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BOOK WEEK SCOTLAND @ East Lothian Libraries 27th November to 3rd December 2017 Book Week Scotland is a week-long celebration of books and reading delivered by the Scottish Book Trust in partnership with local libraries and other organisations. Once again East Lothian Library Service is offering a packed programme of events, so mark your calendar, pick up your tickets, and enjoy! For details of our full programme visit: www.eastlothian.gov.uk/bookweek17 For events nationwide visit: www.scottishbooktrust.com/book-week-scotland Tickets/places for events being held in any of our libraries can be booked by phoning 01620 827827 then state at the prompt which library you wish to speak to. Only libraries hosting an event will hold those tickets, but for ease of collection they can be sent to your local branch. 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, seen before a crucial battle outside Rome in 312 AD. Constantine the Great saw the Cross of Christ in the sky and had his army carry that symbol into battle, which he won, leading to the liberation of Christianity in the Roman Empire. The talk shows the connection between King Angus at Athelstaneford and Constantine. 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] 1 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 charac- ters, 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. 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! Books available to buy and signed by the author. 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 2 Wednesday 29th November JUDY MURRAY • KNOWING THE SCORE Former Scottish tennis international and Scottish National Coach, Judy Murray was the first woman to pass the LTA’s Performance Coach Award. She initiated the Scottish Development School, producing four Davis Cup players and one Fed Cup player, including her Grand-Slam-winning sons, Jamie and Andy. Judy has 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. Judy Murray is the ultimate role model for believing in yourself and reaching out to ambition. From the soggy community courts of Dunblane to the white heat of Centre Court at Wimbledon. 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) 3 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 Pozzuoli to Edinburgh, 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. Join Mary Contini for a lovely 2-course literary lunch with wine and coffee, at the beautiful Greywalls Hotel, Gullane. 11.00am Tea or coffee 11.30am Talk with Mary Contini 12.30pm Lunch Venue Greywalls Hotel & Chez Roux, Muirfield, Gullane, EH31 2EG Time 11.00am 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] 4 Friday 1st December PAUL MURTON AND MAIRI HEDDERWICK Paul Murton and Mairi Hedderwick have both lived and worked on Hebridean islands and celebrate the beauty, people, places and history of this iconic landscape in their stunning books. Join them in 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. He was raised on the shores of Loch Long and has a passion for the amazing landscapes of Scotland. He has travelled the length and breadth of Scotland’s rugged, six-thousand- mile coast line, and sailed to over eighty islands. In “The Hebrides”, Paul visits each of the islands in turn, introducing their myths and legends, history, culture and extraordinary natural beauty. He meets the people who live there and learns their stories. His 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, moved to the Isle of Coll at the age of seventeen. She left 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. They had oil and gas lamps, a big Rayburn stove, a well, but no electricity, running water or permanent road access. They were three miles from the nearest house, at the end of a 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. She is perhaps best known for the Katie Morag picture books set on the Isle of Struay, a fictional counterpart of the real-life Coll. 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] 5 Friday 1st December 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.