How to Draw with Nick Sharratt
An interactive drawing event for children and families with author and illustrator Nick Sharratt.
2pm – 3pm, Saturday 31st October
Martins Memorial church hall
Suitable for all ages
Tickets £3 or £10 for a family
Nick is an award-winning author and illustrator. As well as having written around fifty books of his own he has illustrated picture books for Julia Donaldson, Michael Rosen, Jeremy Strong and Giles Andreae to name but a few, and he also illustrates the novels of Jacqueline Wilson. In his sessions he’ll be looking at his favourite funny picture books and sharing some brand new ones too. There’ll be lots of drawing, plenty of inventive wordplay and an abundance of silliness! Paper and materials provided.
THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH: Halloween Club night
9.30pm – 1.30am, Saturday 31st October
A masked ball with DJ set and visuals. DRESS CODE RED!
A History of British Serial Killing, Professor David Wilson
7.30pm, Saturday 31st October
From Jack the Ripper to Shipman and beyond
David Wilson is Professor of Criminology and the founding Director of the Centre for Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University. Prior to taking up an academic appointment in 1997, he was a Prison Governor and – at 29 – became the youngest governor in England. He worked at Grendon, Wormwood Scrubs and at Woodhill – where he designed and ran the 2 units for the 12 most violent prisoners in the country. This brought him into contact with virtually every recent serial killer. David regularly appears in the print and broadcast media as a commentator and presenter.
The Glasgow Trilogy, Malcolm Mackay
5pm, Saturday 31st October
Malcolm Mackay was born and grew up in Stornoway where he still lives. His massively acclaimed trilogy of Glasgow-set novels have won the Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read Award and the Deanston Scottish Crime Book of the Year Award and have been shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award for Best Crime Debut of the Year and the Scottish First Book of the Year Award.
Jake’s Bones, Jake McGowan-Lowe (13)
3.30pm, Saturday 31st October
My Guide to the Brilliant World of Animal Bones
Jake is a 13 year-old naturalist and bone collector from Scotland. He’s been collecting skulls and bones since he was six, and now has hundreds of amazing skulls and thousands of other bones. He began blogging about bones when he was seven and has written something new every single weekend since then, frequently appearing on TV. Jake’s Bones has been short-listed for the Royal Society Young Person’s book of the year.
Adventures in Human Being, Dr Gavin Francis
2pm, Saturday 31st October
A Journey through the Body
Drawing on his front-line work as a doctor and GP, Gavin Francis blends first-hand experience with reflections on how the body has been imagined and portrayed through history. It’s an adventure through what it means to be human that will transform the way you think about being alive. “A sober and beautiful book about the landscape of the human body: thought-provoking and eloquent.” (Hilary Mantel)
Gavin Francis qualified in medicine from Edinburgh in 1999. He is the author of three books: True North, Travels in Arctic Europe (2008, 2010), Empire Antarctica, Ice, Silence & Emperor Penguins (2012), & Adventures in Human Being (2015). When not writing, he works in general practice and emergency medicine in Edinburgh.
Comharradh: The Morse Code of Sheep Ear-Marks
12pm, Saturday 31st October
Agnes Rennie and guests
Prior to the introduction of eartags, all sheep-owning families had their own unique Comharradh. These consisted of endless variations of slices, holes, cuts … Barr, toll, beum, slisinn … A similar system is still used in places like Sardinia and Lapland (for reindeer).
The Shepherds of Berneray
9.30am, Saturday 31st October
Jack Shea,1981
A portrait of the people of the Isle of Berneray, Harris, this documentary traces the raw, austere, challenging life of the island through the changing seasons, concentrating on the sheep and fishing industries. Shot over twelve months from May 1978 to 1979 it took 18 months to edit.
The Shepherd’s Life, James Rebanks
10.30am, Saturday 31st October
A Tale of the Lake District
James Rebanks’ family have lived and worked in and around the Lake District for generations. Their way of life is ordered by the seasons as it has been for hundreds of years. A Viking would understand the work they do: sending the sheep to the fells in the summer and making the hay; the autumn fairs where the flocks are replenished; the gruelling toil of winter and the light-headedness that comes with spring, as the lambs are born and the sheep get ready to return to the fells. New York Times best seller.
Breakfast
9am, Saturday 31st October
Rolls, coffee and juice + 3 events included in ticket price (£10)