ENTS. TALKS AND SPORT
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* Bonfire Night Fireworks
Displays l we» tit.
«ll ‘wn't'f tltt- l'f‘t'iii TW-ft ltrtvrtt'kt ‘rl‘élllxi‘, flttr‘ltrx’ /i,".".‘x.'tr" (firearms. trait)". (}./.rxt;u‘.‘...'\‘f"" ' '
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* Glasgow Craft Mafia Massed gathering of emergent Scottish desrgners and crafteteers. with a range of handcrafted jewellery, textiles and accessories on sale. Don't criticise the crochet. though — you don't want to wake up with a knitted horse’s head in your bed. Universal. Glasgow, Thu 7 Nov.
* License Pending Third outing for the new Scottish spoken word and cabaret collective. whose members include Martin O'Connor and current Slam champion Drew Taylor. Tron Theatre, Glasgow. Thu 8 Nov.
* Scotland and Slavery. A day of talks examining Scotland's role in the slave trade and movement for abolition. Speakers will include Professor Tom Devine. Professor John Cairns. the Rev Dr lain Wbyte. Sheila Asante. Dr Alex Murdoch. Professor Geoffrey Palmer and Dr Eric J Graham. Email events@nls.uk to book. Nat/ona/ Library of Scotland. Edinburgh. Tue 13 Nov.
Case his ories
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Cate Simpson steps behind the police cordon at a new exhibition celebrating Edinburgh’s best-loved gumshoe
here\ a pleasing eireularit} to thix e\hibition
at tlte National |.ibrar_\. Ian Rankin \\ rote
niueh ol’ Run/x (UNI (room. the lirxt Rebux
book. in the reading room here. thanks to a PM)
lilL‘\i\ on .\luriel Spark that tell b) the \\a_\\ide. \\'ith
Rankin’x tamed protagonist lnqteetor Rebux paeked
oil into retirement this _\ear. it leelx right that this
eelebralion ol' his Ill-_\ear iourne} should be horned in the plaee \\ here it began.
I tune a eonl'esxion to make at this point: I ha\en‘t
I'L‘Ltd an} Hi the Rei‘th lttt\e|\. or ill le;t\l i Itttdll'l
iM‘lttl'e liti\ \\ L‘ekeltd. SH i \\;t\ L'tll'ittth It) LiiSk'tfi er
whether a displa} ot' Rebux artil'aeh \\ttlliti hold mueh
interext for me. I hall e\peeted a mode) eolleetion ol'
tithitx l‘or tlte die-hard fan. but although there'\ a bit of" that here. there ix also \omething for those \\ith old} a paving aeqttaintanee \\ ith the xeriex.
l'or kidx. there ix a mttrder m}\ter_\ to itnextigate. in \xhieh tlte man himxell' ix a \ll\[k‘el in a grixl} erime inside the librar} ll peeked. btit | \ton't gi\e ;t\\;t_\ tlte L‘lldlllfiil. 'I‘here l\ div) ;t e‘ttl'dttlled-ttll 'L‘l'llllc \xhere _\ou ean peer at thingx through a ttt;igitil_\iitg glaxx or dust l'or lingerprintx. I \\;t\ tempted. but the laltlex \xere \et al that \lightl} too- hm height that quietl} remindx adults that theyre supposed to be reading the intormatne e\planation\ ol l)\.\ and tingerprinting behind them rather than getting \and all m er tlte Hoot.
\L'L‘HC'.
l \\a\ partieularl} takert b} the pltologl‘aplh ol~
Rankin‘s \Hll'ixSPdL'L'S o\ er the _\ear\. eomplete \tith \eattered paper\ and l’tt\l—|l\ sprinkled along the \\all\. but there are hinl\ here alw of an anxu er to a duestion often axked about \\ riterx: \\ here doe\ lietion
end and the \xriter\ oun realit} begin'.’ This is partieularl} pertinent to Rankin. \tho i\ \o re\ered in lidinburgh that he eottld ha\e been out elearing the streets of those daitgeroux erintinalx hitnxell. So it is interexting to learn. for e\ample. that Rankin takes inxpiration from llL‘\\\ headlines. ueming the real happenings of ladinbtirgh llike the opening ol' the new Seollixh l’arliantenll into hix \toriex.
'l‘he e\tent to \xhieh Rankin‘x \erxion ol' ladinburgh has begun to bleed baek into the eultural lite of the eit} ix e\ident in the \eetion dexoted to Inspeetor .lohn Rebux himself] Strategieall) plaeed information boards around a reeonxtruetion ol the good l)l'\ desk textil} to the nap iii \xhieh loeal residents il;t\L‘ begtnt to blur laet and l'ietion: lot” example. \\ hen Rebux' retirement at (ill beeame imntinent. MSP Helen [Ladle L'alllpitigned It) increase the police retirement age to ()5. l’nxurprisinglt. l.othian and Borderx‘ linext \\ ere unimpressed b_\ the proposal.
I asked our guest editor if he \\;t\ tempted to put ill\ \\ hole lite on display la l'eu _\ear\ before her death Spark herself bequeathed an arehi\e of desk diaries and tixed ttmlitbl'lISilCS to the National Librariesi. '.\'o. I think this i\ ax mueh ax _\ou're going to get. I‘m quite boring in the real \Htt'id. all in} experiences hax e been in in} head.‘
Outside the librar} the Sun is shining. but the dark Cl'L‘itllUllx of~ Rankin'x head persist. in spirit at least. in the hidden plaeex and L'|()\L‘\ all around me.
Crime Scene: Edinburgh runs at the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh from Wed 24 Oct-Sun 13 Jan.
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