Month: November 2014

Edinburgh's Hogmanay programme announced

“Edinburgh will be the greatest place on earth to say goodbye to 2014 and bring in the bells for Hogmanay” – Cllr Steve Cardownie, Festival & Events Champion

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Organisers of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay have announced the glittering programme of events for this year’s three day festival. Edinburgh’s Hogmanay will run from Tuesday 30 December to Thursday 1 January 2015, and is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors from around the world.

The Festival, produced by Unique Events on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council, will kick off with the hugely popular Torchlight Procession on Tuesday 30 December which is supported by EventScotland. A complete sell-out for the last few years, this event is expected to attract over 30,000 participants and 8,000 torchbearers in the procession which winds through the city centre from George IV Bridge to the finale which can be viewed from Calton Hill as well as Waterloo Place where there will be additional entertainment. In this centenary year of the start of World War I, a contribution from the sale of torches will be donated to Erskine.

The flagship Concert in the Gardens on Wednesday 31 December will turn West Princes Street Gardens into THE party with Björn Again, the world renowned Australian ABBA Show kicking off the evening, followed by Grammy award winning dance/R&B superstars Soul II Soul closing their worldwide 25th anniversary tour and headliner Lily Allen who, on the last date of her international tour, will ensure the audience is partying through the bells at midnight. Enclosure tickets have already sold out.

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay presents the biggest ever Hot Dub Time Machine at the World Famous Street Party. The time-travelling dance party which usually sees in New Year in Sydney, returns to Edinburgh to celebrate New Year for the first time in the Home of Hogmanay. 75,000 revellers across the arena will travel back to 1954 and then Moonwalk, Mashed Potato and Macarena their way through the bells and into 2015 with a banging song from each year relayed from the Rewinder Stage on the Mound across screens the length of Princes Street.

This year the Street Party welcomes a stellar Scottish line-up with a headline performance on the Waverley Stage from UK festival-favourites Twin Atlantic, joined by the winners of this year’s Mercury Prize, Edinburgh’s own alternative hip hop group Young Fathers, and Indie champions The Twilight Sad.

Audiences at the Scottish Stage will enjoy performances from Scotland’s chanteuse extraordinaire singer-songwriter Eddi Reader with special guests Radio 2 Folk Award nominated Breabach and the band led by Scottish piping phenomenon Ross Ainslie & Jarlath Henderson.

At the Keilidh on the Mound revellers will be birling through the bells to The Smashers (featuring members of Rura), Hugh MacDiarmid’s Haircut and The Sensational Jimi Shandrix Experience.

Revellers will enjoy countdown firework displays at 9pm, 10pm and 11pm rising to the crescendo of the spectacular Midnight Moment as the fireworks lift from the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle and Calton Hill. Followed by the world’s largest rendition of Auld Lang Syne as old friends and new join hands across the arena to sing Burn’s anthem.

All stages are live from 9pm to 1am but the party starts from 7pm throughout the Street Party arena with bars, rides and attractions.

Free NightBus services will run throughout Edinburgh and the Lothians for revellers at the Street Party and throughout the City Centre, supported by Lothian Buses and Johnnie Walker. These safe rides home are part of the Join the Pact global responsible drinking initiative from Johnnie Walker which has secured over one million personal commitments from people across the world to never to drink and drive.

Councillor Steve Cardownie, Festivals and Events Champion at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “Edinburgh will be the greatest place on earth to say goodbye to 2014 and bring in the bells for Hogmanay. From the Street Party to the Keilidh, the Concert in the Gardens to the Loony Dook, this is going to be a jam-packed three day festival of fun.

“Every year, people travel from all over the world to experience Edinburgh’s midnight moment, and this year all eyes will yet again be on the Capital as locals and visitors come together to celebrate. With performances from Lily Allen and Mercury prize-winners Young Fathers, it’s also one of the best outdoor concerts in Britain. Local residents planning to celebrate New Year on their doorstep can snap up an early bird discount on tickets, but be quick – the discount will only apply until 28 November.”

Pete Irvine, Director of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, said ““The Street Party boasts the world’s biggest open air dance floor and this year we really are going to party, including at The Concert – we should say Party – in the Gardens. On the other stages we’ve got the perfect Scottish line-up and this reverberates the next day at SCOT.LANDS where 100 artists across 11 venues will be part of what is probably Scotland’s biggest free festival. And it’s still only the first day of the year!”

On New Year’s Day, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay presents Scot:Lands – incredible new worlds hidden in 11 beautiful buildings and outdoor spaces in the city’s Old Town, where audiences can discover the very best in music, art and theatre, created and curated by Scotland’s most innovative artists, arts organisations and musicians: a festival in itself – all free. Scot:Lands is supported by the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund.

Also on New Year’s Day revellers can work off the excess of the night afore with a dip in the River Forth in the annual Queensferry Loony Dook. Starting with a Dookers Parade through South Queensferry featuring pipers and a host of entertainment the brave, or daft, Dookers will take the chilly plunge for charity under the world renowned Forth Bridge. For those not brave enough to get their feet wet, there are plenty of vantage points to watch the action and spectators are welcomed.

The award winning #Blogmanay was conceived in 2012 as a means of using travel bloggers and a high-impact social media campaign to showcase the unique experience of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, whilst using the festival as a gateway to explore and discover the delights of visiting Scotland, the ‘Home of Hogmanay’ in winter.

This year #Blogmanay is back again, encouraging locals, visitors and attractions across the city from 23 November to 5 January to create a huge bank of live digital content – blogs, reviews, videos, photographs and tweets, highlighting Edinburgh & Scotland as a premier winter destination. This year guest bloggers will be joining #Blogmanay from across Europe, North America, China and Australia and will participate in the award-winning campaign which since 2013 has generated over 150 million twitter impressions.

Tickets for all events at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay are on sale – full details can be found at www.edinburghshogmanay.com.

The early bird ticket offer for Edinburgh residents will close on Friday 28 November. Until then, anyone living in an EH postcode can buy their Street Party ticket for the reduced price of £16 plus booking fee.

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Countdown to lower drink-drive limit

Campaign launched to highlight proposed change on 5 December

drink and driveA high-profile public information campaign to ensure Scotland is ready for a new lower drink drive limit has been launched at the start of Road Safety Week. The Scottish Parliament votes today on an order which will bring the reduced limit into effect on 5 December.

This would lower the blood alcohol limit from 80mg in every 100ml of blood to 50mg in every 100ml of blood.

The campaign includes:

  • TV, video-on-demand and radio adverts across Scotland, including ITV Borders which covers areas south of the border. The campaign message is ‘the best advice is none’ when it comes to drinking and driving
  • Digital and social media campaign backed by www.dontriskit.info website
  • Scotland-wide awareness raising events in high footfall public venues such as supermarkets
  • Working with key transport hubs such as Edinburgh airport and car hire companies (Enterprise)
  • Awareness raising through Visit Scotland, tourist organisations and driving tourism agencies
  • Highlighting the new lower limit via electronic road signs across Scotland, particularly on key border roads between England and Scotland
  • Partner work with service stations, including all Tesco and all Shell-owned garages, this includes key border areas in Dumfries, Abington, Jedburgh and Berwick- upon- Tweed
  • Issuing information through alcohol retailers, national pub companies and groups such as Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Grocer Federation and DrinkAware
  • Partnering with key motoring organisations including the Institute of Advanced Motoring, AA, RoSPA and Brake

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: “With the approval of Parliament, the new drink drive limit will come into force on December 5, making our roads safer and saving lives. We are doing everything we can to make sure everyone is informed about the new lower level.

“A persistent minority of people are still getting behind the wheel after drinking – that is unacceptable, it is putting lives at risk and it must stop. Our advice is simple, the best approach is to have no alcohol at all. Alcohol at any level impairs driving.

“This new law will bring Scotland into line with most of Europe and hopefully reduce drink drive arrests and prosecutions, as we have already seen in the Republic of Ireland, where drivers adjusted their behaviour to take account of the lower limit.”

Chief Superintendent Iain Murray, Head of Roads Policing for Police Scotland said: “An average of 20 die on Scotland’s roads each year and last year a further 90 were seriously injured and 340 slightly injured as a result of drink driving related collisions.

“The new lower limit will reduce those numbers and the evidence from across Europe where the lower limit applies suggests we will see reductions in drink driving and blood alcohol counts.

“However even at the new limit you are three times more likely to die in a crash than if you had taken no alcohol. It is clear, when it comes to drinking and driving, that the simple ‘the best advice is none’ message is the right one.

“On the lead up to 5 December police patrols will positively engage with as many road users as possible to provide real-time education to those who may be putting themselves and others at risk, influence behaviour in the future and prevent collisions on Scotland’s roads.”

Paul Bassett, General Manager, South East Division, Scottish Ambulance Service, said: “All too often our ambulance crews have to deal with the tragic consequences of drink driving, which have a devastating impact on families and communities. The message is clear and we hope this initiative will reduce the number of lives that are ruined as a result of drink driving.”

Michael McDonnell, Director of Road Safety Scotland, said: “It’s almost 50 years since the current limit was introduced and that we still lose an average of 20 lives a year is a disgrace.

“Evidence from across the world demonstrates that the best results in tackling drink-driving are achieved by lowering the limit, or increasing enforcement, or both. We know, too, that a combination of high-profile enforcement, coupled with a heavyweight media campaign is the most efficient use of resources, and we are working closely with the Police Scotland and other partners to ensure that people know about the change to the limit and have no excuse.

“It’s not about catching more drink-drivers, but about preventing people from doing it in the first place. Ultimately, most of us have too much to lose, so it’s just not worth the risk.”

A happy New Year for hospital food?

New hospital food guidelines to be published in January

hospital_foodImproved standards for hospital nutrition and catering are to be introduced, and the Scottish Government will consult on making them legally binding, Health Secretary Alex Neal has announced. The improvements are part of a package of measures being introduced to build on the progress already made to improve standards of nutritional care in Scottish hospitals.

The measures announced yesterday are:

• Improved nutrition and catering standards introduced in the new year, supported by increased inspections of hospital meals
• A consultation to determine whether nutritional standards in hospitals should be placed on a statutory footing
• A further £300,000 will be invested to help boards to improve nutritional care

Scotland was the first country in the UK to introduce national standards for food, fluid and nutrition in hospitals. Since 2008 more than £1.75 million has been invested to improve standards of nutritional care, including supporting nutritional champions, malnutrition screening of all patients when they are admitted to hospital, and the introduction of protected mealtimes to ensure patients get the help they need to eat.

Continuing improvements to hospital food are part of the Scottish Government’s 2025 vision to make Scotland a Good Food Nation.

Health Secretary Alex Neil said: “Scotland has led the way in the UK when it comes to developing and monitoring standards for nutritional care and catering in hospitals. We already have rigorous standards in place, and clear guidance about how these standards can be met. Catering teams, dieticians, specialist consultants and nursing staff are doing great work to ensure that patients are getting nutritious and balanced diets in hospital.

“We have made great progress, but I recognise that there is always more that can be done to drive up standards.

“We have been working on these new guidelines for some time as part of an ongoing review of nutritional standards. This is part of a package of measures that will help to ensure that hospital food continues to improve, that NHS boards have the appropriate amount of support and advice that they need to deliver these improvements and that we have an even stronger inspection process.”

As part of the new standards, there will be a move away from self reporting, whereby hospital boards submit evidence about how their meals meet nutritional guidelines

Full details of the new guidelines will be published in January, and, if agreed, Scotland would be the first country in the UK to place nutritional standards in hospital food on a statutory footing.

Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian and health spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, has welcomed the proposals. She said: “It’s good to see the Scottish Government waking up to this important issue. I would encourage every health board to listen carefully to the feedback from patients and relatives to help improve hospital meals.

“I await with interest the new guidelines, and I urge ministers to raise their ambitions for the quality of food served in our hospitals. We should take this opportunity to focus on using more local and fresh ingredients, and we should continually involve patients in a review of the menus.”

STV Appeal support for Edinburgh's Streetwork

Streetwork is one of ten youth projects to receive STV Appeal funding 

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The STV Appeal has granted a total of £30,000 to support 10 projects across Scotland, in partnership with the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI).

One of the projects awarded a £3,000 grant is Streetwork in Edinburgh which works with vulnerable people on the streets providing street based outreach and one to one follow up support to enable a life beyond the street. Streetwork has been working with vulnerable people for over 22 years and through their outreach work aims to break the cycle of crisis and chaos for our most vulnerable people, including young people. The project was nominated by Drummond Community High School.

One of the service users, aged 17, met Streetwork while on the streets and explained the difference it made for him: “Streetwork gave me help in pointing me in the right direction and providing support that I needed. They helped me contact other agencies to help me sort out my flat and debt problems by helping me contact the right people.”

Managed in Scotland by The Wood Foundation, YPI is a UK and North America wide programme which engages young people in social change and empowers them to critically understand their local community.

YPI Scotland, which was delivered in 108 secondary schools across 18 local authorities during the 2013/14 academic year, asked students to research local need within their community and identify charities they felt were making a difference, before advocating on behalf of their chosen cause for the chance to secure the £3000 STV Appeal grant.

Ten winning projects have now been chosen by the STV Appeal to receive £3,000 each from the STV Appeal, all addressing child poverty at a local level:

VSA Young Carers (Aberdeen) nominated by St Machar Academy
Befriend a Child (Aberdeen) nominated by Hazlehead Academy
Streetwork (Edinburgh) nominated by Drummond Community High School
Children’s Holiday Venture (East Lothian) nominated by Knox Academy
Drumchapel Women’s Aid (Glasgow) nominated by Turnbull High School
Haldane Youth Services (West Dunbartonshire) nominated by Vale of Leven Academy
Petal Support (South Lanarkshire) nominated by Cathkin High School
Riding for the Disabled Arran Group (North Ayrshire) nominated by Arran High School
Inverclyde Foodbank (Inverclyde) nominated by St Columba’s High School
Govanhill Family Support Group (Glasgow) nominated by St Benedict’s High School

Now in its fourth year, the STV Appeal is determined to make an even bigger difference in the lives of children and young people living in poverty in Scotland. The money raised is distributed to provide practical help like food and warm clothes; create opportunities for training and employability; and enable social and emotional support for those who need it most.

Claire Gibson, CEO at Streetwork said: “It was a pleasure to support the students from Drummond Community High School in their Youth Philanthropy Initiative. The students were very impressive and immediately engaged with the work of Streetwork and the difference we make. The presentation from Drummond Community High was excellent and we were honoured to be awarded £3,000 towards our work with vulnerable young people in Edinburgh.”

Jonathan Christie, YPI Scotland Manager at The Wood Foundation, said: “The opportunity to work with the STV Appeal, and other likeminded partners, is central to the ongoing growth, development and success of YPI Scotland. Across our 140 participating secondary schools, over 18,000 young people will engage in YPI this year, directing a total of £440,000 to small, local charities; charities providing invaluable support in their community. We are delighted the STV Appeal has chosen to support these ten projects, whilst investing in both youth voice and community social action.”

Elizabeth Partyka from the STV Appeal said: “The ten winning projects all do fantastic work to support children and young people affected by poverty across Scotland. We have really enjoyed the opportunity to work in partnership with the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative and we hope the grants from STV Appeal will help each project make an even bigger difference in their community.”

 

Still caring …

Muirhouse Millennium Centre’s JAMES McGINTY reports on North West Carers annual general meeting,  which took place last week …

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Ian Huggin (Chairperson, above centre) welcomed everyone to the AGM, and introduced all members of the board to the audience.

Ian stated he was especially grateful to many who had helped the Carers during the last year to steer the finances to a strong position as they go forward to next year. Concern was raised as to the future funding of the Young Carers and, as treasurer Eddie Thorn explained, funding was difficult for all concerned.

Many of the Directors gave a huge thank you to their main funder, the City of Edinburgh Council, for their continued support not only financially, but from the Commissioners during a difficult period.

A very personal, human story from speaker Gordon told why he had found the project such a great support.

A video shown by Marcia showed the Young carers at a weekend respite camp enjoying a disco, fun park and a concert which included the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. She explained the work that N.W.C.C. did with them, and what the young people did as Carers.

Project manager Angela Diaz gave a brief report of the partnerships involved with the N.W.C..C project, and praised her staff and board for their industry & commitment during the last year.

Minutes of the last A..G.M. were approved and seconded as an accurate report.

Fiona Drinna and Linda Paterson were elected to the Board; Margaret Robertson retired and stood down from the board and was presented with a floral arrangement by staff.

Finally, the Young Carers performed a spirited song and dance routine, much to the delight of the audience (below). Roll on next year for this excellent project!

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Words & pictures by James McGinty

AARG! Exciting news from Auld Reekie Roller GIrls!

Change of season for city team now world-ranked 60!

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We are excited to announce that the Auld Reekie Roller Girls Intraleague Home Season for 2015 is being held at a new time!

As our loyal fans will know, for the past three years we have run our Home Season from January – April. However, 2014 has seen our league take on a lot of new directions as we continue to grow, not only in number but in standing in the roller derby world.

In the past year, we have gone from being ranked #103 with WFTDA to being #60 in the world. That’s right, our wee Scottish team are the 60th best in the WORLD!

We are super proud of what we have achieved. We plan to continue this until we are #1, so we’ve made some changes and moved some things around – and that includes our Home Season!

So, exciting … we will now have our Home Season from September – November 2015!  Keep a look out for dates which will be announced later next year.

Because this means we have a whole batch of amazing new rookie skaters who are having to wait a little bit longer to show off their skills in public, we are super excited to announce that we will be holding our first ever InARRGuration game on 30 November!

This is a closed game – friends and family of skaters only – but our whole league will be out in force to cheer on our new guys! The skaters who are making ARRG history have been teamed up as follows:

TEAM GREEN:

Bruiser Black #369, CirqueduSlay #23, Comet Sans #88, emKa#17, Harlot Bronte #303, Hex #71, Klara #14, Lannthrax#92 (guest – New Town Roller Girls), Major Vengeance #1984, Pummela#321, Shamonster#123, Trojan Virus #526, McSpeedy#145, Rage More #96, Bench – Chasing Katy. LUM –BintImperial

TEAM BLACK:

Bacon Roll #4, Ba Humbug #0131, Bunsen BurnHer #61, Coco Schnell – #39 (guest from Newcastle Roller Girls), Calamity Pain #808, Diamond Slayher #10, Jammy Mammie #333, Khal JoJo – #H2O (guest from Newcastle Roller Girls), Looney Tunes #148, Mairi #99, Pukeahontas #92, Roxy Rebel # 31F (guest from Fierce Valley Roller Girls), Teapot Rebellion #24, Tank Girl #46, Bench – DeeDee. LUM – Shiv

We are as excited as they are to watch their first ever inARRGuration game!

GO ARRG!!!”

http://arrg.co.uk/inarrguration-game/

'Auld enemy' clash to help boost Ebola response

Government to match up to £5 m of public donations to UNICEF’s Ebola appeal

shake handsThe British government will support a major fundraising appeal to help children who have been made orphans because of Ebola in Sierra Leone.

Up to £5 million of donations from members of the British public to UNICEF’s Ebola appeal will be matched by the UK Government, providing urgent support for families and children living under the threat of the disease.

Building on the success of SoccerAid, UNICEF, the world’s leading children’s organisation, will use the upcoming Scotland v England football match to boost their emergency appeal. Britain and Sierra Leone share a mutual love of the beautiful game, making this appeal particularly poignant due to the fact that football matches in Sierra Leone have been cancelled since August.

Ebola has put thousands of children in danger with many being orphaned by the disease. With schools closed, children have been cut off from their friends and many are fighting for survival on a daily basis. This funding will help care for and protect some of the most vulnerable children, especially those who have lost their parents and are in desperate need of food and other supplies.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “The UK has secured real action from G20 leaders here in Brisbane but the generosity of the British people in helping those caught up in the Ebola crisis in West Africa has been second to none. That’s why we will match up to £5m of the money raised during Tuesday’s match, helping to make a real difference to the families and children living under the threat of the disease.”

International Development Secretary Justine Greening said: “This week’s Scotland v England match will give the British public the chance to show their support for UNICEF’s Ebola appeal in Sierra Leone.

“By matching pound for pound all public donations to the appeal we will help UNICEF give double the support to children who have been orphaned and had their lives turned upside down by this dreadful disease.”

This is the second time the Government has activated the UK Aid Match Scheme in response to Ebola, underlining the unprecedented nature of this outbreak. The British people have already responded generously to the DEC appeal and again the government is helping this appeal go twice as far by matching donations from the UK public pound-for-pound.

The UK has committed £230 million to date supporting the global effort to contain, control and defeat the disease in Sierra Leone. This includes:

  • Supporting 700 treatment beds to help up to 8,800 patients over 6 months;
  • Opening up to 200 Community Care Centres where people who suspect they might be suffering from the disease can seek swift and accurate diagnosis and appropriate care;
  • Building, running and staffing three new labs in Sierra Leone to help check the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, quadrupling the number of tests that can be carried out every day;
  • Supporting NGOs on the ground to work with people to agree practices which will allow them to honour their friends and relatives, while ensuring bodies are safely buried;
  • Doubling the number of burial teams in Freetown – and providing twenty more across the country. We have already made extensive progress on this, with UK support burial teams in the western area, which accounts for approximately a third of Sierra Leone’s population, are now burying 100% of reported bodies within 24 hours and,
  • Supporting a command and control centre to manage burials and Ebola patients across Freetown and the Western area.

In addition, RFA Argus and three Merlin helicopters are in Sierra Leone to deliver transportation and logistical support for medical teams and aid experts working in the country. In total, around 800 military personnel have been deployed to help with the establishment of Ebola treatment centres and an Ebola training academy.

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Pensions: Government gears up to launch 'Guidance Guarantee'

Pensions explained: minister to promote importance of retirement planning

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As the government gears up to launch its ‘Guidance Guarantee’ to help people approaching retirement make sense of pension reforms, the minister in charge of pensions is to launch the radio equivalent of a soapbox tour.

Minister for Pensions Steve Webb takes to the airwaves this week in the first of a series of radio phone-ins, in which he hopes to give local radio listeners in every part of Britain the chance to quiz him on the government’s pension reforms.

Beginning with a session on BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine Show tomorrow, the minister will repeat his live phone-in surgery every week between now and Christmas, hitting BBC stations serving Scotland, Manchester, Newcastle and Kent.

And the minister plans to continue his commitment into the new year, aiming to cover dozens of local BBC and commercial stations ahead of April next year when major pension reforms come into effect.

The new initiative comes alongside other efforts to help the public better understand how pensions work and make it easier for people to save for the future. Today (17 November 2014), the Department for Work and Pensions also launches PensionTube, a new online hub within the video sharing website YouTube, bringing together content from the government and trusted independent sources that will in time cover the whole spectrum of pension-related issues.

And this comes ahead of a major advertising campaign, themed ‘Your Pension, Your Future’, which will be launched this week to raise awareness of reforms to the State Pension. These changes will turn it into a clearer and fairer foundation for people to build their own retirement saving upon. Minister for Pensions Steve Webb said:

“We are delivering some of the most radical reforms to our pensions system in a generation, introducing a clearer and fairer State Pension and bringing in unprecedented flexibilities that give people the freedom to make their savings work for them.

“It’s only natural that people will have questions about what we’re doing, why we’re doing it and how it will affect them – and I want the chance to speak to as many of those people as possible.

“Politicians should be accessible and this is a great way for me to engage with people all over the country about pensions in a direct way.”

Dr Ros Altmann, independent pensions expert and the Government’s Business Champion for Older Workers, will be one of the first vloggers to appear on PensionTube, discussing the reforms to the State Pension for people reaching state pension age after April 2016. She said:

“The launch of PensionTube is a great idea and I’m very pleased to be one of the first contributors to this exciting new online resource. There are so many changes going on in pensions at the moment, and people need to know what’s happening.

“All the jargon surrounding pensions can be really confusing, so it is important to have a trusted and accessible source of information that people can use when they want to understand what the changes mean.

“I hope that people will get used to using this and follow all the updates as they are released. The more people can understand pensions, the better they can plan for their future.”

To watch PensionTube go to www.youtube.com/pensiontube