LISTI
:- Big fun
Half-term hell is looming but families in Glasgow can actually look forward to the October school holidays, thanks to the Action Factory, Glasgow‘s new children’s festival. The hackneyed phrase ‘something for everyone' rings true: with over 180 workshops and 70 performances to choose from (all reasonably priced) there‘s no excuse for an ‘I’m bored' whinge all week.
The centre of activity will undoubtedly be Partick Burgh Halls, transformed by Giant Productions into the Costa del Dumbarton Road, complete with indoor beach. Parents can retreat to the Adult Creche if it all gets too much for them. Advance booking is recommended, particularly for the workshops, so if you’re interested get your name down NOW. Subjects range from media (video- making, newspaper reporting) and drama, to dance, puppet-making, art. music. sport and ecology. Be sure and
get a copy of the Action Factory programme as soon as possible. (Gabe Stewart)
Action Factory Hotline 04 I 35 7 5000. Mon—Fri 9am—5pm. This number will also give you info on all half-term events at Glasgow Libraries and Community Centres.
Horse rides bearhack
local artist/writer/rockabilly llarry Ilorse is perhaps best known as Scotland (in Sunday‘s scathing political cartoonist. Yet The Last Polar Bears is a tender tale that confronts issues of ageing and ecology with equal quantities of wit and melancholy. From the hand-written page numbers to the exquisite line drawings, this crafted work trds in Alasdair Gray’s and Mervyn Peake’s footsteps, and Is especially reminiscent of Peake’s letters from a Lost Ilncie.
iiorse’s series of Illustrated letters
addressed to a grandchild portrays a
grandfather who’s always been either
too old or too young to do what he wanted. lie ignores everyone’s advice and treks off to the liorth Pole, accompanied by his tali-tale-teliing
i dog, lino.
Horse’s evocative portrait of gramps
1 exists in our minds alone, for
i throughout the richly illustrated 74 pages there are no drawings of him.
Yet his presence haunts the fabulous
landscapes of grog-drinking wolves,
house-cleaning canines, snow poets
and injured penguins. Behind the comic insights lurks an atmosphere of impending failure.
It’s a book that bears many re-
readings, as so many visual gags (such
‘ as the ship’s succession of name changes) pass unnoticed first time around (a common problem for parents
reading aloud). The mixture of real
9 emotions in a surreal environment results in a heady, charming and at
times uneasy concoction. Expect some difficult questions from the kids.
5 Stewart)
1 The last Polar Bears by Iiarry liorse
(Viking £8.99).
Rain or shine, our at-a-glance guide will see you through. Events are listed under outdoor or indoor columns, and then divided by city. Kids listings cornplled by Gabe Stewart.
Outdoors
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it)???"
I WOODLANDS AND WELLIES WORKSHOP Meet at North Glasgow Arts Centre. 110 Flemington Street, for minibus to and from Mugdock Park, 558 9313. Mon 18 Oct 9.30am—3.30pm. Free. 12+ years. Scour the park for materials for a scary sculpture. then enjoy a BBQ.
I SPORTS SKILL SOHOIN. Springbum Synthetic Pitch, Springbum Park, 558 9313. Mon l8—Fri 22 Oct. l—3pm. Free. 8+ years. Improve your football or netball skills with qualified coaches.
I GAMES AND RHYMES OF THE PAST Scotland Street School Museum, 225 Scotland Street. 429 1202. Mon—Sat 10am—5pm; Sun 2—5pm. 50p plus £2 deposit. Admission to museum and cafe is free.
EDINBURGH
I RRAMDLING ROWS Kids pick ’em, you cook ‘em. Try the following haunts to pick the last dregs of summer’s blackberries: Blackford Ilill, Corstorphine Hill, Water of leith Walkway.
Indoors
Activities and Fun
I MIXED MEDIA ART WORKSHOPS Project Ability. 18 Albion Street. 552 2822. Mon I8—Fri 22 Oct. loam—12.30pm or 2—4.30pm. £4 for four mornings or four afternoons. 12—14 years. Includes mask making. T-shirt printing and cane/tissue constructions. Maximum twelve places. I DRAMA WORKSHOP Citizens' Theatre. Gorbals, 429 2877. Mon 18—Fri 22 Oct.
1 l.30am-3.30pm. £2. 15—18 years. Go on a backstage tour. and then join in a TAG drama workshop.
I DANCE CONSTRUCTION Lorne Street Community Centre, 201 Govan Road, 429 7829. Mon 18—Fri 22 Oct, 1-4pm. £2 for week. Boys and girls. 8-12 years. No previous dance experience needed, just enthusiasm and commitment.
I WRITIW WORKSHOPS Carnwardric Community Centre, 160 Camwadric Road. 638 8751; and Larkfield Centre. 39 lnglefield Street. Govanhill, 424 1797. Covers stories, plays, rap. poems and songs. Advance booking essential.
I VIDEO WORKSHOP The Stables Block. House 1, 59 Machrie Road. Mon 18—Tue 19 and Wed 20—Thurs 21, 10am—4pm. Free. 14+ years. Crash course in video making. Advance booking essential.
‘I OIRGIIS SKILLS WORKSHOP Action Factory, Partick Burgh Halls, 9 Burgh Hall Street, 357 5000. Mon 18 Oct,
11.15am-12.30pm. £1. 9-12 years. Learn how to juggle.
I DI-LINGIIAL STORYTELLING Libraries at Pollokshields, Govanhill, Woodside. Pollokshaws, Langside and Whiteinch. General enquiries 221 7030. Free. 5—8 Years. Share stories from different cultures. Contact Anne Reilly, Mitchell Library, 221 7031 for further details.
I FOLK ORCHESTRA St Andrews Parish Church, St Andrews Square. Saltmarket, 552 8581. Mon 18—Fri 22 Oct, 2—4pm. £2 per day. 8-16 years. No experience required to come along for a week of folk and fun with Glasgow Festival Strings.
EDINBURGH
Activities and Fun
I SPORTS CENTRE PLAYSOHEMES Leisure Centres at Craiglockhart, Gracemount, Niddrie, Meadowbank and Ainslie Park are offering October holiday playschemes or fun clubs, Mon 18—Fri 22 Oct. Aimed at children aged 5—12 years they include sports, games. bouncy castles, arts and crafts and roller discos. Numbers are restricted so be sure to book. Contact for further details: Craiglockhart Sports Centre, 117 Colinton Road, 443 0101; Gracemount Leisure Centre, Gracemount Drive, 658 1940; Jack Kane Centre, 208 Niddrie Mains Road, 669 0404; Meadowbank Sports Centre, London Road. 661 4351; Ainslie Park Leisure Centre. Pilton Drive, 551 2400.
Theatre
Edinburgh District Council‘s Recreation Department offers three shows for the October school holiday, showing at the three venues listed below:
I A BIT MISSING from Oily Cart. Tue 19 Oct, 10.30am at Portobello; 3pm at Rosebery. £2.50 (£1.50) 3—5 years. Robomop the domestic robot goes berserk. Puppets, live music and a bicycle feature in this 45-minute show.
I WHOSE SHOES? Wed 20 Oct, 10.30am at Portobello; 3pm at Rosebery. £2.50 (£1.50). 3-5 years. A one-woman show about sibling rivalry.
I TONI ARTHDR’S MOSIG BOX Thurs 21 Oct, 10.30am at Portobello; 3pm at Rosebery; Fri 22 Oct, 10.30am at Thomas Moreton Hall. £2.50 (£1.50). 5-10 years. Musical packed with songs, dances, games, storytelling and lots of audience participation.
See them at Portobello Town liall Portobello High Street. Box Office opens 30 mins before each performance. Tickets in advance from Sibbald Travel, 135 High Street, Portobello, Mon—Fri 9am—5.30pm; Sat 9am—12.30pm.
Thomas Moreton liall 28 Ferry Road. Leith. Box office opens 30 mins before performance. Advance bookings from Kard Box, 74 Great Junction Street, Leith. Mon—Sat 9am—5.30pm.
Rosebery Hall High Street, South Queensferry. Box office opens 30 mins before each performance. Advance tickets from Something Special. High Street, South Queensferry. Mon—Fri (half day Wed) 9am-1pm, 2-5.30pm; Sat 9am—1pm, 2—5pm. Telephone bookings from Assembly Rooms box office only, 220 4349, Mon—Sat 10am-8pm.
I JONATHAN RIGKARO CHILDREN’S THEATRE Stepping Stones, Grassmarket. Ticketline 220 4349. Sets until end of Oct, 10.30am and 2.30pm. Adults £3.50. children £2.50. Kenneth Graham's Reluctant Dragon as performed by Stepping Stones resident children’s theatre.
OUTSIDE rm: CITIES '
I HALLOWE’EN FUN AU mm Summerlee Heritage Trust, Coatbridge, 0236 431261. Sat l6—Sun 24 Oct. 10am—5pm. Free. A week of arts and crafts, including face-painting, lantern, pop-up card and mask-making.
52 The List 8-21 October 1993