1. An evening with Hannah Kent
Waterstones West End, Edinburgh, February 17
Bookworms are in for a treat tomorrow when Hannah Kent visits Waterstones in Edinburgh tomorrow. The popular author will discuss the release of her second novel The Good People and her successful debut Burial Rites. Set in 19th-century Ireland, The Good People is a tense thriller based on newspaper reports and a court case from the period.
Tickets cost £3. Visit www.waterstones.com.
2. BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra: Dvorak Symphony No. 8
City Halls, Glasgow, today
The work of Antonin Dvorak will take centre stage when the BBC SSO returns to City Halls tonight. Written by Dvorak at the height of his fame, the symphony will be conducted by young British conductor Alpesh Chauhan. The show also includes a rendition of Malcolm Arnold’s Second Clarinet Concerto and performances of romantic string miniatures by Mendelssohn and Webern. Tickets cost £16. Visit www.glasgowconcerthalls.com.
3. Vote for Independents: Wemyss Malts
Dalriada, Edinburgh, February 17
Whisky connoisseurs will be able to get their hands on some independent drams at this event in Edinburgh. Whiskies from Wemyss Malts’ batch strength blended malts and single cask ranges will be available to try during the tasting. The event is part of a series designed to celebrate independent bottlers in Scotland.
Tickets cost £20. Visit www.kaskwhisky.com.
4. Sophie Ellis-Bextor
The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, February 20
Pop star Sophie Ellis-Bextor makes her musical return to the Scottish capital on Monday. The London singer, who recently appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, will perform tracks from her fifth album Wanderlust during the show. Her new record, which features the single Young Blood, was co-written and produced by Ed Hardcourt.
Tickets cost £20. Visit www.sophieellisbextor.net.
5. The Snail and the Whale
Loch Lomond Aquarium and Sea Life Centre, today until February 15
Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler’s beloved children’s tale will be brought to life at the Sea Life Centre this weekend. Set in a special underwater wonderland, visitors will be able to follow the story through the centre using a special snail trail. There will be five snail stops on the trail so make sure you find them all to hear the full story.
Tickets cost £13.95.
Visit www.visitsealife.com.
6. Edinburgh International Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace
Various venues, today until April 9 Celebrating peace and togetherness, this festival is full of exciting spiritual, educational, artistic and cultural events. The festival aims to bring together people from a wide range of spiritual backgrounds, cultures, traditions and communities. The packed programme includes workshops, talks and retreats.
Ticket prices vary.
Visit www.mesp.org.uk.
7. Glasgow Film Festival
Various venues, Glasgow,
today until February 26 Scotland’s fastest growing film festival returns to Glasgow this week. Launched in 2005, the festival features screenings of everything from local and experimental art-house films to well-loved classics and international releases. Highlights include A Silent Voice, How to Steal a Dog and Dirty Dancing.
Ticket prices vary. Visit www.glasgowfilm.org/glasgow-film-festival.
8. Omid Djalili: Schmuck for a Night
The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, February 18
Award-winning comedian Omid Djalili’s hilarious new tour will make a stop in Edinburgh on Saturday. The show is brimming with the intelligent and provocative humour that’s become the British-Iranian comic’s trademark. Omid’s already appeared in Hollywood films
and hit shows including Dickensian and Lucky Man so catch him live while you can. Tickets cost £23. Visit www.omiddjalili.com.
9. Dig in at the Dock
Bo’ness Harbour Site, Falkirk, February 19
Cyclists are gearing up for a day at the races this weekend. Riders will be able to compete in a series of cyclocross races during the event. There
will also be face painting, balloon modelling and a samba band to entertain racers and spectators. Entry is free for spectators.
Visit www.facebook.com/diginatthedocks.
10. The View
King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, February 19-24
Dundee’s finest will kick off their six-night residency at King Tut’s on Sunday. The indie scamps will perform tracks from their new album Ropewalk, alongside some fan favourites during their set. Support will be provided by local band The Un-romantics.
Tickets cost £18.50. Visit www.theviewareonfire.com.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here