AroundTown
secondcity. Workshops are suitable for all levels, including beginners, although those with sewing machine experience will be able to try more complex techniques.
✽✽ Stitch the Duke of Wellington Fri 22 Jul, 2–5.30pm. £35. Make It
Glasgow, 3 Osborne Street, 552 9071. Make a fabric facsimile of the good Duke using embroidery floss. Part of the Merchant City Festival.
✽✽ FREE Giant Guerrilla Gardening Sat 23 & Sun 24 Jul, noon–5pm. The Giant Workshop Space, 121–127 Saltmarket, 552 8231. Guerilla Gardener Darren Wilson shows how to make tools and sow seed bombs. Part of the Merchant City Festival.
✽✽ Make a Tote Bag – Applique the Glasgow Skyline Sat 23 Jul,
1–4.30pm. £35. Make It Glasgow, 3 Osborne Street, 07597 122809. Make a handy tote bag and decorate it with the outlines of our beloved city. Part of the Merchant City Festival.
✽✽ FREE Joyworks – Laughter Workshops Sat 23 & Sun 24 Jul,
2pm & 4pm. SAMH Information Service, Brunswick House, 51 Wilson Street, merchantcityfestival.com Learn how to laugh properly. Part of the Merchant City Festival.
✽✽ FREE World Music Day Sun 24 Jul, 10am–5pm. Glasgow Music
Studios, 7 & 9 Osborne Street, 552 0907. Lots of instruments from around the world are on offer along with experienced tutors. Soundproofed rooms ensure anyone can have a go. Part of the Merchant City Festival. FREE GWL Learners Forum Mon 25 Jul, 2pm. Glasgow Women’s Library, Mitchell Library, 15 Berkeley Street, 248 9969. A chance to meet other users of the Library and talk about what kinds of services and facilities would be useful to you. Dye a Skein of Yarn Fri 29 Jul, 11am–2pm. £30. Make It Glasgow, 3 Osborne Street, 07597 122809. Dye a skein of yarn using a traditional method. African Beadwork Session Sat 30 Jul, 1pm. £25. Glasgow Museums Resource Centre, 200 Woodhead Road, Nitshill, 276 9300. Examine artefacts from the Museum Collections, then make your own beadwork piece to take home. Cost includes materials. Merchant City Festival
EDINBURGH Activities & Events FREE Storytellers at Home Until Fri 29 Jul, Mon–Sat 11am–5pm & Sun noon–5pm. Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. Meet the storyteller who is making the centre their home for the day for some yarn-spinning fun, including daily story sessions at 2pm (family session) and 3.30pm. Hidden Gardens of the Royal Mile Fri 22 & 29 Jul, 11am–12.40pm; Sun 24 & 31 Jul, 2.30–4.10pm. Outside John Knox House, 45 High Street, 444 1725. Take a short and gentle walking tour and see a little-known side of Edinburgh’s Old Town. Ages 16+. Public Astronomy Evening Fri 22 Jul, 7–8.45pm. £4 (£3). Royal Observatory Visitor Centre, Blackford Hill, 668 8404. Find out about the history and activities of the Royal Observatory and, weather permitting, use the solar telescope to observe the sun and look out for sunspots. Booking essential. Guid Crack: Summer Nights Fri 22 & 29 Jul, 7.30pm. £3 suggested donation. Waverley Bar, 1 St Mary’s Street, 557 1050. The monthly club goes into overdrive with a flurry of weekly storytelling and song sessions, with a different guest storyteller each time. With guests Robert Howat (Fri 22 Jul) and Bob Pegg (Fri 29 Jul). Oxfam Comic Event 2011 Sat 23 Jul, 11.30am–4pm. £4. McDonald Road Library, 2–4 McDonald Rd, 529 5644. A day of appearances by comic writers including Andy Diggle (The Losers, Hellblazer, Batman), Gary Erskine (2000AD, War Story), John McShane, Morris Heggie (Dandy, Broons) and Jeremy Briggs (Down The Tubes, Bear Alley), plus a stall selling some of Oxfam’s impressive stock of comics and graphic novels. Advance tickets available from Oxfam on Morningside Road. National Museum of Flight: Airshow Sat 23 Jul, 10am–5pm. £16 (£14; children £6; family ticket £30). National Museum of Flight, East Fortune Airfield, 0300 123 6789. High-octane aerial displays ranging from historic warbirds to contemporary military jets. Also on the menu are children’s activity workshops and demonstrations.
FREE Open Weekend at the Edinburgh Live Site Sat 23 Jul, 10.30am–6.30pm & Sun 24 Jul, 11am–5.30pm. Festival Square, Lothian Road, london2012.com/events As part of the London 2012 Olympics’ nationwide programme of events marking one year until the sporting jamboree comes to town, the big screen in Festival Square is showing memorable moments from games past, and there’ll be a chance to get involved with some fun, interactive games, too. FREE Beach Tennis Sat 23 Jul, 2–5pm. Portobello Beach, Portobello, london2012.com/events Get in training for the London 2012 Olympics (OK, so you probably won’t make the team, but still) with a good knockabout on the beach suitable for all ages and abilities. Bark in the Park Sun 24 Jul, 9.30am. £7.50 in advance; £10 on the day. Inverleith Park, Arboretum Place, 551 1381. All four- legged friends are welcome at this one-mile sponsored walk to raise funds for St Columba’s Hospice. There’s also flyball, a fun agility course, and goodie bags for participants. FREE Royal Pursuits Sun 24 Jul, 11am–3pm. Holyrood Park, 668 8734. Relax like a royal with all manner of traditional activities in Holyrood Park, from coursing with whippets and Scottish deerhound to archery and falconry.
✽✽ FREE The Big Welcome Sun 24 Jul, 4–6pm. Free to attend; £5 to
register a tablecloth. Portobello Promenade, Marlborough Street Portobello. As part of the London 2012 ‘one year to go’ Open Weekend, and to get locals in the mood for August’s Big Things on the Beach community art project, the public arts trust is inviting people to decorate tablecloths, which will be displayed along the sea wall, followed by a community picnic.
✽✽ FREE National Museum of Scotland: Opening Ceremony Fri 29 Jul, 9.15am–5pm. National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, 0300 123 6789. After a long wait, it’s finally going to open: the newly refurbished National Museum of Scotland opens its new galleries, featuring such old favourites as the Totem Pole but with new attractions such as a Tyrannosaurus Rex. There’s entertainment in Chambers Street from 9.15am to get you in the mood for the opening at 10am, with the ceremony lasting until 10.30am, but the
✽✽ FREE Cathedral Precinct Family Fun Day Sat 23 Jul, 11am–4pm. St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, 2 Castle Street, 553 2557. A day of medieval fun including Highland cattle and Clydesdales, an owl display, children’s play activities, storytelling, street performers, history and poetry tours. Part of the Merchant City Festival. FREE Glasgow East Parks Festival Dennistoun Sat 23 Jul, noon–4pm. Alexandra Park, 10 Sannox Gardens, 287 5108. Family fun including stalls, arts and crafts, raffle, giant inflatables, live music and sports. FREE Up Market Sat 23 & Sun 24, Sat 30 & Sun 31 Jul, noon–5pm. CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. Welcome Home and Aye Aye Books host design, illustration, crafts, art, vintage and more in the Terrace Bar. Blochairn Car Boot Sale Sun 24 Jul, 6am–3pm. Wholesale Fruit, Veg, Flower and Fish Market, 130 Blochairn Road. One of the UK’s largest weekly car boot sales. FREE Gallowgate Fun Day Fri 29 Jul, noon–4pm. Gallowgate Flats, Bluevale Street. Family gala day with stalls and attractions, organised by FARE (Family Action in Rogerfield and Easterhouse). Glasgow Show Sat 30 & Sun 31 Jul, 11.30am–5.30pm. £5 (£3; family ticket £12). Glasgow Green, Greendyke Street, glasgow.gov.uk Glasgow’s oldest park plays host to stunt motorcycling and parachuting, a live music stage (including Jedward and Carrie Mac), highland cattle, heavy horses and all manner of fun for kids.
Sport Scottish Bash at SNO!zone Scotland Sat 23 Jul, 10am–6pm. £25 for four hours for non-members. SNO!zone Scotland, Xscape Braehead, Kings Inch Road, Braehead, Renfrew, 0871 222 5672. A snowboarding session open to non- members, with free coaching on offer.
✽✽ FREE Roller Derby Day Sun 24 Jul, time tbc. Osborne Street, 287
9810. The Glasgow Roller Girls demonstrate their roller skills and attitude with cone jumping, backward skating and weaving. Part of the Merchant City Festival. Glasgow Tigers Speedway Sundays, 4pm. £15.50 (£12; under 16s £7; under 12s free). Ashfield Stadium, Saracan Park, 404 Hawthorn Street, 336 4800. Fast-paced motorbike action.
Talks ✽✽ FREE Anthems of the City Fri 22–24 Jul, 5–7pm. Blackfriars Music
Stage, Bell Street, merchantcityfestival.com On three consecutive days hear three iconic Glasgow-made albums in their entirety, followed by discussions with their creators. Love and Money’s Dogs in the Traffic on Friday, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band’s Next on Saturday and The Vaselines’ Dum-Dum on Sunday. Part of the Merchant City Festival. Paranormal Glasgow Mon 25 Jul, 7pm. £7. Ladywell Crystals and Healing, 268–270 High Street, Merchant City, 552 7810. Launch of Paranormal Glasgow by Geoff Holder, author of The Guide to Mysterious Glasgow. Be prepared for witchcraft, vampires and other hellish creatures.
✽✽ FREE Becky Beasley and Alasdair Gray in conversation
with Lisa Le Feuvre and Tom Morton Sat 30 Jul, 3pm. CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, 352 4900. Two artists with strong connections to the literary world, in conversation with British Art Show 7 curators. Workshops Introduction to Couture Techniques Thu 21 Jul, 5–9pm; then Saturdays, 30 Jul–20 Aug, 11am–3pm. £170 for five weeks. Make It Glasgow, 3 Osborne Street, robbie@second-city.co. Design and sewing workshops with Robbie Higney-Paterson of fashion designers
36 THE LIST 21 Jul–4 Aug 2011
They grow up so quickly these days! The Merchant City Festival is celebrating its tenth birthday with a frankly gigantic programme, which still retains its essential character: celebrating the area’s great shopping and restaurants, keeping a strong focus on the fascinating architectural history of the area, and stirring in a pinch of anarchy by unleashing packs of street performers (including Big Rory and Ochie the Dog, pictured) into the MC’s well-heeled alleyways. Our pick of events includes walking tours of the Necropolis and the old Britannica Panopticon Music Hall, the Briggait Open Weekend (a chance to see what the artists and arts organisations in the former fishmarket are up to), Ingram Street turning into a giant catwalk for the occasion, and just about anything involving performance troupes Conflux and Mischief La Bas, causing mayhem on the streets. ■ Merchant City, Glasgow, Thu 21–Sat 24 Jul, merchantcityfestival.com