1 TRULY one of the saviours of lockdown was Tim Burgess of the Charlatans with his listening party on Twitter so we all owe it to him to go see the band on their latest tour. The Charlatans are hitting Aberdeen this Monday at the Music Hall. This tour – A Head Full Of Ideas – is their 20th Anniversary tour that was delayed due to Covid. There are still a few tickets left for the last minute types. To buy head over to www.thecharlatans.net or contact the venue.
2 THE very fabulous Dockyard Social is always a fab fun way to spend a chilled Saturday or Sunday with your chums. Previously a pop-up, the Dockyard is now a permanent fixture in Finnieston in Glasgow. There is street food from 10 different traders, multiple bars, old school tunes, retro games, like-minded folk and dugs and weans are welcome. Dance till your paws hurt. Friday and Saturday every week (except public holidays) www.dockyardsocial.com
3 EDINBURGH Zoo have hung their fairy lights, cracked out the crackers and topped off the trees with tinsel and although we can’t be sure the animals will have party hats on, you never know. All this week they are doing a Christmas evening extravaganza – a day at the zoo, an evening meal at the onsite Grasslands restaurant and then a cosy hot chocolate or mulled wine. Take a meander through the magical Christmas trail… For more info and tickets head over to www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/christmasnights/
4 IT’S panto time! Oh yes it is! And in Glasgow, you’ve got the very funny and big indy supporter Elaine C Smith headlining Cinderella at the Kings. Get yourself a seat in the gods and treat the weans to a choc ice. Nothing could be more Christmassy. Oh and if you’re a key worker, just let them know and you get 25% off your ticket price. Smashing. For all the gen head over to www.atgtickets.com/campaigns/local-heroes/#GlaCinderella
5 OVER at the Edinburgh Playhouse, everyone is dreaming of a White Christmas as the theatre presents the classic toe-tapping musica.l A tale of love and friendship and warmth, song singing and with a set and costumes to die for. Tickets available for every night this week www.atgtickets.com/shows/white-christmas/edinburgh-playhouse/
6 EVERYONE’S favourite Christmas movie It’s A Wonderful Life hits the GFT (Glasgow Film Theatre ) this week as is the tradition. Frank Capra’s 1946 Christmas classic follows the tribulations of small town everyman George Bailey (James Stewart), who, at the end of his luck and deep in debt, contemplates suicide one snowy, bleak Christmas Eve. But when George wishes that he had never been born, his guardian angel Clarence (Henry Travers) takes a trip from the heavens to persuade him otherwise. After a nightmarish journey through an alternative Bedford Falls, George realizes the difference he has made to the people around him, learning lessons of love, loyalty and what it means to lead a wonderful life. I’ll be there. So should you be. Cry your heart out. www.gft.com
7 IF you don’t fancy staying home and watching the brand new Netflix Christmas movie A Castle For Christmas then you can take yourself and your family for a walk around the very lovely Dundee Crathes Castle, all bedecked with her best Christmas clothes. It promises fairies, lasers, fire eaters, stilt walkers, toasted marshmallows, mulled wine, children’s rides and the amazing Santa’s Storytelling Experience. Mulled wine and a hot chocolate bar will be onsite and frankly nothing could be finer.
For all the information head over to www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/crathes-castle
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