Poisoned Arrows event at the Botanics this weekend

Join a fantastic storytelling event at The Botanics this weekend …

Join a mission to find John Kirk, Livingstone’s botanist, and meet Africans along the way sharing stories of useful plants, wild drugs, food and magic. Discover whether the things he predicted 150 years ago in his letters and diaries, from the end of slavery to fair trade, really happened.

Saturday 26 October & Sunday 27 October: drop-in Poisoned Arrows storytelling trail sessions from 11am to 1pm and from 2pm to 4pm (last entry 12noon and 3pm), lasts approx 50 minutes.

With the 2013 Scottish International Storytelling Festival and the JANEEMO Project.

Supported by David Livingstone 200.

Ydance weekend at Granton Campus

One hundred sixty young dancers from across Scotland are heading to YDance Connections this weekend – an inspiring programme of workshops and creative sessions created and delivered by YDance and hosted this year by Edinburgh College at the local Granton Campus. The participants and group leaders have travelled from as far afield as Stornoway, Inverness, Lochgilphead and Isle of Skye to be involved in this unique event, which is part of the build up to YDance’s Commonwealth Youth Dance Festival in 2014.

Connections kicks off on the Friday afternoon with sessions in Capoeira, Bollywood, Samba, African and 40’s/50’s period dance workshops led by the Kennedy Cupcakes. The rest of the weekend is full of choreographic workshops, performances and an 80’s themed party on the Saturday evening– where the 160 dancers will join the YDance Team in a celebration of 25 years of YDance (Scottish Youth Dance).

Edinburgh College dance lecturer Jo Turbitt said: “‘We’re delighted to be hosting YDance’s Connections weekend at the college’s Performing Arts Studio Scotland and to be taking part in the celebration of the brilliantly talented young dancers we have across the whole of the country.

“YDance Routes is an important project that helps broaden the range of professional destinations available to the next generation of dancers, so we support it fully and hope the Connections weekend helps them develop along their own paths. The energy and enthusiasm of our youth dance community is always hugely impressive and we hope they can take full advantage of our facilities to learn from each other. We hope to see some of these groups again at YDance’s Commonwealth Youth Dance Festival.’

The groups taking part are 6.1.0. Dance Academy (Fraserburgh), An Lanntair (Stornoway), Dalriada Youth Company (Lochgilphead), Denny High Dance Academy (Denny), East Lothian Youth Dance Company (Musselburgh), Eden Court Young Dance Company (Inverness), Exquisite (Lochgelly), Fusion Youth Dance (Aberdeen), Glasgow Youth Dance Company (Glasgow), Ihayami Fusion (Edinburgh), Indepen-dance Young 1’z (Glasgow), right2dance (Paisley), Runamuk (Edinburgh), Scottish Ballet Youth Collective (Edinburgh), SkyeDance Youth Company (Portree), Unusual Suspects (Edinburgh) and SiMY Dance (Glasgow).

The Connections weekend is part of YDance Routes, a two year programme that aims to inspire, develop and broaden the horizons of Scotland’s youth dance sector and is leading towards a Commonwealth Youth Dance Festival in Glasgow in 2014. YDance Routes is funded by Cashback for Creativity, the Educational Institute of Scotland and The Leverhulme Trust.

News from the Centipede

Pumpkin Carving this Thursday!

Muirhouse Community Shop on Pennywell Road’s the place to be for a free pumpkin carving and potato printing workshop. Session runs from 3 – 5pm – all welcome!

Watch the birdie on Friday!

Muirhouse Centipede Project are holding two free portrait sessions on Friday (25 October): 10am – 12pm and 2-4pm at North Edinburgh Arts.

The photos will be taken by professional photographer, Kenny Bean (www.kennybean.co.uk). Each participant will be able to take away a free print of their photograph on the day as well as digital copies of their images if they bring in a memory stick.

The photographs will be used at a ‘Luminous Muirhouse’, a festival of light we are organising for November (see poster below).

The festival is to highlight the housing situation in Muirhouse. We will be painting the blue prints of a ‘dream home’ onto the ground using glow in the dark paint that will be lit up on the night. There will also be furniture made that will represent various community group’s dream home or garden, which will also be painted with the same glow in the dark paint. The home and furniture will be designed through consultations with local community groups.

The images will be projected onto a large wall on the night for the whole community to see.

The Friday sessions are drop-in – for further information call 0131 315 6408.

Joanne McArthur

Centipede Project

Police seek witnesses to Craigleith assault and robbery

Police are appealing for witnesses following an assault and robbery on the Inverleith cycle path this morning (Tuesday). The incident happened at around 6.40am near Craigleith Retail Park.

A 30-year-old man was walking along the cycle path behind the Sainsbury’s petrol station when two people approached him. At this time, the victim was pushed from behind before a male struck him to the face and demanded he hand over his possessions. The suspects then made off towards Ravelston with the man’s wallet and police were contacted.

Officers are now urging anyone who can assist with their enquiries to come forward.

The first suspect is described as male, white, around 30-years-old, between 5ft 9ins and 6ft tall and wearing a dark hooded top with light-coloured diagonal stripes and a badge, dark grey cotton bottoms and a black beanie hat. He spoke with an Eastern European accent.

There is no description of the second suspect.

Detective Constable Graham McIlwraith said: “The male didn’t suffer any serious injury but is obviously upset at the theft of his wallet. Despite the early time of this robbery, the area was likely to have been fairly busy with commuters and we are keen to speak with anyone who witnessed this incident. Similarly, anyone who can help us trace those responsible is also asked to get in touch.”

Those with information can contact Police Scotland on 101 or alternatively, the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.