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.