6.30pm. 8.30pm £40 per couple. A romantic night of chocolate and champagne for lovers. Taste proper chocolate and the wines that go with it. and leave with a goody bag and an understanding of how chocolate is produced. For couples only. hooking essential.
Talks
Guided Walk - Naked Trees Royal Botanic Garden. 20a lnverleith Row. 552 7171. 2pm. £4. A Garden Guide helps explain. understand and recognise different trees in winter-time. Suitable for the over-12s. and not just becatrse the trees are naked.
Workshops
Drama Workshops: Mrs Warren’s Profession Royal Lyceum Theatre. Grindlay Street. 248 4848. 10.30am lprn. £5 (£3.50). Practical drama session for anyone over 16. exploring the current production of Mrs llirrren 's‘ l’ro/evsiorr. Booking essential.
Writing for a Living North tidinburgh Arts Centre. 15a Pennywell Court. 315 2151. 10.3()am»-4prn. £12 (£5 (£8). 1'sing a mixture of written exercises. discussion and anecdotes. River ( 'r'rv screenwriter Fergus Mitchell takes a realistic look at the world of the writer and the creative and practical decisions involved in earning a living from words.
The Past is Another Country 'I‘raverse Theatre. Cambridge Street. 228 1404. 11am-5pm. £10 (£6). Tying in with the forthcoming production of his new play ( tut/rage Mus! lie Destroyed Alan Wilkins leads a workshop exploring the process of creating historical drama with a contemporary resonance. Participants are asked to think in advance about a historical era they’d like to explore in preparation for the workshop. Booking essential.
Dr Sketchy’s Anti-Art School Counting House. West Nicolson Street. 667 0876. 3.30 5.30pm. £7.50 (£5). See feature. page 25.
Sunday 18
Activities & Events
Stevenson’s Edinburgh Writers‘ Museum. Lady Stair's Close. Lawmnarket. 52‘) 4‘)01. 11am & 2.30pm. £3 (£2). See Thu 15.
Chinese New Year celebrations Royal Museum Hawthornden Court. 2 Chambers Street. 247 421‘). 1 -4pm. l’ree. Learn about and enjoy the traditions of the Chinese New Year on the first day of the Year of the Pig.
Chinese New Year Celebrations Festival Theatre. 132‘) Nicolson Street. 52‘) 6000. 2—4pm. £5. The lidinburgh Chinese School celebrates with the traditional lion dance. songs and acrobatics. See caption. page 26.
Talks
Ways, Truths and Lives St. John's Church. Princes Street. 22‘) 7565 3.30pm. liree. Christians and Muslims share the belief that life has a purpose. and that this purpose is centred upon God. But what is the path to reach God'.’ Christian priest John Conway and Muslim educator ldris 'l'awfrq face one another in friendly dialogttc.
Monday 1 9
Talks
The Old and Distant Universe Royal Observatory Visitor Centre. Blackford Hill. 668 8404. 7.30~8.30pm. £3 (£1.50). Rita 'l’ojeiro. Mathew Hollister and Anita Schael talk about how we are able to see the earliest galaxies in our universe and what we can learn from them. A Royal Observatory talk.
Tuesday 20
Talks Long John Silver and Robert Louis Stevenson National Library of Scotland.
George 1V Bridge. 226 4531. 1- -2pm. Free (ticketed). l’urr of()m' Book One Edinburgh. See caption. below.
Wednesday 21
Food & Drink
* Jolly Toper Tastings The Tolbooth 'l‘avern. 167 Canongate. ()131 556 5864. 7.30pm. £20. See llitlist.
Talks
Festival City Theatre Talks: The Letter l‘estival Theatre. 13 2‘) Nicolson Street. 52‘) 6000. 10.30am 12.30pm. £4 including tea and coffee. Mike Ridings gives an informal talk on the origins of the theatre's forthcoming production of Somerset Maugham‘s. The Letter.
Activities & Events
Fundraising Ceilidh St Bride‘s Centre. 10 ()rwell 'l‘errace. 346 I405. 7.30pm-midnight. £8 (£5). l‘undraising ceilidh for SM()G. with music provided by The Robert l-‘ish l)ance band. Contact 555 7668 for tickets.
The Guid Crack Club Scottish Storytelling Centre. 43-45 High Street. 556 ‘)57‘). 7.30pm. £3. lidinburgh's monthly storytelling club with guest Allison Galbraith. All are welcome to share a story or a song.
Talks
Café Philo lnstitut lirancais d‘licosse. 13 Randolph Crescent. 225 5366. 4 6pm. £8. Discussion en francais autour d’un strjet philosophique.
Am. Jim Lad!
Saturday 24
Fairs
Emigrate Edinburgh Royal Highland Centre. lngliston. 3356210.
10am 5.30pm. £7 (children free). Info on finding a job. buying a property overseas. health. education and destination information for those planning to move abroad.
Spon
Six Nations: Scotland v Italy (Rugby Union) Murrayfteld Stadium. Riversdale Crescent. 346 5000. 3pm. Another one for the sporting masochists'.’
Activities & Events
Discover Edinburgh by Bicycle Roseburn Park. Roseburn Place. Murraylield. ()131 332 3442. 10am. Free. A gentle bike ride designed to introduce you to cycling in lidinburgh. Meet at the Roseburn Place entrance to Roseburn Park. limail
maggie(a trycyclinginedinburgh.org.uk or call 0131 332 3442 to book your
s )01.
Antoine Guard Royal Museum Hawthornden Court. 2 Chambers Street. 247 421‘). 12.45pm. 1.45pm & 2.45pm. Free. See llitlist.
Wednesday 28
Talks
Café Histoire lnstittrt lirancais d'licosse. 13 Randolph Crescent. 225 5366. 5.30- 7pm. £5 (£3). Patrick Landri leads this monthly 1‘rench-language
Filthy, rum-soaked blaggards prone to shaving people’s chests with rusty razors they might be,
but there’s something romantic about pirates, salt air and the lure of the high seas that keeps us Hooked. Robert Louis Stevenson created the granddaddy of them all in duplicitous peg-legged parrot-tater Long John Silver, and this talk, part of One Book, One Edinburgh unravels the historic origins of Silver’s tales of blood and booty, tracing the cut-throat from his first appearance in Daniel Defoe’s account of a sea battle. (Noted pirate impersonator Johnny Depp had not confirmed his
attendance at time of going to press.)
I National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh. Please call 0137 6‘23 3845 to reserve
a space. www. c/tyof/r'teraiure. com
Around Town
group. exploring some of the most : important dates and figures in French 1 history. Up for discussion this time is i Napolean Bonaparte. l
O O O 1 nqornq Edrnburqh 3 Activities and Events
Edinburgh International Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace 2007 Various venues. 331 446‘) . 7 Times vary. Prices vary. A celebration of the aspects of spiritual peacernaking. with a wide range of events including spiritual retreats. workshops and conferences. The festival welcomes guests from across the L'K and further afield to enrich . conversations and the spiritual and § cultural exchange. See www.mesp.org.uk for full event listings.
One Book - One Edinburgh Various venues. 718 5663. Times vary. Prices vary. lidinburgh's first citywide campaign to encourage reading. Thousands of free copies of three new editions of Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped are being given away during a month of tie—in ' events. ()rganised by lidinburgh. l’NliSCO City of Literature. See Books or www.cityollitcrature.com for full 1 listings.
Stevenson’s Edinburgh Writers' Museum. Lady Stair‘s Close.
Lawmnarket. 52‘) 4‘)01. £3 (£2). A literary guided tour of the very ground Robert
Louis Stevenson once walked. Purl of
One Bank - ()ne Edinburgh.
Exhibitions
The Cutting Edge - Scotland’s Contemporary Crafts Museum of Scotland. Chambers Street. 247 421‘). l'ntil Thu 2‘) Mar. Mon & Wed Sat 10am 5pm; Tue 10am 8pm; Sun
noon 5pm. A major new touring exhibition of the very best of contemporary Scottish crafts. Features silverwork by Adrian Hope. Michael Lloyd and Malcolm Appleby. jewellery by Peter Chang. Dorothy llogg and Jack Cunningham. glass by Keiko Mukaide and Ray Have” and textiles by Jilli Blackwood and Laura Murray.
Sacred Words Royal Museum lvy Wu Gallery. 2 Chambers Street. 247 4219/4422. L'ntil Sun 1 Apr. Mon 8; Wed Sat 10am 5pm; Tue 10am-8pm; Sun noon 5pm. lixplore the power of the written word in Chinese visual culture. l-‘rom 7th century Buddhist texts to modern-day lslarnic calligraphy. words are trsed for meditation and worship.
Food & Drink
Edinburgh Farmers’ Market Castle 'l'errace. 652 5‘)40. ‘)am -2pm. More local. quality. ethical produce than you could shake a stick at. livery Saturday.
Workshops
Dance Base Classes Dance Base.
14 16 Grassmarket. 225 5525. For information on a myriad dance and relaxation classes. from tai chi to vogueing via hip-hop and tango. visit www.dancebase.co.uk.
Daytime Dance North lidinburgh Arts Centre. 15a Pennywell Court. 315 2151. 10.30am. £2.50. Weekly dance workshop run by experienced dance teacher livelyne Nicolette. aimed at adults with learning difficulties.
The Liberation of Consciousness in the 21 st Century Aditi Yoga Centre. 5 Alva Street (first lloor). 07828 261 128. 7pm. £60 (£50). Learn how to transform your way of thinking. using meditation as a tool for discovering greater depth. 1‘ive week course.
Shoe Swing Counting House. West Nicolson Street. 667 ()876. 7pm. £4.50 or“ £8 for couples (£3.50 or £6 for couples). A brand new swing dance workshop run by lidinbop every Wednesday night. Tutored classes from 7pm and social dancing from ‘). Swing dancers. lindy- hoppers and jivers of all persuasions very welcome. No need to book. and you don't even have to have a partner. livery Wednesday.
1:") 101>~l Mar 200/ THE LIST 27