Aye, ye better believe it: October’s annual Scottish FOCAL event is heading back to the capital. So, tighten your jobby catchers, crack open an Irn Bru, and whip out the haggis, cos we’re gannie Edinburgh fer a wee day of words and maths, ye bampots.

Date: Saturday, 18th October 2025

Venue: The New Melville Bridge Club, 1 Pinkhill, Edinburgh, EH12 7BA

Admission: The standard entry fee is £15

Hosted by: Adam Beach

Doors open: 10:00

Games to be played: Eight 9-rounders followed by 14-round grand final

Refreshments: Various snacks and biscuits

Finishes by: 18:00

Wheelchair accessible?: Yes

Parking onsite?: Yes, but limited

Format:

The event will be carried out in the three-to-a-table “Lincoln” style, in which attendees will be playing six (thereby hosting three) 9-round preliminary games across three rounds.

Once the heat games have concluded and the scores have been collected, the two top-performing players will come head-to-head in the grand final.

Rough timetable for the day:

Doors open: 10:00

Welcome/Round 1 Draw: 10:45–11:00

Round 1: 11:00–12:15

Round 2: 12:15–13:30

Lunch: 13:30–14:30

Round 3: 14:30–15:45

Round 4: 15:45–17:00

Final: 17:00–17:45

Prizegiving: 17:45–18:00

Post-event group meal plans:

There will be a booking at Mamma Roma, an Italian restaurant, for 19:30. This should be enough time for everyone to get back to the city centre once the event is over. Please let Adam know if you’re interested in attending. Once there’s been a sufficient response, a link to the spreadsheet will be posted for any preorders that may be required.

How to enter:

To sign up, please complete the entry form: https://forms.gle/vCzmicuRKLL3bkZD9

Public transport

The club is located 3.2 miles west of Edinburgh Waverley, and 1.9 miles west of Edinburgh Haymarket. If you want to get your steps in, it’s a 1h 10m walk from Waverley or a 43-minute walk from Haymarket according to Google Maps. If not, the following East Lothian bus routes will take you to the Pinkhill stop, located just outside the venue on Corstorphine Rd: 12 to Gyle Centre, 26 to Clerwood, and 31 to East Craigs. The closest tram stop to the venue is Balgreen, which is a 14-minute walk from the venue, and you can catch this from St Andrew Square in the city centre. The same route stops directly outside of Haymarket station.