Before The Drugs Kick In by Mike Lemme, TheSpaceUK
A 62-year-old in an insane asylum closes her eyes and becomes a 28-year-old stand-up comedian. But not just any comedian, a comedian who had the potential to become the greatest of all time. A tribute to the mothers society wrote off as crazy, instead of giving them an opportunity to live.

Bitter Lemons by Lucy Hayes, Pleasance
Bitter Lemons takes the form of two intersecting monologues following the lives of two women: a grieving goalkeeper and an ambitious investment banker, as they both face the biggest professional pitch of their lives. When they both fall unexpectedly pregnant, their lives shift in parallel and collide in unexpected ways.

Dugsi Dayz by Sabrina Ali, Underbelly
Four students, Salma, Yasmin, Munira, and Hani are in detention on a Saturday afternoon, but the reason remains a secret. During a power outage, they share folktales to break the ice. As they bond, they discover surprising similarities.

Green Fingers by Adam Sowter, Flo Poskitt and Ben Tansey, Pleasance
A deliciously Dahl-esque treat, about a boy born with gunky green hands. But is there more to these fingers than mayhem and mess? Maybe the answers lie within the mysterious school garden… Green Fingers is a magical, musical story exploring ideas of accepting yourself, and engaging with the natural world.

GUSH by Abby Vicky-Russell, Assembly
GUSH by Abby Vicky-Russell is a one woman show about the dynamics of a father and daughter relationship, and how they change in the aftermath of a rape. Abby Vicky-Russell plays a fictionalised version of her own father – a plumber who has come to the theatre to fix a leak so a dance troupe can perform their piece. The show then devolves into a piece of character comedy in which the plumber breaks out of his previously closed off demeanour and explores the most difficult situation he’s ever faced. GUSH is a feminist comedy that prioritizes accessibility, hilarity and truth without villainising anyone.

Her Green Hell by Emma Howlett, Summerhall
A one-woman-monologue inspired by the true story of Juliane Koepcke, the teenager who survived a plane crash and a fall of 10,000ft in Peruvian Amazon in 1971. It explores our fraught power struggle with nature, and is as much about the rainforest’s fight to survive as it is Juliane’s.

Hive by Ariella Como Stoian, Assembly
The demolition site of a 70s housing estate, reluctant Megacorp conservationist and single mum Ria has been called in to sort a hive. It’s halting redevelopment, messing up the bottom line. But Ria’s teenage kid Salve was just suspended. And the site manager hints at something more… unusual. More sinister.

In Everglade Studio by Nathaniel Brimmer-Beller, Assembly

In 1974 London, three musicians and their manager seal themselves inside an underground recording studio to complete an original Americana album overnight. As artistic, social, and racial tensions flare, the atmosphere grows thornier, the music grows stranger, and Everglade Studio’s mixture of creativity and claustrophobia demands its pound of flesh.

Involuntary Momslaughter by Abigail Paul, Greenside
The unique perspective of surviving narcissistic abuse through humour and wisdom can be a compelling and potentially therapeutic experience for many.

Kill The Cop Inside Your Head by Subira Joy, Summerhall
Spoken word and performance artist Subira Joy explores their experiences being targeted by the police as a Black, queer and trans person in the UK. Combining striking visual imagery with powerful language, this new work examines the impact of the police in our communities and how we internalise their role to repress and suppress ourselves into submission. Tracing narratives of police encounters while centring themes of violence, gaslighting and abuse of power, this work exposes how we impede our liberation when confronted by our inner cop.

Lady Dealer by Martha Watson Allpress, Summerhall
For Charly, every day is the same. They used to be different, when there was Clo, but there isn’t Clo anymore and she doesn’t want to dwell on that. She just wants to chug coffee, blast Beastie Boys and deal drugs. Simple. But when Charly suffers a power cut, she’s forced back into the real world; a world of knockoff Morrisseys, disapproving mothers and, ultimately, a world she has to navigate alone.

Lie Low by Ciara Elizabeth Smyth, Traverse
Lie Low is a dark comedy about a woman, Faye, who’s having trouble sleeping following a break-in at her home. Desperate to shake her insomnia, she enlists the help of her brother, Naoise, to try a form of exposure therapy. But Naoise has a devastating secret that’s about to explode.

Nan, Me & Barbara Pravi by Hannah Maxwell, Summerhall
An epic tale of love, loss and explaining how to use the microwave. In 2021, Hannah Maxwell moved back to the home counties to care for her recently bereaved grandmother. But this show isn’t about that. It’s about France’s Eurovision star Barbara Pravi, who’s just lovely. In between cooking, cleaning and Countdown, Maxwell escapes into an intensifying fantasy of ballroom dances, heartfelt ballads, fluent French and definitely-not-creepy plots to engineer a meet-cute with a random foreign celebrity.

Public – The Musical by Stroud & Notes, Pleasance
Public – The Musical is a pop/rock show where strangers Laura, Andrew, Zo, and Finley, find themselves stuck for an hour in a gender-neutral public toilet. Through head-bopping songs and honest, comedic dialogue, they tackle sticky conversations, and confront their biases, exploring the power of human connection in a changing world.

Strategic Love Play by Miriam Battye, Summerhall
So they’ve both swiped right. Now they’re meeting for the first time. Facing each other. As if that’s a normal thing to do. Welcome to your hot date. With acid wit, Miriam Battye takes a scalpel to modern romance, interrogating what we really talk about when we talk about love.

Super by Matthew Radway, Pleasance
On Hollywood Boulevard, a group of actors are posing as famous characters for photos with tourists. Right now it’s 100°, Batman has just punched Robin in the face and the whole thing is about to be on TMZ. Captain Jack has fainted and Catwoman is screaming. It’s all gone wrong.

The Brief Life & Mysterious Death Of Boris III, King of Bulgaria by Sasha Wilson & Joseph Cullen, Pleasance
This play is about the heroic rescue of the Jewish Bulgarians during WWII by their king, country and the tenacity of Bulgaria. The Brief Life & Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria follows the king through the political maze and to a critical moment of choice, where he stands up for what is right.

waiting for a train at a bus stop by Mwansa Phiri, Summerhall
Chilufya’s name – meaning ‘the lost one’ – makes perfect sense as lost is how she has felt most of her life. Struggling with low self-esteem and a waning sense of self she finds herself being drawn into a controlling relationship. A gripping story about cultural identity, mental health and coercive control.

Police are appealing for a man who took an injured man to hospital in Edinburgh on Saturday, 19 August 2023, to contact them.

Around 6.20 pm, a 17-year-old seriously injured youth was helped to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh by the man who left before any details were taken by staff.

The man is described as white, in his 50s, had receding hair and was wearing glasses, a blue Adidas top and was carrying a rucksack.

Detective Sergeant Keith Morrison said: “At this time, we don’t know how the young man sustained his injuries so it is imperative that we trace the man who took him to hospital so we can find out what he knows.

“From our enquiries, the injured man was at an event in Craigmillar Park the previous evening and had become separated from his friends. They were unable to get a hold of him and it was only when he was admitted to hospital that his family were made aware of where he was.

“If you are the man described, or have any information that may assist our investigation, then please call officers at Gayfield CID via 101, quoting incident number 2960 of Saturday, 19 August 2023. Alternatively, details can be given in confidence on 0800 555 111.

Dalkeith rugby club will complete preparations for their 125^th anniversary season on Tuesday evening when they tackle Stewart’s Melville at King’s Park (kick off 7.15) under the leadership of captain Stephen McMillan and head coach Jason Hendrie.

The fixture holds special significance because Dalkeith’s first match, in 1898, was against Edinburgh Institution 2^nd XV, originally known as Melville College, who evolved into Stewart’s Melville with an amalgamation involving Daniel Stewart’s College.

And how much would Dalkeith like to emulate the outcome of that inaugural match as records show they won 60-0, scoring half a dozen tries?

It will be an important run-out, too, for Stewart’s Melville as they bid to bounce straight back into National League Division One, starting at Berwick on September 2.

Meanwhile Dalkeith have formed an adult women’s team along with a girls youth section.

Off the field, too, they have a full-time development officer in three High Schools and a number of primary schools. There is also a school of rugby at Newbattle High.

Coaching the senior women will be Lynsay Halliday with Yvonne McCathie appointed captain.

A cycle hire scheme could be reintroduced in Edinburgh with cash generated by a tourist tax.

Edinburgh Council leader Cammy Day said reviving the active travel scheme would be among his spending priorities under the transient visitor levy (TVL), which is expected to be in place by 2026 and could bring in up to £35 million a year.

Hire bikes were rolled out across the city in 2018 but scrapped three years later after funding problems led contractors to walk away from their agreement with the local authority.

In January transport convener Cllr Scott Arthur said the service returning to Edinburgh was “unlikely” after it was estimated this would cost the city £20 million.

However as attention turns to the potential benefits of the tourist tax, with the Scottish Government’s visitor levy bill expected to be passed early next year, fresh hope has been given that some of the money raised could fund its reintroduction.

Cllr Day said he would “absolutely” support the move.

He said: “A bike scheme would be one of the things on my list.

“If we’re going to invest whatever the cost of having a bike scheme is because it helps people in the city to get around, which is what hire bikes were there for in the first place, it also lets tourists know that to get around the city there’s a bike scheme.”

During the pandemic, the city’s last cycle share programme, which came at no cost to the council, became the fastest growing scheme in the UK and by the end had clocked up almost half a million trips.

Sponsored by Just Eat, the scheme was intended to be self-financed by rental and sponsorship fees. However, operator Serco could not agree a renewed deal with the council beyond 2021 citing issues with bikes being stolen, vandalised and regularly dumped away from docking stations which ‘led to significantly increased operational costs’.

As it was wound up the council said it was “making moves toward an inclusive, community-led replacement for the cycle hire scheme,” although no plans have emerged since.

The TVL will give councils new powers to charge people extra for staying in overnight accommodation, expected to be between two and four per cent of the total booking cost. The levy is aimed at combating over-tourism and generating more income for public services and facilities used by both visitors and local residents.

Funds could also be spent on maintaining parks, increasing bin collections around the city centre during the festivals and also future tram line extensions.

“If we grow the city and are trying to spread the share of festival experiences to wider parts of the city and trying to give the best active travel experience for people who live in the city then would it be something like that that could be considered; bike schemes, active travel, the next level of tram,” Cllr Day said.

However he said TVL income would not disappear into “black hole council services” such as filling potholes.

“That’s not what it’s about,” he added “It is absolutely not raiding a tourist levy to go around every pothole in the city, but if it’s part of an infrastructure project, like the cycling scheme we’ve got from Corstorphine through to the city that benefits the offer to the city and tourists then yes.”

The draft Scottish Government bill states the objectives of a tourist tax “must relate to developing, supporting or sustaining facilities or services, which are substantially for or used by persons visiting the scheme area for leisure purposes”.

by Donald Turvill, Local Democracy Reporter.

Officers in Edinburgh are appealing for information following a serious assault in the city.

The incident happened in the Chambers Street area around 9pm on Saturday, 19 August, 2023.

A 23-year-old man suffered serious injuries and was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment.

Police officers are working to identify two males as part of the ongoing investigation.

The first male is described as being aged between 16 and 17 years old, 5ft 5ins tall, with buzz cut style, dark hair. He was wearing a black and grey tracksuit jumper and grey tracksuit bottoms.

The second male is described as white, between 17 and 18 years old, 5ft 7ins tall, with short blonde/ginger beard and dirty blonde curly hair. He was wearing a football top.

Detective Sergeant Steven Gray, of Gayfield CID, said: “Our enquiries into this incident are ongoing and I would urge anyone who may have witnessed the incident or has any information about those involved to get in touch.

“Anyone who can help is asked to call 101, quoting incident number 3799 of 19 August, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, director Hope Dickson Leach’s new version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story, co-written with Vlad Butucea, will receive its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on Monday.

It is entirely fitting that it is premiered in the capital as much of the film was shot in Leith Theatre, and was originally presented in February 2022 as a performed live, filmic experience in the venue. Hope Dickson Leach is an award-winning film maker, based in Edinburgh, whose debut film, The Levelling won her a Scottish BAFTA and the inaugural IWC Filmmaker Bursary Award in association with the BFI.

The film will premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on 21 and 22 August and will be broadcast on Sky Arts (Freeview Channel 11) later this year.

Hope Dickson Leach first worked with the National Theatre of Scotland during lockdown in August 2020, when she made Ghost Light, a love letter to Scottish theatre, for digital platforms, as part of the Edinburgh International Festival’s My Light Shines On festival. Following on from this collaboration and with lockdown continuing to affect live performance,  Hope began to develop this theatre/film hybrid version of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, for National Theatre of Scotland and Selkie Productions (who also worked on Ghost Light) with the project going on to receive support from Screen Scotland and Sky Arts.

Hope Dickson Leach, co-writer and director, said: “I’m totally delighted that our film The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde will be having its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on 21 August.. For a project that is so profoundly centred in the city of Edinburgh, I can imagine no better place to share this Scottish film with the world. Relocating Stevenson’s iconic tale to the capital of Scotland allowed us to interrogate and expose some of the city’s buried history, an endeavour which deepened my knowledge of my hometown. In 2022 we performed and streamed the live show from the historic Leith Theatre to audiences in the auditorium and across the UK. Since then we have re-edited the material, shot new footage and composed new music to create the final film that we will be sharing with Edinburgh audiences for the first time in August. It is the perfect conclusion to the creative journey I feel so lucky to have been aboard”

Embracing the duality of the storyline and the period authenticity, the film was shot in black and white. It features a cast of leading Scottish stage and screen talent and music by DJ and music producer Hudson Mohawke and composer Hutch Demouilpied (Limbo).

Lorn Macdonald takes on the role of Utterson. Lorn won the Best Actor Scottish BAFTA award for his portrayal of Spanner in the film Beats. His roles on TV include Bridgerton, Deadwater Fell and Shetland. He was noted as one of the top 25 theatre-makers to look out for in 2022 by The Stage. Dr Jekyll is performed by Scottish actor Henry Pettigrew. Henry’s screen roles include The Danish Girl as well as TV series The Crown and Guilt. He has appeared in previous National Theatre of Scotland productions Midsummer, Black Watch and Beautiful Burnout. They are both joined by Scottish stage and TV stalwart David Hayman who is playing the role of Sir Danvers Carew. David is a well know actor and director with recent film credits including In Like Flynn and Our Ladies. Peter Singh (Lanyon) has a prolific career on stage and screen, with recent film roles including Cruellaand on TV, The Capture I and II (BBC) and Hard Cell (Netflix).

Alison Peebles (Poole) is an award-winning Scottish actor, writer and director. Her film work includes Where Do We Go From Here and Seven Lucky Gods and her TV work spans  CBeebies hit Molly and Mack and River City. Tam Dean Burn(Councillor Begg) is a well-known Scottish actor whose recent screen work includes Annika, Victim and Trust Me. Ali Watt (Inspector Hay) has most recently been seen on television in Irvine Welsh’s Crime and onstage at Pitlochry Festival Theatre in several productions including About Love. Scott Miller’s (Tennant) most recent credits include feature film The Road Dance and the tour of Warhorse and The Wife of Willesden at the Kiln Theatre, London, Caroline Deyga (Mabel) has most recently been seen on stage in The Importance of Being Earnest and with the National Theatre in Peter Gynt. She appeared in Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour for the National Theatre of Scotland.

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Hope Dickson Leach and Vlad Butucea, returns to Edinburgh born writer Robert Louis Stevenson’s original story which was published in 1886. The drama follows Gabriel Utterson as he enters a world of dark duplicity to uncover the identity of the mysterious Mr Hyde and the hold he has over Utterson’s old friend Dr Jekyll.

In this version, Utterson’s journey is set against the background and backdrop of Victorian Edinburgh, where the wealth of the breweries is contrasted with the poverty of the Cowgate Vaults, exposing an underbelly of dark truths and corruption. Concerned by his good friend Dr Henry Jekyll’s recent behaviour, Gabriel Utterson is driven to uncover the identity of the mysterious and dangerous Mr. Hyde, to whom Jekyll is enthralled. Whilst on this search for the truth, Utterson finds himself seduced by the society of Edinburgh’s rich and powerful, but beneath the glossy façade lies a grim and brutal reality. This is a Jekyll and Hyde reworked for a contemporary audience with the themes of power, class and masculinity brought to the fore.

LEITH THEATRE

Leith Theatre offers the perfect backdrop to film. The venue’s historic backstage maze of rooms and hallways and outside facades were transformed into film set location scenes of Victorian Edinburgh. Other scenes were filmed on location around Edinburgh.

Leith Theatre is a legendary music venue, performance space and community resource in the heart of Leith, which was a gift from the City of Edinburgh in the 1920s. Its main auditorium has played host to sporting events, the Edinburgh International Festival and iconic artists and bands.

The very first film version of Stevenson’s novel is believed to be a 16-minute-long silent horror film of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde made in 1908, based on a stage play. Since then, there have been over 123 films made, from animation to satire to horror, with versions filmed across the world.

Screen Scotland’s support is funded through the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. This film is part of the National Theatre of Scotland’s growing On Screen programme which includes content for digital platforms and broadcast. Recent highlights include National Theatre of Scotland and Hopscotch Film’s special filmed version of Adam commissioned for BBC Scotland and BBC which won the Audience Award for Best Film at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival and Best Scripted TV in the Scottish BAFTA’s 2021.

Edinburgh based production company Selkie Productions was set up by Wendy Griffin in 2014 to develop a slate of film and TV projects. Selkie produced Hope Dickson Leach’s short Stronger is Better than Angry and Wendy Griffin was producer on Ghost Light for National Theatre of Scotland and EIF. Recently Wendy co- produced ‘The Origin’ which just premiered at LFF and was co producer on Stephen Frears ‘The Lost King’ and Charlotte Colbert’s ‘She Will’. Selkie has several projects in development with Screen Scotland and BFI.

Adapted from the original novella and relocated from London to Edinburgh, this film is a National Theatre of Scotland and Selkie Productions supported by Screen Scotland and Sky Arts.

Poetry is an important part of Scottish heritage and the Grand Slam Final promises to be a festival highlight.

It will combine fist-thumping music with rib-tickling and also reflective poetry.

I Am Loud Productions are officially partnering with Edinburgh International Book Festival for the Loud Poets: Grand Slam Final. The company is committed to making the spoken word scene accessible and showcasing the next generation of Scottish poetry talent.

The event will be hosted by Kevin Mclean with musical accompaniment from Jack Hinks, there will also be a special performance from the winner of more than 10 slam titles, Vanessa Kisuule.

Having qualified through a series of Scotland-wide Slams, the 12 competing poets this year will be Gray Crosbie, Angie Strachan, Chelsie Nash, Susi Briggs, Tom Bird, Natalie Jayne Clark, Jack Hunter, Lynsey Gilmour, Jo Gilbert, Callum O’Dwyer, Georgia Bartlett-McNeil and Jo Hunter. The slammers will compete to win a £3,000 prize and the coveted title of Loud Poets Slam Champion.

From their monthly shows, Loud Poets went on to produce multiple live shows with the team performing across the UK and around the world at the Edinburgh, Brighton, Prague Fringe festivals, Edinburgh’s Hidden Door Festival and London’s VAULT Festival.

The Loud Poets slam series has won the Best Regular Spoken Word Night award at the 2023 Saboteur Awards. Aiming to creatively present spoken word poetry in engaging and entertaining ways, I Am Loud productions featured some of the biggest names in the spoken word scene including Shane Koyczan, Harry Baker, Hannah Lavery, Rick Dove and Joelle Taylor.

Loud Poets: Grand Slam Final will be taking place at Baillie Gifford Sculpture Court on Saturday 26 August at 8:30 pm. Tickets are available to purchase here

Cab Direct Championship: Berwick Bandits 36, Glasgow Tigers 53

Glasgow Tigers captain Tom Brennan was “over the moon” with his side’s 53-36 win at Berwick and the Allied Vehicles Tigers powered to victory with four 5-1 maximum heat wins in the opening eight races allowing them to take control. 

Brennan said: “Berwick is always a tough place to go but we managed to get a grip on the meeting early on. We went into the meeting without our No 1 Chris Harris but guest Richie Worrall did a brilliant job.

“All the boys really got stuck in and everyone did their bit. That’s the most pleasing aspect about our team, so many riders can win races.”

He added: “Marcin (Nowak) and Lee (Complin) were outstanding all night and that made all the difference. 

“Plus we have such an amazing middle pairing with the Danes Ben (Basso) and Claus (Vissing). We look a very solid side when everyone is on it.”

Brennan said he always demands more from himself and added that his starts are beginning to get more consistent.

And he called on his men to maintain this form when they travel to Plymouth, Poole and Scunthorpe.

Berwick 36: Leon Flint 13, Rory Schlein 6, Jye Etheridge 6, Hans Andersen 5+1, Jacob Hook 4+2, Connor Coles 1, Steve Boxall 1.

Glasgow 53: Benjamin Basso 12+1, Marcin Nowak 11+2, Tom Brennan 10, Lee Complin 7+2, Claus Vissing 7+1, Richie Worrall 6+2, Ace Pijper 0.

PICTURE courtesy of Glasgow Tigers by Taylor Lanning 

Sport can be brutal. Irish eyes were smiling as the Green Machine celebrated after their convincing 5-0 victory over Scotland in a key game in the EuroHockey A Division in Monchengladbach. 

Only yards away the dejected Tartan Hearts were left to contemplate what could be described as a bad day at the office.

Ireland stood shoulder to shoulder, to pinch a line from their bouncy National Anthem, and certainly sent Scotland home to think again.

And this result came only hours after a solid display by the Scots against Germany in their opening game. Yes, they lost 4-0 but to a side who are No 4 in the world. Scotland are No 18.

Parents clustered together high in the stand came down to pitchside to put a supportive arm round the the dejected players, and they needed consoling after a display against the world’s No 13 ranked country, which was difficult to watch at times.

Had Scotland struck early, and captain Katie Robertson made ground down the right before sending the ball across goal, but it failed to find a Tartan stick, things just might have been different.

Sarah Jamieson then fired a shot on the turn which thudded against the Irish goalkeepers pads and then finished just inches wide.

Was that a sign of things to come? Sadly not, this was Ireland’s Cup Final and they attacked it with the throttle full on. 

Scotland goalkeeper Amy Gibson had to race from goal to block, sending the ball inches wide, and Scotland were living dangerously.

The highly-physical Irish side powered forward, beating the Scots for pace, and hemming the Tartan team in their own half . They tore down both flanks before cutting the ball back for their team-mates. More of this was to come later when they were rewarded.

The sides were, however, deadlocked at 0-0 after the first quarter but two goals in one heartbreaking, second quarter minute had the Irish on the front foot and they did not let go.

Scotland had a player under penalty and the Irish side made it count, unlocking the door after a driven ball into the circle was sunk into the bottom right corner by Hannah McLoughlin. Time 19 minutes.

Ellen Curran then counted after an attack down the right, a drive to the line and a cut back. Time 20 minutes and waves upon wave of Irish attacks put the Scottish goal under severe pressure, and the Tartan Hearts did not seem to be able to find a way out of the Irish straight jacket.

Goalkeeper Jess Buchanan halted Ireland’s charge with a fine save but a third seemed inevitable and a quick counter allowed Niamh Carey to run in and coolly send the ball into the bottom right corner from the top of the D. A quality finish on 26 minutes.

At the other end, Heather McEwan had a chance for Scotland in the third quarter but her deflection hit the side netting and Ireland continued to press aggressively.

Ellie Wilson hooked the ball to safety and Buchanan made a tremendous double stop early in the final quarter as Ireland, like a rabid dog, refused to let go and their fourth was scrambled home by Sarah Torrans after 55 minutes.

The same player had the ball in the net again from a quick counter to put them 5-0 ahead in the final minute and, thankfully, the final whistle came to end this contest which was so vital for survival among the elite of European hockey.

Scotland have until Tuesday to lick their wounds, and they are severe, and next up are England, ranked No 6 in the world on Tuesday (12.30). The knot of Saltire waving fans would love nothing better than an uplifting performance so they can enjoy their late lunch.

Earlier, Wales men came from 3-1 down to level at 3-3 with Germany and silence a 9,000-capacity crowd and the Dutch produced a masterclass of precision hockey at pace with a 6-0 victory over France. 

The poet Don Paterson says his Scottish identity only became apparent to him when he moved to London at the age of 20.

Before that he’d crossed the border precisely once, for a ‘terrible’ family holiday at Whitley Bay. In London you had either to hang on to your Scottishness or ‘turn Cockney’ to fit in. And he wasn’t about to do the latter.

‘The one place you can’t hear yourself being Scottish is in Scotland.’

That’s not the only reason he came back, but he seems glad to be here. These days he lives in Kirriemuir, but he grew up in 1970s Dundee. He’s just written a book about his first twenty years, Toy Fights: A Boyhood and he’s at the Edinburgh International Book Festival to discuss it with the director of V & A Dundee, Leonie Bell.

Bell begins by asking Paterson just how he managed to remember what happened almost 40 years ago – did he keep diaries? He didn’t, and his family photo albums, though there were many, had been so ‘over-archived’ by his aunts that he didn’t know most people in the pictures.

But Paterson’s greatest passion in life is music (after playing guitar for the Celtic jazz band Lammas for years he later formed Don Paterson Situation, and earlier this month he performed at the Rose Theatre with Graham Stephenson), so it was to music that he turned. He’d recall an album, think about what he’d been doing when he heard it (and how he felt when his Uncle Billy borrowed it – ‘cross’), and the memories began to surface.

He’d first thought of writing a memoir fifteen years ago, but once he’d got his hands on the publisher’s advance he spent it on a guitar. Then four years ago his Dad died from dementia; suddenly it felt like the right time, that his memories might chime with others.

It is, says Bell, a very funny book, covering a time when parts of Dundee, notably shopping centres and large stores, were thriving. In 1966 the Tay Bridge finally replaced the ferry crossing to Fife; Paterson’s family used it to visit his grandparents. But deindustrialisation was rearing its head in the area; jute mills, mines and railways were already shedding staff

The book, says Bell, pulsates with rage about poverty and our failure to do anything about it. It’s certainly an issue about which Paterson feels very strongly, and not just in relation to Dundee; it affects vast swathes of Scotland, urban and rural. He’s especially critical of social media

Although he’s a supporter of the independence movement, like many he has no problem with England – but plenty with Westminster

Paterson grew up on a council estate.  He attended Kirkton High School, at that time merged with a borstal and he avoided trouble by keeping his head down and making friends with the big kids

He tells hilarious stories about his time in the Boys Brigade (badges) and then the Junior Red Cross, (bizarre field exercises and medals, including one for ‘wound design.’). Weird to think how we were all so militarised then, says Bell (and with different groups for different classes too; Scouts were for Dundee High School boys)

His dad, uncle and brother all worked for DC Thomson. At 16 he left school and joined them, though he didn’t last long. Sacked for getting high in the toilets, he moved to London, hoping to make it as a musician. When his landlady’s television picture was so poor that he couldn’t see the snooker, he turned over to BBC2, and there he encountered Tony Harrison

He was hooked – but that’s another story, one that didn’t start till he was 22, so we’ll have to wait for part two too the memoir to hear about it, and also the fact that, with no higher education whatsoever, he’s taught poetry on the MLitt course at St Andrews University for the last twenty years.

Returning to his youth in Dundee, Bell asks him about the mental health crisis he suffered as a teenager, and his time in Ninewells Hospital. He’s managed to make some of it sound very funny, but surely it was it difficult to write about, especially in lockdown?

It was unpleasant, says Paterson, but lockdown gave him the chance to dredge it all up for the first time. He only recently read his diagnosis, which was ‘an adolescent schizophrenic episode.’

Bell refers to Grayson Perry, who has talked about the fragmentation of self; does this resonate with Paterson?

When he was discharged, Paterson convalesced by having his friends round all night. His Mum and Dad didn’t even complain about the non-stop use of the bathroom right outside their bedroom door.  His friends thought his Dad – a musician in his spare time – was cool, but he didn’t – there were plenty of run-ins. Like most teenagers he needed to challenge his parents. His grandfather was a Free Church minister and his mother belonged to the kirk; he wanted to please her but also wanted to be a rebel. His solution was to embrace the Charismatic Pentecostal movement.

He talks in the book about being embarrassed to admit to being a poet. Poetry, he says, is not like other arts, there is no set routine, you don’t go to your studio every morning and put in your hours

Paterson has a wide range of interests himself, some of which could be seen as obsessions; he’s obviously into music and poetry, but the list also includes US billiards and origami (the origami phase leads to another very funny story involving a girl and a £10 note out of which he made a peacock.) He does have limits though; he gave up stamp collecting after two weeks

Writing a memoir can be tricky when the people you mention in it are still alive; people can have very different recollections of the same incident. How, asks Bell, did his family take it? Did he check with them all before publishing?

He did not, the only person he consulted was his Mum and he didn’t want any problems there. The rest of the family only read it once it was in the shops

Going back once again to thoughts on his homeland, he sees devolution as a force for good, something that has increased Scotland’s self-confidence

Similarly, although he says he could never live in Dundee now, he feels it’s changed over the last few years, and is recovering some pride in itself. It’s hard, though, to get hold of Dundee’s identity

And Paterson, wherever he lives, is still a Dundonian through and through. He tells a story about a student at St Andrew’s who, after a lecture, came up to tell him he’d ‘need to work on his accent’ to make himself understood to him and his friends; ‘I should’ve failed him on the spot.’

Instead he reminded him that St Andrew’s was once a Scottish fort, he himself was born only ten miles away, and that they were in his country, not theirs

Paterson says his initial intention was to write about playing in a club band in Dundee, but that would’ve only produced a pamphlet. Instead we can all enjoy reading about a very particular childhood, rooted in a very particular Scottish city – one that has produced one of Scotland’s most outstanding and celebrated living poets.

Toy Fights: A Boyhood by Don Paterson is published by Faber.

The team of writer Joshua King and Jasmin Gleeson, the founders of Moon Rabbit theatre company, return to this year’s Fringe with another well-crafted and mesmerising one-woman show Victorine.

Last year’s The Poetical Life of Philomena McGuinness told the poignant diaspora story of an Irish nurse during World War Two, this time we are transported to 1860s Paris where Gleeson takes on the role of Victorine, an Irish immigrant trying to make her way as an artist’s model in Paris.

Swigging red wine from a bottle, with a glint in her eye, Victorine delivers endless comical twists during what many would consider a “miserable” time but the experience is not wasted. It’s not long before she takes up the paintbrush herself which delivers her to a more enriching journey of self-discovery before returning to Ireland.

Victorine becomes lost in her art while shutting out the men who determine her tomorrow be it through art or the violence of war all around. Gleeson has a tremendous talent, her character parts two years running now have been nothing short of compelling.

King’s writing is also a knock-out, the pair have a rare chemistry that leaves you feeling inspired long after the stage curtain has been drawn.

Victorine-The Artist’s Model, Greenside At Riddle’s Court

It is back to domestic action for Hibs and Hearts on Sunday with the Viaplay Cup the concentration for both. The ties are both at 2pm.

Hibs entertain Raith Rovers while Hearts host Patrick Thistle but both clubs have Europe on their minds with Hearts facing PAOK and Hibs against Aston Villa. Both clubs are at home in Europe this week.

Lee Johnson (pictured), Hibs manager, and Frankie McAvoy, Hearts’ head coach, will look to come through the matches unscathed.

Hibs entertain Villa on Wednesday, August 23 (5.45pm kick-off) and season ticket holders have until 5pm on Monday, August 21, to snap up a brief. After that they go on general sale.

Johnson’s men are brim full of confidence after beating FC Luzern in Europe and Raith qualified through the group stages of the Viaplay Cup finishing runneres-up in Groug F. They have started strongly and are unbeaten in 2023/24.

They have former Hibees Jamie Gullane, Sam Stanton and Kevin Dabrowski in their squad.

Hearts have added Odel Offiah to their squad. He joins on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion and this is a season-long deal subject to clearance. The 20-year-old is a product of the club’s youth system.

Cammy Devlin, Hearts’ two goal hero from Thursday’s win over Norwegian side, Rosenborg, said unity was the key and McAvoy will be looking for another demonstration of that against Thistle who are eighth in the cinch Championship.

Meanwhile, tickets for Hearts’ Europa Conference League play-off home leg with POAK on Thursday, August 24, are on sale to season ticket holders until 6pm on Sunday, August 20. From 7pm they go on general sale.

Stellar Monarchs were well beaten by Oxford Cheetahs side who took the lead in heat 2 and never looked like relinquishing it, running out 52-37 winners and that scoreline was boosted by a 5-1 heat win in the final race for the home combine.

Alex Harkess, Edinburgh’s team manager, said: “It was very disappointing, but that’s where we are at the moment. We got the best possible start and it just went downhill from there.

“We couldn’t win races and didn’t look like winning one until heat 8. You can’t win matches if you don’t win races.”

It was a patched up Monarchs team with Craig Cook, Paco Castagna and Lasse Fredriksen all missing, but Oxford were impressive right through from the dominant Sam Masters to their lively No 7 Luke Killeen.

The biggest difference was in the reserve berths, Cheetahs outscoring Monarchs by 13-2 at No 6 and No 7. Bosses say Max Clegg, who is replacing Fredriksen, hasn’t been able to bridge the gap between a top National League rider and Championship level.

Edinburgh Monarchs (37): Richie Worrall 12+1, Drew Kemp 4+0, Kye Thomson 5+1, Bastian Borke 4+2, Josh Pickering 11+0, Dayle Wood 0+0, Max Clegg 1+0

Oxford Cheetahs (52): Sam Masters 11+0, Henry Atkins 2+1, Lewis Kerr 12+0, Jordan Jenkins 5+0, Scott Nicholls 9+0, Cameron Heeps 7+1, Luke Killeen 6+2

PICTURE: Sam Masters when he was with Monarchs

The line-up for Mervyn Stutter’s special charity gala on Monday 21 August has been announced. 

Mervyn’s gala celebrates three decades of Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe, the legendary showcase that presents a curated mix of Fringe picks, highlighting the Festival’s international acclaim.

The choice of shows covers all genres of performance at the Fringe, from comedy, theatre and cabaret to music, dance and circus. Kicking off the line-up for this extravagant, celebratory Charity Gala will be Irish comedian Ed Byrne, setting the pace for the evening with a taster of his 5-star show (Evening Standard). Yes-Ya-Yebo! will then inject some cabaret into the evening with traditional folk song and dance that celebrates the 12 official languages of South Africa.

Mesmerising audiences with his highly anticipated return to the Fringe, Colin Cloud promises to astound, delight and expose his biggest secrets on stage.

Joining the line-up is Olivier Award- winning West End hit Showstopper! The Improvised Musical. 

Last year’s Pick of the Fringe winner and 2021’s Comedy award winner, Jo Caulfield returns to this stage with her scathing, scandalous and sarcastic stand-up.

Taken from the greatest pub in Ireland, Spirit of Ireland will present an electric performance of Celtic music, hilarious comedy, and thrilling dance. This will be followed by a live opera, rock and pop soundtrack as A Comedy of Operas presents pop hits with the world’s favourite arias, before a spectacular Cuban dance show from Cuba, bringing the ultimate party experience to the Fringe.

Experience a night on the streets of Havana, with this incredible dance show. Havana Street Party will end the evening with sizzling salsa, rumba and contemporary street dance from star dancers.

Proceeds will be paid to the Imibala Trust charity in Cape Town which works to enrich the lives of disadvantaged children.

The talented troupe Yes-Ya-Yebo are the from the very townships that Mervyn’s previous Galas have supported financially. 

Mervyn’s 2023 Fringe season will then close with the annual Mervyn Stutter’s Spirit of the Fringe Awards on Saturday 26th August.

https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/mervyns-30th-year-charity-gala

DENTAL PRACTICES CONTINUE TO LEAD THE WAY WITH NEW DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

A six figure investment has been made in buying the latest hardware and software applications to offer a range of surgical and cosmetic treatments, and also cover same day treatment.

Having already become one of the most digitised dental surgeries in Scotland in 2021, with a £250,000 investment in the very latest 3D intra-oral scanning technology, First Alba Healthcare is going even further to provide patients with the most up to date, innovative treatments and services.

The business, which is owned by Scottish dentist Dr Rami Sarraf, and has two dental practices in Dundee, together with sister practices in Newburgh, Forfar and Kinross, is spending another £600,000 on a range of equipment. This will include a 3D Einstein Printer, three Fatona lasers, bite recognition software, ModJaw, plus two VHF Milling Machines. Using CAD (Computer aided design software).

Fatona lasers can be used for both surgical and cosmetic work, whilst ModJaw will enable a patient’s bite to be modified and corrected.

Dr Rami Sarraf said: “We are delighted to announce another major technological investment by our dental business in both hardware and software applications which not only place us at the forefront of modern Scottish dental practices, but will make a huge practical difference to the services we offer our patients, cutting down waiting time for crowns, bridges and so on, whilst enabling patients to instantly see what a new smile will look like with superior “before and after” imaging.

“This is “serious kit” we have purchased, having been carefully researched and sourced. Clearly it comes at a very significant price to the business, an investment of over half a million pounds, but this is one we feel is very much worth making as we push forward with ensuring First Alba Healthcare is the very best it can be. We want to care for existing patients in the best possible way, attract new ones, and attract and retain the very best staff to work and train here too, including dental graduates who are training in our digital scanning technology.

“We had planned to start introducing a range of new technology at each of our five surgeries before covid struck, and had actually purchasing one scanner at the end of 2019.

“We received fantastic feedback from both patients and the dental staff using that very first scanner, so it was fantastic to obtain more in 2021, and now fully realise our plan to make the business one of the most digitised dental surgeries in Scotland, certainly the most digitised in Tayside.”

The wide ranging new equipment First Alba Healthcare now has brings with it many significant benefits to patients, including a quicker, more comfortable experience, together with a greater understanding by the patient of what is being done to their teeth and gums, considerably aiding communication between them and the dentist in moving forward with future dental care.

In terms of environmental impact, manufacturing appliances on site has a much lower carbon footprint then sending out to labs. The amount of clinical waste generated in making appliances is also greatly reduced.

Dr Sarraf employs a team of 45 staff and associates at his five practices which are run along with his wife, Dr Ewa Plewa Sarraf, who is also a dentist.

The couple have grown First Alba Healthcare since they moved to Scotland from Nottingham in 2009, beginning with 1,600 registered patients to around 40,000 patients in total, a mix of NHS and private. Many of their staff have been with them since the very beginning.

Dr Sarraf has now decided to step away from day to day practice, and will be moving overseas to head up Research and Development, investigating the very latest global dental breakthroughs.

“Being partially based overseas in Dubai, and splitting my time between there and Scotland, will put us even in an even better position to introduce more technology in the near future.

“In the circles in which I’m going to be mixing, I’ll be at the very centre of innovation and will be able to ensure that my practice remain ahead of the curve.

“I’m also more than willing to advise other dental practices in Scotland on how they can introduce the correct technology, and indeed, how they can train their staff on it.

Dr Sarraf is an active contributor on dental matters to several media titles, providing both advice and industry comment articles.

www.firstalba.co.uk

This weekend Scotland’s third and fourth tier in the women’s football pyramid kicks off in what looks likely to prove another competitive season.

The ten-team Championship has been joined by East Fife, who were relegated from the ScottishPower Women’s Premier League at the end of the season, as well as Edinburgh City and Aberdeen club Westdyke, who were promoted from League One.

League One welcomes Queen of the South, Forfar Farmington and Bonnyrigg Rose, who navigated the play-offs to be promoted from the regional Biffa SWFL.

The new teams increase the reach of Scottish Women’s Football’s national leagues, with supporters from Inverness to Dumfries now able to enjoy competitive women’s football.

Dundee club Dryburgh Athletic host Edinburgh City in the opening Championship kick off at noon on Sunday, while East Fife travel to Ayr United, Morton host Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Westdyke visit Edinburgh to face Hutchison Vale and the two clubs involved in the race for a play-off spot last season, Rossvale and Renfrew Ladies, renew their rivalry at Petershill Park in Glasgow.

In League One, Queen of the South visit BSc Glasgow and Bonnyrigg Rose host Forfar Farmington in what will be a rematch of the playoff game which saw Forfar promoted. Elsewhere, Edinburgh Caledonia host a Falkirk side who just missed out on promotion last season, St Mirren travel to Dundee West and Airdrie Ladies host Giffnock SC.

Ahead of the new season, Edinburgh City’s new defender Rossha Muirhead said: “It’s quite a new side, a new coach and new players… Although we’ve come from the league below, we’re still looking to be very high in this league, to be top of the table.”

The world premiere of the film Silent Roar took place at the Everyman cinema in St. James Quarter on Friday as the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2023 opens.

The film has a simple narrative and simple dialogue, yet it explores heavy subjects of death, sexuality, religion, (including god), coming of age, family and community.

The cinematography is spectacular. The external shots are picture postcards of the  Western Isles. The landscape is at once beautiful and brutal.

Our protagonist Dondo (played by Irish actor Louis McCartney of Hope Street) is a disturbed teen who is in denial about his father’s death. He surfs and his place on the earth, solar system, universe is all about home. (The film was shot in Uig on Lewis and writer and director Johnny Barrington spent his teenage years on the Isle of Skye).

His teen friend, Sas (played by Ella Lily Hyland also Irish and about to appear on Amazon Prime’s Fifteen Love) is an academically brilliant teen whose family have big plans for her. Dondo’s hallucinations are are both comedic and tragic he seeks religion and his spirit guide is a black, female, Swiss Jesus.

Hyland is a star, she plays Sas as all at once rebellious, confident, vulnerable, apprehensive and aware. 

The other star is the soundtrack. The hymns and chants sung in the church are mesmerising. I have no idea of how close that is to reality but I am planning a visit to Uig to find out. 

Yes it could be better, but this film deserves to be seen.

Highlights the scenery, the music, and the young stars.

Ashfield has never been a happy hunting ground for the Bandits, but this was one of the most comprehensive maulings suffered over the years.

From the moment Rory Schlein’s machine failed the leave the startline in heat one to the chequered flag of heat 15 – Glasgow’s seventh 5-1 of the night – little went to plan for the visitors, writes George Dodds.

Architect of their downfall once again was the man who sported the Bandits’ number one last season, Chris Harris (pictured) completing what, even by his standards, was a remarkable maximum, he could even afford to give the visitors a 15-meter start in one race and was so far ahead in another that he was able to freewheel over the line.

Berwick’s shell-shocked fans had to wait until heat 11 to see one of their men take the chequered flag, at the third time of asking Schlein’s machinery went the distance, the Australian leading Tom Brennan all the way home.

Benjamin Basso was also paid for a maximum, overcoming a clash with Jye Etheridge which relegated him, briefly, to the rear of heat three before recovering to follow Claus Vissing home.

Hans Andersen at least halted the run of home 5-1s in heat four, but it was brief respite as Schlein’s second engine failure meant another Vissing/Basso maximum.

Andersen was then pipped by Harris after a good scrap between the two veterans, but fellow Dane Vissing saw his maximum hopes end in heat eight when he ploughed through the tapes at the first time of asking and was then excluded when he jumped the start again from the 15-metre handicap line.

But Berwick hopes of cashing in ended when Pijper gated and took a well received, at least by the home fans, heat victory.

Harris added another layer to his folklore status when his bike packed up at the tapes in heat 10 and he was excluded for exceeding the two-minute allowance. Aboard a machine loaned from skipper Tom Brennan he then started 15-metres back, passed Etheridge and team-mate Lee Complin on the second lap and caught leader Leon Flint on the first bend of the fourth lap for a quite astonishing win which, quite rightly had the crowd – both sets of fans – in rapture.

They had barely settled down when Schlein finally found a firing engine and showed his class by winning 11, earning a tactical substitute ride in place of Etheridge in the following heat but he couldn’t keep pace with Basso from the gate.

His third race in a row saw him split Harris and Brennan in 13 and Berwick looked like they might just claw their way to the 30-point mark as Flint made the jump in the penultimate heat, but Vissing found a way round him off the third bend, the Berwick skipper having to fend off a series of attacks from Complin to protect second.

All that was left was for Basso and Harris to complete their paid maximums. Harris coasted home behind the Dane after his engine let go coming off the fourth bend, neither Flint nor Andersen close enough to deny him his victory bumps.

The only ray of sunshine for Berwick is, as they prepare to face the Tigers again on Saturday, Harris will be in Germany preparing for the latest round of the world longtrack championship.

Berwick team manager Kevin Little admitted: “That was a pretty horrible night when nothing went right. We need to get our heads together and put in a much better performance at Shielfield on Saturday night.”

Tigers: Chris Harris 14+1, Marcin Nowak r/r, Benjamin Basso 13+2, Clau Vissing 11+1, Tom Brennan 9, Lee Complin 10+3, Ace Pijper 5+1

Bandits: Rory Schlein 7, Steve Boxall 4, Jye Etheridge 0, Leon Flint 7, Hans Andersen 5, Jacob Hook 2+1, Connor Coles 2+2

Scotland face Ireland in a crunch clash in Pool B in the EuroHockey Championships, A Division, in Monchengladbach on Saturday night and coach Chris Duncan remains up-beat despite a 4-0 defeat in their opener against a clinical German combine.

They are No 4 in the world and proved it with a powerful performance against the Tartan Hearts who are ranked No 18, but Scotland did have chances and they took the game to the hosts in the final two quarters earning praise from local commentators for sticking to their beliefs.

Scotland lost a goal at a penalty corner after less than 20 seconds, Sonja Zimmerman firing low past Amy Gibson from the top of the circle and they surrendered a second following a flowing move down the right near half-time, Lisa Nolte providing the finishing touch.

No 3 arrived after a penalty corner was awarded two seconds from the end of the second quarter and Zimmerman made no mistake drilling the ball home low.

They added a fourth when Charlotte Stapenhorst netted late on but Edinburgh-based Duncan said: “I was proud of the girls.”

The goal coming early upset pre-game plans and the third after the buzzer in the first-half was a real blow, and it could have been five had Amy Gibson not pulled off a flying save late-on, but Duncan said: “Yes, it was tough, but we took the game to them and we made chances.

“They are a powerful and physical, world-class side who are well organised and clinical in their approach. That is why they are No 4 in the world, but we are still work in process and that was another learning experience for our girls.”

He added: “It was real bravery to play how we did against such a high quality team, but that’s what we’re all about. We’re a forward thinking attacking team, and we definitely showed that. Tiny details exposed us, but we caused problems, and we rattled them at times.

“We didn’t go into our shells, and we asked questions of them. We created chances, but just need to learn the details that punished us.

“We’re into tournament now, and we’re ready to go for the next game, and looking forward to the match against Ireland.”

Meanwhile, England strolled to a 3-0 win over Ireland in the opening game of the women’s EuroHockey Championship in Mönchengladbach.

Ireland started well in this Pool B clash, creating several chances but failed to cash in and England won a penalty stroke in the eighth minute when Alex Malzer’s progress was impeded close in. Grace Balsdon scored.

Tessa Howard made it 2-0 with a deflection to a shot from Holly Hunt before half-time and Hannah Martin made it 3-0 in the 48th minute after another Hunt shot.

Malzer, the Player of the Match, said: “Honestly, we are so happy. We didn’t start the way we wanted but then we got momentum and 3-0 in our first game is so good.”

She added: “We stuck to our processes, didn’t change anything and I knew we could win.”

This tempting selection makes for a tasty start – or finish – to any meal.

As well as delicious cuisine, which is a fusion of Iberian/Spanish cuisine and Asian, Jack O’ Bryans restaurant in Dunfermline is also known for its cocktails, lovingly prepared on the premises.

Here are three recipes provided by their bar staff to try at home – the autumnal Cherry Old Fashioned, a deliciously warming cocktail that puts a cherry twist on a classic old Fashioned; a visually stunning Rum Sour, made the traditional way with egg white, which makes the drink richer and dessert like, and a refreshing Cucumber Cooler, combining flavours of gin, white wine and elderflower. 

• Cherry Old Fashioned
• 3 x brown sugar cubes
• 2 x cherry bitters
• 60ml Monkey Shoulder whisky
• 25ml cherry liqueur
• 2 x ice balls
• Cherry garnish
• How to make:
• Put 3 brown sugar cubes in a tall glass with cherry bitters, crush all together until sugar is smooth, add in your whisky and cherry liqueur, fill glass with ice and stir for 10 seconds Strain into a small glass and add your garnish and ice balls

• Rum Sour
• The sour is a mixed drink containing a base liquor, lemon or lime juice, and a sweetener (often a simple syrup or orgeat syrup) – made with egg white, although some sours can be made without it. Including the egg white makes the drink richer and dessert-like. The history of this cocktail can be traced back to the British Navy. In the early 1600s, sailors often kept rum purchased in the Caribbean aboard, which they combined with lime to prevent scurvy and to mask the often offensive flavours of the rum which was often distilled without proper regulation or sanitation.
• Ingredients:
• 50ml Diplomatico Rum
• 1 x egg white
• 10ml Sugar syrup
• 10ml Lime Juice
• 1 x dehydrated Orange
• How to make:
• Separate 1 egg white into shaker and dry shake, add in the rum, sugar and lime juice, add ice and shake until all ingredients have combined. Strain into a small glass, add a few cubes of ice and finish with your dehydrated orange

• Cucumber cooler
• Ingredients:
• 3 x cucumber slices
• 10ml lime
• 60ml white wine
• 25ml elderflower liquor
• 30ml Hendricks
• Top up lemonade
• How it’s made:
• Crush cucumber and gin in a shaker, add lime juice, white wine and Elderflower liquor, shake until all ingredients have blended together and strain into a wine glass with ice. Add fresh cucumber and thyme as garnish.

The memory of President Lincoln is widely revered – there is even statue of him in Edinburgh – but the First Lady who supported him through the Civil War is forgotten in Scotland and reviled in America.

A new play, which has its international premiere at the Fringe reassesses the life of Mary Lincoln and allows her – rather than her enemies – to tell her story for the first time.

The American Civil War Statue (also known as the Scottish-American Soldiers Monument), in Old Calton Burial Ground, dates back to 1893 and commemorates Lincoln and the Scots volunteers who fought and died in the brutal Civil War that succeeded in ending slavery.
Emphasising the strength of the links between Scotland and America, this was the first statue to a US president outside the country’s borders and the only one to commemorate the Civil War.

The play Mrs President takes audiences into the world of Mary Lincoln who was highly active in rallying support for her husband, and was sitting hand-in-hand with him at the theatre when he was shot in the head by an assassin.
Her life was torn by tragedy and mental ill health. She was tormented by the death of her children, grief stricken after staying by Abraham’s side for hours as he died and later tormented by cruel accusations. Sadly, her place in history is as one of America’s most reviled First Ladies.
Mrs President, by writer and artist John Ransom Phillips, tells the story as Mary enlists celebrity photographer Mathew Brady – whose images of Abraham Lincoln helped win him the Presidency – to recast her image and silence Washington.
This was a man of immense influence – his battlefield pictures defined the American Civil War and his wider work helped forge the USA’s national identity. Tensions rise as subject and artist clash over creative control.
Mrs President explores identity, agency, and the power of representation – of narrative – and ultimately of legacy. It gives Mary her own voice for the first time.
Phillips says: “Mary Lincoln is the most vilified First Lady in American history. The Edinburgh Fringe is the ideal place to take a fresh look at her story and to begin changing her place in history.
“There are powerful connections between Edinburgh and the Lincoln presidency, with Scots having volunteered to fight to help end slavery. And the city is home to the greatest performing arts festival in the world.
“This play shows Mary as a woman in the grip of profound grief – she had buried three sons, saw the assassination of her husband and was then betrayed by her remaining son.
“Viewing her through modern eyes, and through Mathew Brady’s outdated lens, holds lessons for us. Controlling your image is precarious, and Mrs. President shows us just how hard it can be.”
Director Lily Wolff said: “Mary Lincoln haunts me. Her brilliance and depth of feeling meant she didn’t fit in the box society assigned her.
“Sadly we still perpetuate dehumanising narratives about this First Lady, failing to recognise the terrible losses she endured. Mary’s life was full of ghosts.”
Mrs President plunges audiences back into an era which continues to affect American politics and the Culture Wars which divide contemporary society.
Born to a wealthy slave-owning Kentucky family Mary was a devoted supporter of her husband. Of their four sons only one outlived her, with two dying as children and one at 18.
In later life her behaviour became erratic, she was briefly confined by her remaining son to an insane asylum. Deeply depressed Mary tried to take her own life and endured worsening physical health. Rather than being understood as vulnerable she was damned as “crazy”.
The play takes audiences into Brady’s studio where Mary traverses her life story. Under his focus, she is forced to explore who she truly is, regardless of history’s limited view.