list.co.uk/aroundtown AroundTown
blogging essentials (extension leads and biscuits) so you can focus on the serious business of expounding your opinions online. FREE Rock Choir Free Taster Session Wed 2, 9 & 16 Nov, 6.30pm & 8.15pm. Boroughmuir High School, 26 Viewforth Bruntsfield, rockchoir.com Stretch your vocal cords with the Rock Choir. Fireworks Night at Hopetoun Sat 5 Nov, 4pm. £10 (children £6). Hopetoun House, Shore Road, South Queensferry, hopetoun.co.uk Entertainment, food stalls and a fireworks display set to classic Disney tunes. See feature, page 43. Meadowbank Annual Fireworks Display Sat 5 Nov, 6.30pm. £6. Meadowbank Sports Centre, 139 London Road, 661 5351. Fun for all the family at Edinburgh’s official fireworks display. See feature, page 43. Fireworks Extravaganza! Sun 6 Nov, 5pm. £6 (family ticket £22; under 2s free). George Watson’s Rugby Statium, Myreside Road, 629 9112. An evening of fiery fun raising money for Scottish Love in Action, an Edinburgh Charity caring for destitute children in India. Besides the display, there are performances from fire juggling and drumming troupe PyroCeltica, pipes and drums, and a barbecue. RBS Museum Lates Fri 11 Nov, 6.30–10.30pm. £6 (£5). National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, 0300 123 6789. Live music, a bar, and most importantly a chance to explore the museum’s delights without any of those pesky kids getting in the way. Your Country Needs You Sat 12 & Sun 13 Nov, 10.15am–3.15pm. Included in £14 admission (£11; children £8.20). Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, 225 9846. Commemorate Armistice Day by learning more about the Scottish ‘Pals’ battalions. FREE Bruncheon! Featuring The Sound of Muesli Sat 12 Nov, 11am–3.30pm. Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 30–36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, 555 7100. Brunch and live music. FREE Edinburgh Printmakers Open Day Sat 12 Nov, 11am–5pm. Free entry; workshops £2. Edinburgh Printmakers, 23 Union Street, 557 2479. See the printmaking facilities and current exhibition, have a go at simple printing techniques (with help from members; workshops available for children and adults), and buy frames and prints. FREE Within These Walls: Route 1 Sun 13 Nov, noon–3pm. Holyrood Park, 652 8150. A moderate, three-hour guided walk around the perimeter wall of Holyrood Park. Ages 16+. Booking essential. LK Bennett’s Luxury Girls’ Night Out Mon 14 Nov, 6–8pm. £10. LK Bennett, 45–45A George Street, 226 3370. Charity shopping evening in aid of CHAS with bubbly, discounts and goodie bags. Exhibitions FREE Admiral Cochrane – The Real Master and Commander Until Feb 2012, daily 10am–5pm. National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, 0300 123 6789. Discover more about Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, an aggressive naval commander and a fiercely radical politician.
Fairs & Markets Edinburgh Book Fair Sat 22 Oct, 10am–5pm. £1. Radisson Blu Hotel, 80 High Street, 557 9797. Antiquarian and second hand books, maps and prints. FREE A Fair for Fashion Sat 22 Oct, 11am–5pm. The Green Room, 12 Picardy Place, 557 0952. Ooh Fashion bring together boutiques and designers from across Scotland for a fashion fair with some exclusive discounts.
✽✽ FREE Edinburgh Independent & Radical Book Fair Wed 26–Sun 30 Oct, 10am–5pm. Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 30–36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, 662 9112. A plethora of left-field stalls, as well as exhibitions, film screenings,
workshops and talks. FREE By Leaves We Live Sat 29 Oct, 11am–6pm. Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Canongate, 557 2876. One-day fair with stalls, displays, short talks and events on poetry and art magazine publishing taking place throughout the day. FREE Morningside Makers Market Sat 5 Nov, 11am–4pm. Columcille Centre, 2 Newbattle Terrace, 447 7404. Hip craft and design market. Edinburgh Antique Fair Sat 12 & Sun 13 Nov, 10am–4.30pm. £2.50. Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, 335 6200. Antiques and vintage items. FREE Art Fayre Sun 13 Nov, noon. Malmaison Hotel Edinburgh, 1 Tower Place Leith, 468 5000. Local artists and galleries show and sell their work, plus there are goodie bags from the hotel. Talks FREE Solving Fragile X Syndrome: Looking for Clues in Brain Development Thu 20 Oct, 6pm. University of Edinburgh, Anatomy Theatre, 57 George Square. Part of the Medical Detectives series of lectures. Booking essential. Art History Lecture Series Thu 20 Oct & 17 Nov, 6.30–7.30pm. £4. Edinburgh Printmakers, 23 Union Street, 557 2479. Dr Norman Shaw delivers a series of lectures on key moments in the history of art (surrealism on Thu 20 Oct and abstraction on Thu 17 Nov). Booking essential. The Scottish Colourist: FCB Cadell Sat 22 Oct, 2–3pm. £7 (£5). Scottish National Gallery, The Mound, 624 6560. Alice Strang, Senior Curator at the Gallery of Modern Art, talks about the importance of Cadell’s work. Booking essential. Our Universe: Through the Eyes of Astronomers Mon 24 Oct, 7.30–8.30pm. £3 (£1.50). Royal Observatory Visitor Centre, Blackford Hill, 668 8404. Professor Ian Robson gives an illustrated tour of the universe.
EVENTS CO-PROMOTION
SOFI’S POP UP SHOP Kakao is coming to Sofi's to show that Scandinavians are not only great at creating cosy bars but also fantastic at designing clothes and accessories.
On the night Kakao by K will showcase stylish Scandinavian fashion and will be revealing a special Sofi's rail. 27th Oct 7pm. Joseph Pearce, 23 Elm Row, Edinburgh
ART AUCTION Barnardo’s Charity art auction in Joseph Pearce’s raising money for the RAFT project.
Exhibition opening Wed 26th October. Auction on Wed 30th November. Sofi’s, 65 Henderson Street, Edinburgh
20 Oct–17 Nov 2011 THE LIST 47
PREVIEW FESTIVAL SCOTTISH STORYTELLING FESTIVAL Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh and various venues, Fri 21–Sun 30 Oct
Reaching 21 is a landmark event for everyone, and the Scottish Storytelling Festival is no exception. From fairly humble beginnings at the former Netherbow Theatre, the Festival has grown to encompass not just Edinburgh and Glasgow, but Dundee, Aberdeen, the Western Isles and up into Orkney and Shetland. But for Festival director Donald Smith – a man who has been there from the start – size isn’t the only thing he’s celebrating at the 21st anniversary. ‘There are three really interesting artistic things about how it’s grown, rather than just in terms of size,’ says Smith. ‘It’s now Edinburgh as a cultural gateway to Scotland, with this huge Scottish spread throughout the tour. Also, our international status – live storytelling is just coming back into cultures across the world, and people really do recognise Scotland’s contribution, we’re kind of a model now. And the third – and for me the most exciting thing – is that there is a whole second generation of Scottish storytellers that has grown and is now going to overseas festivals.’
Smith and his team have looked to the islands for inspiration this year, both at home and abroad, with contributions from Corsican, Cypriot and Sardinian storytellers, as well as home-grown talent from Mull and Bute. ‘There’s more music and some traditional dance weaving in with the storytelling this year,’ says Smith, ‘and that’s very characteristic of island culture – both in Scotland and in the Mediterranean.’
Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of this year’s Festival, however, is a two-part storytelling extravaganza of Homer’s Odyssey at The Hub. ‘The Odyssey is full of stuff about storytelling,’ says Smith, ‘and when you hear it end to end, you realise the art and the power of the way it has been put together – it’s a masterpiece of oral storytelling.’ (Kelly Apter)
FREE DVD Swap in Joseph Pearce’s Mon 24 Oct, 7pm–midnight. Joseph Pearce’s, 23 Elm Row, 556 4140. Meet fellow film fans in JP’s cosy setting and swap your DVDs for a free film fix. Traverse Arts & Entertainment Quiz Mon 24 Oct, 8pm. £1 per person. Traverse Theatre, Cambridge Street, 228 1404. Know your MoMA from your GoMA? If so, try the Trav’s Arts & Entertainment quiz, perfect for creative types who always struggle with the sports round. Dance Dance Party Party Wednesdays, 7–8pm. £3. Media Education, 183 Dalry Road, 0845 119 2819. Fun-focused women’s dance party which has just three key house rules: no boys, no booze and no judgement. It’s sort of like a work-out, but with more fun and music. Supernatural History Tours Thu 27–Mon 31 Oct, 7–9pm (Mon until 11pm). £15 (students £13.50; seniors £13.50; under 16s £7). The Real Mary King’s Close, 2 Warriston’s Close, High Street, 0845 070 6244. Visit one of
Scotland’s allegedly most haunted locations for an extra-spooky does of history. Tours last 1 hour 20 minutes and run every 40 minutes. FREE Pop Up Shop in Sofi’s Thu 27 Oct, 7pm–1am. Sofi’s, 65 Henderson Street Leith, 555 1979. Stylish Scandinavian fashion pop-up from Kakao by K. Fright Night at Edinburgh Zoo Fri 28 Oct, 6pm. £100. Edinburgh Zoo, Corstorphine Road, 314 0303. Find out what the animals get up to at night at the spookiest time of year with this night of feasting, ghoulish tales and a spooky sleepover in the Zoo’s mansion house. Over 18s. Booking essential. See feature, page 20.
✽✽ FREE Samhuinn Mon 31 Oct, 9pm. Royal Mile, beltane.org The
traditional celebration of Celtic New Year, a night when the departed spirits from the previous year return for a last hurrah. See feature, pages 13 and 20. FREE Edinburgh BlogTogether Tue 1 & 15 Nov, 6–8pm. Sofi’s, 65 Henderson Street Leith, 555 1979. Sofi’s provide the