Musselburgh Racecourse’s hugely popular Ladies Day is heading for an 8,000 capacity sell-out with fewer than 300 general admission tickets remaining.
Ladies Day, in partnership with Pommery Champagne, is one of Scotland’s most glamourous sporting and fashion events, and with luxury fashion prizes valued at more than £4,000 the Friday 9 August race day is the place to be.
This year’s style awards is sponsored by Tiger Lily Boutique and the “best dressed” top prize includes an invitation to visit Champagne Pommery in France – with the winner enjoying two nights at four-star hotel accommodation in Reims and £1,500 spending money.
The East Lothian course are delighted to welcome TV and radio personality, Rylan Clark, who will be behind the decks for the popular After Racing Party which is open to all Ladies Day ticket holders following the last race.
Musselburgh Racecourse marketing manager, Aisling Johnston, said: “The popularity of our five star Ladies Day meeting never wanes and we are confident that 2024 will be yet another sell-out.
“With only one table available in our VIP Marquee and less than 400 general admission tickets remaining, we are looking forward to a fantastic atmosphere and when the racing finishes, firm favourite Rylan will keep the party going.
“Around 50-100 tickets are sold each day so for anyone thinking of attending Ladies Day our advice would be to snap up a ticket now or risk being disappointed.”
Gates open on Friday 9 August at 11.30am, and provisional first and last race times are 2.20pm and 4.50pm.
Full day of FREE themed activities to coincide with headline YA event at McEwan Hall
On Tuesday 13 August award-winning YA author and HEARTSTOPPER creator Alice Oseman appears in an EIBF event in conversation with author Lauren James
In tandem a full day of FREE themed events will take place at the Festivals new home at Edinburgh Futures Institute
From the chance to write a letter to your younger self, to posting your letter to Alice via the onsite postbox, making your own zine, and chilling out with some gorgeous dogs from Therapets®, there is something for all ages to enjoy
On Tuesday 13 August the Edinburgh International Book Festival will welcome award-winning author and HEARTSTOPPER creator Alice Oseman to the Festival with a whole day of FREE events and activities for audiences of all ages.
Alice Oseman says: ‘I always love visiting the Edinburgh International Book Festival and I couldn’t be happier to be teaming up with them and BKMRK for a whole bunch of extra special Heartstopper activity on site this year.
“There’s loads for fans and festival goers to get involved with, whether that’s coming along to the event itself or getting creative with the free zine making sessions, hugging a Therapets puppy, or joining in on the Heartstopper treasure hunt – I can’t wait to see you all there!’
Alice, who enjoys global success thanks to their graphic novel HEARTSTOPPER series (and subsequent Netflix show of the same name) will be in conversation with young adult author Lauren James at an event at McEwan Hall as part of the Festival’s Front List.
The pair will discuss the success of the series which tells the story of the ups and downs of first loves, friendships, coming out and mental health.
Aspiring illustrators, comic creators and all round creatives can relax in the dedicated Chill Out Zone on site at the Edinburgh Futures Institute throughout the day. Inside there will be drop-in zine making sessions courtesy of the Glasgow Zine Library.
For those needing a more mellow moment, Therapets® will also be joining us for the day in this brand new outdoor area. In keeping with the relaxed vibe of this space, the Therapets® are dogs with calm and gentle dispositions, who love being petted, and bring canine cuddles to site.
Throughout the day of Alice’s event, LGBT Youth Scotland will be onsite at EFI delivering self led activities in Venue C, and there will be Heartstopper leaves for visitors of all ages to write messages to their past selves.
If you would like to share your experience pre-or-post event you can catch a sound recorder roaming around site, and there will also be a podcast episode with Alice to listen back to after the day is over.(TBC) You will have the option to add your stories and letters to their (Un)seen, (Un)heard archive.
The Edinburgh International Book Festival is also delighted to be partnering with Young Scot, with the Young Scot Reward scheme offering 15 members an opportunity to win the chance to attend Alice Oseman in conversation with Lauren James with a friend, as well as an exclusive meet and greet with the author.
Fans of Alice’s will also have the opportunity to share their very own letters with Alice via an onsite postbox and will be able to record dedicated vox pops via a special sound recorder.
Before all of this, from Mon 29 July you can also snap a selfie with a series of illustrated posters at three city centre sites, to be in with a chance to win a signed complete HEARTSTOPPER Vol 1-5 set, and tickets to Alice’s event on 13 August.
Young Scot Chief Executive, Kirsten Urquhart, said: “We continuously aspire to provide unique opportunities for young people.
“It is therefore extremely exciting to have partnered with the Edinburgh International Book Festival to offer a chance for Young Scot Members to win tickets to see Alice Oseman, author of the global phenomenon Heartstopper, in conversation with Lauren James. If you’re not already a member you can sign up for free here. We hope the lucky winners have an incredible day!”
At a time when the cost of living crisis continues to impact families, the Book Festival is committed to providing free events and entertainment through its two week run to ensure that all young people in the capital, and indeed from further afield, can enjoy engaging with books and the power of words.
These events make up Future Tense, the first Edinburgh International Book Festival programme from Director Jenny Niven, and it will unfold for the first time at the Festival’s new home at Edinburgh Futures Institute.
Around 1.15pm yesterday (Sunday, 28 July), two cars which had been stolen from the Trinity area were seen by officers on Maybury Road.
The occupants of the vehicles made off from the scene on foot and were traced nearby by officers a short time later in possession of a number of weapons.
Four males aged 16, 17, 19 and 20 have been arrested in connection and enquiries are ongoing.
Police would like to thank the public for their help with this investigation.
Chancellor to pledge to ‘fix the foundations of our economy’ as she unveils the spending inheritance left by the previous government.
Reeves to set out reforms to deliver economic stability and protect the public finances, as she announces date of Budget later this year.
Office of Value for Money formed to challenge government to deliver better value for money for taxpayers.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will this afternoon (Monday 29 July, after 3:30pm) vow to ‘fix the foundations of our economy’ as she publishes an audit of the spending inheritance left by the previous administration.
Accusing the previous government of ‘covering up the true state of the public finances,’ the Chancellor will announce immediate action to restore economic stability and deliver departmental savings this financial year.
The announcements will be a response to the findings of the Treasury’s spending audit, which shows that the previous government overspent this year’s budgets by billions of pounds after making a series of unfunded promises.
The Chancellor will confirm that she has commissioned an Office for Budget Responsibility forecast to coincide with a Budget and Spending Review to be held later this year.
The Budget will set out how the government’s robust fiscal rules will be met: balancing the current budget so that day-to-day costs are met by revenues and getting debt falling as a share of the economy by the fifth year of the forecast.
Speaking in the House of Commons later today, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is expected to say: “Before the election, I said we would face the worst inheritance since the Second World War.
“Taxes at a seventy year high. Debt through the roof. An economy only just coming out of recession. I knew all those things. I was honest about them during the election campaign. And the difficult choices it meant.
“But upon my arrival at the Treasury three weeks ago, it became clear that there were things I did not know. Things that the party opposite covered up from the country.”
She will add: “It is time to level with the public and tell them the truth.
“The previous government refused to take the difficult decisions. They covered up the true state of the public finances. And then they ran away. I will never do that.
“The British people voted for change and we will deliver that change. I will restore economic stability. I will never stand by and let this happen again.
“We will fix the foundations of our economy, so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of our country better off.”
The Chancellor will announce she is committing the government to one major fiscal event per year to put an end to ‘surprise budgets’ which have previously caused uncertainty for both the markets and family finances across the country.
A new Office of Value for Money will be established, using pre-existing civil service resource, to put an end to wasteful spending in government, providing targeted scrutiny of public spending so that value for money governs every decision government makes.
The Office will immediately begin work on identifying and recommending savings for the current financial year, while also establishing where targeted reforms of the system can ensure that poor value for money spending is cut off before it begins.
Reforms bearing down on waste in the public sector will also be announced today, driving efficiency through government departments and arms length bodies (ALBs). Immediate action will be taken to stop non-essential spending on consultants, alongside disposing of surplus estates and hastening delivering admin efficiencies in departments.
Earlier this month, the Government introduced the Budget Responsibility Bill at the King’s Speech to deliver economic stability by guaranteeing that never again can a government play fast and loose with the public finances.
The Bill ensures all significant fiscal announcements on tax or spending which are worth more than 1% of the UK’s GDP will be subject to scrutiny by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility. This will guard against large-scale unfunded commitments in the future.
FORMER Tory Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the new Labour government is ‘peddling nonsense’. He added: “The books were wide open and what they show is a healthy, growing economy.”
The Conservatives claimed throughout the recent election campaign that Rachel Reeves secretly plans to raise taxes.
