18 WHAT’S ON
CULTURE • LITERATURE • EVENTS • MUSIC • MUSEUMS...
At the movies...
Diane Hare, chats about her award winning Toatie Tablet and her fave flick
A new home
for The Great
Tapestry of
Scotland
EDINBURGH Cocktail Weekwill be
bigger and better than ever, running
for 10 days. It is packed full of
exciting experiences, delicious
cocktails, and stellar entertainment
for wristband holders.
More than 120 of Edinburgh’s best bars
will take part, each serving a £
Signature Cocktail that you can enjoy
with a wristband. There is also a huge
Cocktail Village at Festival Square with 21
pop-up bars, live music and
masterclasses, and an exciting new
rooftop experience. Wristband holders
can navigate the city tasting the delicious
Signature Cocktails on offer and benefit
from free entry to the Cocktail Village,
open 12-11pm daily.
Jam-packed with unique experiences,
Edinburgh Cocktail Week will once again
bring the wow factor. The line-up of
music acts who will take to the stage
in the Cocktail tent, include Scottish
Tik Tok sea-shanty sensation, Nathan
Evans, who will kick off the celebrations
on 7 October, followed by Edinburgh-
born Callum Beattie, Calum Bowie, and
Lily Ahlberg.
The festival also brings unique
experiences to the city such as
‘Dramming in the Dark’, a sensory whisky
experience, makes its Scottish debut,
while the ‘Mirror Mirror Bar’ will appear
on the rooftop at The Glasshouse Hotel
serving cocktails through the looking
glass. Other ticketed experiences include
Cocktails & Comedy, on 8 and 9 October
at The Stand Comedy Club, promising an
evening full of laughter and cocktails, as
well as Ball Pit Play & Cocktails at Ballie
Ballerson where ticket holders are
treated like the ultimate VIPs with
two-hour ball pit access, and exclusive
cocktails served to their table.To buy wristbands and browse all the
cocktails and event programme visit http://www.
edinburghcocktailweek.co.ukDIANE’S MUM taught her how to make her
traditional tablet when she was 10 or 11. By the
time she was 18 she was making tablet for all her
friends on a fairly regular basis. So, 9 years ago
she made it a business and set up her Toatie
Tablet Facebook page while remaining in her
part-time job in a local school.
She makes bars and bags of bite-size tablet
shapes, wedding favours and seasonal ranges
(tablet Advent Calendar anyone?) as well as
supplying a restaurant in North Berwick and a
gift shop in Musselburgh and taking stalls at
craft fairs in the run up to Christmas.
Diane said: “I love the personal relationships I
have with my customers who send me pictures
of the weddings I have made favours for and
things like that.”
Most of her business comes by word of mouthand she has many repeat customers.
She is carefully considering making the big leap
into full time tablet making.
Choosing her favourite film wasn’t easy for
Diane but she plumped for what is perhaps a
favourite for many people: The Shawshank
Redemption, based on a Stephen King novella
about a man sentenced (spoiler alert) unjustly
for the murder of his wife and her lover. The film
documents his survival strategies and ultimate
revenge on the system as well as his friendship
with what we might call an institutionalised
inmate serving life for murder.
Although she is a big fan of romance movies,
she picked The Shawshank Redemption because
of it’s ultimately uplifting story and the message
of the importance of having a vision and hope in
what might seem a hopeless situation.Diane said: “Obviously there are many dark
moments in the film but I loved that everything
works out for Andy, thanks to his own
determination and planning. That’s a good
lesson for life, not just self employment,”
She is very proud that she has made a
successful business from a simple recipe, handed
down to her from her mum who is sadly now in
the early stages of dementia and increasingly
rings Diane to ask her for the tablet recipe, but at
the same time Diane is happy that she honours
her Mum in the making of Toatie Tablet.
Fascinating film fact: the actor originally in
the frame for Andy Dufresne, the part played by
Tim Robbins, was Tom Cruise and Red (Morgan
Freeman) was to be portrayed by Harrison Ford.
What a very different film that would have been.
Linsay Given BlackEdinburgh
Cocktail Week
Friday 7 - Sunday 16 October
Tim Robbins with Morgan Freeman
in the Shawshank redemptionTHE GREAT Tapestry of Scotland new home
was to be opened last month by HRH The
Duchess of Cornwall, but due to the Queen’s
death the event was postponed. You can still
visit however.
The Magic of Masks and Puppets exhibit,
which is on loan from the Scottish Mask and
Puppet Centre (Scotland's primary venue and
resource centre for the art forms of puppetry,
mask and physical theatre) will be displayed at
The Great Tapestry of Scotland until the end of
the year.
The touring exhibit has been specially
tailored for the Tapestry’s visitor centre,
featuring puppets from every era and culture. Inkeeping with the Tapestry’s telling of Scottish
history, heritage and culture, Scottish puppets
will be on display, including Morag the Highland
Cow (formerly co-presenter of the BBC's Fully
Booked) and the crawling baby animatronic
puppet from the cult film Trainspotting. It also
features shadow puppets from Greece, Turkey
and Indonesia, Javanese Wayang Golek rod
puppets, Rajasthani marionettes, giant Russian
doll figures from the Rostov State Puppet
Theatre and of course Punch & Judy.Tickets for entry to the Magic of Masks and
Puppet exhibit cost £5 adults, £4 concession,
£2.50 child