Tuesday 28Th November Duncan Priddle a Hike Across the Pyrenees

Tuesday 28th November

Duncan Priddle A hike across the Pyrenees This summer Duncan Priddle, Countryside Officer, achieved his long held ambition of hiking the entire length of the Pyrenees on the GR11, the famous long distance route that runs along the Spanish side of the mountain range. Join Duncan as he presents an illustrated talk on the magnificent scenery, landscapes and wildlife as well as the practicalities and physical challenge of undertaking a 6-week trek. Duncan is presenting this talk to our Active Memories Group who meet every Tuesday morning, but members of the public are very welcome to come along on this occasion.

Venue: The John Gray Centre, Haddington, EH41 3DX Time: 10.00am Tickets: free tickets direct from Haddington library or call 01620 827827 Email: [email protected]

Michael T R B Turnbull St Andrew and the Saltire In the lead up to St Andrews Day, Michael Turnbull, East Lothian based historian, will be exploring the origin of the Saltire Flag in the Vision of Constantine the Great before a crucial battle outside Rome in 312 AD. Constantine saw the Cross of Christ in the sky and had his army carry that symbol into battle and he won, leading to the liberation of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Constantine had accompanied his father on his campaign against the Picts and several coins of the Emperor have been found on Traprain Law. The talk shows the connection between King Angus at Athelstaneford and Constantine, bearing in mind that six kings of Alba and Scotland were named ‘Constantine’ after the Emperor.

Venue: The John Gray Centre, Haddington, EH41 3DX Time: 6.45pm – 7.15pm Accompanied tour of the Saltire exhibition in the Museum 7.30pm Illustrated talk in the Star room Tickets: free tickets direct from Haddington library or call 01620 827827 Email: [email protected]

Wednesday 29th November

Natasha Pulley Natasha Pulley's captivating novels marry meticulously researched history with ingenious flights of fantasy and invention. From the mysterious and shadowy forests of Peru, The Bedlam Stacks is a dazzling historical novel which blends magic with reality to astonishing effect. The reader is led through the Victorian age to meet a cast of memorable characters, all neck deep in adventure. Pulley's books are loaded with atmosphere, ingenuity and charm. Join her as she discusses her books, her writing process and some of her insight into what made the Victorians tick. Pulley’s first novel, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, was an international bestseller, a Guardian Summer Read, an Amazon Best Book of the Month and was shortlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award. The Bedlam Stacks is her second novel. Books available to buy and signed by the author. The venue for this event is the wonderful Steampunk coffee roaster and cafe which is housed in a beautiful old steel framed warehouse in the centre of North Berwick. The lucky people who manage to secure tickets for this event will be treated to a free cup of tea or coffee and a chocolate brownie!

Venue: Steampunk café, The Warehouse, 49a Kirk Ports, North Berwick, EH39 4HL Time: 3.00pm Tickets: Free tickets from Steampunk, tel: 01620 893030, North Berwick library or call 01620 827827 Email: [email protected] Booking essential as numbers are limited

Judy Murray Knowing the Score An inspiring story of family, ambition and sport against all odds from the woman who single- handedly revolutionised British tennis. As mother to tennis World #1 champions Jamie and Andy Murray, former Scottish tennis international and Scottish National Coach, coach of the women’s Fed Cup, and the first woman to pass the LTA’s Performance Coach Award, Judy Murray is the ultimate role model for believing in yourself and reaching out to ambition. As a parent, coach, leader, she is an inspiration who has revolutionised British tennis. From the soggy community courts of Dunblane to the white heat of Centre Court at Wimbledon, Judy Murray’s extraordinary memoir charts the challenges she has faced, from desperate finances and growing pains to entrenched sexism. Judy has recently pioneered initiatives to grow the profile and numbers in women’s tennis including Miss-Hits, for girls age 5-8; Tennis on the Road, taking tennis into remote and deprived areas and She Rallies, to encourage more women and girls into tennis across the UK. As if that wasn’t enough, in 2014 Judy proved her mettle off the tennis court when she strutted her stuff on Strictly Come Dancing with her dancing partner Anton du Beke. Judy will be in conversation with Arlene Stuart, well known locally as one of the presenters of the Boogie in the Morning Radio Forth breakfast show as well as BBC’s Landward. Judy will sign copies of her memoir, Knowing the Score.

Venue: The Brunton, Ladywell Way, Musselburgh EH21 6AA Time: 7.00pm Tickets: £10.00 (conc £8.00) from the Brunton box office tel: 0131 665 2240 Or online at at www.hubtickets.co.uk (booking fee)

Thursday 30th November

Mary Contini Dear Alphonso: an Italian feast of love and laughter Following the successful publication of Dear Francesca and Dear Olivia, Mary Contini picks up the thread of her family story from 1934 in Naples, to the establishment of the family business – Edinburgh’s acclaimed Valvona & Crolla. She relates the story of her father-in-law, Carlo Contini and a life which had known incredible poverty, adventure and survival. From wartime Pozzuoli to Edinburgh, where he met and married Olivia Crolla, Mary tells of exuberant family relationships, mouth-watering food and hilarious laughter, painting a vivid picture of life in wartime Italy and Scotland and the decades immediately after. Dear Alfonso is a wonderful, heart-warming celebration of food, family and friendship illustrated with archive family images and packed with anecdote, humour and history. Mary, third oldest of a family of 8, grew up in Cockenzie where they lived above the family’s Italian café. She is the bestselling author of Valvona & Crolla: A Year at an Italian Table and The Italian Sausage Bible. She also co-wrote the acclaimed Easy Peasy children’s cookery books with Pru Irvine and has appeared on numerous radio and TV programmes, as well as at literary festivals throughout the UK. She is a Director of Valvona & Crolla, the renowned Edinburgh delicatessen, restaurant and wine merchant. Join Mary Contini for a lovely 2-course literary lunch with wine and coffee, at the beautiful Greywalls Hotel, Gullane.

Venue: Greywalls Hotel & Chez Roux, Muirfield, Gullane, EH31 2EG Time: 11.00am for tea or coffee 11.30am Talk with Mary Contini 12.30pm Lunch Tickets: £55.00 including tea or coffee on arrival, two course lunch, glass of wine and a signed copy of Dear Alfonso OR £5.00 including tea or coffee on arrival and talk only. Limited availability. Tickets only available from Greywalls hotel, Tel: 01620 842144 Email: [email protected]

Friday 1st December

Saltire festival activities Celebrate the Saltire festival by taking part in fun activities for adults and children.

Dry Felt Felt from wool is considered to be the oldest known textile and was widely used in Scotland. Make your Christmas tree a bit more Scottish this year with a felt Scottie dog or thistle decoration. Some simple sewing required and the piece can be decorated with beads and fabric.

Glass painting Stained glass is the art form that uses space to ‘paint a picture’ using the effect of light passing through coloured glass, by using paints, stains and enamels. Scotland has a rich history of stained glass art. This workshop lets everyone try out different styles and techniques of glass painting.

Venue: The Brunton, Ladywell Way, Musselburgh EH21 6AA Time: 2.00pm to 4.00pm Tickets: Free, drop in. No tickets or booking required.

Paul Murton and Mairi Hedderwick

Both Paul Murton and Mairi Hedderwick have lived and worked on Hebridean islands and celebrate the beauty, people, places and history of this iconic landscape in their stunning books. Join them for a conversation about these inspirational and fascinating islands.

Paul Murton is well known as a TV presenter, broadcaster, documentary film maker and historian whose work includes Grand Tours of Scotland, Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands and Grand Tours of Scotland’s Lochs which can be seen on BBC TV at the moment. He was raised in Ardentinny on the shores of Loch Long and has a passion for the amazing landscapes of Scotland. He has spent half-a lifetime exploring some of the most beautiful islands in the world – the Hebrides. He has travelled the length and breadth of Scotland’s rugged, six-thousand-mile coast line, and sailed to over eighty islands. In his book, The Hebrides, Paul visits each of the Hebridean islands in turn, introducing their myths and legends, history, culture and extraordinary natural beauty. In addition he also meets the people who live there and learns their story. He has met crofters, fishermen, tweed weavers, Gaelic singers, clan chiefs, artists, postmen and bus drivers – people from every walk of life who make the islands tick. This blend of the contemporary and the traditional creates a vivid account of the Hebrides and serves as a unique guide to the less well known aspects of life among the islands.

Mairi Hedderwick, Scottish illustrator and author, was born in Gourock and moved to the Isle of Coll at the age of seventeen when she took a job as a mother’s help. She left the island a few years later but returned in the early 1960s. She lived with her husband and young family in an isolated 19th-century farmhouse at the southern end of the island, with a big Rayburn stove, oil and gas lamps, a well, but no electricity, running water or permanent road access. They were three miles from the nearest house, at the end of a mile and a half of white sandy beach. Initially the family had hoped to make a living tending lobster pots and keeping a few sheep and cattle, but increasingly Mairi began selling pictures to tourists, including postcards and illustrated calendars with drawings of wildlife and maps of the islands. She is perhaps best known for the Katie Morag series of children's picture books set on the Isle of Struay, a fictional counterpart of the real-life Coll. In addition to her work for children, Mairi Hedderwick has produced several volumes of travel writing, accompanied by drawings and watercolour sketches, including An Eye on the Hebrides: an illustrated journey, a six-month-long odyssey through the Hebrides. She has also produced a range of beautifully illustrated diaries and stationery, featuring her exquisite watercolours of the Hebridean islands.

Venue: Longniddry Community Centre, 7 Seton Road, Longniddry, EH32 0LD Time: 7.00pm Tickets: free tickets direct from Longniddry library or call 01620 827827 Email: [email protected]

Struan Stevenson The Course of history: ten meals that changed the world

Many decisions which have had enormous historical consequences have been made over the dinner table, and have been accompanied (and perhaps influenced) by copious amounts of food and wine. Struan Stevenson brings to life ten such moments in his new book The Course of History: Ten Meals That Changed the World, exploring the personalities, the issues and of course the food which helped shape the course of history. From the claret consumed on the eve of the Battle of Culloden, through the dinners which decided the fates of George Washington, Archduke Ferdinand and Adolf Hitler, to the diplomatic feasts that decided future relations with Russia, China and the Middle East, each chapter covers every detail, character, decision and morsel which decided the course of history. This is a fascinating and unusual history book, which examines how food and drink has had an enormous influence on the outcomes of momentous battles, power struggles and critical world-changing events. The book includes the actual recipes, researched and recreated by acclaimed chef and restaurateur Tony Singh. He has featured on many cookery programmes including The Great British Menu and Ready Steady Cook. In December 2016, he was awarded an MBE by the Queen for his services to the Food and Drink Industry. (Note that Tony Singh will not be appearing at the event). Struan Stevenson represented Scotland in the European Parliament from 1999 and retired at the Euro elections in May 2014. He is an award-winning author, lecturer, newspaper feature writer and broadcaster and is well known in Europe and Scotland for his in-depth knowledge and understanding of Scottish affairs. He is also heavily committed to animal welfare issues. Struan will be signing sale copies of the book

Venue: Dunbar library, The Bleachingfield Centre, Dunbar. EH42 1DX Time: 7.00pm Tickets: free tickets direct from Dunbar library or call 01620 827827 Email: [email protected]

Saturday 2nd December

Coo Clayton and Alison Soye Maggie’s mittens Maggie really doesn’t like wearing her mittens. Perhaps on a trip around Scotland she’ll find a way to get rid of them without Mum noticing. She throws, flings and catapults the mittens towards a number of potential new owners on their way to Granny’s house. But mittens are made to be worn by a child, not a lobster, or the Loch Ness Monster! As the weather turns, Maggie realises that her mittens are useful after all. But is it too late?

Join Coo and Alison for a morning of mitten mayhem! Suitable for 3+ years

Venue: The John Gray Centre, Haddington, EH41 3DX Time: 11.00am Tickets: free tickets direct from Haddington library or call 01620 827827 Email: [email protected]

Saltire festival activities Celebrate the Saltire festival by taking part in fun activities for adults and children.

Celtic design embossed in metal A very effective and satisfying craft which is suitable for adults or children. Designs are pressed into soft foil metal using pens or safe embossing tools. The designs can be adapted by adding colour, decorated with beads, or leaving as the unembellished design.

Venue: The Brunton, Ladywell Way, Musselburgh EH21 6AA Time: 11.00am to 1.00pm Tickets: Free, drop in. No tickets or booking required. Suitable for adults and children

Soap Carving with Celtic designs A tactile craft anyone can turn their hand too. Take 10 minutes to carve then embellish the design using cocktail sticks, butter knives and safe carving tools. Finish polishing with tissue paper. Designs available will include the Saltire, Nessy, and thistles.

Venue: The Brunton, Ladywell Way, Musselburgh EH21 6AA Time: 2.00pm to 4.00pm Tickets: Free, drop in. No tickets or booking required. Suitable for adults and children

Lin Anderson Follow the dead What might it be like to spend Hogmanay on Cairngorm in a blizzard? And want might happen if a murderer is caught in the same storm, in the same place, at the same time? On holiday in the Scottish Highlands, forensic scientist Dr Rhona MacLeod joins a mountain rescue team on Cairngorm summit, where a mysterious plane has crash-landed on the frozen Loch A’an. Added to that, a nearby climbing expedition has left three young people dead, with a fourth still missing. Join Lin Anderson as she tells about her latest thrilling novel featuring forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod, and also the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue team. Lin will be signing sale copies of her latest book

Lin Anderson has published twelve (Chiller Thriller) novels featuring forensic scientist Dr Rhona MacLeod, the latest of which is Follow the Dead a joint investigation between Scotland and Norway (A Nordic and Tartan Noir mix). Her script inspired by her short story Dead Close, is currently in development as a feature film Sometime Did Me Seek. Her short film River Child won a student BAFTA and the Celtic Film Festival best fiction award and has garnered almost one and a half million views on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d76xWdajOY) Lin is co-founder of the international crime writing festival Bloody Scotland which takes place every September in Stirling. She is currently working on a rock musical Voice of a Generation with John Sinclair, former keyboard player with Ozzy Osborne.

Venue: North Berwick library, School Road, North Berwick, EH39 4JU Time: 3.00pm Tickets: free tickets are available direct from North Berwick library or call 01620 827827 Email: [email protected]

Sunday 3rd December

Saltire festival activities Celebrate the Saltire festival by taking part in fun activities for adults and children.

Dry Felt

Felt from wool is considered to be the oldest known textile and was widely used in Scotland. Make your Christmas tree a bit more Scottish this year with a felt Scottie dog or thistle decoration. Some simple sewing required and the piece can be decorated with beads and fabric.

Venue: The John Gray Centre, Haddington, EH41 3DX Time: 1.00pm – 4.00pm Tickets: no tickets or booking necessary, just drop in. For more information call 01620 827827 Email: [email protected] Suitable for adults and children

EVENTS ON THROUGHOUT BOOKWEEK

Rita Bradd Salt and Soil tour Rita Bradd was born in Edinburgh, and has lived in East Lothian since early childhood. She has been widely published in poetry anthologies since 2007. Salt & Soil is her debut poetry booklet, and includes her renowned poem ‘The Herrin Trail’ which tells the story of fisherwomen who walked from Dunbar to Lauder over the Lammermuir Hills with fish to sell or barter. Other poems in the booklet are mainly set in and around East Lothian and Edinburgh. Join Rita at any one of the following libraries where she will be chatting and reading some of her wonderful poems. The booklet will be available to buy, £5.00. No booking necessary. Just turn up.

Date Time Library

Monday 27th Nov 2.30pm – 3.30pm Port Seton

Tuesday 28th Nov 2.30pm – 3.30pm Longniddry

Wednesday 29th Nov 2.00pm – 3.00pm Dunbar

Thursday 30th Nov 2.00pm – 3.00pm Musselburgh (invited primary 5 school class only, home schooled pupils welcome) Friday 1st Dec 2.30pm – 3.30pm Ormiston

Saturday 2nd Dec 11.00am – 12 noon Gullane

eResources Roadshow

Our eResources Roadshow presents an excellent opportunity for library users to meet with staff and ask questions on how to access eBooks and eAudiobooks, how to stream and download newspapers, magazines & comics, and how to access all of our online learning content. No booking is required, attendance to the Roadshow is on a 'drop-in' basis - so if you have a free half hour why not call in to a branch and learn about all the different eResources your Library provides? We will be using Library PCs to demonstrate our eResources, but please feel free to bring your own mobile device and we can help you to access all of our online content. If you’re not a library member, come along anyway, bring some ID and proof of address and join on the spot! In order to deliver an effective and engaging eResources Roadshow which is tailored to your needs we’d like you to list five eResources which you’d like to know more about, and which library you’re considering visiting for the Roadshow. Would you mind taking part in our simple 2-question question survey? You’ll find it at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DS2D9QN

Date Time Branch

Monday 27 November 9am – 12pm Dunbar 2pm – 5pm East Linton

Tuesday 28 November 10am – 1pm Gullane 2pm – 5pm Musselburgh 2pm – 5pm Port Seton 5pm – 7.15pm Haddington Wednesday 29 November 10am – 1pm Tranent 2pm – 5pm Longniddry

Thursday 30 November 10am – 1pm North Berwick 2pm – 5pm Ormiston Friday 1st December 10am – 1pm Prestonpans

Saturday 2nd December 10am – 1pm Wallyford

LESLEY RIDDOCH’S NORDIC HOUSE ART EXHIBITION – landscape art and photos from the five Nordic nations

Exploring the links between Scotland and the Nordic nations, the exhibition showcases wild Arctic seascapes, Icelandic lava fields, Denmark’s oldest allotment gardens, women fishing on the Baltic, and a subsidence-threatened Swedish mining town.

The exhibition includes reproductions of work by:

Kaare Espolin Johnson (1907-1994) – who produced striking images of people and seascapes from his native Finnmark in northern Norway despite being almost blind. Johannes Sveinsson Kjarval (1885-1972) – an orphan and fisherman who became Iceland’s most prolific painter using a variety of styles to depict landscape and lava formation. Åland women – photographs from three collections showing women fishing, working as merchant seamen and sailing from the Finnish Åland islands to Helsinki in the 1920s Vennelyst – photos of Copenhagen’s oldest allotment gardens where families traditionally moved to live for the summer – comparing life at the turn of two centuries -- 1900 and 2000. Kiruna – photos of the Arctic Swedish mining town, currently being moved 4kms, building by building, to avoid a massive crack in the earth caused by subsidence.

Nordic House Director Lesley Riddoch said; “Since I first travelled to Iceland and the Far North of Norway I’ve admired Kjarval and Espolin Johnson - artists who battled poverty and blindness to demonstrate an intimacy with landscapes usually dismissed by outsiders as icy wastelands. I think anyone who loves the island landscapes of Scotland will instantly connect with their vivid portrayal of remote, northern scenery and fishing life. Photographs of women fishing on the Baltic and families “camped out” for the summer in Copenhagen allotments both speak of societies less restricted by convention. The extraordinary plan to move the Arctic Swedish town of Kiruna over the next two decades because of mining subsidence also offers a glimpse of the enduring human resilience at work in the High North. This is a small exhibition but I think these artworks from 5 northern seafaring nations will speak to most Scots and will help to stimulate curiosity, invite comparisons with Scotland and re-establish a “north-east passage” of art, ideas and stories between Scotland, Norway, Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Denmark. Nordic House was first unveiled in July 2015 at the Storytelling Centre on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.

Lesley Riddoch is a great admirer of the Nordic way of life. She co-founded the think tank, Nordic Horizons, with Scottish Government funding in 2010. Her book ‘Blossom: What Scotland Needs To Flourish’ explores how the Nordic nations manage to attain top places in international league tables of productivity, wellbeing, health and GDP. Her latest book, McSmorgasbord, written with Eberhard Bort explores what post-Brexit Scotland can learn from the Nordics.

The exhibition will be on display in the John Gray Centre from Monday 13th November until Sunday 17th December. There are times when the Star Room, where some of the items are on display, will not be accessible. Check with the library before your visit.

Tour event

Join award-winning journalist, commentator and broadcaster Lesley Riddoch on a guided tour of the Nordic House art exhibition

Venue: The John Gray Centre, Haddington, EH41 3DX Date: Thursday 23rd November (note – this is the week before Book Week Scotland) Time: 6.30pm Tickets: £2.50, to include refreshments, direct from Haddington library or call 01620 827827 Email: [email protected] Copies of Lesley’s books will be available for sale and signing.