Edinburgh / Lifestyle

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Lifestyle in Edinburgh

Public Libraries

Edinburgh City Council provides an excellent library service.  The main hub is the Central Library on George IV Bridge, which contains the main Lending library, Children’s library, Fine Art library, Music library, Reference library, Scottish library, a Learning Centre and a Resource Centre.  There are also 25 smaller libraries spread through out the city. 

 

The libraries can offer you free lending of books and audio collections, free access to computers in many branches, friendly reading groups, events for families, music CD’s and DVD’s, and a Language Interpretation and Translation service. 

 

The Ethnic Library Service is based at McDonald Road Library.  They stock a range of books, magazines and newspapers in many languages including: Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, French, German, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Punjabi, Spanish, Urdu and some others.

 

Anyone can visit a library, but to borrow books and use some of their services you will need to become a member.  Membership is free; all you need to do is go to any library with forms of ID and ask to join. 

 

For more information please visit your nearest library or look on the Council website: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/leisure/Libraries

 

 

Weather 

Scotland has temperate weather which means that we generally have mild winters and cool summers.  One of the things which is very noticeable about the Scottish weather is that it is very changeable.  Although it might be sunny in the morning it can easily be pouring with rain and blowing a gale by the afternoon!  A common saying to describe Scotland’s weather is ‘four seasons in one day’, for this reason is sensible to keep a waterproof raincoat in your bag even in the summer.  A lightweight ‘pac-a-mac’ is ideal as it folds down into a small bag and is easy to keep in your back-pack or hand-bag.  They can be bought from outdoor/activity shops such as: Millets, Tiso’s, Blacks, and Trespass; and in many high street stores.  When the sun is out it can be strong (even if it doesn’t feel that hot!) so it is sensible to wear a sunscreen to prevent sunburn.

 

As the UK is a small island our weather can change very quickly, for this reason we have many updates on the radio and television about the weather.  It is also one of our favourite topics of conversation!  You can look up the weather forecast online at www.metoffice.gov.uk and Edinburgh is in ‘SW Scotland and Lothian Borders’ area.

 

Places of Worship

Edinburgh has many churches covering most Christian denominations, as well as two Mosques, a Sikh temple and a Synagogue.  Further details can be found on the following website: http://www.edinburgh.org/practical/places_of_worship/  

 

Edinburgh Inter-faith Association - http://www.eifa.org.uk/

Connecting the faiths of: Christian; Jewish; Muslim; Hindu; Sikh; Buddhist; Bahai; Pagan; Unitarian; and Brahma Kumaris.  The EIFA has many events, projects and initiatives and is committed to promoting harmony, co-operation and respect throughout the religious communities of Edinburgh.

 

Edinburgh Churches Together - http://www.edinburghchurches.org.uk/

Edinburgh Churches Together focuses on the Christian faith; especially the following denominations: Church of Scotland; Methodist Church; Roman Catholic Church; Salvation Army; Scottish Episcopal Church; Religious Society of Friends (Quakers); United Reformed Church; and the Orthodox Church.  Edinburgh Churches Together is also a member of the EIFA.