This month all of us on the AddressingHistory Team have been feeling quite festive: the sun is (mostly) shining, the web tool for AddressingHistory is starting to look fantastic, and there have been huge amounts of enthusiasm and energy surrounding Edinburgh (where we are based) as the various August festivals get under way.  With this in mind we thought we would gather up some information on shows and events in and beyond Edinburgh that might be of interest over the next few weeks.

In and Around Edinburgh

• A Brief History of Scotland – We Done Loads! promises to explain how everything in the history of the world began in Scotland. Possibly this is not historically accurate but we are told it is very fun.
• The Royal Mile History and Legends Tour shares both fact and legend as the period costumed guide wanders you around Edinburgh’s Old Town (for free).
• Bicentenary Concert: Robert Tannahill is a rare opportunity to hear the songs of Paisley born poet and songwriter Robert Tannahill (1774-1810) performed.
• The Scott Monument – Edinburgh 283 is, suprisingly, the first ever photography exhibition to be held in the Scott Monument (in the exhibition space around 100 ft above Princes Street). The monument will also be of particular interest to those who have been listing to this week’s Radio 4 Book of the Week on Sir Walter Scott, Scott-land: The Man Who Invented a Nation.
• Edinburgh Visit Scotland – The Robert Louis Stevenson Experience walks you through the life and novels of Robert Louis Stevenson (including free whisky and shortbread apparently).
• MacPherson’s Cave – Shadow and Enlightenment, part of the Edinburgh Art Festival, is an exploration by Robert Powell of the mythologising of history in general and Scottish history in particular.
• Queen Victoria Visits the Castle: it’s 1886 and Queen Victoria is visiting Edinburgh Castle to view and comment on recent improvements.
• Burns: The Video Diary takes a very modern and raw view of Scotland’s iconic Bard.
• How Did a Scottish Game Conquer the World? (9th September) looks at the history of Golf and it’s sudden growth in popularity in the 1880s.

Around Scotland

• The Bruce Festival, which celebrates the life and legends of Robert the Bruce, takes place in Dunfermline from 19th August to 29th August.
• Gaelic Workers at Stanley Mills looks back at the people who were recruited from the Highlands to work in this 18th century cotton mill complex near Perth. This event will run every other week from 28th August until the end of September.
• Highland Games are taking place throughout the summer in various locations around the Highlands. A full schedule is available on the VisitScotland website and one of the most high profile games, the Braemar Gathering, takes place on 4rd September.
• Perth: A Place in History,  part of the Perth 800 celebrations, is a two day conference (10th-11th September) looking back over the history of the city. AddressingHistory will be along at the event along with colleagues from the Visualising Urban Geographies project so please do stop by and say hello!

September also brings various Doors Open days and is also Scottish Archaeology Month – more information on both can be found on the Historic Scotland website. Edinburgh Doors Open Day 2010 will take place 25th and 26th September, more information can be found on the Cockburn Association website.

Finally, following yesterday’s news about the passing of Glasgow-born poet Edwin Morgan, we thought you might like to know that you can explore his work and hear readings of his poetry (along with the work of many other great Scottish poets) at the Scottish Poetry Library website.