December 31st
Cold enough for you? I think I'll be seeing in the bells with a lemsip this year. Whatever you're doing, keep warm, keep safe and have a good one when it comes.
December 24th
A Merry Christmas to all our readers, and I hope Santa's good to you.
December 21st
Look, we all like Christmas, I know we do. And New Year means a hell of a party, right?
But afterwards, well you don't really feel your best, do you? Bloated is a word that springs to mind; run-down is another.
Not this year, people, as Henderson's is offering the chance to make it a New You for the New Year.
Dr Vinod Kumar, MBBS, MSc, is offering an introduction to Ayurveda - the Science of Life - and Pranayama - the Science of Conscious Breathing - to help you to become more capable, more efficient, to breathe correctly and deeply, to self-discipline and self-heal.
The opening workshop will be at The Henderson gallery on Sunday 17th January. More details on the 'Events' page.
Go on - because you're worth it.
December 20th
Anthony Burgess famously described Alasdair Gray as 'the greatest Scottish novelist since Sir Walter Scott': in addition to this he is a noted playwright, performer and artist.
We are delighted to announce that he has donated a limited edition print, 'From an Eastern Empire', to be sold by The Henderson Gallery by way of an online auction, with all proceeds going to the new pyjamas campaign.
This campaign aims to raise funds towards the new hospital for Sick Children to be built in Edinburgh in 2013.
To find out more about the campaign please go to www.newpyjamas.org ; to view the print, place a bid or make a donation go here. Good luck!
December 17th
I was watching that celebrity geologist Ian Stewart on the gogglebox last night, his programme on climate change, and thinking, that could have been me. Traversing the globe from Greenland to the Outback, abseiling into volcanoes, freediving into the Maelstrom, crossing the Andes by jet-powered skidoo. Or sexy historian Neil Oliver, marching around our coastline with his thrillingly dramatic voice and thrillingly dramatic hair. Or Ray Mears, braving the desolate tundra alone, with only a camera crew and a helicopter for company. That could have been.....but, no, no it couldn't. No, I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be.
These reflections left me in a state of spiritual accidie akin to that of Jimmy Stewart at the start of 'It's a Wonderful Life', and I thought of the days gone by, the roads I hadn't taken, the chances I had lost. Ou sont les neiges d'antan, I asked myself, ou sont les neiges d'antan?
And then I looked up, and miraculously there they were, the first snows of the year. Great white flakes twisting and turning as they fell, so gently, glinting like stars in the sodium streetlamp glare, beautiful, like God's dandruff. At a stroke I felt the magic of the season wash over me, that never-to-be-forgotten childhood Christmas magic, and it brought to mind so many things - but most of all what it brought to mind was this.
I'd better get down to Henderson's to see if they've got any tickets left for John Cairney's fantastic Christmas Show on Sunday night. Only £12 each I hear, 7.30 start with the Restaurant open from 6 for supper beforehand. That's what I thought.
December 16th
Another concert from the 'Most Entertaining' boys in the Wine Bar last night, and yet another triumph. In fact, so good was it I'm starting to get a bit suspicious. The idea, as older readers will remember, is to take a group of people with minimal or no musical experience, and mould them over six weeks until they are able to give a public performance. Given the quality of last night's performance I'm starting to wonder who entered the course this time round. Bob Dylan? Elvis Costello? Bobby Gillespie? Sir Charles Mackerras? I may have to slip into my Roger Cook hat and mac and doorstep that Finlay guy from 'Most Entertaining' to find out the truth. Or get a punch on the nose - that too would be, well, most entertaining.
Anyway, like I said before, the next 'Most Entertaining' gig promises to be unmissable. Details to be found - where else - here first.
December 15th
I acquired a new mobile phone the other day and discovered to my chagrin that it had no apostrophe key. As a result I dont, I cant, I darent write any such words - and am too scared even to look for my colon. Am I wrong to be depressed by this, that mobile manufacturers consider the proud inheritors of the noble instrument that was the language of Shakespeare, Milton and the Authorised Version, to be now so thoroughly debased by txtification that they are incapable of any coherent thought beyond 'Wot R U up 2 l8r m8'? Perhaps I am, and yet...
Still, I was considerably cheered tonight to discover that some people at least are still on my side - Luath Press, for instance. Publishers of well-written books worth reading, they are collaborating with The Henderson Gallery in a Winter Festival of Literature, the latest instalment of which saw an appreciative audience welcome 'handsome, hunky historian' Ashley Cowie to discuss his book 'The Rosslyn Templar'.
So how was he? Well, handsome and hunky certainly (I'm comfortable saying that) and, as an historian, in superlative command of his material, as he uncovered the layers of symbolism in the long lost painting that provided his title. Finally, he asked the question: did this provide evidence that Rosslyn Chapel hides a tremendous esoteric secret that has resided there since the 14th century suppression of the Knights Templar? The answer - and, Dan Brown fans, look away now - is a resounding no. A wonderful evening nonetheless.
The festival now takes a Yuletide break and will return on 13th January with 'The Evolution of Evolution'.
Cant w8.
December 11th
Egads! Gadzooks! Cor Lumme! And other outmoded and unfashionable expressions of amazement. Eager beaver cub reporters here on the News pages all made a dash for the phones - a bit like the press boys down the courtroom when the verdict was announced in any number of terrible old black and white movies - to be first with the shocking news.
Dear reader, I advise you to make yourself a fortifying cup of tea, if not something stronger, and sit yourself down before reading any further. Ready? OK.
There's no easy way to tell you this, but Nina's off! On holiday! For a month! A whole month! What are you going to do, deprived of regular updates on her merry quips and pranks, her inexorable rise to media stardom, her teapots? More to the point, what am I going to do for news?
Hmm. I see trying times ahead for your humble scribe.
Still, all the best, Nina.
December 9th
The Winter Festival of Literature we have organised with leading Scottish publishers Luath Press kicked off last night with a fascinating account of the life of Lady Grange by Margaret Macauley, author of 'The Prisoner of St Kilda'. And what an amazing life it was - Lady Grange came across as a bit of an 18th Century It Girl, as if Tara Palmer Tomkinson had wandered into a BBC Costume Drama. Then, however, matters took a darker turn and.....but,no, fear not, I won't reveal the ending. Though, to be fair, the title does give you a bit of a clue. Anyway, a cracking read, and one worth mentioning in your letter to Santa. Next week, handsome, hunky historian (it says here) Ashley Cowie will be discussing 'The Rosslyn Templar'.
December 7th
It is one of the great unanswered questions that have bedevilled mankind down through the ages, like nature or nurture, chicken or egg, Beatles or Stones? What I'm talking about is scone or scone? Oh come on, keep up, I mean scone rhyming with john or scone rhyming with bone Well the great debate has been re-ignited with the launch of the Bistro's delicious Afternoon Teas. (Incidentally, the Bistro staff have been trained to be pronunciation neutral, so no need to worry).
Let's face it, Afternoon Tea is one of the truly great British institutions. What could be better than taking a mid-afternoon break from a hard day's shopping in Thistle Street's unique boutiques for a refreshing tea or coffee and an energy-boosting jam and cream scone - or scone - or a tempting slab of cake? Let's do it tomorrow, yah?
What time? Well it's like served from 3 to 6.30, yah?
Afternoon Tea - it does exactly what it says on the tin.
December 5th
Doesn't Christmas come earlier each year?
Well, no, actually, but now is undoubtedly the time to finish off your festive planning.
And incredibly you can get all you need under one roof right here at Henderson's. Just clicky on the links to the right to find out more.
December 3rd
Did you know that Edinburgh, the Festival City, plays host to no fewer than twelve major festivals? (And how many can you name? Answers below - no peeking now.) Well, here at Henderson's we clearly feel that twelve simply isn't enough, so we've teamed up with the good people at Luath Press to launch our own Winter Festival of Literature, a series of talks by Luath authors to brighten up the cold, dark December and January nights.
Margaret Macauley kicks things off on December 8th with the astonishing story of Lady Grange in 'The Prisoner of St Kilda', to be followed a week later by Ashley Cowie who in 'The Rosslyn Templar' examines the painting that provided the first real link between Rosslyn Chapel and the medieval military order. Moving into the New Year, Walter Stephen's 'Evolution of Evolution' on January 12th promises a multi-layered investigation of the life, theories and Scottish connections of Charles Darwin. Emma Wood's 'Peatbogs, Plagues and Potatoes' on January 19th charts the impact of the environment on human life down the centuries, and the festival winds up on January 27th with 'Arts and Resistance' in which Sandy Moffat and Alan Riach explore the relationship between the arts and politics.
Not bad, eh?
Oh, and by the way, they are the Edinburgh International Festival, the Fringe, the Military Tattoo, the Film Festival, Book Festival, Science Festival, Art Festival, Storytelling Festival, Jazz and Blues Festival, the Mela, the Imaginate Children's Theatre Festival and Edinburgh's Hogmanay. So there.
December 2nd
Isn't it good to know that in this ever changing world there is at least one news source you can trust? We hinted to you on Monday that there might be big news in the pipeline on the John Cairney front and, after exhaustive research by Henderson's cub reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, we can now exclusively reveal that - he's back, by popular demand!
Yes, following his triumph with his mesmerising, virtuosic performance in 'Breakfast with Burns' at Henderson's during the festival, Scotland's very own one-man national theatre John Cairney returns to Scotland's legendary vegetarian restaurant with an absolute cracker of a Christmas show on Sunday 20th December. Tickets are available from Henderson's: either call in person, phone 0131 225 2131 or email mail@hendersonsofedinburgh.co.uk - and remember, this show is for one night only, so I'd book early if I were you.
Even better news is that you can make a night of it - Henderson's will be open from 6 o'clock serving a special pre-theatre supper menu full of festive favourites.
Phew - it's a scoop and a half I tell you.
