- Tennis – Australian Open finals
- Pup Idol – take your dog along to St Stephen’s Church today
- Holyrood Talk
- Book Festival’s Booked! programme at The Assembly Rooms
- #GrantaGrand
Scots Andy and Jamie Murray are both in the finals of their respective sections at the Australian Open and Gordon Reid (probably not a name you are familiar with but you soon will be!) is in the finals of the Men’s Wheelchair Singles Final and the Men’s Doubles Wheelchair Final with partner Shingo Kunieda.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:
“Andy, Jamie and Gordon all making the finals is a magnificent and historic achievement and they should all be so proud of their efforts.
“I know that everyone will be willing them onto victory – it would be absolutely brilliant to see all four trophies being re-homed in Scotland for a year!”
You can follow the finals live on BBC Sport from 8:00am this morning with the Ladies Final and tomorrow at 08:30 with the Men’s Final.
If anyone knows how to watch the tennis live then no doubt they will let us know in the Comments section below!
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Does your puppy have star quality? Could it be on stage?
The Bohemians Lyric Opera Company launched a competition last weekend to find two dogs to star alongside its cast of the Legally Blonde the musical in March in the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh.
The competition, Pup Idol, is searching for Bruiser and Rufus who play an integral part of the story in which Elle Woods swaps her designer handbag and sorority lifestyle for a place at Harvard Law School.
The dogs will be expected to take part in a short audition with members of the cast and production team where they will need to display the necessary discipline, obedience and star quality to claim the roles.
The company, based in Edinburgh, is holding open auditions TODAY!
When: 30th January between 2pm-5pm
Where: St Stephen’s Church, Edinburgh
Anyone can register to bring their dog along to the auditions by emailing pupidol@bohemians.org.uk
Speaking about the competition, the show Director, Jon Cuthbertson said:
“There is often a perception that music theatre is a closed shop, and not something that is accessible to everyone. This is absolutely not the case. Amateur music theatre is right at the heart of local communities here in Edinburgh with members of our cast working as teachers, shop assistants, nurses, students and many others during the day.”
“When thinking about how we would find our Bruiser and Rufus to join our cast in Legally Blonde, we thought it would be a fantastic opportunity to open it up to any enthusiastic dog owner and their pooch who was willing to give it a go. “
“I can promise that performing in this dynamic and fun show will be a really wonderful and rich musical experience for the owner and their dog, and I’d really encourage all those dog lovers out there to dip their feet in the world of music theatre.”
The only western woman to go into battle as an enlisted soldier in the First World War, Flora Sandes from Suffolk became a heroine and a media sensation after she was wounded fighting in the Serbian Army. She rose rapidly through the ranks, was mentioned twice in despatches and was awarded the Star of Karadorde for bravery under fire, eventually becoming a Captain.
On Saturday 6 February there is a talk to be given by Louise Miller at The Scottish Parliament at Holyrood at 14:00pm about the work carried out by Flora Sandes.
We met up with Nick Barley Director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival at the People’s Postcode Lottery on Thursday night. At the time he was clutching a large cheque for £250,000 which is the lottery’s contribution to the Edinburgh-based charity.
Mr Barley explained to us that this money will be used for the Festival’s reading based programme outwith Charlotte Square which is called Booked!
The Crocodiamond is a story written by award-winning children’s author Anthony Horowitz and set to music by innovative composer Jonathan Dove.
As part of the Booked! programme pupils from Sandaig Primary School in Glasgow, who have no music provision at their school, have been working with musicians from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, together with much-loved illustrator and Alfie-creator, Debi Gliori, and storyteller Caroline McCluskey, to create imagery in response to both the story and the music.
Go along and hear a special performance of The Crocodiamond with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and see the incredible work produced by the children of Sandaig Primary. There are also exciting pre-concert activities for all the family: play instruments from the Instrument Armoury, take an illustration workshop with Debi Gliori, meet The Crocodiamond musicians, and get stuck into some art and craft activities.
Booking information
Edinburgh:
Sat 13 February, pre-concert activities 10.30am-12pm. Concert begins 12pm at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh
Sat 13 February, pre-concert activities 1pm-2.30pm. Concert begins 2.30pm at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh
Tickets £12.50 (family ticket £31). Recommended for families and children aged 4–10.
Book your tickets through the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s website here.
A new initiative in the south west of the city will mean that young people can vote on how to use 10 prizes of £10,000 each in their local communities to benefit themselves and others in the same age group.
During Autumn 2015 young people were given the opportunity of making suggestions for the ‘Grant a Grand’ scheme and 16 applications were received. All 10-19 year olds in South West Edinburgh are now being invited to vote on which projects they would most like to get the money.
Voting in Balgreen, Fountainbridge, Sighthill and Wester Hailes libraries will be open from Monday 1 to Wednesday 24 February and the results will be announced at a community event on Friday 26 February at Carrickvale Community Centre.
The event will include stalls from local community groups, sports tasters and refreshments. It’s free to come along and everyone in South West Edinburgh is welcome.
This year’s applicants include Gorgie City Farm, Wester Hailes Health Agency, Hutchison Vale Community Sports Club and two local Scouts groups.
Councillor Maureen Child, Convener of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Participatory budget schemes have proven to be extremely popular, and it’s great to see so many applicants covering so many different projects.
“I would now urge everyone who is eligible to take to part in the vote to have your say in who should be granted a grand. Neighbourhood Partnership events like this are valued by people who welcome the opportunity to make decisions about the area in which they live.”
For up-to-date information about Grant a Grand follow @southwest_team on Twitter, watch out for #GrantaGrand, or visit South West Neighbourhood website.
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Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
