Here's what you can get up to this week...
1 THERE is, of course, nowhere else to be on Saturday other than at the independence march and rally in Glasgow. Be at Kelvingrove Park at 11:30am to assemble for the march to Glasgow Green. Bring your banners, dugs and weans. All details at the All Under One Banner Facebook page and in this week’s National newspaper.
2 IT’S that time of the year ... the Irn-Bru Carnival at Glasgow’s SEC beckons. Candy floss, toffee apples, the ghost train, the sticky wall ... it’s still a kinda magical place to be. Take the kids and throw yourself into it – you’ll have great fun, I guarantee. It’s open every day until January 12 and tickets are £15 and £12 for kids, and that includes 10 vouchers to ride. Opening hours are 12 noon until 9pm today and 5pm-10pm weekdays. All details at https://www.irn-bru-carnival.com
3 IT’S a back-to-the-80s party hosted by the amazing Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet. Woohoo! I love a bit of 80s, never gets old. Some have said these nights are true gold. The date to remember is Friday at 7pm at the Liquid Room, Edinburgh. Tickets are £18 and all details at www.solidentertainments.com/presents.
4 DUNDEE’S comedy scene is in for a treat at Henry’s Coffee House as Billy Kirkwood hosts the icebreaker comedy night on Saturday, from 8:15pm until late. Billy has been seen on MTV, BBC, Comedy Central and supporting Frankie Boyle. He is effortlessly funny and this will be a right good laugh. Just the ticket for a cold grey January night in Dundee. Tickets at a very reasonable £7, available on Eventbrite.
5 ALMOND Valley Heritage Centre in Livingston has a magical display – a light trail with beautiful displays, projections and wintry activities for the whole family, as well as the chance to see the world’s largest paraffin heater, a field of scented flames and more. At five o’clock, once all the usual visitors have left for home, lights are switched on and the wondrous winter realm of the Paraffin Pixies beams into life. Strings of twinkling lights guide the way past the old watermill and across the river through a scintillating tunnel of light. The woods and fields of Charlesfield are picked out in thousands of tiny lights that encourage you to venture into magic places among the trees, where paraffin lanterns hang from the high branches and pixies are close at hand. Tickets £12. Today at 6pm.
6 RUNNING out of ideas to keep the small people occupied? Well, on Saturday, at 10:30am, the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow is running a class for children aged between 3 and 12 in the form of a clay-making workshop. The cuteness is real. Free event, donations welcome. All details at https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/venues/gallery-of-modern-art-goma.
7 GLASGOW Women’s Library reopens tomorrow after the winter break, from 9:30am-5pm – the UK’s only library dedicated to women’s lives and achievements. It’s a wonderfully welcoming place to visit for a browse and to borrow a book. New year means new books and this is the very place to while away an hour in the wintry months. Visit www.womenslibrary.org.uk for all opening hours and details.
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