Ceol-Cluaise Presents A Taste of Scottish Talent: a night of up and coming unsigned Scottish music talent, with all proceeds going to Nordoff Robbins, a music therapy charity dedicated to transforming the lives of vulnerable children and adults. Performances from Bella and the Bear, The Irresistible Urges, Newtown Street Locals, The Fed Peasants and No Quarter. Raffle prizes to be won! Over 18 years only. 7.30pm, The Voodoo Rooms, 19a West Register Street. Tickets cost £4 (+ booking fee) in advance (£5 on the door) and can be booked here. For more information see the event’s Facebook page.
The Hugh MacDiarmid Lecture: Alexander McCall Smith discusses Images of Nature and Human Nature in Auden. 7.30-9.30pm, The Saltire Society, 9 Fountain Close. Tickets cost £5/£4 (free for Poetry Association of Scotland members, who should still book) and can be purchased via eventbrite here. This event is organised jointly by the Poetry Association of Scotland and the Scottish Poetry Library. For more information contact jennifer.williams@spl.org.uk.
Your Neighbourhood: City Centre & Leith. Come along and find out more about care and support services in your area. 10am-4pm, Leith Library, 28-30 Ferry Road. Also at same times at Drumbrae Library Hub on 31st March and Central Library on 1st April. Organised by Edinburgh City Council and NHS Lothian.
South Neighbourhood Office and Library Book Group: currently reading The Milkman in the Night by Andrey Kurlov – Â ‘a glorious epic, eccentric and often hilarious satire’ (The Times). If you would like to join the group, call into the library to pick up a copy of the book. 1.30pm, South Neighbourhood Office and Library, 40 Captain’s Road.
Figures and Fictions: Contemporary South African Photography. Photography was introduced into South Africa in the mid-19th century; early depictions of people ranged from portraits to anthropological and ethnographic studies. During apartheid (1948-94), photography was used by the state to manage racial classification, but it was also a tool documenting resistance. Martin Barnes, Senior Curator of Photographs, Victoria and Albert Museum, considers how South African photographers address this history today, questioning, manipulating and revitalising its visual codes. 12.45-1.30pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed.
Strange Town Youth Theatre Presents All I Want for Christmas is the Head of Johnny Murdock: a play by Sam Siggs. Amy ‘Squeaker’ Benson has an unusual Yuletide request. She’s taken out a contract on her stepfather – and not for the reasons you might think. For ages 14+ – contains strong language. 7.30pm, Netherbow Theatre, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street. Tickets cost £3.50 and can be purchased online here or by calling the Box Office on 0131 556 9579.  Strange Town is a theatre company that aims to enable young people to fulfill their creative potential, and seeks to offer quality theatre provision for 5-25 year olds in Edinburgh. The company’s directors and leaders also offer their skills and experience as a resource to local communities and schools. Strange Town can be contacted via Out of the Blue, 36 Dalmeny Street or by calling 0131 629 0292.
La bataille de Solferino (2013): Sunday 6th May 2012. Francois Hollande is about to be elected President of the Republic. The Rue de Solferino, HQ of the French Parti Socialiste, is full of militants ready to celebrate their victory. At the same time another battle is in progress: Laetitia, a TV news  reporter covering the event, and her former boyfriend Vincent are fighting each other for the custody of their children. When personal stories meet history, the situation worsens. In French with English subtitles. 1-2.30pm, Institut francais d’Ecosse, 13 Randolph Crescent. Free.
Botanic Cottage Update and Stories: an informal talk about the cottage, as it is rebuilt stone by stone. For ages 10+. 1-1.30pm, Blue Shed, Demonstration Garden, Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh, Inverleith Row. Free and unticketed.
LGBT: Edinburgh Gay Men’s Book Group. An inclusive group where you can meet new people and read and discuss interesting books. 7-9pm, LGBT Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. For more information email info@gaybookgroup.co.uk.
LGBT Icebreakers: if you are new to Edinburgh, want to meet new people, or are just coming out, Icebreakers is an informal, fun and social group for LGBT people and those questioning their sexuality or gender identity. For ages 18+. 7.30-9.30pm, The Regent Bar, 2 Montrose Terrace. For more information email admin@lgbthealth.org.uk.
Braw Gigs Presents Sacred Paws, Wounded Knee & DJ Yves: Sacred Paws, featuring members of Trashkit and Golden Grrrls, Rachel Aggs and Eilidh Rodgers create ‘a seriously unique combo of angular post punk and African highlife stomp’. Wounded Knee (Drew Wright)  ‘Leith’s very own shamanic soothsayer…performs his very own brand of homebrewed yarns with either a loop pedal or a t’wa string guitar’ and DJ Yves ‘the outernational nationalist that capitalises on existentialist extra-terrestrial sounds…expect tantric rhythms before, during and after’. 7-10pm, Sneaky Pete’s, 73 Cowgate. Tickets cost £6 and can be booked online here (transaction fee applies).
Blackwell’s Edinburgh Presents Karen Campbell: Rise. Justine is running for her life, escaping a city and a man who have almost broken her, she heads north to the valleys and the mountains of the Highlands, looking for somewhere to hide. Michael and Hannah are also running, With their two sons and their tattered marriage, they have come to the village of Kilmacarra, looking for somewhere they can once again call home. In a place of standing stones – an ancient landscape in a country on the brink of change – a shocking accident causes their lives to intertwine. Tangled together in threads of guilt and love, with Scotland rushing towards a Referendum and the community around them fracturing, each must question where they truly belong. ‘On the strength of Rise I will certainly be going to the backlist’ (James Robertson). 6.30-8pm, Blackwell’s, South Bridge. Free tickets can be obtained from the shop’s front desk, by calling 0131 622 8218, emailing events.edinburgh@blackwell.co.uk or via eventbrite here.
Lunchtime Concert: Pianists from Edinburgh Napier University. 12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.
Queensferry at War: Queensferry Local History Group presents a talk on the impact of World War One on South Queensferry. Suitable for all ages. 6.45-7.45pm, South Queensferry Library, 9 Shore Road. No booking required – just come along.
Lyceum Youth Theatre Group Presents Pick ‘n’ Mix: a selection of scripts performed as a rehearsed reading. 5pm, WHALE Arts, 30 Westburn Grove. Free. Lyceum Youth Theatre is one of Scotland’s biggest youth theatre companies, renowned as a producer of high quality contemporary theatre by young people. It enables young people aged 5-18 years to get involved in drama, providing a broad range of high quality theatre experiences in a positive and supportive environment.
BAFTA Shorts: a feature-length selection of short live action and animated films from the EE British Academy Film Awards, including Daisy Jacobs’ The Bigger Picture, Ainslie Henderson and Will Anderson’s Monkey Love Experiments, Marcus Armitage’s My Dad, Michael Lennox’s Boogaloo and Graham, Rachel Tunnard’s Emotional Fusebox, Oscar Sharp’s The Karman Line, Nick Rowland’s Slap and Aleem Khan’s Three Brothers. 8.35pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets can be purchased in person, on line here or by calling the Box Office on 0131 228 2688. Also showing at 8.15pm on Thursday 26th March, when the screening will be followed by a Q & A session with Ainslie Henderson and Will Anderson.
Resonate 2015 Traditional Night: a night of music as Scottish as haggis, neeps and tatties, featuring the Edinburgh Schools Clarsach Ensemble (ESCE), Edinburgh Schools Performance Pipe Band (Youth Music Initiative) and a variety of other traditional ensembles. 7pm, The Queen’s Hall, 85-89 Clerk Street. Tickets cost £8/£4 and can be purchased from the Box office in person, online here or by calling 0131 668 2019. Transaction fees apply to online and telephone bookings. Resonate is a collaboration between The Queen’s Hall and the City of Edinburgh Council’s Children and Families Arts & Creative Learning Service, taking place at The Queen’s Hall 9-30th March 2015. It is made possible by support from the Inches Carr Trust.
