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Have I Got Fringe For You?

Political Shows at the Edinburgh Fringe

From Liz Truss and Keir Starmer to JFK conspiracies and razor-sharp satire, theSpaceUK’s political programme proves that truth is still stranger than fiction.

Politics has never been short of drama, but at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, theSpaceUK is inviting audiences to look beyond the headlines – or, at the very least, beyond the latest Truth Social post.

Leading the line-up is broadcaster and political commentator Steve Richards, whose hugely popular Steve Richards Presents Rock and Roll Politics returns to the Fringe. With the halls of Westminster continuing to deliver twists that few could have predicted, Richards superb show combines forensic political analysis with his trademark “unreliable” predictions, making it a new show every day as events continue to unfold.

Current politics also comes under scrutiny in The Unsolvable Case of Keir Starmer, from Chasing Rainbows. Through a series of imagined therapy sessions, the play charts Starmer’s journey from respected lawyer to Prime Minister, asking where it all began to unravel.

Political history comes under the microscope in The Umbrella Man: What We Talk About When We Talk About the JFK Assassination, written and performed by Martin Fitzgerald. Rather than simply retreading old conspiracy theories, the show shines a light on the ordinary people who happened to be in Dealey Plaza on that fateful day.

A show that should last longer than a lettuce is The Last Days Of Liz Truss?, from Oxia Theatre Company and Emma Wilkinson Wright. Set on the former Prime Minister’s final morning in Downing Street, the award-winning production is part comedy, all tragedy. Following a West End transfer to The Other Palace earlier this year, the show comes to Edinburgh with Emma Wilkinson Wright’s acclaimed portrayal of one of Britain’s most extraordinary political figures

Meanwhile, The Painted Revolutionary, presented by Tip Top Theatre Collective, approaches politics from an entirely different angle. In this biting new satire, abstract political concepts become flawed, recognisable characters, with Struggle, Order and others navigating questions of responsibility, power and change. This is an imaginative examination of political ideals and the messy reality of putting them into practice

Closer to home, Cubicle Dialogue, presented by the University of York Drama Society, relocates political conflict to the fluorescent-lit offices of a struggling local authority. As Labour falters nationally and Reform rises locally, civil servants and councillors find it increasingly difficult to maintain neutrality. Part workplace comedy and all political satire.

If the news has left you bewildered, exhausted or simply looking for something different, these shows prove there’s still no better place than the Fringe to argue, laugh and wrestle with the big political questions.

Coming up at Corstorphine Library

Here are our events for next week to help you #ReadToTheBeat and keep enjoying the summer holidays! All our events are free to attend, but make sure you book a place to our external workshops.

On Tuesday, it’s Karaoke time from 2pm! Emily will be helping you belt out your best songs in style.

On Thursday morning, we have spaces left for our superb workshop with Befana and Midnight, where you can learn about herbs, design recipes, and brew your own magical tea! This is aimed at ages 7-10 but younger children can participate in some of the event with parental help.

If you want to come along to this, please sign up on Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/…/befanas-magical-tea…

On Thursday afternoon, we will put E for Engineering in STEM. Learn about the construction and destruction of castles, help build one for the library, and test it out. This will run from 2-3pm.

We are fully booked for Jenny Laahs’ final Music Makers Club, but those who are signed up will be trying out keyboard instruments and playing some fun musical games.

Lastly, like every week, we have Junior Board Games from 2pm on Saturday. We’ve got lots of board games available to try out.

Remember that coming to any of these events will earn you a sticker for the #SummerReadingChallenge, which you can sign up for with your library card and parent.

2026 is the National Year of Reading – #GoAllIn

Festival of Politics: Civil Disobedience

Scottish Parliament

@ScotParl

Civil disobedience in Scotland has long been a method of achieving social change – from poll-tax sit-ins to the Glasgow Girls.

At Festival of Politics event ‘Civil disobedience – from rent strikes to Kenmure Street’ find out why so many of these events generate cultural expression like film and theatre.

Panellists include Katherine Mackinnon of Radical Glasgow Tours and @UofGlasgow , Tabassum Niamat of Bowling Green Together, journalist and broadcaster Paul English, and Glasgow Girl Cllr Roza Salih.

Friday 28th August – 1:15pm

Tickets: https://ow.ly/JqPr50ZqHZs

Major digitisation project to document Scotland’s biodiversity

A major international digitisation project will begin this summer which aims to create approximately 700,000 digital records of specimens held in Scotland’s natural science collections.

National Museums Scotland and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh will jointly lead the creation of a network to add Scotland to the Distributed System of Scientific Collections UK (DiSSCo UK) project, thanks to over £1.8 million in funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

The project in Scotland will initially run for two years and will see more than 250,000 insects from National Museums Scotland and 388,000 herbarium specimens from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh become digitally accessible to all.

In addition, four further partners are already engaged in the project, namely Glasgow Life, The Hunterian, Shetland Museum & Archives and The James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen, with more collecting institutions expected to be involved in due course.

Professor Olwen Grace, Deputy Director of Science (Collections), Curator of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Herbarium and project co-lead, said: “This project brings together Scotland’s exceptionally rich natural science collections in a united effort to mobilise the biodiversity records they hold.

“Drawing on the leading Herbarium digitisation approaches at RBGE, the project will boost digital heritage in Scotland and help to ensure the broadest diversity of the UK’s collections are made accessible online. “ 

The Herbarium of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is an exceptional collection of preserved specimens of the plant and fungal kingdoms used by researchers from around the world. From the flowering plants of coastal shores, moorland, and cities, to a tiny lichen from the brooding slopes of Ben Nevis, all specimens will be digitised.

Professor Grace added: “DiSSCo UK presents an unequalled opportunity to reveal the British and Irish species in our collections. Digitising brings recent and historic records of the country’s biodiversity together in a new way, making important information available for looking after nature in future.”

Dr Nick Fraser, Keeper of Natural Sciences at the National Museums of Scotland and project co-lead, said: “This is a really exciting undertaking. It will really activate collections which have been amassed across Scotland for over 200 years.

“Having these records digitally available will allow us to unlock the critical information that these collections hold about changes in biodiversity over time and the impact of climate change on diverse ecosystems both here in Scotland and across the world.”

Among the significant collections to be digitised is the Pelham-Clinton moth collection held at the National Museums Collection Centre in Edinburgh.

Edward Pelham-Clinton spent decades travelling Britain and Ireland, collecting over 35,000 moths and butterflies, and filling 64 meticulous field diaries with observations on 2,169 species, building what is almost certainly the most detailed personal record of British moths ever compiled.

His collection and diaries, which contain around 250,000 entries in total, cover precisely the decades before moth populations began their dramatic modern decline, making them an irreplaceable before-and-after record of what Britain’s moths looked like when they were still thriving.

Dr Fraser added: “Unlocking the full power of this archive means digitising every page of those diaries and every specimen label.

“That means that anyone, anywhere, can ask what was flying in a Scottish meadow in the 1950s, and compare it to what is flying there now which, in some cases, may be very little due to expanded human inhabitation and activity”.

DiSSCo UK [https://dissco-uk.org/] (Distributed System of Scientific Collections UK) is a £155 million, 10-year national programme to digitise and connect the UK’s natural science collections. The programme is funded through the UKRI Infrastructure Fund and delivered by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in partnership with the Natural History Museum and over 100 partners across the UK.

AHRC Executive Chair Professor Christopher Smith said: “For hundreds of years the UK has gathered and grown one of the world’s most comprehensive and diverse collections of scientific material in museums across the UK. It has been a long-held ambition to bring this collection together – and now this dream can come true.

“Over ten years, DiSSCo UK will deliver progress that would otherwise have taken over a century, including the creation of millions of newly digitised records and a network of around 100 collections from national museums and gardens, and universities to local collections that would never have had such access without it. And the outcomes of this £155m investment will offer exciting new opportunities for science as well as society.

“AHRC is proud to have led UKRI’s largest ever investment in the GLAM sector, yet another contribution to our leadership of the creative and cultural economy.”

In addition to material from the Scottish national collections, the project will also see digital records created for 85,000 plant specimens held by Glasgow Life, 1200 insects from The Hunterian, 2400 specimens from Shetland Museum & Archives including plants, algae and fungi as well as 1400 plant, lichen and moss specimens from The James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen.

It is hoped that future phases will encompass more of the collections of existing participants and also widen in scope to include more of Scotland’s natural science collecting institutions.

Progress in tackling Cairngorm wildfire

Major Incident Declaration lifted last night
Evacuated residents advised it is safe to return home

First Minister John Swinney has welcomed the news that residents of Nethy Bridge affected by the precautionary evacuations prompted by the Cairngorms wildfire have been advised they can return home.

At a meeting of the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGORR) this evening the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) reported good progress in strengthening fire breaks to protect residential areas and said the number of hot spots are reducing. Two helicopters have each been dropping between 20,000 and 40,000 litres an hour on the areas affected.

The meeting was chaired by the First Minister with Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth, Justice Secretary Neil Gray and Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin also in attendance, along with representatives from the SFRS, Police Scotland, Highland Council and Cairngorms National Park.

The First Minister said last night: “Efforts to tackle the wildfire in the Cairngorms are in their tenth day, and changeable weather conditions have presented a range of challenges for those on the ground. I praise their resilience and tireless efforts to bring it under control.

“With residents in Nethy Bridge now able to return to their homes, Police Scotland have lifted the Major Incident declaration. I want to stress however, that the Scottish Government, the emergency services and all relevant authorities will continue to treat this wildfire, as has been the case since its onset, with the utmost seriousness and necessary resources until the last flames are out.

“I have been heartened to hear of the cooperation and support from the local community – an appeal earlier today for assistance with the provision of plant machinery to help firefighting efforts was responded to quickly and no further equipment is needed at this time.

“We do ask for the continued patience of members of the public and their cooperation in staying away from the area both for their own safety and to enable those on the scene to focus on the task at hand.”

The Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGORR) will meet again today.

Police Scotland Superintendent Judy Hill said last night: “I would want to reassure our communities that the ongoing multi agency response remains a high priority, with significant partnership resources and volunteers working tirelessly and in challenging circumstances, to support our efforts to extinguish the fires.

“Thanks to the efforts of fire crews, gamekeepers, contractors, partners and many others over the past 24 hours, there is no longer the immediate threat which prompted the evacuation of properties in Nethy Bridge.

“We are grateful to the community for their support and understanding in what has been a period of concern and disruption.”

The major incident, declared by Police Scotland on Friday night as a result of a change in weather conditions due to the immediate risk to the community, has been stood down while Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Police Scotland and our Local Response Partners continue to put all required resources to tacking the fire.

Firefighters will continue to maintain a significant operational presence until the incident is safely concluded. Seventy five firefighters have remained on the ground today, working alongside partner agencies, and more than 30 heavy machinery operators, to tackle areas of fire affecting land near Nethy Bridge. Helicopter water-bombing has continued and remains a vital part of supporting crews on the ground.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has thanked volunteers who have offered assistance. Deputy Assistant Chief Officer Kenny Barbour said: “The decision to stand down the major incident follows a detailed assessment by emergency responders.

“The extensive work carried out over recent days, including the creation of effective fire breaks, has significantly reduced the risk to nearby communities, allowing evacuated residents to safely return home.

“Public safety remains our absolute priority. We want to reassure local communities that we will maintain a significant operational response until the incident has been safely concluded and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.

“We would also like to thank everyone who has supported the response, including the heavy machinery operators, Forestry and Land Scotland, the Cairngorms National Park Authority, landowners, estate game keepers, volunteers and our emergency service partners.”

A total of more than 500 firefighters have been involved in the response since the incident began on 15 July.

The existing advice for those living in the affected areas and the areas that are currently being impacted by the spread of smoke, including Aberdeenshire and Moray, are asked to keep all windows and doors closed.

Anyone with concerns should visit NHS Highland.

Summer holidays sorted: East Lothian’s ultimate summer escape

For nearly 14 years, East Lothian’s Foxlake Adventures has been a must-visit summer holiday destination, and this summer is hotting up to be the site’s best yet.

From Wakeboarding and Ringo rides to the obstacles of the Foxfall and Aqua Park, the site is the perfect place for an adventure with the whole family during the school holidays.

With a range of water-based activities guaranteed to get blood pumping, Foxlake’s updated schedule offers something for everyone this summer.

It’s not all adrenaline-fuelled adventure. The site has also established itself as a wellness hotspot, where visitors can recharge in the popular HotFox sauna, brave a cold plunge or enjoy a wild swim in the lake.

Competitive spirits can put their skills to the test on Foxlake’s Foxfall and Aqua Park obstacle courses, racing friends and family across land and water before the inevitable splash into the lake. For those craving even more speed, Ringo rides deliver an adrenaline-fuelled blast as riders cling on while being towed at high speed across the water.

Foxlake continues to be a local hub for Wakeboarding, and is home to expert instructors and some of the nation’s best riders. As the sport continues to grow, Foxlake champions inclusive participation, creating specialised sessions for beginners, experts, and groups.

In particular, Foxlake is championing the participation of women and children in the sport, creating unique events in partnership with Wakeboarding and Waterski Scotland. This July, Foxlake will play host to a female-only event, ‘She Shreds’, as well as a Wakeboarding day focused on youth involvement called ‘Little Ripples’.

These sessions follow on from June’s Ladies Night, an annual event in the Foxlake calendar, and are an important part in Foxlake’s mission to create opportunities for everyone to enjoy the range of water-based activities on offer.

Foxlake will also be introducing the Wakeboarding RiDE Competition Series for 2026, with riders competing to showcase their skills on the water on Saturday, 15th August.

The series of competitions will take place at Foxlake as well as Wild Shore Dundee, Wild Shore Delamere, and Wild Shore Blackpool.

James Barbour, Director of Foxlake Adventures, said: “Summer is here and we are very excited for our busiest period of the season.

“At Foxlake, we continue to grow the sport of Wakeboarding with some key partnerships that help open the sport to newer audiences, which remains a key goal of ours.”

Megan Hay, Site Manager at Foxlake Adventures, added: “With the school holidays underway and summer in full swing, we are gearing up for one of our busiest seasons yet at Foxlake.

“Our mission has always been to make adventure accessible to all, and our diverse lineup of activities ensures there is truly something for everyone to experience this year.”

To learn more about Foxlake’s array of offerings or to book your session, you can visit https://www.foxlake.co.uk/.

World Drowning Prevention Day: Follow the Water Safety Code

With the warmer weather, being in or around water often feels inviting.

It is important to stay safe and follow the Water Safety Code:

• stop and think

• stay together

• in an emergency, call 999

Next Week at Stockbridge Library

Here is another week of holiday activities at Stockbridge Library!

Don’t miss our special event this Thursday-“Be the book” -an interactive, book-based role play using song, sound and live drawing!!

Is your little one Britain’s biggest train fan?

THE SEARCH IS ON!

As the summer holidays kick off, Hornby is on the lookout for Britain’s biggest little train fan to become “Mini Conductor”
Risk of summer boredom and screen time is a real concern but 89% of parents and grandparents saying hands-on hobbies help keep children away from screens
With 82% of children saying they love making up stories while playing with toys, Hornby is inviting families to bring rail adventures to life by entering the competition here

THE stress of keeping little ones, curious, creative and away from screens during the school summer holidays can feel like a real challenge.

New research* from Hornby reveals that (81%) of parents and 86% of grandparents say children today can’t fill their time without a screen. But this year, Hornby has the perfect solution – playing with model trains.

Parents and grandparents alike also recognise the very real benefits that hands-on hobbies bring: (89%) saying they help keep children away from screens while (84%) say that hobbies help children learn and grow – building the creativity, confidence and practical skills that stay with them for life.

Turns out, that appetite for imagination-led, hands-on play is exactly what makes train travel and model railways so compelling for children. The research** shows that for many kids it’s not just about getting from A to B – it’s the whole story along the way.

From spotting landmarks through the window (62%) to the thrill of arriving at the station (60%), children see train travel as a rolling adventure, packed with little moments that spark big imaginations. And the imagination doesn’t stop when the journey does. Four out of five children (82%) love making up stories while playing with toys – the same kind of storytelling energy that makes train journeys so magical in the first place.

This summer holiday, Hornby is inviting kids to bring those experiences to life by entering the Mini Conductor competition. The competition taps into the growing popularity of young railway enthusiasts, with children gaining attention online for their love of all things locomotive, from spotting trains and learning routes to recreating the sounds and theatre of the railway with their own announcements.

Martyn Weaver, Brand MD at Hornby, said: “The summer holidays are a brilliant opportunity for families to spend quality time together but keeping kids entertained, engaged and away from screens can be a real challenge.

“Our research shows that children value spending time with friends and family above anything else when they play (49%), and there’s nothing quite like the hands-on magic of model railways to fire up the imagination and banish the holiday boredom.

“The Mini Conductor competition is a brilliant opportunity for families to celebrate curiosity and imagination that train travel inspires, while giving one young rail fan the chance step into the conductor’s shoes for the day.”

Open to children aged 4–10, the competition will see one lucky winner spend a day alongside the LNER team as a ‘Mini Conductor’ visiting the train cab, greeting customers and making announcements, as well as starring in a Hornby video advert. Four runners-up will also receive a Hornby Playtrains prize bundle worth £100.

Parents and guardians can enter by sharing a video of up to 90 seconds explaining what their child loves most about trains and why they should be Hornby’s Mini Conductor, tagging Hornby and using #HornbyMiniConductor, or by uploading their entry at https://hornby.com/miniconductor

The competition entries close at 11:59pm on 2 August, so there’s still time to get involved before the summer holidays are in full swing.

For more information, visit https://uk.hornby.com/