Arts diary: Bright idea for another festival?

DURHAM has a lot in common with Edinburgh, not least a high-placed castle and cathedral dominating city views, and from today the city's architectural high points will be ablaze with spectacular lighting effects thanks to Lumière, its new festival of light, which it is hoped will attract 60,000 visitors.

Artichoke, the arts events company that famously produced the Sultan's Elephant in London and more recently Anthony Gormley's Fourth Plinth project, is running Lumire over four days.

Ross Ashton, who produced Burns Illuminated this year in Glasgow, is projecting the Lindisfarne Gospels across the 100-metre span of the cathedral. Also among the 20 major contemporary light installations is Power Plant, which bewitched audiences at the Botanics in Edinburgh this Fringe, and will now be showing at the Durham Botanic Garden.

Former Fringe director Paul Gudgin is working as a consultant for Durham's bid to become UK City of Culture in 2013. Does he think Edinburgh could benefit from a light festival?

In an architecturally striking city, he says, "there's something wonderful about taking something that is beautiful but incredibly familiar, and finding a contemporary means of re-envisaging the city".

Lighting up iconic structures from the Old Town to the Scott Monument could work well, but not in the summer. "Edinburgh is not short of brilliant festivals, maybe we don't need another one," he said.

Scone rule

IT IS the $64 million question about the 17.6 million revamp at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. Forget those lofty new galleries we'll be getting: what about the cheese scones?

The scones at the gallery's Queen Street Caf, favourite watering-hole of New Town gentleladies, have been an institution for years. Will they survive when it's relocated and doubled in size, with a new catering contract up for grabs, presumably under European competition rules? The gallery's director, James Holloway, is pledging every effort to keep them. He has said he will be "extremely disappointed" if they are not on the menu.