Petition launched for an official Sir Harry Lauder Day
A Greenock-born musician, now living in the US, is on a mission to mark the life and legacy of a legendary Scottish entertainer.
Carl Peterson has started a petition to create an official Sir Harry Lauder Day from August 4th 2027 onwards and it is already garnering thousands of signatures.
Harry Lauder was a pioneering Scottish singer, comedian, and global music hall superstar recognized for his signature kilt and crooked walking stick. Rising from humble beginnings as a coal miner, he became the world’s highest-paid entertainer and first million-selling recording artist.
He was born in 1870 in Portobello near Edinburgh, spent much of his life in Dunoon and was laid to rest in Hamilton in 1950. His showmanship won him millions of fans around the world.
Carl explained: “Harry Lauder was the world’s first ‘pop star’ and he was loved wherever he performed. Indeed, tens of thousands of folk in Australia and north America lined the dockside whenever his boat arrived or left as part of his regular international tours.
“We will be looking to organise musical performances and talks about his life in various locations around Scotland and further afield but, first off, we want to get an idea of the sort of appetite there might be for such an initiative. Early signs are very positive!” added Carl who is a regular visitor to Dunoon where he performs live at various venues in the town.
Jamie MacDougall, a leading Scottish tenor and broadcaster who has performed globally in opera, classical and folk music is fully behind the bid: “I’ve loved Sir Harry Lauder’s songs and the story of his life since I was 10 years old, when I was taken to Glasgow’s King’s Theatre to see Jimmy Logan’s one-man production, Lauder.
“It charted Sir Harry’s extraordinary journey from singing as a boy in Arbroath and working in the pits of Lanarkshire to becoming the first music hall performer to be knighted. That honour recognised his tireless efforts to raise over £1 million for wounded servicemen returning from the First World War.
“Years later, I had the privilege of reviving Jimmy’s show with Scottish Opera, and it has been a dream come true to introduce Sir Harry’s remarkable story to new audiences. Most recently, we spent four weeks off-Broadway in New York, where the response from people who had never heard of him or his extraordinary achievements was overwhelming.
“What many people don’t realise is that Sir Harry’s legacy continues today, with royalties from his work still supporting the wonderful work of Erskine Veterans Charity. His kindness and generosity have never stopped making a difference.
“A Harry Lauder Day would be a fitting and lasting tribute to a man who gave Scotland so much and whose influence reached every corner of the world. More than seventy-five years after his passing, he is still bringing joy through his music, inspiring audiences with his remarkable story, and helping veterans through his enduring legacy. That’s surely something worth celebrating every year.”
Anyone wanting to sign the petition can do so by visiting:
The RAF Benevolent Fund is proud to continue its partnership with The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in 2026, as the world-renowned event celebrates its RAF Year of Showcase and marks a decade of support for the RAF’s longest-standing charity.
This year’s Tattoo, A Call to Gather, taking place from 7-29 August 2026 will bring together military musicians, performers and cultural acts from across the globe in an immersive spectacle on Edinburgh Castle Esplanade.
As part of the celebrations, the RAF Benevolent Fund will be prominently featured throughout the month, with special projections during the event helping to raise awareness of the Fund’s vital services and the support it provides to members of the RAF Family.
The partnership between the RAF Benevolent Fund and The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has now reached its 10-year milestone, with the Tattoo having donated more than £1.5 million to the Fund. Donations to the Fund are raised through the event’s ticket sales and contribute to The Edinburgh Tattoo’s charitable mission of supporting military welfare and wider cultural causes across Scotland and the UK.
Previous donations have enabled the RAF Benevolent Fund to provide vital welfare services, from essential home adaptations to financial assistance during illness, bereavement and unemployment, helping RAF personnel, veterans and their families when they need it most.
Gavin Davey, Area Director (Scotland, Northern Ireland and North East England) at the RAF Benevolent Fund, said:“We are incredibly proud to be part of this year’s Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the RAF Year of Showcase.
As we celebrate 10 years of partnership, we are hugely grateful for the Tattoo’s continued support, which has raised more than £1.5 million for the RAF Benevolent Fund through ticket sales. The Tattoo’s global platform not only helps raise awareness of our services but also makes a lasting difference to the lives of serving RAF personnel, veterans and their families.”
Jason Barrett, Chief Executive of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, said: “2025 was a monumental year for the Tattoo, and we’re incredibly proud to see its success translated into tangible support for charitable partners like the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.
“Our mission has always been to use the platform of the Tattoo to make a meaningful impact on the lives of others. We’re delighted to continue this partnership and help to support the vital welfare work across Scotland for members of the RAF Family.”
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo’s A Call to Gather runs from 7-29 August 2026. Tickets can be purchased here.
The RAF Benevolent Fund provides financial, emotional and practical assistance to serving and former RAF personnel and their families, from welfare breaks and grants to mental wellbeing support, youth programmes and more.
As the Union Canal’s summer cruising season nears its end, Seagull Trust Cruises is reminding boat owners, clubs and charities that its fully enclosed dry dock at Ratho is available for their own use when it is not being used by the charity’s own fleet.
The dry dock, the only facility of its kind on the Union Canal, sits at the charity’s Baird Road base and provides a roofed, protected environment ideal for autumn and winter maintenance. With the main cruising season finishing at the end of October, boat owners are encouraged to book early to secure a slot before Seagull Trust’s three passenger boats enter the dock for their annual overhaul.
The dock is made available from Saturday to Saturday for other canal charities, boat clubs and private owners. Its impressive size means draining down or refilling the dock typically takes between two and three hours.
The facility supports a wide range of essential maintenance tasks that can be carried out by the owners, including full hull inspections, out-of-water surveys, hull scraping and antifouling, below-waterline repairs, repainting with marine-grade coatings, engine servicing, propeller and rudder work, and general pre-winter preparation.
In response to increasing demand for above-waterline maintenance, the Trust has recently installed new fall-restraint systems, ‘Safe-Hold’ HLLR 31604 tension rope system to meet current working-at-height regulations.
Training will be available to ensure users have a safe experience while undertaking their vessel maintenance while in the dock facility. The equipment was very generously provided by an anonymous donor
Donations play an important role in supporting Seagull Trust Cruises’ free cruising programme, which carries thousands of passengers each year along the Union Canal. Boat owners wishing to secure time in the dock are advised to book early.
Scotland’s professional basketball club, Caledonia Gladiators, is encouraging fans to secure their seats for the 2026/27 season, with Season Tickets now offering greater value than ever across both the men’s and women’s teams.
Fixtures are now confirmed with the Gladiators returning to East Kilbride this September for their fourth season at the 1,600-capacity Arena at Playsport, with the new campaign bringing another season of top-level basketball to Scotland.
With players travelling from as far as the US and as close to home as Falkirk, fans can secure their place at every home game through a Season Ticket, with packages designed to make following the Gladiators throughout the season more accessible.
Season Tickets for the women’s team start from just £115, while men’s Season Tickets start from £280. Junior Season Tickets are available from £54, while families can follow the women’s team for £284 for a family of four, with a family Season Ticket for the men’s team available for £625.
The value-led pricing comes as the Gladiators continue to see their fanbase grow across both teams. Following the women’s historic campaign at the Playoff Finals earlier this year, Season Ticket sales for women’s games have already increased by 20%, highlighting the growing appetite for women’s basketball and the momentum behind the club.
Season Ticket holders become part of the new and exclusive Courtside Club to benefit from a host of exclusive perks, including a guaranteed seat at every home game, discounts, exclusive access to players, discounts with club partners and more.
Tony McDaid, CEO of Caledonia Gladiators, said: “We want to make following the Gladiators for the season as accessible and rewarding as possible, whether you’re a long-time supporter, a family coming to basketball for the first time or a fan who wants to make sure they never miss a game.
“We’ve introduced a new Season Ticket structure that we believe offers fantastic value across both our men’s and women’s teams, while giving supporters the chance to be part of everything we are building here in Scotland.
“In particular, we know how important families are to our club, so being able to offer junior Season Tickets from just £54 and family packages that make watching live basketball more affordable is something we’re really pleased to introduce.
“Our ambition is to build a basketball nation and our supporters are at the heart of that. A Season Ticket is more than just a seat – it’s the opportunity to be there for the big moments, support our players and be part of the Gladiators community throughout the season.”
Caledonia Gladiators will officially return to the court on 20 September 2026 at 4pm for the 2026/27 Season Opener, with the men taking on Super League Basketball’s newest team, Liverpool Basketball, for the first time.
With fixtures now confirmed, fans can secure their Season Tickets now and guarantee their seat for the campaign, while benefiting from the club’s new value-led pricing structure.
Season Tickets and individual game tickets are available now at:
The Besties awards celebrating the best across Edinburgh’s August Festivals are now in their third year. The Award is a partnership between Radge Media, Capital Theatres and Premier Scotland.
The Skinny and Fest, Capital Theatres and Premier Scotland are delighted to announce the week one winners of The Besties.
This award was selected by the young people who participated in this year’s Superpower Agency critical writing summer camp, a collaboration with the teams at The Skinny and Fest.
Five women went to teach theatre for the summer. They just didn’t know the world would end before camp did. In Stanislavski Can’t Save Me From The Apocalypse, life at a theatre camp in the northern woods of Maine takes a shocking turn when five counsellors suddenly become responsible for more than forty campers after the world ends on the final day of camp. Their artistic dreams collide with the abrupt demands of survival, forcing women who once built imaginary worlds onstage to confront a terrifying new reality offstage.
The young reviewers said, “We really enjoyed this innovative theatre production, set at a kid’s theatre camp in the aftermath of the apocalypse. This is an ambitious show that takes risks with its unconventional structure and pulls them off. They did a lot with a tiny venue, minimal set and a cast who were passionate and talented. The characters were realistic and the show’s depiction of young adult friendship was funny and relatable. A hopeful and meaningful take on a potentially dark subject.”
Believing themselves to be revolutionary leaders, two overconfident artists attempt to liberate the masses through the power of theatre. Ethan & Gigi are here to upstage fascist pigs and break legs (literally). The revolution will not be televised, it will be live! Alt-comedian legend Chris Gethard says: ‘These kids are funny, brave, some of the hardest workers I’ve ever met and also might be legitimately unwell in a mental sense. Either way, huge fan. Restores my faith and makes me believe in the connective power of comedy.’
The Skinny/Fest editorial team said: “Ethan and Gigi’s commitment to the bit is what makes this faux so-bad-it’s-good comedy stand out from the rest. A pair of revolutionaries riddled with interpersonal issues but convinced they’re on the brink of an anti-fascist revolutionary movement, the New York clown duo never let you see where they start and the characters end. There are big, insane swings in this show that wears its brashness deceptively lightly; swings that you’re only likely to see at The Fringe.”
Two teenagers perform fake Bigfoot sightings in their Appalachian town, until a neighbour’s dog turns up torn to pieces. Aside from sparking a panic that spirals out of their control, it forces them to question what might actually be terrorizing their under-resourced and already superstitious community. From 2022, 2023 and 2024 Fringe First award-winners and ‘the Fringe’s most dynamic theatrical duo’ (Telegraph), Xhloe and Natasha, comes a Brechtian puppet show ripped in two about conspiracy, misdirection and seeing something with your own eyes.
The Skinny/Fest editorial team said: “It may be early in the 2026 Fringe to declare a legend award, but the judging team could think of no title more fitting for clown duo Xhloe and Natasha. Since their 2022 debut with And Then the Rodeo Burned Down they’ve built a devoted following amongst Fringe-goers in general and the Skinny-Fest teams in particular. This year they’ve returned with their fourth original show, Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It, and it has once again lived up to the hype.”
‘I’m sorry, I’ve said too much…’ Sky Arts Award-winning comedian Elf Lyons is The Woman on the Edge. A completely normal, autobiographical (and in no way complex) – observational stand-up show about love. A perfect show to take yourself to. Inspired by Vertigo, Apollo 13, the opera Pagliacci. Directed by Ingmar Bergman. One of The Telegraph’s 50 Funniest Comedians of the 21st Century.
The Skinny/Fest editorial team said: “The Fringe has practically belonged to Elf Lyons for a while now. Swan was mad; Raven was fit for a King. So to hear, in Elf’s new show, that she had lost herself earlier this year was heart-rending. If someone so singular can lose sight of who they are, what hope is there for the rest of us? By the end of her new hour, there’s no question that that isn’t the case anymore.”
Bzzzz. Enter the surrealist world of a house fly. She’s come to share her story before she dies! In an astonishing historical first, a house fly has learnt human behaviour. Wanting to warn us about the worldwide insect shortage but getting lost along the way. This is Tess O’Shea’s first show after training at Gaulier clown school – it’s a theatrical exploration on the life of a fly and their cultural history. Come and see a fly’s observations on the absurdity of modern life, inspired by Kafka and the surrealism of Dali. Swatters strictly prohibited!
Fest writer Xuanlin Tham said: “the humble fly is often constituted as nothing more than a filthy pest. Yet carrying on in the grand surrealist tradition of Kafka, Dalí, and also Ratatouille (masterpiece), Tess O’Shea’s House Fly paints the life story of one fly so vividly that the last thing you want to do is swat it away … The buzz is real.”
At 17, Eva moved from Livingston to Costa Rica on her own. She dropped out of school and moved to Costa Rica a boy-mad wee bam. She came back a bald lesbian without shoes. A fast, brutally funny debut about how you can take the girl out of Livingston, but maybe Costa Rica is too far. ‘One of the best young acts on the Scottish circuit’ (One4Review.co.uk). ‘A rising star’ (List). Support for Kim Blythe, Sam Nicoresti and Susie McCabe.
The Skinny/Fest editorial team said: “Eva Peroni is anything if not precocious. The 22-year-old’s debut Fringe hour is crammed with joke after joke, drawing on themes of identity and belonging and remaining sharp and uncompromising throughout. Taking inspiration from her coming-of-age in Costa Rica, the comic probes questions of national identity and Scottishness, with tongue firmly in cheek…”
Reflecting the broad and diverse coverage both magazines produce every summer and celebrating the breadth of Edinburgh’s Festivals, The Besties span all the festival activity taking place in the city over the month of August, including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh Art Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival and the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Winners of The Besties are chosen each week by the editorial teams of The Skinny and Fest, drawing on their cross-festival expertise to celebrate the best work happening anywhere in the festivals. 2026 winners will be announced at weekly ceremonies taking place at Festival Theatre in Edinburgh on 15, 22 and 29 August.
The Besties awards, designed by artist Camillo Feuchter a graduate of Interior & Environmental Design at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee, use recyclable plastics gathered by the partners and leftover wood sourced locally.
There are now just 10 stalls remaining at the Volunteer Edinburgh Recruitment Fair 2026 — and the deadline to book is fast approaching.
If your organisation is looking to recruit new volunteers, this is your last chance to be part of the event.
The Recruitment Fair brings together over 1,000 potential volunteers and more than 50 charities, community groups and voluntary organisations under one roof. It’s a fantastic opportunity to meet people face-to-face, showcase what you do and talk directly to people who are actively looking for ways to get involved.
Don’t miss the opportunity to put your organisation in front of hundreds of enthusiastic potential volunteers.
By not attending, you could be missing out on conversations, connections and potential new volunteers who could make a real difference to your organisation.
Why you should be there
Meet hundreds of people interested in volunteering
Promote your organisation and current opportunities
Have conversations with potential volunteers face-to-face
Connect with your local community
Raise awareness of the difference your organisation makes
Find new volunteers who could help your organisation thrive
Event Details
Tuesday 1 September 2026 10am – 5.30pm St Paul’s and St George’s Church, York Place, Edinburgh
Don’t Leave It Too Late
Only 10 stalls remain and bookings close on Friday 21 August.
Once those final spaces are gone, that’s it.
If you’ve been considering joining us, now is the time to book. Don’t let your organisation miss out on one of Edinburgh’s biggest opportunities to connect with potential volunteers.
We’d love to see your organisation there — but don’t miss your chance to be one of our 2026 stallholders!
‘Our aim is simple: to put local people at the heart of this campus’
Cutting-edge building replaces existing Liberton High School as part of new community, lifelong learning and sports campus
Staff and pupils at Liberton High School have started the new school year in their brand new state-of-the-art learning and community campus this week, after the building was handed over to the Council.
Balfour Beatty was appointed by the Council to deliver the new building, which has been designed by jmarchitects. The new campus has been formed with the needs of learners in mind. To encourage collaborative learning, the school building features breakout and retreat spaces to offer pupils choice on where they want to work, socialise or take time out.
Large windows fill the building with natural light, while helping to connect departments and classrooms with outdoor spaces. Internal spaces have been decorated with warm colours and light woods to create comfortable spaces for learning and coming together.
Outdoor sports facilities include a new 3G synthetic rugby and football pitch and a multi-use games area. A new grass recreation area that can be lined for football or other sports activities will be added following the demolition of the former Liberton High School building.
The 1,200-space school forms the centrepiece of the new Liberton Community Campus, a multi-purpose facility to help meet the needs of young people, their families and the wider community.
Its spaces have been designed to allow all generations to come together in a number of ways, including a community café, library, GP surgery and workspaces for Council partners. New sports facilities operated by Edinburgh Leisure will feature bookable amenities for the whole community, including a fitness suite and dance studio.
Information on when the other community facilities within the building will be ready for use will be published soon.
The new Community Campus has been built to Passivhaus standard, minimising energy consumption and reducing the reliance on active heating or cooling systems, ensuring sustainable and eco-friendly construction.
In addition to the Passivhaus design, the new school contains other sustainable features supporting the Council to meet its sustainability commitments. This includes measures to improve the air quality and thermal performance of the building which are vital to achieving Passivhaus certification.
The new school building has been designed in line with the guiding principles of the Scottish Government’s Learning Estate Strategy and is one of the projects in the second phase of the Scottish Government’s Learning Estate Investment Programme, alongside the project to redevelop Wester Hailes High School.
Children, Education and Families Convener, Councillor James Dalgleish, said: “The opening of the new Liberton High School marks a major milestone for pupils, staff and the wider community.
“This building has been designed to be futureproof with sustainability at its core, and I’m proud that it stands as one of Scotland’s first Passivhaus secondary schools.
“The school’s leadership team has played a crucial role in shaping a learning environment that puts the needs of young people first, while also meeting our commitments to a net‑zero future.
“This project is however about more than just a school. It’s the foundation of a community lifelong‑learning and sports hub that will bring together education, public services and local amenities in one accessible place, from a Community Library to an NHS GP Surgery. This reflects our ‘Living Well Locally’ strategy, ensuring local services are co‑located where people need them most.
“Our aim is simple: to put local people at the heart of this campus, giving everyone the opportunity to learn, participate and thrive.
“I’m delighted that this exceptional new building will help to bring more local people in the community together, and we’re looking forward to announcing more about the new community facilities soon.”
Stuart Danskin, Project Director at Balfour Beatty said: “As Balfour Beatty’s first Passivhaus secondary school and the centrepiece of the new Liberton Community Campus, the successful completion of Liberton High School demonstrates our expertise in delivering innovative and sustainable infrastructure that creates lasting value for communities.
Drop-in session from 2-4 pm
Meet hundreds of people interested in volunteering
Promote your organisation and current opportunities
Have conversations with potential volunteers face-to-face
Connect with your local community
Raise awareness of the difference your organisation makes
Find new volunteers who could help your organisation thrive
Tuesday 1 September 2026
10am – 5.30pm
St Paul’s and St George’s Church, York Place, Edinburgh
