Edinburgh
I Afro-Caribbean Workout Marco‘s Leisure Ltd. 51—95 Grove Street. 228 2141. Lack of experience is not a problem if you want to work out and dance to art Afro-Caribbean groove. Classes are held on Wednesdays (6—7pm) and Sundays (2—3pm).
Best deal: Classes cost £3.50.
Best concession: Concessionary rate is £2.50.
I Argentine Tango Various venues in Edinburgh. Information: 229 4534. Weekend workshops (once every two months) in the sensual Latin dance. Informally taught by dancers from London. you are invited to partner anyone in the class — so no need to bring your own other half. Next session will be mid-June — contact organiser for more details.
Best deal: Classes cost £3 per hour. Best concession: Cheaper prices for students. depending on venue.
I Dance Base 54 George Street. 225 5525. Dance Base offers a stunning selection of reasonably-priced and unusual dance classes. the only problem being that most of their courses started two weeks ago. For further details. visit their office to pick up a leaflet.
Best deal: Seven-week lunchtime T‘ai Chi course starting Tue 20 May costs £18 all in.
Best concession: Reductions are available to students. retired people and benefit claimants.
I Edinburgh Dance Centre 10 Westfield Avenue. 337 0748. Offering adult evening classes in a variety of dance styles as well as children's grade classes.
Best deal: Children's fun classes on Saturdays. £1.70 for one hour. After booking three classes. each additional class costs £1.
Other bargains: Adults taking two classes in one night pay £5.50
I Latin Dance Classes Southside Community Centre. 117 Nicolson Street. 667 0484 (Fridays 6—7pm); ‘Cahoots Club’. South Bridge Resource Centre. Infirmary Street. 225 9488 (Saturdays. 11. 15am—l2. 15pm). This is a very relaxed and friendly class taught by Freddy Ramirez. at which no prior knowledge is needed.
Best deal: Each class costs £1.50.
Best concessions: Concessionary rate for a class is £1.
I Theatre School Of Dance And Drama 106 St Stephen Street. 226 5533. With a tnore traditional diet. the Theatre School caters for dedicated dancers. Best concession: Students. J S40 holders and ()APs pay a reduced rate of £3 for adult evening classes.
AND THERE'S MORE . . .
HAIRDRESSING
Glasgow
I Alan Edwards Salon The Briggait. Bridgegate. 552 5232: 56-58 Wilson street. 552 5282. An up-and-coming. trend-setting salon on the East side of Glasgow.
Best deal: Trainee nights are held on a Wednesday with similar sessions on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. All styling is free and the client has complete freedom ofchoice over style. Best concession: Get a friend to recommend you. and both you and your friend receive a 20 per cent discount on the cost of the cut.
I Rainbow Room International 24 Royal Exchange Square. 248 9460. One of Glasgow's most respected and
§ established hair salons. also branching 3 out into beauty and spa treatments.
Best deal: The academy offers a range of hairdressing. Prices for cuts start at £5 with ajunior and £9 for a stylist. All prices are discounted within the academy.
Best concession: If you take a chance and go without an appointment. standbys are often available for only £14.
Other bargains: All prices include Shiatsu cleanse and scalp massage.
I Vidal Sassoon, Hairdressers Princes Square. 46 Buchanan Street. 226 4484. Stalwart of the hairdressing world specialising in geometric cutting and innovative styling.
Best deal: Hair models are required on a regular basis but advance booking is advised. Cuts and styling are available at the reduced price ofjust £5
Best concession: Students are entitled to a 25 per cent discount. Monday—Wednesday.
I Toni 8: Guy 96 St Vincent Street. 248 9243. Award-winning and
§ consistently at the forefront of hair
design. this is the hairdressers' hairdresser. specialising in modern. individual looks.
Best deal: The academy takes in hair models two to three times a month. Free cuts are performed by juniors and trainees. who are closely supervised. The academy is ladies-only and booking early is advisable.
Best concession: Students get 10 per cent discount. Monday—Wednesday. Other bargains: Children under twelve receive a 50 per cent discount (except Saturdays and late nights).
Edinburgh
I Cheynes 3 [)rumsheugh Place. 225 2234. Cheynes' hairdressing school is for qualified hairdressers furthering their training. Phone for an appointment.
Best deal: Unisex hair styling is free on Mondays and Tuesdays from 2pm.
I Cheynes 57 South Bridge. 556 0108. Cheynes’ South Britlge salon offers cheap sessions at which hairdressing is done by trainees. Phone for an appointment.
Best deal: Handy evening appointments are available on Mondays and Tuesdays from 6.30pm at £5.
I Jardineworks 48 East Fountainbridge. 229 7761. .lardineworks has a cutting-only service for anyone prepared to become hairdressers' models. Phone for an appointment.
Best deal: Unisex. cutting-only sessions are free oti Thursdays from 6pm.
Best concession: Students are offered a permanent 20 per cent reduction on all Jardinework's hairdressing services.
I Telford College South Campus. Crewe Road South. Crewe Toll. 332 9853. Telford College’s hairdressing school requires models for student training and offers a whole range of hairdressing services at very affordable prices. Phone for an appointment.
Best deal: Ladies' cut and blow dry is offered for £3.50; while men's styling is free.
TASTING ssssrous
Glasgow
I Bottoms Up 85 Renfteld Street. 332 5760. Newly opened speciality branch of the Thresher chain. this store promises lots of treats for tired city workers in its ‘green room' interior. Tastings are not only organised. but also tutored.
Best deal: Free wine-tasting every 'heading home from work' evening. Monday to Friday. 5—6pm; and a more leisure] session on Saturday. 2-»6pm. Other bargains: The ‘try before you buy' policy allows you to taste any wine under £10 to see if you really want to take a case of it home with you.
I Oddbins 241 Sauchiehall Street. 353 21 10. and other branches around the city. Sauchiehall Street is the newest addition
CHEAP Tlllillls
How I gel mine
John McKenzie
Edinburgh-based writer whose novel Are You Boys Cyclists? was recently published.
'I do three or four hours of meditating a day. There are four degrees of absorption in meditation and the first two degrees involve states of joy and bliss. The amount of joy and bliss you get out of it depends on your level of concentration. I taught myself and if you practise at it, it is amazing. The method is very simple, you concentrate first of all on an object.
'lt’s a way into mystical experiences — Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, any kind!
Basically it’s a cheap mind-game and is very suitable for people who have been through any mind-altering drugs and come out the other end. You get a better hit out of meditating if you do less substances, because substances affect your
concenUahonf
to the famous wine merchants. decorated with Ralph Steadman's distinctively blotchy cartoons. and offering an excellent selection.
Best deal: The whole ()ddbins group has recently changed its wine-tasting arrangements. and now offers the chance to taste whenever you feel like it. Some branches still hold tastings at set times such as Saturday afternoons — check with individual store. The ‘anytime tasting' also extends to changing guest beers and a vast selection of tnalt whiskys. Just ask.
Other bargains: .-\t the llyndland branch ( 165 llyndland Road. 334 6656) the traditional event of tasting has been enhanced by joining forces with a cheesemonger. See entry below.
I I. J. Melfis Cheesemonger 492 Great Western Road. 339 8998. Specialising in British and Irish cheeses this store matures its produce on the pretnises. and guarantees that everything is farmhouse produced or handmade. Also sells good lirench and Italian cheeses.
Best deal: Wine and cheese tasting evenings held in collaboration with ()ddbins. Tickets cost £10 (available from both stores) which is good value for the sheer antount and quality of tasting you cati do.
Other bargains: liree cheese-tasting tn the store until you find your 'ideal cheese'. Lancashire at £1.30 for 402 and the best stilton at £1.40 for 802 come strongly recommended for quality and value.
Edinburgh
I Bannerman's 2 I 2 C‘owgatc. 556 3254. Info: 0802 915003. (iordon Muir leads teams thirsty for knowledge through the delights of eight tnalt whiskies twice a day at 5pm and 7pm in the back room at Bannerman's. Informative. entertaining and educational. his tutored tastings are the perfect start to an evening.
Best deal The tasting costs £12.50 for eight very healthy measures. Call the above number to book a place.
I Oddbins 5 Queensferry Street. 225 5707. and other branches around the city. Every day in every ()ddbins branch there is a bottle of wine and a bottle of whisky open for lasting. Just ask. The focus is on a range of wines from a different wine region of the world each month.
Best deal: Wine and whisky tastings are free.
Other bargains: There's a 10 per cent discount on a case of each featured wine.
I Threshers Saturday afternoons are wine tasting times at every branch of Threshers with featured and promoted wines being offered up to your tastebuds.
TElEVlSION/RADIO RECORDINGS Glasgow
I Scottish Television Cowcaddens. 300 3000. Scotland’s independent broadcasting service produces many of the UK's tnost popular shows. Various programmes recorded here require studio audiences.
Best deal: Tickets are free and audiences needed on a seasonal basis for live shows such as Wheel (If/"ornate and Win. [wave or [)ruit'. Telephone for details.
I BBC Scotland Queen Margaret Drive. 339 8844. At present there are no live shows requiring studio audiences but there are private screenings of programmes such as Rub C‘. Nut-bin and various pilot programmes ‘tested‘ on studio audiences.
Best deal: Tickets are free and publicised on television.
Edinburgh
I BBC Scotland 5 Queen Street. 225 3131. Radio recordings of arts programmes such as The (/stm/ Suspects. plus concerts. etc. sometimes require live audiences.
Best deal: Tickets are free and publicised on Radio Scotland and via the prSS.
; BASH PUB I UIZZES
Glasgow
I Nice 'n' Sleazy 421 Sauchiehall Street. 333 9637. Alternative pub which stages a weekly quiz on Tuesdays at 9pm. There is an entrance fee of 50p.
Best deal The weekly prize is £20 although this often yoes to a rollover and currently stands at 80. The ultimate winner is decided by a single question. and free beer is handed out if they lose. I Ocho 15()Sauchiehall Street. 332 1032. A contemporary and comfortable bar which is packed out for the tretiiendously popular quiz nights on Mondays front 9.30pm.
Best deal: Entrance is free and £100 is tip for grabs every week. There are five rounds (not including the musical bumps/stone statues round!). The team with the most points gets to go first in the ‘Play Your Cards Right' finale. but losers can often be winners if the wrong cards appear.
Edinburgh
I Northern Bar 1 Howard Place. (‘anonmills. 556 1558. This pub has a quiz every Monday night where punters get the rare opportunity to win cash. Best deal: Entry is free and the prize is up to £40 cash.
16—29 May 199mm L131 15