Bookbug: for young children and their parents and carers. 10.30-11am, Oxgangs Library, 343 Oxgangs Road North. Also at same times on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th May 2015.
The Play Talk Read Bus is in Edinburgh this week: enjoyable learning and fun for pre-school children and their parents and carers. There are games and activities downstairs and a Bookbug session upstairs, all facilitated by friendly Play Leaders. Today the bus will be at Drumbrae Library Hub, Drum Brae Drive 10am-1pm and 2-4pm. It’s free and all are welcome.
Lunchtime Concert: Will Pickvance Piano Speak. 12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.
French Cinema: Gare du Nord. Claire Simon’s blend of documentary and fiction follows the everyday lives of dozens of passers-by in one of the largest stations in Europe. A focused and serious sociology student Ismael is leading a study in this fast-paced urban environment when he meets the elegant fifty-something Mathilde… ‘A calm but powerful film where motion and emotion are the cornerstones’. In French with English subtitles. 1-3pm, Institut Francais d’Ecosse, 13 Randolph Crescent. Free.
Health All Round Conversational English Coffee Mornings: meet people and practice your English at this friendly, informal gathering, facilitated by an ESOL teacher. A creche is available for which places must be booked in advance. 9.30-11am today and every Wednesday, Tynecastle Community Wing, Tynecastle High School, McLeod Street. All welcome! For more information please contact Magda on 0131 337 1376 or email albapolska@healthallround.org.uk or Maysoon at maysoon@healthallround.org.uk.
In Focus: George Keith, 10th Earl Marischal of Scotland, by Pierre Parrocel, about 1716. Susanna Kerr, former Senior Curator, Portrait Gallery, discusses this portrait of a committed Jacobite, his career in the 1715 and 1719 rebellions and his service under Frederick the Great of Prussia. 12.45-1.15pm, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free and unticketed.
Game of Crowns Exhibition Tour for those with a hearing impairment (portable loop available). 2-3pm, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge. Free but booking is essential: please email b.casebow@nls.uk or call 0131 623 3745.
Leith School of Art Open Days: visit the school to hear about its courses and see the students in action. Short presentations will be given by course leaders and there will be a chance to ask questions. Today’s presentations will be on Landscape (1pm), Printmaking (1.30pm) and Drawing Course (2pm), all at the North Junction Street Campus, and Foundation Course (1.30pm) at the St James Campus, and both campuses will be open to visitors 10am-3pm. Leith School of Art, 25 North Junction Street. The School has independent status; its courses are structured around set projects and personal work, with a high staff: student ratio. If you would like to arrange a portfolio review with a tutor, please contact the school in advance on 0131 554 5761. Also on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th May 2015 (with different presentations each day).
Orson Welles Special Screening: to mark the 100th anniversary of Welles’ death, a one-off screening of Citizen Kane (U). This fictional biography of media magnate Charles Foster Kane – a thinly-veiled Randolph Hearst – recreates a life in flashback. ‘A startling cinematic debut by any standards…the fact that it was made by a 25-year old makes it nothing short of remarkable’. 2.30pm and 8.30pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased online here or by calling the Box Office on 0131 228 2688.
Beyond Google: an introduction to Credo Reference and Oxford Reference Online. A basic introduction to the key features of two major online resources; learn how to access hundreds of quality reference books online. 2-4pm, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge. Free but please book via the NLS website here or by calling 0131 623 3734.
Craigmillar Library Book Group: currently reading Sarah Winman’s When God was a Rabbit. Call into the library in advance to borrow your copy, then come along this evening for the discussion. 6.30pm, Craigmillar Library, 101 Niddrie Mains Road. All welcome!
Vera Chytilova Film Season: Vera Chytilova, the leading lady of 1960s Czech New Wave, died last year at the age of 85. A rebel, a feminist, a critic of contemporary society and an innovative filmmaker best known for her work Daisies, Chytilova focused on women rebelling against a male-dominated order, while consistently applying her own moral vision. She was banned from filming by the Czech government. Today’s film is The Fruit of Paradise (Ovoce stromu rajdkych jime) (15) (in Czech with English subtitles). Nominally based on a story of a murderer, the characters symbolise Eve, Adam and the devil against a background of the Garden of Eden. ‘Zdenek Liska’s music, Jaroslav Kucera’s cinematography and Ester Krumbachova’s design combine in a unique celebration of form.’ The screening will be introduced by Dr David Sorfa (University of Edinburgh), editor-in-chief of the journal Film-Philosophy. 6.15pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased online here or by calling the Box Office on 0131 228 2688. The next film in this series will be Prefab Story on Wednesday 13th May 2015.
Botanic Cottage Updates & Stories: an informal talk to tell you more about the Botanic 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. No booking required.
LGBT: Bi and Beyond Edinburgh. A fortnightly social gathering for people who identify as bisexual and non-monosexual. With organised social activities and refreshments provided, whatever your label or lack of label, we welcome you. 7-9pm, LGBT Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street. For more information please contact biandbeyondedinburgh@gmail.com.
Greenpeace Edinburgh Film Night: Gasland Part II. The provocative follow-up to filmmaker Josh Fox’s award-winning documentary on fracking, Gasland II continues to explore the gas industry’s influence on public policy, and how the stakes have been raised on all sides. 7pm, Upstairs Room, Beehive Inn, 18 Grassmarket.
Nothing Ever Happens Here Presents RM Hubbert + Lypsync for a Lullaby + Tisso Lake. The Glaswegian guitarist, whose playing incorporates elements of flamenco, folk and samba, and who writes ‘music about love, death, friendship, mental illness and a dog called D Bone’, plus support from Edinburgh quartet Lypsync for a Lullaby and experimental Edinburgh band Tisso Lake. For over 18s only. 8pm-1am, Main Hall, Summerhall, 1 Summerhall. Tickets cost £10 and may be booked here.
Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop: Mario Caeiro. The curator and academic discusses his work, in particular GOFLANEUR, an urban community project which explores the possibilities art offers to the contemporary city. 6pm, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, 21 Hawthornvale. For more information please call ESW on 0131 551 4490.
Crisis Skylight: Meet the Team. Crisis Skylight Edinburgh is a charity working with single homeless or vulnerably housed people. It offers structured 12-week courses, taster sessions and one-to-one support to help people learn, develop skills and improve their confidence, with the aim of supporting individuals on their journey out of homelessness and towards independence. Crisis has an extensive outreach service and delivers activities at a variety of locations in Edinburgh; many of the courses it offers can lead to SQA qualifications. Find out what Crisis does and what help you can get; hear about classes and events and meet Crisis staff, volunteers and other members. Refreshments provided. 1.30-2.30pm, Crisis, Crichton House, 4 Crichton’s Close. For more information please call Crisis on 0131 209 7700 or email edinburgh@crisis.org.uk.
Folk Film Gathering: the world’s first folk film festival. The inaugural programme explores the use of folk tale and storytelling in film, rhapsodic mixes of cinema and song and a particular focus on women’s stories and perspectives. Each feature will be preceded by a related short by a contemporary Scottish filmmaker. Today’s film is Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari (15) (in Russian and Mari with English subtitles). ‘A series of cinematic folk tales, each focusing on a woman whose name begins with ‘O’. Equal parts absurd, hilarious, tragic and surreal…a joyous and profound celebration of the feminine as filtered through folk tale’. Plus short Cailleach by Rosie Reed Hillman. 8.30pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased online here or by calling the Box Office on 0131 228 2688.
