Edinburgh Book Festival

 On Monday 22 August a group of pupils travelled by bus to the Edinburgh Book Festival in Charlotte Square.   First we had the opportunity of listening to Celia Rees talking about her new book “The Fool’s Girl” 

 http://www.celiarees.com/  

 After a quick picnic relaxing in the deckchairs provided,

 

we then had a session with Julie Bertagna and Keith Gray on the topic “Surviving It”, whether that was ecological disaster or just being a teenager!

Julie Bertagna’s website:

http://www.juliebertagna.com/

More information on Keith can be found at http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth519F070202bc9277B9rnk412799C

Some of the pupils who enjoyed their day at the Edinburgh Book Festival.

The Scottish Samurai

Check out the display in the library of Japanese books and artefacts  See below for more information on the Street Parade due to be held on Saturday 17th September.

 The Scottish Samurai

 A stunning street parade involving hundreds of school children will take place in Aberdeen next month [Saturday 17 September] to celebrate a local man who was known as the Scottish Samurai.

The street parade starts at 7pm from the Gordon Highland Barracks and ends in Westfield Park in the Bridge of Don and is part of the Scottish Samurai celebrations which run throughout August and September.

Glasgow-based Theatre Modo, who specialise in involving children and young people from all backgrounds in circus skills and public performances, will run workshops in both Oldmachar and Bridge of Don Academies involving up to 500 young people.

A series of Japanese Cultural workshops will also involve the wider community including a sushi masterclass, Japanese ceramics, traditional tea ceremonies and storytelling. Tickets are available at www.ourgala.info

The celebrations will mark the centenary of the death of Thomas Blake Glover, known in Japan as the Scottish Samurai.

Glover was responsible for establishing a strong economic and cultural link between North East Scotland and Japan. Leaving the Bridge of Don in 1859, Glover set up a series of businesses in Nagasaki; amongst these was the small shipbuilding enterprise which later became Mitsubishi.

In recognition of his industrial achievements, Glover was honoured with the Order of the Rising Sun.