AROUND TOWN list.co.uk/aroundtown
HITLIST THE BEST TALKS, FESTS & FOOD
✽ Summerhall and Barney’s Beer: Beer Festival The festival returns to celebrate all things ale-like with live music and freshly made bratwurst and pretzels. Summerhall, Edinburgh, Fri 15–Sun 17 Nov.
✽ Previously . . . Scotland’s History Festival Learn more about Scotland’s
history through this fun programme of events which includes theatre, music and spoken word. This year’s festival begins with a day devoted to Robert Louis Stevenson. See preview, left. Various venues, Thu 14–Sat 30 Nov.
✽ Glasgow’s Christmas Lights Switch- on The festive season kicks off with the
annual lights switch-on in George Square, with live music and more. George Square, Glasgow, Thu 14 Nov.
✽ The Glad Academy:
Words The Glad Cafe welcomes Scotland’s National Poet, Liz Lochhead to their regular speaker night. The Glad Cafe,
Glasgow, Sun 17 Nov.
✽ Edinburgh’s Christmas Light Night Chris Hoy will be switching on the capital’s Christmas lights at this event, which is also the official opening of Edinburgh’s Christmas attractions. George Street, Edinburgh, Sun 24 Nov.
✽ Judy’s Affordable Vintage Fair Rummage through vintage clothing and
accessories at this regular fair which won’t break the bank. The Picture House, Edinburgh, Sun 8 Dec.
PREVIOUSLY . . . The festival aiming to ‘take history off the tea towel’
‘H istory is just gossip that’s fermented longer,’ says comedian Susan Morrison, one of the co-directors of Previously . . ., which describes itself as Scotland’s History Festival. ‘For too long Scottish history has had a bit of a brand-image problem – it’s been dominated by Bonnie Prince Charlie, William Wallace and a woman who got famous for having her head cut off. Previously . . . exists to take history off the tea towel for tourists and re-connect Scotland’s people with their fabulous stories.’
The ‘Scotland’ part is slightly misleading at the moment, given that the festival has only ever been held in Edinburgh for each of its three years, but Morrison’s colleague, festival co-founder Ian Harrower, points out that they’ve gone from a ‘standing start’ to 6000 visitors in 2012, and they’re aiming for 10,000 this year and then to multiply that as they roll out to other Scottish locations in the future. They already have a handful of events in Glasgow and one in Stirling this year,
36 THE LIST 14 Nov–12 Dec 2013
and are helping launch Andrew Carnegie Day in Dunfermline, while the core programme visits Edinburgh venues including the Voodoo Rooms and the Stand Comedy Club, and takes in theatre, music and spoken word. ‘History didn’t get made in lecture theatres,’ says Morrison, ‘so why do we keep it there?’ ‘Our themes this year are Radical Scotland and Scotland at Work,’ says Harrower, ‘but to be honest there are just so many wonderful and interesting places to go. Scotland drips history, so the programme provides a snapshot of what everyone in our community has been working on. Not surprisingly, this year people wanted to reflect on our current political debate, while there’s a strong emphasis on the neglected women of Scottish history who have been scandalously edited out of the national narrative.’ (David Pollock)
Various venues, Edinburgh, Wed 13–Sat 30 Nov.