Given the number of COVID-19 outbreaks that are being linked to Christmas parties, particularly those caused by Omicron, Public Health Scotland (PHS) is URGING PEOPLE TO DEFER SUCH PARTIES AT THIS TIME.
Dr Nick Phin, Director of Public Health Science and Medical Director, PHS explains: “There is much that we still need to learn about Omicron, but early evidence suggests that this new Covid variant is much more transmissible.
“The impact of this transmissibility has been seen in recent weeks, with a number of Omicron outbreaks linked to parties.
“We still need to learn more about the severity of disease caused by Omicron and the effectiveness of vaccines, but there are important things that we can do to help protect ourselves and our families now. To help minimise the further spread of Covid-19, and Omicron in particular, I would strongly urge people to defer their Christmas parties to another time.
“I appreciate that everyone is keen to celebrate this festive season, particularly after the pressures of the last twenty months, but by postponing some plans we can all do our bit to protect ourselves and our loved ones.”
A reminder of the other measures we can all take to continue to keep safe over the festive period:
Please get your vaccine and your booster when your turn comes.
Please test at least twice weekly using LFDs and take a test each time you are socialising with people out with your household.
Reduce the number of people you catch up with. Try to meet outdoors; if indoors, ensure ventilation is good.
Keep up the other public health measures: wash your hands, clean surfaces, maintain distances and of course wear a face covering in public spaces.
It’s understood First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will give a Coronavirus update tomorrow (Friday).
This Christmas, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society has teamed up with Kingdom Scotland to pair single cask whiskies with two gorgeous perfumes
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) has collaborated with Scotland’s first fragrance house, Kingdom Scotland, pairing SMWS single cask whiskies with two luscious perfumes.
Available to sample at Society venues in London, Glasgow and Edinburgh – including Edinburgh’s Kaleidoscope Bar, Whisky Magazine’s ‘Whisky Bar of the year’ – the partnership explores the fascinating relationship between whisky and perfume.
The Kingdom scents Metamorphic and Portal have been expertly paired with SMWS Flavour Profiles Lightly Peated and Juicy Oak & Vanilla. The collaboration will bring to life Society guests’ olfactory systems (sense of smell), igniting the senses at Society venues across the UK this festive season.
METAMORPHIC paired with LIGHTLY PEATED
Inspired by metamorphic rock, Metamorphic fuses black pepper and tobacco, incense, minerals and rose absolute. As it’s warmed on the skin, the scent reveals a base of amber resin and leather. A natural fit for the Lightly Peated Flavour Profile, the scent was matched with bottling ‘Peat fire tales on Orkney’.
PORTAL paired with JUICY OAK & VANILLA
Portal evokes a fresh, outdoorsy, gusting nose with herbaceous botanicals and bergamot, resting on a veritable forest floor of vetiver and Scots pine. Sampled & sprayed with ‘Summer garden curiosity’, a match made in heaven for Juicy Oak & Vanilla.
Inspired by a career in the aromatic world of luxury Scotch whisky, Kingdom Scotland founder Imogen Russon-Taylor has created a fragrance house with a difference.
Kingdom’s scents capture the history and majestic landscapes of Scotland in a contemporary way. The perfumes capture stories, experiences and dramatic contrasts at the heart of a land that enthrals the imagination.
Expertly crafted using only the most precious natural and aromatic ingredients. Kingdom is Scotland’s first fragrance house creating evocative and modern, unisex scents.
Commenting on the collaboration, Imogen Russon-Taylor said: “I’m delighted to be working with The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. My background is in luxury whisky, so to be working with such a well-respected organisation is a dream.
“Your sense of smell is an incredible thing. It possesses the same characteristics as a dram, especially a Society dram, by transporting you away to great memories and special places.
“I can’t wait to hear the feedback from Society guests this Christmas, I’m very confident these pairings will inspire new conversations on appreciating fine spirits.”
Belonging to the world’s most entertaining whisky club gives you access to exclusive Members’ Rooms, partner bar discounts, colourful tasting events, whisky education, and a monthly members’ magazine Unfiltered.
Click here to take part in this truly unique sensory journey.
The Christmas whisky gift that keeps on giving all year round. There’s so much more than whisky to appreciate when your loved one joins the Society for just £65 this Christmas: https://smws.com/whisky-club-membership
Time to reflect on what we have achieved this year with all your help, and to look forward to the next stage of our journey.
The BIG news – We secured the funding from The Scottish Land Fund to buy the school, amazing!
But that was hugely helped by the support we could show from you – the community, not least through our crowdfunder ‘Kick Start the Heart’ in February. Showing such support was and is essential.
Victoria Primary School is moving to their new site over the Christmas period in what will be an exciting step in their long history.
The next step for HoNC is to take vacant possession of the current site and buildings although the actual sale process is in the hands of Edinburgh Council. We anticipate by the end of March but as soon as possible we hope the Heart will begin to beat.
We are working with our architects and Planning Aid Scotland (PAS) to bring all potential tenants and users together to try and ensure that the spaces work to mutual benefit.
In the meantime watch this space for news of initial programmes of community activities and for ways in which you can help us to raise further funds to now keep The Heart beating.
Please continue to spread the word– and if you think you can help us to do that and have skills and experience to offer in communications and marketing, please get in touch!
Don’t forget to follow us on our social media or get in touch via the website and to the read the various blogs!
Finally, have a safe, healthy and happy Christmas and all best wishes for the New Year.
Morrisons Community Champions will be spending over 25,000 hours supporting local communities in run up to Christmas
Morrisons is committing over 25,000 Community Champion hours to spreading kindness this Christmas within local communities up and down the UK.
Across 12 days, our team of over 500 Community Champions – who support charities and community groups in their local community – will carry out thousands of acts of kindness. This will include donating gifts to key workers, giving away flowers and mistletoe, making donations to local food banks and surprising customers with gestures of kindness.
Other acts of kindness will be:
Gifting hampers to local heroes who have played a big part in supporting their local community
Donating gifts to families in need of support
Handing out ‘Be kind to yourself’ pamper packs to customers
Delivering gifts for local food bank volunteers
Surprising customers in our café and paying for their meal
Taking carrots to nurseries for children to leave out for Rudolph
Donating decorations to local refuge centres and volunteering to help decorate
Spending time helping prepare food at local community kitchens
Since the start of the Covid-19 global pandemic, we have donated more than £12 million of products to local food banks and community groups and raised almost £6 million for charity partners.
Rebecca Singleton, Community Director at Morrisons, said: “After seeing how much hope and joy was spread last Christmas, we knew we had to bring back our 12 Days of Kindness again this year.
“I am incredibly proud of our Community Champions who go above and beyond every day for those in need. Doing the right thing for our customers and the communities we serve has never been more important, so these 25,000 hours are dedicated to spreading festive cheer – and making good things happen for everyone this Christmas.”
Throughout December, we will also be giving away over a quarter of a million free Christmas cards for children to spread messages of hope.
Our Community Champions will be working in partnership with local groups and primary schools to deliver the cards for children to write messages on and colour in.
The children can post their cards to grandparents, neighbours and friends who they may not have seen recently due to the pandemic, or give them back to us to distribute to care homes and customers using our Doorstep Delivery service.
This activity is expected to impact tens of thousands of people living throughout the UK and follows our mission to help tackle loneliness within communities this festive period.
Debt counselling charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP Scotland) have launched their new #BreakFree campaign across Edinburgh, encouraging those with problem debt to engage with free debt help services across all local CAP Scotland centres.
This campaign follows a CAP Scotland report earlier this year, which highlighted that 45% of CAP’s clients did not know where to seek help, and half had waited over a year before seeking debt help.
The 2021 client report by CAP Scotland showed the average peak debt for a CAP client household in Scotland was £19,369 which is higher than the UK average of £17,917. Moreover, the report found it would take Scottish client households an average of 43 years to pay off their debts without debt help. That’s the longest in the UK.
CAP Scotland is a professionally recognised charity that works to help those on low incomes struggling with problem debt. The charity offers a free face-to-face debt help service, with advice and ongoing support. CAP Scotland also provides a range of group services that equip people with practical skills including Job Clubs, Life Skills and CAP Money Courses.
Mark Harris, CAP’s Debt Centre Manager for Edinburgh North said, “Our clients all have very different back stories but the thing they all have in common is that their debt problems are the consequence of other issues in their lives, whether that be physical or mental ill-health, family and relationship issues, or redundancy.
“Sometimes the client is already dealing with those issues but often they need us to provide additional help, to make referrals to other agencies or simply to be with them, willing to listen and to offer comfort and support without judgment. Building trust, confidence and hope in the future is such an important part of what we do and is far beyond the specifics of the pounds and pennies of their financial situation.”
David Strang, Job Club Manager at Mustard Seed Edinburgh and Debt Coach at the CAP Edinburgh North Debt Centre said, “I spent 33 years as a police officer in London and Scotland, often dealing with the most vulnerable members of society, who were either victims of crime or perpetrators.
“Many people I dealt with experienced multiple problems such as poor mental health, addictions, homelessness, unemployment and poverty. My work with Christians Against Poverty now enables me to take a personal approach to each individual we work with.
“Many people who come to our Job Club lack confidence, having been out of work for a long time, perhaps through ill-health or because of childcare. The CAP Job Club makes a real difference in supporting people on their journey back into work.
“We also support people through our Debt Services who are struggling with serious debt problems. They often feel a sense of hopelessness, failure and despair. Our CAP services help them to see that there is a positive way out of their situation, that there is a reason for hope and that they can make a fresh start. It is a real privilege to walk with people on their journey.”
Emma Jackson, Director of CAP Scotland said, “Our services provide practical, person centered support and are completely free and open to all. At CAP, we know, problem debt can devastate people’s lives, affecting physical and mental health. It can destroy relationships and cause so much unnecessary shame and embarrassment that robs people of dignity, causing such isolation.
“We know that many people are worried about how they are going to cope this winter with rising food and fuel costs. Our hope is this campaign will encourage those who need help to reach out to organisations like CAP and start their journey to becoming debt free.”
CAP Scotland has been providing debt help for over twenty years and continues to grow its network and reach across Scotland with 26 Debt Centres and many more additional skills courses.
The work of CAP Scotland can have a far-reaching, positive impact on people’s lives. Laura is a CAP Scotland client from Edinburgh, who said: “I didn’t have enough money to go to a supermarket and get a proper shop. I’d lost so much weight and been sleep deprived for weeks.
“I would definitely recommend CAP to anyone who is struggling with how to manage their debts. You can speak to someone and it really takes the pressure away. I’m sleeping a lot better now, knowing that Mairi [CAP Debt Centre Manager] is going to take over. I don’t have to be the one making the phone calls and being scared.”
To find your local CAP Debt Centre in Scotland please go to www.capscotland.org
As Christmas makes a comeback after last year’s disappointment, megabus is set to double its service in an effort to ensure families can still connect over the festive period
The coach provider will be operating over 9,000 miles on Christmas day alone – double the mileage of last year. Over 48,000 miles will be covered on Christmas Day and Boxing Day combined
The increase comes after another tumultuous year of restrictions meaning families have missed out on quality time together, with older generations affected the most
Three quarters (73%) of grandparents say not seeing their grandchildren has been the worst thing about the pandemic – having missed out on 49 hugs, 47 kisses, 40 conversations and 25 family meals with their grandkids since it began
With the UK still planning to enjoy the festive celebrations this year, megabus is set to double its service in an effort to ensure that families aren’t separated for a second Christmas running.
The coach provider is due to operate over 9,000 miles on Christmas Day alone – more than double last years’ service – connecting loved ones from locations including London, Bristol, Manchester, Cardiff, Reading, Leeds, Birmingham Nottingham and many more
Across the festive period (17 Dec – 3 Jan) over half a million miles will be travelled – averaging almost 40,000 per day. 48,000 will take place on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
With over 2,700 trips being operated by megabus this festive period, the company is clearly ensuring it is there to help families to spend Christmas together.
The increase comes after another tumultuous year of restrictions meaning many families have missed out on quality time together, with older generations affected the most.
Three quarters (73%) of grandparents say not seeing their grandchildren has been the worst thing about the pandemic – having missed out on 49 hugs, 47 kisses, 40 conversations and 25 family meals with their grandkids in the last 12 months.
Seven in 10 (74%) parents claim to be making a concerted effort to reunite children with grandparents, with 80% saying that their kids missing grandparents has been one of the hardest things to deal with over the past year.
In a normal year, grandparents will spend an average of 90 hours travelling to see their grandkids, spending £240 each to enjoy precious quality time together.
The top moments grandparents have missed due to the pandemic:
49 hugs
47 kisses
40 conversations
27 playtimes with toys
25 meals together
24 walks
19 bedtimes
19 daytrips
18 school runs
18 hand drawn pictures
Mark Venables, Managing Director from megabus, said: “After so many families were forced to spend last Christmas apart, and we’ve all dealt with more restrictions this year, we’re determined to help bring as many people together as possible this festive season.
“Complying with all current government guidelines, we have over 13,000 seats available for Christmas Day and Boxing Day alone – so we’re really excited to help Brits get around and travel with confidence to see their loved ones this Christmas.
“Seats are already selling fast, so I’d really like to thank all of our fantastic people who are working over the festive period and especially those who have volunteered to work on Christmas day to provide these services to our customers.”
megabus will serve a number of key destinations across the country, including Edinburgh, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Cardiff, Nottingham, and Bournemouth and many others.
Crucially, megabus will be operating up to every 30 minutes between Heathrow Airport and London Victoria on Christmas day and Boxing Day when there are no other public transport options available.
megabus will be running services across many key destinations over the festive period, including:
Scotland’s Brie Read, founder of Snag Tights, has won Woman of the Year at the 2021 NatWest everywoman Awards.
The award ceremony took place at Grosvenor House in London on Tuesday.
The 19th annual NatWest everywoman Awards celebrated the UK’s most inspiring female entrepreneurs, recognising their outstanding achievements during one of the most challenging periods for businesses in living memory.
Brie suffered the indignity of the elastic going in her hosiery and her tights falling down!
She delved deeper into the world of hosiery to find that the $53bn industry catered for ‘one size fits all’ – when it clearly didn’t.
Brie reconditioned machines that had been making single size tights since the 1950s and with sustainability in mind pioneered recyclable tights.
Her brand now boasts 1,500 product lines from size 2 to 36 and a loyal following; she raised £1.5m from her customers in just five days to keep her company afloat during the pandemic lockdowns.
This award was judged by some of the UK’s leading female entrepreneurs including Chrissie Rucker (The White Company), Helen Pattinson (Montezuma), Dame Mary Perkins (Specsavers) and Kelly Hoppen.
Social investor reports supporting 184 social enterprises in past year
In turn, investees supported over 1 million people across the UK
Social investor outlines new strategic direction with ambitious target to increase the assets under BII management and advisory to over £500 million by 2030
Big Issue Invest (BII) has launched its 2020-2021 Impact Report.
The report revealed that the social investment arm of The Big Issue, supported 184 social enterprises across the UK with £39.7 million Assets Under Management (AUM) at March 2021*.
The report detailed how, in turn, those 184 social enterprises were able to support over 1.16 million customers across the UK in the same period.
The organisation reported that, of BII’s total investment portfolio, over 62% of the 184 investees of the past year are based in areas of high deprivation**, where capital can have the greatest social and economic benefits, including London, the North East and North West.
20% of BII’s total portfolio is invested into organisations directly tackling inequality in the UK in order to improve health, education and job outcomes in deprived areas.
BII’s investments in Scotland, the North East, East Midlands and the East of England have significantly increased during the period.
For example, £5 million was invested in Scotland- based social ventures with a major investment in the social lettings agency Homes For Good.
£1.7 million of investment was made into social enterprises in the East of England, with a change in value percentage of 667%.
Of the total number of investments, 16% support people living in poverty and/or financial exclusion, 11% support people living in precarious housing or who are homeless, 12% support vulnerable young people, 11% support people experiencing unemployment and 9% support people with mental health needs and conditions.
The top five Sustainable Development Goals contributed to by BII’s investees were: Good Health and Wellbeing (31%), Decent Work and Economic Growth (17.4%), Sustainable Cities and Communities (16.3%), Quality Education (10.3%) and Reduced Inequalities (8.2%).
The report showed that 9,490 people are employed by BII’s investees across the UK and provide 6,900 volunteering opportunities for people in local communities. It also revealed that 76% of investees focused their impact at a local rather than national level.
The report detailed BII’s support of social enterprises during the pandemic. BII provided £3.2 million of grants to 118 grantees across England as part of the National Lottery Community Fund’s ‘Social Enterprise Support Fund’ and supported the Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund to disburse £5.5 million through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
It also provided 61% investees with repayment holidays. Over 50% of BII’s investees managed to grow or maintain their work during the Pandemic.
The report also laid out the foundations of the new BII strategy: We Back Human Potential. BII’s new strategy, which includes an ambitious target to increase the assets under BII management and advisory to over £500 million by 2030.
Danyal Sattar, CEO of Big Issue Invest, said: “In the past year, we have been inspired by the way that social enterprises and charities across the UK have responded to the unprecedented challenges faced by their communities whilst also overcoming challenges within their organisations.
“I am proud of the Big Issue Invest team who have worked tirelessly in supporting our investees to keep the lights on, adapt to new operating environments and to continue to deliver impact to their customers.
“We were part of two major sector responses to the pandemic: the Social Enterprise Support Fund and the Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund. On top of this, we continued to support over 180 organisations with £39.7 million of investment.
“During this period, we have launched a brand new strategy as an impact investor. Driving everything we do, we will champion impact-first investing; we will push for social equality and we will provide a broader range of support that is ‘more than money’.
“Over the last 12 months, BII has continued to prioritise improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in our work. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our investees for their engagement on this issue, as well as our many partners and the networks in the sector who continue to push the social investment and social sectors to be more inclusive and accessible to social purpose organisations and the wider communities they support.”
New research from environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful has revealed the depth of the perceived litter problem across Scotland. 88% of survey respondents believe that litter is a problem nationally, while 70% believe it is an issue in their local area.
Worryingly 38% of respondents reported litter becoming more common, especially in urban areas over the past 12 months too.
This reflects our on the ground national litter surveys which recorded a higher number of locations with unacceptable amounts of litter than last year. We previously highlighted the scale of the challenge facing Scotland in our report ‘Time for a new approach to tackling litter’ published at the end of 2020.
The publication of ‘Scotland’s Litter Survey’ – the first comprehensive baseline assessment of public perceptions and attitudes towards litter and littering behaviour in Scotland – comes in advance of the publication of a consultation paper by the Scottish Government on a new National Litter and Flytipping Strategy before the end of the year.
The survey covered public attitudes to litter, changes in levels of litter, the wider impacts of litter and potential options for tackling litter. The outputs will be used to inform our work nationally and locally with communities, local authorities and other stakeholders to drive practical action to improve local environmental quality, reduce consumption and tackle litter across Scotland.
Other key stats highlighted by the survey include:
Food and drink packaging were perceived to be the most frequent types of litter.
The environmental impacts of litter, particularly on the natural environment and animals, top people’s concerns with financial and economical impacts a less potent concern.
Young people deemed litter to have a larger impact on the natural world than other age brackets.
Positively, there was a clear appetite from those surveyed for greater action to tackle and prevent litter in Scotland, with particular support for improving waste disposal facilities and educational campaigns.
Barry Fisher, CEO of Keep Scotland Beautiful, commented: “The findings in this report reinforce our data collected from more than 10,000 locations across Scotland which has shown an increase in litter and decline in the local environmental quality of our neighbourhoods.
“We know from those we support through our campaigns and programmes to tackle litter that the looming litter emergency is becoming closer – but we also believe that the real answer to tackling the issue lies within our communities and true collaboration.
“It is clear that people feel strongly about litter and want more done to tackle which is why I am clearly calling for people to make their voices heard on litter and contribute positively to the Scottish Government consultation over the coming months.
