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THE BEST EVENTS, TALKS AND SPORT

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lite: 3|! Merchant City Festival Glasgow’s well-heeled cultural quarter comes into its own again, with a four day festival of fashion, theatre. clubbing, food, music and visual art. Look out for the giant maze popping up in the middle of George Square, the cream of this year’s Glasgow Comedy Festival. and a late night Festival Club with an excellent roster of DJs. Check out www.merchantcity festivalcom for full listings, and look out for a full preview in next fortnight '3 issue. Various venues around the Merchant City, Glasgow, Thu 20-Sun 23 Sep. * Dance Base Taster Sessions Looking for your very own dance style to guide you through the darker months? Dance Base's Dr Dance is on hand to help you sort your bellydances from your boogaloos, with a succession of free taster sessions of all the upcoming term's classes. Dance Base. Edinburgh. Thu 13 8. Sat 16 Sep. * Glasgow Tower Charity Absell Are you brave enough to dangle yourself off Glasgow's tallest building? Go on. it's for charity. Register at www.glasgowsciencecentre.org. Glasgow Science Centre, Glasgow, Sat 15 Sep.

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Ahead of his talk at the Citizens Theatre we spoke to Nick Nairn about food, fear and following in his dad’s footsteps.

p until mm. the most terrifying moment in

.\'ick Nairn‘s career was during the height ol‘

the recent loot and mouth crisis. when he interyieyyed the l'iirst Minister liye on the BBC programme [um/ward. lltm ey er. Nairn likes to push himself. and so to kick ol‘t‘ All Audience With . . . the new season (it talks at the ('iti/ens ’l‘hcatrc. hos going to get tip on the main stage and talk about his Inc to the yyhole auditorium. ‘Yes. the whole auditorium. thanks for reminding

me! I‘m ayyare that I‘m not the classic alter dinner

speaker type. but “hit! I liaye got is an interesting story. I think that‘s yyliat people like to know. really. lloyy does someone like me. who lel't school at l7. end up on the BBC."

Nairn‘s life as a l'oodie started out. unusually. when he joined the Merchant .\'a\y' as a teenager. ‘I became interested in food not cooking. loud through trayel. I come t'rom a Very conseryatiye family my father regards onions. garlic. herbs and spices as the work ol' the deyil. So yy hen I joined the Merchant .\'ayy. I tasted my tirst curry in India: my first pi//a in India.

‘I became obsessed with cooking. \y hen l came back from the .\'a\y. I‘d encountered all these incredible l'oods on my trayels. and \\ as alyyays trying to throw dinner parties and entertain people. To be frank. I started my first restaurant because I didn‘t feel that my dinner party guests yyere appreciatiye enough —-— l‘d .slaye all day to make stiiiietliiiig they ‘d yyolt‘ doyy n in ten seconds and then

say 'i'iglit. let‘s go to the pub‘. So I thought I'd find niyscll' a more descry ing audiencel‘

The story of hoyy \airn opened his lirst restaurant in .»\bei'decn. became the youngest British cliel' ey er to yyin a Michelin star. and ended tip cooking a dinner for the Queens Siltli birthday \ia. ol course. /\’('(I(/\ SIM/(fl (Vin/x. three til his 0ny] teleyision series and a phenomenally successtul (‘ook School in the 'lrossachs will be the main meal «it his hour's talk. Members of the public yyill also haye a chance to pose any particularly tricky cooking questions. although he‘s got a l'unny feeling he lsltti\\s \yhat you‘re going to ask.

'l’eople alyyays \yant to knoyy the same things. you kttoyy yyhat‘s Ainsley lllarriotl like. do you and (iordon lRamsayl still get on and I am going to talk a little bit abotit the other chel‘s. I want to be honest and giye eyeryone good \alue for their money. ()ne of my other main reasons lor doing this. though. is that my parents actually met at the (‘it/. My llltllll had just graduated lrom art school and \y as making as a set designer there; my dad [legendary Scottish actor .limmy Nairnl actually trod the boards. on that \ery stage I‘m going to be standing up and talking on. My dad‘s my hero. and hch also had an incredibly interesting. yaried career: I just thought it yyas a nice thing to do. to lulltm in his ltmlstcps.

An Audience With . . .Nick Nairn, Citizens Theatre, Glasgow. Thu 6 Sep.

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