www.list.co.uk/aroundtown AroundTown
website for full event listings. See feature, page 29. FREE The Scott Monument Big Heids Draw Sat 23 Oct, 10am–noon. Central Library, George IV Bridge, 242 8000. Help build a huge paper version of the Scott Monument. FREE Fungi under the Microscope Sat 23 & Sun 24 Oct, 1–4pm. John Hope Gateway Centre, Royal Botanic Gardens, Arboretum Place, 552 7171. Get up close and personal with fungi. Hallowe’en Supernatural History Tours Sat 23–Sun 31 Oct, 6–9pm. £12.50 (£11.50; children £6). The Real Mary King’s Close, 2 Warriston’s Close, High Street, 0845 070 6244. Special, ‘ghostly’ tours revealing the hauntings, sightings and unexplained mysteries of this highly haunted site. Tours run every 20 minutes. Booking essential. FREE Ready Steady Jewel Sat 23 Oct, 7.30–9.30pm. Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 30–36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, 555 7100. An opportunity to bid on handmade jewellery from established silversmiths as well as recent graduates. FREE Gramophone Hour Wed 27 Oct & 3 Nov, 7–8pm. Forest Café, 3 Bristo Place, 220 4538. Indulge in a little nostalgia with 78s from 7 ‘til 8 – see what they did there? FREE Stevenson Symphony Orchestra Open Evening Thu 28 Oct, 6.30–8.30pm. The Music Box, Stevenson College, Bankhead Avenue, 535 4840. This new community orchestra based at Stevenson College is recruiting for woodwind, brass, percussion and strings. BeInspired2 Charity Fashion Show Thu 28 Oct, 7pm. £15. Assembly Rooms, 54 George Street, 220 4348. Charity fashion show to raise money for The Butterfly Trust, which helps those affected by cystic fibrosis. Spirits of Newhailes Fri 29 & Sat 30 Oct, 8.30pm. £13 (family ticket £32). Newhailes, Newhailes Road, Musselburgh, 225 5445. Gather after nightfall to hear sinister tales of this beautiful house. Mary, Queen of Scots and the Birth of James IV Sat 30 & Sun 31 Oct, 11am–3pm. Included in admission: £13 (£10.40; children £7.00; under 5s free). Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, 668 8858. Learn about past royal inhabitants of the castle. FREE Feed The Birds Day Sat 30 Oct, 1–4pm. Royal Botanic Garden, 20a Inverleith Row, 331 0993. Join the RSPB to learn how to keep the local birds fed and happy this winter. Hallowe’en Close Encounter Sat 30 Oct, 11.30pm–5am. £70. The Real Mary King’s Close, 2 Warriston’s Close, High Street, 0845 070 6244. Spend all night in the most haunted place in Scotland, tracking down spooks and ghouls with scientific equipment and traditional spiritual communication. Email halloween@realmarykingsclose.com to book.
✽✽ Death Weekend Sat 30 & Sun 31 Oct, times vary. Prices vary. Roxy
Art House, 2 Roxburgh Place, 629 0039. A celebration of death in all its glorious (artistic, we presume) forms. Featuring live music, literary events, art happenings and cult film showings, the weekend culminates in a zombie party, for which fancy dress is advised – nay, demanded. See caption, above right. British Heart Foundation – Winter Warmer Sun 31 Oct, 11am. £10. Holyrood Park, 0800 028 7542. Walk, jog or run 5k or 10k in aid of the British Heart Foundation. A more worthy way to spend one’s Hallowe’en. FREE Fungi Finds Sun 31 Oct, 1–4pm. John Hope Gateway Centre, Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, Arboretum Place, 552 7171. See some local fungi with mycologist Neville Kilkenny. FREE Edinburgh Zombie Walk Sun 31 Oct, 7.30pm. Old Town, sign up at zombiewalkedinburgh.moonfruit.com for more info. Join a pack of assorted freaks, ghouls and under-employed art school students to shuffle through the streets of
Death Weekend The Roxy Art House get right into the spooky swing of things with this subtly-named collection of morbid events celebrating Hallowe’en. There’s a literary reading from satirical sci-fi guy Steve Aylett; experimental art from Alex Hetherington; live music from Real Dave And The People, Nalle and more; plus fiendish film screenings, a few disturbing club nights and the climactic end to the Edinburgh Zombie Walk. Fancy dress is highly encouraged, and best of all, many events are free, with none costing more than a fiver. ■ Roxy Art House, Edinburgh, Fri 29–Sun 31 Oct.
the city, infecting passers-by and walking in a mildly disconcerting manner. Meet at the Banshee Labyrinth. Walk concludes at the Roxy Art House and is followed by some kind of undead shindig. See caption, above.
✽✽ FREE Samhuinn Sun 31 Oct, 9pm. Royal Mile, 558 8110. On the
night when the veil between the worlds thins, join Beltane Fire Society for summer’s last dance down the Royal Mile (starting at Castle Hill), before winter and darkness takes over for good (well, six months, anyway). See caption, left. Fairs Edinburgh PBFA Book Fair Fri 22 & Sat 23 Oct, Fri noon–6.45pm; Sat 10am–5pm. £1. Assembly Rooms, 54 George Street, 337 1947. Interesting second-hand and antiquarian books, maps and prints. Arts Market Sat 23 Oct, 11am–5pm. £0.80. Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 30–36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, 555 7100. Art, craft and design goodies direct from the artists themselves.
Talks FREE Edinburgh Skeptics Thu 21 Oct, 8pm. The Bongo Club, Moray House, 37 Holyrood Road, 558 7604. Guest speaker Andy Lewis discusses ‘The Persistence of Delusion’. The Night Sky in November Mon 25 Oct, 7.30–8.30pm. £3 (£1.50). Royal Observatory Visitor Centre, Blackford Hill, 668 8404. Find out what to look forward to next month, including a meteor shower, with the help of expert Russell Eberst. Victorian Women Writers Tue 26 Oct, 10.30am. £8. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 336 2060. Hear about women whose writing broke boundaries. Booking essential. FREE Sebastian and Georgia Boyle: Barra World Series, 1992–2010 Tue 26 Oct, 12.45–1.30pm. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 75 Belford Road, 624 6200. The pair discuss their travels, the destinations of which were dictated by where darts thrown by friends landed on a map of the world.
FREE Ante-Mortem with Professor Sue Black Wed 27 Oct, 6–7.30pm. Royal College Of Surgeons, 9 Hill Square, 527 1649. Learn about the sometime gruesome but important work of a forensic anthropologist. Scottish Lighthouses: Past and Present Wed 27 Oct, 7pm. £5 (£4). National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, 225 7534. Dr Alison Morrison- Low explains how Scotland’s coasts have been lit since the very earliest lighthouse in 1636. FREE ‘Still Life with Fruit and Game’ by Abraham van Beyeren Fri 29 Oct, 12.45–1.15pm. National Gallery Complex, The Mound, 624 6200. A senior curator discusses the painting. FREE Geopoetics – an International Movement for Radical Cultural Renewal Sat 30 Oct, noon–1.30pm. Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 30–36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, 555 7100. Open discussion about a movement promoting contact with the earth at the centre of our cultural understanding. FREE National Gallery Highlights Tour Sat 30 Oct, 2–2.45pm & 3–3.45pm. National Gallery Complex, The Mound, 624 6200. A tour of key paintings. The Great Edwardian Literary Emporium Mon 1 Nov, 10.30am. £8. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 336 2060. A talk looking at the technological advances of the era which resulted in cheaper, more accessible books. Booking essential. Another World: Curator’s Tour Mon 1 Nov, 12.45–1.30pm. Included in admission: £7 (£5). Dean Gallery, 73 Belford Road, 624 6200. A tour of the weird and wonderful works on display in the Surrealism exhibition. The Layout and Planning of Avenues Mon 1 Nov, 6.30pm. £5 (students £2.50). The Glasite Meeting House, 33 Barony Street, 557 0019. A joint event from the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland and the Garden History Society of Scotland. From Scope to Screen: How Herschel Images the Universe Mon 1 Nov, 7.30–8.30pm. £3 (£1.50). Royal Observatory Visitor Centre, Blackford Hill, 668 8404. Bruce
Sibthorpe discusses how the awe- inspiring astronomical images we see in the media are produced. FREE Sleep/Walking Tue 2 Nov, 12.45–1.30pm. National Gallery of Scotland: Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, The Mound, 624 6200. The University of Edinburgh’s Professor David Lomas discusses sleepwalking in Surrealist art and writing. FREE Museums Collections Centre Tour Tue 2 Nov, 2pm. Museum Collections Centre, 10 Broughton Market, 225 7534. View some fascinating objects that haven’t been on display in years. Booking essential. FREE Portraits in Focus Wed 3 Nov, 12.45–1.15pm. National Gallery Complex, The Mound, 624 6200. Dr Patricia Andrew discusses a large, complex painting by an unknown artist. The Fascinating and Sometimes Bizarre Cultures of the Pacific Thu 4 Nov, 7.30pm. £8 (under 18s/students/RSGS members free). Appleton Tower, University Of Edinburgh, Crichton Street, 650 8445. Illustrated talk about the travels of writer and photographer Patrick Richardson. Workshops Rag Rug Making Workshop Sat 30 Oct, 10.30am–5pm. £55. Four Winds Inspiration Centre, The Pavilion, Inverleith Park, Arboretum Place, 332 2229. Learn the easy technique of rag rugging. Booking essential. Moss Identification for Beginners Sun 31 Oct, 10am–4pm. £45. Royal Botanic Garden, 20a Inverleith Row, 248 2937. Lab-based session and an afternoon walk. Booking essential. FREE The Liberation Wed 3 Nov, 11am–1pm. Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 30–36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, 555 7100. Explore how activists and artists can work together to achieve results for their respective causes. Part of the Take One Action Film Festival. FREE PlayGroup Wed 3 Nov, 11.30am. Traverse Theatre, Cambridge Street, 228 1404. New script discussion group from the Traverse, with this session focusing on the current production of Spring Awakening. See feature, page 82.
21 Oct–4 Nov 2010 THE LIST 31