KIDS LISTINGS CONTINUED
Books
Robin Jarvis Tue 2t ()ct. 11.30am. Waterstone‘s. I28 Princes Street. 226 2666. Ang 9— I 2. The popular children‘s author and creator of The Demon! Mice and The Whit/iv series will be talking and signing copies of his new book The Den/on! Mire .-l.’ltl(lll(l(‘/\’ (MacDonald Young £9.99).
OUTSIDE THE CITIES
Activities And Fun
Smart Art Animation Workshop Mon 20—Fri 24 ()ct. IOam—lpm. £20 (£14). Regal Community Theatre. Rathgate. 01506 433634. Ages l0+. Animator Mary Morrison will assist you iii trying out basic animation techniques. Spooky Happenings Sat Il—Sun 26 Oct. £2.20 IL‘llOi; famin ticket £5.50. Almond Valley Heritage Centre. Milllicld. Livingston Village. 01506 414957. Ghostly goings on at the 200- year-old mill. with a ghost htiiit. craft making and other Halloween horrors.
Festival
North Lanarkshire Cultural Festival Until Sat 25 Oct. Tickets and information from the Advance Booking Office. Civic Centre. Tslothem'ell. 0I69ls’ 2675 I5 or from an). North Iaiiarkshire library. A festival with 'éi‘lllt‘llllllg‘ for everyone. taking place in .i number of venues throughout North [.anarksliire. Selected children's shows and workshops are as follows:
Victorian Day Workshop Sat 18 ()ct. 2~3.30pni. fl. :\lt‘.'lii"well Heritage Centre Ages .s~ T 2. .-\ workshop looking at what life was lils't‘ in ‘v'ictorian times.
Greyfriars Bobby Sat I 1 (Jet. 10.30am. at Bellsliill Cultural Centre and on Tue l4 Oct. I030aiii at l-‘our Isles Community Centre. Airdire. £2.50 £2.50). The tale of Edinburgh's inost lamous dog by WhistlcstOp Puppets.
Magic Bob
Magic 80b Thu lo I)et, I0. 10am at Bellshill t ‘ultnral Centre and at 2pm at New Town Hall. (‘nnibeinauld £3.50 (£2.50). Ct‘lljtlflllg zip magic. tricks. circus skills and lots of audience participation with an unusual collection of props that only Magic Bob could get away with.
Giants Of Industry Parade Sat 18 ()et. 4pm. (’oatbiidge Town Centre. The results of a week-long workshop in creating lanterns and puppets is paraded through the town. with music. street entertainers and a fireworks display at Stimniei'lec Heritage Park.
Theatre
Beauty And The Beast Thu 23 ()ct. lpm (1' 7pm. £647.50 (£3.5()—£~1.50). Rothes Hall. Kingdom Centre. Glenrothes. 01592 61212 I. Ages «M. Fantaisie En Noir present the enchanting tale of Beauty iii a cast of puppets and an 8ft beast
92 THE LIST 10 (kt-23 Oct 1997
preview
In the running
A recent back operation won’t stop top Scottish athlete LIZ McCOLGAN from returning to the site of her Commonwealth Games success in Edinburgh this month.
Words: Lorin McDougall
When the athletes and politicians of the Commonwealth come to Edinburgh on successive weekends this month. it’s highly appropriate that marathon queen Liz. McColgan will be among them. For it was at the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games eleven years ago that — then known as Liz Lynch -— she first broke into the world-class league with a famous victory in the 10.000m. The gritty Dundonian will tackle the same distance in this month’s BUPA Great Caledonian Rtiti. which forms the centrepiece of a weekend-long Commonwealth Festival of Running.
‘That was a very special race.’ McCoIgan says. thinking back to 1986. ‘You’ll probably never be
able to reproduce the emotion of
winning Scotland’s only gold
SPORT
medal. It’s something I‘ll always look back on. even
though it’s now over ten years ago.
The I997 course. to be run on
Sun 19 Oct. takes
in Arthur’s Seat. Calton Hill and the Grassmarket.
leading to the finish in Princes
Street. The sheer
spectacle of the setting. plus the participation of one of Scotland’s all-time greats. should provide the perfect finale to the Festival of Running. which features international mile and 5km races the
previous day.
Having fully recovered from a back operation earlier this year. McCoIgan is relishing the prospect of only her second outing since April. ‘It’s a great honour to compete in front of your home crowd.‘ she reckons. ‘It’s even more
‘With the marathon, you just take one race at a time. Each marathon is a different experience and each has affected me differently.’
Liz McCoIgan
special for me because Scotland has very few events of this calibre. This race. together with the Great North and Great South Runs. is part of my preparation for the Tokyo Marathon on 30 November — that’s the big event of the year for me.’ Throughout a glittering career — which has brought her a pair of world titles. success in the
London and New York
marathons.
two
Commonwealth golds and an Olympic silver ~ McColgan has repeatedly shown what is possible for aspiring female athletes in Scotland. Typically. though, like the no-nonsense character she is. she refuses to regard herself as a role model. ‘I see
Distance no object: Liz McColgan achieves fame at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh
myself the same as I did when I was founeen.’ she explains. ‘A lot of things have'changed, I’ve developed in certain areas and I’ve reached the top in my career. But I’ve not changed as a person.’
For all her running achievements. Olympic gold has remained just out of reach, an insect bite mining her chances in bizarre fashion in Atlanta last summer. The 2000 Games in Sydney will offer one final opportunity. ‘That’s the long-term plan,’ she confirms. ‘But with the marathon, you just take one race at a time. Each marathon is a different experience and each has affected me differently. So you do one and then plan for the next one.’
Hopefully. the start of the new century will mark a golden end to a fine career, but already another McCoIgan is threatening to carry on the family tradition. Daughter Eilish. who turns seven next month. will take part in the Junior Run in Edinburgh. but mum is in no hurry to put any undue pressure on her: ‘Like most six- or seven-year-olds. she’s full of energy, but I’d never push her into anything — I wait for her to ask first.’
The Commonwealth Festival of Running takes place along Princes Street in Edinburgh on Sat 18 Oct, with the BUPA Great Caledonian Run on Sun 19 Oct. Both events will be broadcast on BBC TV.