Bike Week Edinburgh 19-27 June 2010

The annual Spokes breakfast is on June 23rd from 8-10 outside the City Chambers on the High Street. Bacon rolls, scrambled egg rolls, stalls and speeches are promised.

This is all part of Bike Week which runs from 19th to 27th June 2010.

On the first day of Bike Week you can ride from Edinburgh to St Andrews to raise money for LEPRA. You can download the application form here. The cycle ride starts from Inverleith Park at 8.45am and buses will bring you and your bikes back.

Details of other organised bike rides can be found here. It is amazing how many people like to cycle very long distances of an evening! There are also many competitive rides – for example the Bethany Sportive takes place on 5th June over 111 miles. You can get more details here.

One of the other initiatives for Bike Week is to encourage people to make films about bikes… It can be about anything to do with bikes – from how to fix a puncture upwards…. There are prizes! More details here.

Keeping your bike safe

The police in Lothian and Borders have launched a campaign to help you keep your bike safe.

They are offering bikeregister products to mark your bike and ensure you would know it is definitely yours if you are unlucky enough to have it stolen.

The police will mark the bike for you and will give you a discount on normal prices.

More details on the Spokes website of the times and locations of events where you can have your bike attended to, including The Meadows Festival this weekend.

The Archery World Cup Final

You can find it at http://www.archeryedinburgh.co.uk

The Archery World Cup Final website is the event hub for both archery enthusiasts and local spectators offering a wide variety of information on the World Cup Final, competitive archery, UK and International archers, general news, seat reservations and Edinburgh tourist information.

The Archery World Cup Final, the biggest, most important archery competition ever to be staged in the UK, is the culmination of four World Cup qualifying events in the two disciplines of Compound and Recurve bows. It brings the skill and tension of knockout archery (two competitors going head to head) into the very heart of Scotland’s capital city for two days of thrilling competition.

Edinburgh residents, visitors to the city and archery enthusiasts will have the perfect opportunity to watch the best thirty-two archers in the world showcasing their incredible skills of control, calmness, technique and concentration under pressure for the biggest prize money in the sport.

The event will be located in East Princes Street Gardens under The Scott Monument and is free for spectators. However seats in the Grandstand, offering the best views of the competition field, will be subject to availability. They can be reserved now through the website and cost £5.00 plus booking fee per seat. Link – http://www.archeryedinburgh.co.uk/the-event/reserving-seats.

The 2010 Archery World Cup Final will not only be a fantastic demonstration of the sport in the UK, it will also showcase the city of Edinburgh and Scotland as the perfect destination for the world’s biggest and best sporting events. It follows the World Duathlon Championships to be held in early September.

At the event there will also be a series of ‘have a go’ sessions organised by Scottish Archery. So for any budding Robin and Marions get yourself down to East Princes Street Gardens in September.

Partners of the Archery World Cup Final 2010 in Edinburgh include City of Edinburgh Council, EventScotland, UK Sport, Archery GB and The Scottish Archery Association.

World Potato Congress 2012 to be held in Edinburgh

At least 600 potato specialists from around the world will attend the event 417 years after Sir Walter Raleigh, the Elizabethan explorer, introduced the vegetable to England. Since then potato harvesting has grown into a major global industry with more than 325 million tonnes a year being produced. The three day World Potato Congress will be staged at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) in June 2012 and is one of twenty new events won for the city with the assistance of the Edinburgh Convention Bureau. These events which were confirmed between 20 April and 19 May will be attended by up to 4,557 delegates in total and will inject an anticipated 6.4 million pounds Sterling into the Edinburgh economy. The largest of the news events is the conference of the National Association of Pension Funds with 800 delegates and an economic value of 1.1 million pounds Sterling. The venue for the three day meeting in March 2011 is the EICC. Sue Stuart, Chief Executive of ECB, commented: “When you realise the contribution the potato makes to the diet of people around the world it’s not so humble after all. We will be delighted to welcome the delegates and let them sample some of Scotland’s best potato produce.“ She added:” It is important to see the return of the National Association of Pension Funds conference as it recognises the continued importance of Edinburgh as a financial centre particularly in these difficult economic times.”

Gliterary Lunches

There may still be some tickets left if you hurry.

What is a Gliterary Lunch? It is a good lunch with authors, books and friends.

You can learn more at www.gliterarylunches.com

The Third Policeman at The Traverse 3-5 June 2010

Ireland’s only full-time ensemble theatre company, Blue Raincoat, bring their acclaimed production of the Flann O’Brien classic novel The Third Policeman to Scotland in June.

First published over 40 years ago, The Third Policeman is a classic modern novel from one of the major figures of 20th century Irish literature. Set in an archetypal Irish village the book contains characters that range from a disembodied soul named Joe, village policemen with a machine for storing light until it is needed, a murderous rake called Finnucanne, a one legged gallows maker, walking corpses and the trickiest man in all of Ireland … oh, and bicycles … lots and lots of bicycles. The novel further abounds with the theories of De Selby, an eccentric philosopher who believes that the world is not round but shaped like a sausage and who’s footnotes invade the book to a point where there’s almost no room left on the page for the original story, or indeed for its purported author … a man guilty of the vicious murder of an elderly neighbor who must wander the hideously surreal and darkly paradoxical realms of the afterlife as a consequence.

Adapted for the stage by Jocelyn Clarke The Third Policeman is a murder mystery, an hilarious comedy, a fable of eternal grief and – most importantly – the story of romantic love between one man and his bicycle.

Directed by Niall Henry with design by Jamie Vartan. Blue Raincoat Theatre Company ensemble cast is comprised of John Carty, Fiona McGeown, Sandra O’Malley, Kellie Hughes and Ciaran McCauley. Sound and multi-media design is by Joe Hunt with lighting design by Michael Cummins.

Walk for Water

The Soila Maasai Girls Rescue Centre situated in Kenya’s Rift Valley, provides support and education to 100 Maasai girls between the ages of 8 to16 years old. With the co-operation of the local Chiefs, the Centre provides them with an alternative childhood, free from arranged marriages and female mutilation.

But the cost of providing water for the Centre has soared because of the prolonged drought in Kenya and so Walk for Water has been organised on Sunday 1st August 2010.

The challenge is to climb Glas Tualaichean one of Scotland’s 283 Munros, which is 1051m high and raise a minimum of £21 – the cost of water for one girl for half a year. Owners of the Dalmunzie Estate where the Munro is situated, Alex and Simon Winton, have kindly given their permission and help for the organised trek.

The aim is to raise enough money to provide water for all the girls and staff for the next 12 months, with any additional donations going towards finding a long-term solution for the provision of water at the Centre.

The options are;

To walk 2¼ miles to Glenlochsie Lodge via the old railway line, on the relative flat, and then return.
To climb to the summit via Glenlochsie Lodge (as marked on the map), 4 ½ miles.
To race to the top, via Glenlochsie Lodge, the winner will receive a bottle of Famous Grouse kindly donated by the company.
The race will start at 11:30; you will need to carry a waterproof jacket and trousers in a bum bag. Please make sure you arrive by 11am with a bag of warm clothes that will be taken by vehicle to the top for your arrival.

The entry fees are £21 per adult and £10 per child, this being the minimum amount required. If possible everyone should try to raise £42 to cover the cost of water for each girl for a year.

There is parking available, 200 metres past the Dalmunzie Hotel on the left – follow signs. For anyone coming from Perth, a free coach will leave Broxden Park and Ride at 08.30 returning at 16.30. There are only 50 places available on the bus and booking is required. The walk will start at 10.30am, so please arrive by 10.00am in time to register.

The walk will be lead by a competent mountaineer and a doctor will be present. Please bring walking boots or sturdy shoes plus waterproofs and warm clothing as it can be very cold, even in summer at the top of a mountain. Those climbing Glas Tualaichean are advised to carry plenty of water, a flask with a warm drink and a picnic. Dogs are welcome provided they are kept under control or on leads, please note, dogs will not be allowed on the bus. All participants will receive a certificate signed by Ann Gloag, handed out on finishing.

Great support has been offered for the event and the sponsors include Highland Spring who are providing the bottled water, Famous Grouse for the winner’s whisky and Bookers cash and carry for the children’s sweets. Stratstone Garage and Mr Douglas Parks are also providing support.

The Dalmunzie Hotel, owned by Mr and Mrs Scott Poole, has very kindly agreed to donate ten per cent of takings for anyone staying at the Hotel or buying refreshments. They will be serving Afternoon Tea with sandwiches and cakes at the hotel on the day at a cost of £5.50 per head, booking advised.

This should be a fun and challenging day for all. Application forms from Judy Thomson

The Ghost…again

It is worth seeing – even if it is only to ogle Pierce and Ewan! The fact that Roman Polanski edited this film on a laptop in prison is secondary but an important piece of the film story.

Details of the showings on 4 June can be found here.

Out of the Blue Drill Hall

They have an open weekend on 28th and 29th May to showcase the work of resident artists. The venue has just undergone a major renovation and has a new look.

As well as studios, music practice room, creative events and workshops…..there is a cafe!.

The Guardian Local have a slideshow of the launch on Thursday evening which you can watch here.

Have you been there? What did you think of the new surroundings?

The City Car Club

If you are looking for other ways to be environmentally friendly then in Edinburgh you are inundated with choice. It is possible to walk most places, we have a very good bus service, and if you do not own a car then you can always ‘borrow’ one….from the City Car Club

You register on line and get a card which allows you to unlock the car when you then book it online.

You can therefore book 24 hours a day 7 days a week. You pick up the car from several locations around the city and return it to one of those as well. According to the City Car Club website it is as cheap as under £5 per hour….

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