New Kitchin for San Marco’s!

Michelin star chef Tom Kitchin and his Telford College-trained business partner Dominic Jack are to open a new gastro pub in Stockbridge. Kitchin and Jack worked together as young chefs at Gleneagles, and the team behind the Kitchin in Leith and Castle Terrace Restaurant will open their third site – the former San Marco Restaurant on Comely Bank Road – in the Spring.

The Stockbridge pub restaurant will open seven days a week and will follow the team’s “From Nature to Plate” philosophy in a more informal setting.

Alan Goldie, director from The Restaurant Agency, said; “Stockbridge is an area that’s thriving and though many local residents will miss San Marco, I know Nino and Franco are pleased to retire and spend more time with their families. The family were involved in the decision to find new tenants and we’re all confident the planned offering will bring an exciting new flavour to the area. Run by an award winning, expert team, it will bring a range of outstanding menus, combined with the hospitality expected from a warm and welcoming family pub.”

Brothers Franco and Nino Alonzi from San Marco Restaurant said; “While the decision to close the restaurant after 30 years was not an easy one, we’re pleased to be handing over the property to another family-run business. With two successful restaurants in the city we’re confident they can continue to provide locals and visitors with a new destination to relax with friends and family, and enjoy great fresh food and drink. We would like to thank all of our loyal customers for their continued support over the years – we take with us many fond memories.”

The new venue – which is yet to be named – is currently under refurbishment and is expected to open in Spring.

Edinburgh Reads is underway

Top authors will be visiting libraries across Edinburgh as part of the city’s Edinburgh Reads events. The spring 2013 programme, which runs until 2 May, will see a host of key figures from the literary world deliver talks and workshops in a number of city libraries.

Councillor Richard Lewis, the city’s Culture and Sport Convener, said: “Our popular Edinburgh Reads programme attracts a number of high profile and influential authors throughout the year and we’re delighted to once again present another fantastic line-up of events. It goes to show that libraries are not just places to borrow books but are also community hubs where people can come to be inspired and learn more about reading.”

Some Programme Highlights:

Tues 22 January, 5.30-7.30pm, Tues 19 February, 5.30-7.30pm & Tues 19 March, 5.30-7.30pm, Muirhouse Library

Muirhouse Library Writers Workshop

Join experienced workshop facilitator and writer Laura Brown and explore the world of creative writing. With a PHD in Creative writing, Laura and Ryan Van Winkle, (Edinburgh Libraries’ writer in residence) get your writing juices flowing!
To book a place call 0131 529 5528 or email muirhouse.library@edinburgh.gov.uk

Tues 19 February, 6.30 – 7.30pm, Central Library

Firefighting in Edinburgh

Ian McMurtrie, retired Assistant Firemaster and Curator of the Museum of Fire, outlines the evolution of the Fire Brigade in Edinburgh.

Wed 27 February, 2-3pm, Stockbridge Library

Christine de Luca – And Then Forever

Christine De Luca, established Scottish poet and novelist writing in English and in Shetland Dialect, talks about and reads from her new novel – ‘And then Forever’.
To book a place call 0131 529 5665 or email stockbridge.library@edinburgh.gov.uk 2 weeks before the event.

Thurs 7 March, 7-8pm, Central Library

Julie Davidson – ‘Looking for Mrs Livingstone’

Award winning journalist, ex TV presenter and travel writer, Julie Davidson explores what really happened in the Livingstone marriage, and brings to life the real Mary Livingstone, forgotten by History, laid to rest in an obscure Mozambique grave.

Sat 16 March, 3-4pm, Central Library

Kate Atkinson – ‘Life after Life’

Best selling local author, Kate Atkinson wonders “What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right?” Her new novel, published this month, tells the story of Ursula Todd born during a snowstorm in England in 1910, but two parallel scenarios occur – in one, she dies immediately. In the other, she lives to tell the tale. As the possibility of having a second chance at life opens up, Ursula lives through the events of the twentieth century again and again….

Thurs 21 March, 7-8pm, Central Library

Louise Welsh and Regi Claire – a literary friendship

Writers Louise Welsh and Regi Claire both talk about their novels, ‘The Girl on the Stairs’ (April 2013), an uneasy, imaginative tale of Jane and Petra in Berlin anticipating the arrival of their baby, and ‘The Waiting’, another tale of two women- Rachel, a messed-up young Swiss PHD student and Lizzie Fairbairn, an elderly widow whose Edinburgh home she invades.

Thurs 18 April, 7-8pm, Central Library

Iain M Banks – ‘Hydrogen Sonata’

The Scavenger species are circling. The End Days beckon for the Gzilt civilization. Having made the collective decision to follow the well-trodden path of millions, they are going to Sublime, elevating themselves to a new and almost infinitely more rich and complex existence. It seems that the final days of the Gzilt civilization are likely to prove its most perilous.
Come hear local author Iain Banks talk about his new novel.

Fri 19 April, 7-8pm, Central Library

Turkish Writers come to town

Turkish writers, Ahmet Ümit and Murat Mentes, visit Edinburgh as part of a British Council cultural exchange and celebration of Turkey in 2013 (part of the Cultural Programme of the Market Focus at the London Book Fair). Ahmet Ümit is a leading figure in Turkish crime writing and several of his novels have been adapted for screen and television. Murat Mentes is an up-and-coming young writer who writes thrillers (but with a definite strand of crime).
Both will explore the theme of the event- ‘Narratives of Crime in Fiction’ , and focus on the role of cities (Istanbul/Edinburgh) in the context of this theme.

Tues 23 April, 6.30-8pm, Central Library

Edinburgh Zoo – Celebrate 100 years!

It’s 100 years since Edinburgh Zoo opened its doors to the public. To celebrate this historic centenary, a guest speaker from Edinburgh Zoo will share stories about animals old and new, whilst looking to the future.

Thurs 2 May, 7-8pm, Central Library

Richard Holloway – ‘Leaving Alexandria’

Richard Holloway, former Bishop of Edinburgh, talks about his memoir ‘Leaving Alexandria’, his birthplace, and his journey through the meaning and purpose of religion. Compelling and intense, his erudite exploration of faith will not fail to move you, the story of one man’s exploration of ‘Christianity, a great work of the human imagination’.

Tues 14 May, 6.30-8pm, Central Library

Edinburgh Zoo – Penguin Parade

Colin Oulton and Jo Elliott, penguin keepers at Edinburgh Zoo, talk about the history of penguins at the Zoo, the world famous Penguin Parade, captive management techniques from the past to the present day, penguin conservation and research and much more.

“There can be no doubt that the ‘crowning glory’ of the Zoological Park is its magnificent display of Antarctic penguins.” – Thomas Gillespie, founder of Edinburgh Zoo.

All events are free and tickets can be booked online or by calling 0131 242 8100. Booking is essential for all events.

Book sales and signings will be available at most Edinburgh Reads events.

Film screening to support WaterAid charity

A recently-established Edinburgh group is to hold a special one-off screening of ‘Even the Rain’ (Tambien la Iluvia) to raise money for the international development charity WaterAid – and the film’s award-winning screenwriter Paul Laverty will host a question and answer session following the screening.

The screening will take place on Thursday 27 September at 7.30pm at SYHA Edinburgh Central, on Haddington Place, Leith Walk, and is the group’s first fundraising event for WaterAid, the charity which enables some of the world’s poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene.

Even the Rain is a 2010 Spanish drama about Mexican director Sebastián (Gael García Bernal) and executive producer Costa (Luis Tosar) who travel to Bolivia to shoot a film depicting Christopher Columbus’s conquest. Sebastián and Costa unexpectedly land themselves in a moral crisis when they and their crew arrive at Cochabamba, Bolivia, during the intensifying 2000 Cochabamba protests, which their key native actor Daniel (Juan Carlos Aduviri) persistently leads. The film was directed by Icíar Bollaín, based on a screenplay by Paul Laverty.

The film’s central theme of the fundamental right to access safe and clean water, is also one of the principal aims of WaterAid. Angela Lafferty, a member of WaterAid’s Edinburgh local group and one of the event organisers, said: “For me, this event is not only about raising money but about reminding us all that we need water to live. We all use so much of it in our daily lives but many of us never think about where it comes from, who controls and manages it and how much it costs. One in eight of the world’s population are not as lucky as we are in Scotland, but we can change that!”

In the developing world, diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor sanitation and unclean water kill 4000 children every day – more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. Just £15 can enable one person to access a lasting supply safe water, sanitation and hygiene. Funds raised at this special screening will enable WaterAid to transform the lives of some of the world’s poorest people throughout Africa, Asia and the Pacific Region. Tickets are £10 (including a glass of wine) and should be booked online at: www.eventelephant.com/eventherain