LISTINGS DAYS OUT
Every night the Festival Marquee on Hawcraig Road is home to a different entertainment. ranging front Scotland The What (Sat 6. 8pm. £8.50) to a Family Ceilidh (Wed 3. 7.30pm. £3/£2).
I AUCHTERMUCHTY TRADITIONAL MUSIC WEEKEND Fri l2—Sun 14 Aug. Auchtermuchty. Fife. Information on 0337 828220. Folk music festival with competitions organised by the Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland. Informal sessions in the halfdozen or more local pubs and hotels. more organised ceilidhs and concerts and a mix of live music all afternoon on the stage in the town square. There is a camping and caravan site within staggering distance of the town.
I BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIPS Sat 30/Sun 31 Jul. 10am—5.30pm. Knockhill Racing Circuit. By Dunfermline (off the A823). Fife. 0383 723337. £15 (Saturday £10). Sunday is the big day with a full day‘s racing front 10am featuring rounds 13 and 14 of Europe's ‘best saloon car championship.‘ The qualifying rounds take place on Saturday with a full programme of support races.
I CD AND RECORD FAIR Sun 28/Mon 29 Aug. lOam—7pm. Roxburghe Hotel. Charlotte Square. Edinburgh. £1. Record and CD dealers from around the world gather at the Roxburghe Hotel just so that you can buy. sell or exchange that elusive copy of The Undertones' ‘Teenage Kicks’. Kraftwerk’s ‘Autobahn' or even a Michael Jackson promo. All formats. all genres — from classical to psychedelic. under one roof.
I CLAYMORE ’94 Sat 30 Jul. 10am—5pm. Adam House. Chambers Street. Edinburgh. For the wargames enthusiast. Claymore 94 is the big one. with participation games. displays. trade stands and a painting competition for the model- making types. Among the participation games are a ‘Ben Hur' chan'ot race. a Scots raid on England and a ‘Last of The Mohicans’-type skirmish in the woods of Canada.
I CRAFT, FASHION AND DESIGN FAIR Fri 29Ju1—Mon 1 Aug. 10am—6pm. Earlshall Castle. Leuchars. Fife. £2.50 (fair and gardens only). £3.50 (including tour of castle). A diverse array of crafts. fine art. gifts and fashion from British artists and crafts people will be on display in the marquee. All exhibits will be for sale. There are two fashion shows each day at noon and 3pm. The 14th century castle is open daily (£3.20/£1. I—6pm) with its three and a half acres of 17th century gardens which were completely relaid by Robert Lorimer. Besides the topiary yews and guided tours of the castle. the Earlshall tea room has a reputation for the quality of its home baking.
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I FAMILY FUN WEEKEND Sat 13/Sun 14 Aug. 10am—4pm. Almond Valley Heritage Centre. Millfield. Kirkton North. Livingston. (signposted from Livingston). 0506 414957. £1.50 (75p). Unleash the kids on the games. entertainments and a full programme of ‘outrageous' family entertainment including the great Pantomime Horse Race so you can have a wander round this working museum of local history. The sixteen—acre Centre (open daily. lOam-Spm. £1.50f75p). encompasses agriculture — with a working water mill and farm - and industry — with oilshale exhibitions and a narrow guage railway. (Railway ‘Shunt-about’ on the weekend of 3 and 4 September). Recently opened is the Swamp ofSurprises with discovery area about the fossils found in the Bathgate area and the formation of the shale some 340 million years ago. From 18 August the long awaited ‘Shale Adventure Centre‘ opens — a new indoor adventure playground for the kids. Horse and cart rides. demonstrations and a farmhouse kitchen tearoom.
I GRASSMARKET FAIR Sats 13. 20 and 27 Aug. 10am—5pm. Grassmarket. Edinburgh. Free. Street entertainers augment this usually excellent fair with a wide range of stalls selling crafts. antiques. collectables and charity goods.
I TRUCKFEST Sat 8/Sun 7 Aug,
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9.30am-Gpm. Royal Highland Showground, Ingliston.
Edinburgh. £6 (£3). It‘s a truckers’ delight over this weekend with a host of activities
aimed at truckers. thundering down
manufacturers, there will be loads of famil
their families and anyone who has ever fantasised about the roads the wheel of a rig. Besides static displays from y orientated displays and entertainments
and a main arena with ‘non-stop action’ from motorcycle display teams, free fall
parachute displays and a ‘rocket’
which should set things off with a bang.
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. DRUMMOIIII CASTLE GARDENS OPEN DAY Sun 7 Aug, 2-6pm. Drummond Castle, Muthill, by Crieif, Perthshire. £2 (£1). Stalls and the Comrie Pipe band are coming to Drummond Castle for this open day. They Castle itself is not open to the public, although the gardens, originally laid out in 1630, are (daily, 2—6pm, £2/£1). Of particular note is the Italian Garden, designed and laid out two centuries later on the parterre in front of the house in the formal Italian fashion of the time with figures and statues. Not your family day out, unless the kids are of an age to be intrigued by the obelisk sundial which has fifty faces for telling the time in most of the capitals across Europe.
from their breeding grounds. Various talks. opportunities to watch waders and the ‘Great Wader Race' will provide an introduction to these interesting birds who rest for quite a time at the loch during their great trek. The Reserve (open daily. 10am—5pm. £2/£1) is also host to a huge variety of other birds and is internationally known for the vast
numbers of geese which over-winter there. From the end of September. the sight of 20.000 geese flying off at sunrise is well worth getting up for.
THE NORTH
I KIRRIEMUIR TRADITIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL Fri 2—Sun 4 Sept. Kirriemuir. Angus. Information on 0575 540261. You'd best take a tent for this authentic traditional music festival. as accommodation in the small town is very limited. Local musicians. dances. ceilidhs. sessions and pubs that ‘never seem to close‘ augment the usual Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland competitions which take place on the Saturday.
I HESS RAFT RACE Sat 6. noon. Infirmary Bn'dge. River Ness. Invemess. Free. Two raft races. one for local commercial businesses and the other for voluntary groups. The races are preceded by a procession of floats through Invemess. The races start from the Infirmary Bridge and finish at the Grey Street Bridge. Worth a diversion. ifonly for a spot of ‘He fallen in de water!'-type entertainment.
‘ «a ‘ 2 ‘ ‘- ' ‘: .1 ‘ I ISLE OF MAY VISITS Daily. Isle of May. Forth Estuary. Ferry from Anstruther. Fife. Phone 0333 310103 for ferry times. bookings and costs. See photo caption. I NATIONAL ENTERPRISE DINGHY CHAMPIONSHIPS Sat 6—Fri 12 Aug. West Bay. North Berwick. East Lothian. Free. Over 130 boats have been entered for this competition for the ‘Enterprise‘ class of dinghies. On Saturday the fleet will be on display on the North Berwick green and the racing begins on Sunday. The national award for best helmsman and crew of the year will be given on the Friday. North Berwick has a good range of teashops and even better pubs. so it's an ideal refreshment stop if you‘re off down the coast for a spot of sunbathing (go on. there‘s always hope!) or even swimming at the local beaches which all passed their EC clean water tests. I THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE WEEKEND Sat 13/Sun 14 Aug. 11am—5pm. Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway. Bo'ness Station. Union Street. Bo‘ness. 0506 822298. £4 (£2.50). The ‘official friend' of Thomas the Tank Engine. Lady Victoria (does this mean they have a ‘special relationship‘ or that she just greases his pistons?). will be on show. All engines and coaches running on the line will have names and all the engines have faces. The Fat Controller will be in charge. The railway is open daily during the summer with its collection of railway buildings. equipment. locomotives. carriages and wagons as well as a worthy restaurant car.
Shotts Heritage
Centre THE SIGHT
SANDSOUND or HISTORY
I TROCKFES‘I’ 94 Sat 6/Sun 7 Aug. lion open in Shotts library, 9.30am—6pm. Royal Highland Benin: Road,Shotts Showground. Ingliston. Edinburgh. £6
(£3). See Photo Caption. I‘m Off the "8
I WONDERFUL WADERS Sun 14 Aug. .
1 lam—4pm. Vane Farm RSPB Nature ' Library opening hours Reserve. south shore of Loch Leven. 0 Closed Sunday
B9097 (Junction 5 on the M90). Kinross. . - '
0577 862355. £3 (£2). binocular hire £1. "‘ “mm” Fm %
° Disabled access
Loch Leven lies on the path of many ' _ TEL: 0501 821556 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
waders migrating south for the winter
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The List 29 July-11 August 1994 67