Showcase: Raising the roof to support cancer charity

Showcase25 Launches!

Last week saw the launch of Showcase25, with the cast of a hundred finding out what is going to be in the 25^th anniversary celebration of Showcase on 29 and 30 May in the King’s Theatre.

Showcase is a musical theatre company which has performed annually since 1990 to raise money for charity using the musical skills and talents of some of the best ‘non-professional’ performers in Edinburgh and the surrounding area. Their aim is to produce a highly entertaining and professional show incorporating a wide variety of musical styles.

Cast member Amanda Hendrie, said: “Showcase25 will be my ninth show performing with Showcase and I cannot wait to perform on the King’s Theatre stage in May! The programme for this show is very strong and I am excited to be getting into rehearsals and putting it all together.”

Showcase25 will be a musical extravaganza paying tribute to Showcase past, present and future. It will feature a selection of the very best of Showcase including songs by Queen and Adele, as well as musical numbers from Les Miserables and Wicked.

Director, Andy Johnston, said: “It has been very difficult compiling a show that accurately represents 25 years worth of Showcase hits – our first draft programme would have run for nearly four hours! – but we feel this show will be an accurate representation of where Showcase came from, and of where we are now.”

While everyone involved performs in Showcase because of their love of the theatre, there is also a very serious side. Showcase is an important fundraiser for Macmillan Cancer Support in Scotland, having raised over £220,000 to date.

Andy Johnston added: “Each and every one of our cast gives so freely of their talents and time all to benefit Macmillan Cancer Support – I often remind the cast that as a company, we are in a very special position that we have a hobby than can genuinely change someone else’s life – and what can be more important than that?’

With 310,000 people diagnosed with cancer in the UK every year, many of the cast and supporters of Showcase have been affected by cancer and have first-hand experience of the support Macmillan gives.

Jayne Forbes, Macmillan Cancer Support Fundraising Manager, Edinburgh said: “We are extremely grateful to Showcase for their considerable support to date. They have raised an incredible amount of money which has helped us make a real difference to the lives of people affected by cancer.

“We help people in many ways, from specialist nurses and doctors, to help and advice for people who have financial worries as a result of their cancer diagnosis.

“In Edinburgh there are 53 specialist Macmillan nurses and health care professionals, helping people living with cancer and their families receive essential medical, practical and emotional support.

“None of this would be possible without supporters like Showcase. 98% of our funding comes from public donations. Quite simply, we couldn’t provide our services with support of local people.”

With over 100 voices singing in glorious harmony, it is bound to raise the roof of the King’s Theatre. Tickets are from £15 and are available at www.edtheatres.com/showcase.

Youth parliament candidate enjoys hustings event

The joint Edinburgh Central and Edinburgh Northern and Leith hustings that took place at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall was a fantastic night.

The questions asked from the audience were excellent and covered a huge range of issues. We heard questions raised regarding educational attainment, votes at 16 and homeless children, just to mention a few.

I even had a disagreement with Councillor Cammy Day on a Youth Parliament for Edinburgh Council, which I believe should be something that exists, whereas he doesn’t because he believes it was ‘a waste of time!’

It was a truly great experience to hear from young people on issues that mean something to them and an honour to be able to answer the questions to such an engaged crowd.

Kieran Reape

Candidate for Edinburgh Northern & Leith

Scottish Youth Parliament

Edinburgh College strikes gold

Gold for Edinburgh College at the College Development Network Marketing Awards

Edinburgh College scooped a top marketing award to recognise the success of a campaign to promote courses to prospective students this week.

The college won gold in the Integrated Marketing Campaign Award at the College Development Network (CDN) Marketing Awards 2015 on Wednesday (25 February), in recognition of a marketing campaign it ran to promote applications for college courses starting in January 2014.

The college also received two bronze medals at the awards, which celebrate the excellent marketing and communication practice taking place in colleges across Scotland.

The judges praised the college’s courses marketing campaign for its ‘bold creative approach and strong integration of messages and visuals tailored for different audiences’.

This campaign helped the college achieve its target for course applications and as well as the highest attendance recorded for an open day at Edinburgh College or at any of its legacy colleges.

The college also received two bronze medals in the following categories:

The Internal Communications Award, for communications around the college’s first staff conference in June 2014. The staff conference brought all the staff together to take part in workshops around the theme of innovation, covering technology, sustainability, teaching and learning, the workplace of the future and outward innovation. The judges felt the project highlighted that the college management had made a major effort to communicate with all staff appropriately to build buy-in and involvement.

The Customer Experience Award, for the college’s Centre for Creative Industries Student Employability Day. The day, which involved workshops and talks from industry professionals, was designed to develop students’ understanding of employers’ needs, give them insight into how they can make themselves as employable as possible, and promote positive destinations. The judges felt the event was well structured and that it gave the students access to industry practitioners. The project also enabled the college to engage with a number of employers.

The awards evening took place at The Caves in Edinburgh and featured two performances by the college’s HND Acting and Performance students, while attendees were treated to chocolates made by professional cookery students.

Edinburgh College interim principal Elaine McMahon said: “I am delighted that the efforts of our Marketing and Communications staff have been recognised with a gold and two bronze awards. It is satisfying to see that the judges recognised and appreciated the work put into planning and executing the extremely successful course marketing campaign, which resulted in the college meeting student recruitment targets for the year.

“It is also great to see the creative work put into supporting and communicating with staff and students recognised with two bronze awards.”

Last year, Edinburgh College achieved a silver award in the Internal Communications category and bronze in the Event category in the CDN Marketing Awards 2014.

Pictured: L-R Deborah Robertson, head of marketing, Moira Findlay, head of communications, Jon Buglass, head of the Centre of Creative Industries, and Lee-Anne Mackay, marketing manager.

John heads up service delivery

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has appointed John Miller as head of Service Delivery for the East of Scotland.

As the new Deputy Assistant Chief Officer (DACO) John (pictured) will oversee the Local Senior Officers (LSO’s) who work with individual Local Authorities and community partners to maintain dedicated local fire and rescue services across the area.

The three Service Delivery DACO posts – for East, North and West Scotland – were created in January to support the Director of Service Delivery for Scotland, Assistant Chief Officer Dave Boyle, in the delivery of fire and rescue services across the country.

John, who began his Fire Service career in 1992 said: “I’m delighted to have been given this opportunity and I look forward to working with colleagues in the East, including our fire board members, to help shape and deliver the best possible service to the communities in the East of Scotland.

“We work alongside various partners to ensure the best deployment of local frontline services and we have a commitment to build on the positive outcomes that have already been delivered through the antecedent fire and rescue services. In particular we will continue to focus on our prevention activities whilst ensuring an operational response where required.

“My role is to promote consistency and make sure we continue to deliver the excellent fire and rescue services that the public expect and deserve.”

John, who was the former LSO for North Lanarkshire, lives in Motherwell and has served 22 years in the service. He has had a number of national roles during his career including Road Safety with the Chief Fire Officer’s Association in Scotland (CFOAS) and a four year period in Fire Investigation where he helped draft the National Occupational Standards. He was also secretary of the Business Engagement Forum where he worked closely with key partners to help develop a national business plan.

John added: “I’ve been taken out my comfort zone and I’m looking forward to the challenges that come with this new role. I’m very fortunate in that I’m surrounded by a range of expertise across the east which I’m sure will be a great benefit to me. I’ll be out and about meeting staff and finding out what’s important to them during what is a huge period of change.”

John’s passion lies within Community Safety and with that he would like to remind everyone of FREE home fire safety visits.

“Our visits are designed to be a straightforward process for householders; the visits are easy to arrange and will be conducted at a time suitable for the individual.

“They only take around half an hour to complete and see local crews assess risks before providing advice to householders and families. The crews also fit smoke alarms where needed.

“Encourage those around you to get a free home fire safety visit. Call the SFRS freephone number 0800 0731 999 or text ‘FIRE’ to 80800. You can find out more by visiting

www.firescotland.gov.uk

or by contacting your local fire station.”

Communities: get stuck in to the Big Lunch!

The Big Lunch encourages Scots to get numbers climbing and boost community spirit!

Organisers of the UK’s annual get-together for neighbours are calling for at least 10% of Scots to get stuck into a day of food, friendship and fun on Sunday 7 June.

The call to action was launched on Thursday – the ‘100 days to go’ mark before the big day. It is hoped that millions of neighbours across the UK will again be getting together in an effort to boost community spirit where they live. A massive 4.83 million people took part in the lottery funded initiative in 2014.

Emily Watts, Communications Manager for The Big Lunch in Scotland encouraged more people in Scotland to get involved this year. She said: “C’mon Edinburgh! We want to see the number of people taking part in Scottish communities climbing to 10% of the population. Year on year, feedback from previous participants is very positive, with people feeling more connected to their communities after a Big Lunch. People start new relationships that continue after the day too.

“We know Scots are friendly but we all recognise the feeling that we could make more effort with our neighbours. The Big Lunch is an excuse to chap the door and ask if they’d like to get together.”

The Big Lunch, partnered by Halifax and ASDA, is now in its seventh year. Big Lunches can be big or small, take place on a street, park or community venue and be as simple and inexpensive as you like. There are no rules to getting involved besides that people are the key ingredient!

In 2014, thousands of communities from all across the country took part in the big event. Lou, who organized her street’s first ever Big Lunch street party in Edinburgh last year, said: “Before our Big Lunch I knew the neighbours near our house to speak to, but not further up the street. Now we all know each other and feel able to stop and say hello, which I wouldn’t have done before.

“Our neighbours really got into the spirit of contributing something on the day, bringing lovely food to share and helping with party tunes and activities for the kids. This made it really easy and inexpensive to pull together. Looking back, it felt like a day from a bygone era and I’m glad we put the time aside to get to know our community better. I really recommend getting involved in 2015!”

Edinburgh neighbours who are interested in getting involved this June can register for a free pack, now available from www.thebiglunch.com or on 0845 850 8181. Packs include invitations, posters, recipes and activity ideas, as well as lots of information to get events off the ground. All pack materials are undated so communities can have Big Lunches when best suits them if they can’t join in on Sunday 7 June.

Footage from previous year’s Big Lunches: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un-ooSya828

The Eden Project started The Big Lunch in 2009 with the belief that we’re better equipped to tackle the challenges we face when we face them together.

The Big Lunch is led by the Eden Project, funded by the Big Lottery Fund and supported by Halifax and Asda.

Find out more about The Big Lunch at www.thebiglunch.com

Police drive home security message

Police Scotland’s ongoing work with local communities to tackle housebreaking in Edinburgh is having some success. Earlier this week police reported that seven people have been arrested and charged for over 30 housebreaking-related offences offences and said over one hundred local residents attended a domestic security information event in Davidson’s Mains.

On February 25 an 18-year-old man was arrested in connection with 11 housebreakings to businesses and a vehicle theft in Edinburgh. He appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday.

A 15-year-old Edinurgh youth was charged with over 10 offences following the recovery of a Ford Ka, stolen on January 29, which contained various items linked to recent housebreakings. A report has been submitted to the Children’s Panel.

On February 12, SART and the Domestic Violence Reduction Unit (DVRU) officers executed two search warrants in the Moredun area of Edinburgh where they recovered a large quantity of stolen bicycles, some of which were taken from housebreakings.

A 39-year-old woman and three men aged 52, 35 and 28 were arrested and charged in connection with seven offences and £5500 worth of stolen property was recovered. All bikes were identified and returned to their rightful owners.

A 16-year-old Edinburgh man was found to be in possession of a stolen vehicle at 9pm on February 24. The vehicle was searched and various electronic items stolen through housebreakings were recovered, and the vehicle seized. An address was searched in connection with these thefts the following day and further stolen items were recovered. The male was arrested and charged and appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday.

Chief Inspector Stevie Dolan said: “Through comprehensive and dedicated investigations we have managed to recover thousands of pounds worth of property and report various prolific offenders to the procurator fiscal.

“Enquiries are ongoing and we have more work to do, but this is testament to Police Scotland’s dedication to pursuing offenders of housebreakings and ensuring that they are brought before the courts.”

As well as pursuing criminals, police officers have been out and about offering domestic security advice to Edinburgh residents.

Sergeant Philipa Campbell ran a Domestic Security event for members of the public at Davidson Mains Parish Church on Wednesday 24 February – over one hundred members of the local community attended and gave extremely positive feedback regarding the learning and reassurance provided by officers and council representatives. They also provided vital input into policing in their community.

The next meeting will be held at Drum Brae Hub on 18 March, 6pm – 7:30pm.