MONDAY 6 JUNE: Exhibition 3 – 7pm at Edinburgh College Granton Campus
TUESDAY 7 JUNE: 5 – 7pm Online Q & A session
The Art Works at Granton: National Galleries launches public consultation
Month: May 2022
A brimming larder and celebrity chefs at this year’s Royal Highland Show
This year’s Royal Highland Show, taking place from June 23 – June 26, will welcome an impressive line-up of chefs and host an exceptional range of food and drink from the very best producers in Scotland and beyond.
That’s the promise from organisers of the Royal Highland Show, which is celebrating its bicentenary with a laden larder of the most exciting food & drink made by passionate producers from the length and breadth of the country.
The newly designed Scotland’s Larder exhibition space will be a feast for the eyes as well as the belly. Thoughtfully designed layouts will allow visitors to explore regional delights and speak to food and drink producers, who are excited to be back at the Show with their new creations.
A bothy will be the new centrepiece of Scotland’s Larder, catered by Mimi’s Bakehouse – a firm favourite from its host city, Edinburgh.
Want to taste the best? Then don’t miss a visit to the Champion’s Corner where you can meet the crème de la crème of Dairy, Honey, Bread and Cheese producers as chosen by this year’s esteemed panel of judges.
Who wouldn’t say yes to the BEST cheese sandwich made from the champion bread, butter and cheese followed by the most awarded ice cream? It’s all on offer at this year’s Royal Highland Show.
Looking to learn from the best? Then head to the Food for Thought Conference & Cookery Theatre where you’ll meet dedicated award-winning chefs, authors and farmers giving their time to share their passion for Scottish produce.
On stage over the four days will be Neil Forbes, Cafe St Honoré (above); Craig Wilson, Eat on the Green; Tom Lewis, Mhor; The Batch Lady; Billy Hamilton, Buccleuch Arms; Praveen Kumar, Tabla; Paul Newman, Errichel – along with a lively bunch from the Highlands & Islands Presidential Initiative including Lady Claire Macdonald of Kinloch, Taste of Shetland, Ghillie Basan, Lynbreck Farm, Bad Girl Bakery & the Budge Sisters.
Tasty hot and cold quality food will also be available from Food-to-Go vendors across the 110-acre showground. From venison burgers to wood fired pizzas, these hand-picked caterers will all be adhering to the Royal Highland Show’s highly respected Food Charter which states, among other commitments, that, where possible, only ingredients that have been locally produced and ethically sourced should be served at the Show. This ensures quality is high and Scottish farmers and growers are supported.
Commenting on this foody heaven, Royal Highland Show’s Chairman, Bill Gray said: “Food has played such a central part of our wellbeing during the last two years that we felt it should be given a leading role at this year’s bicentenary show.
“We have taken the time to revisit the food exhibition space and redesigned it to make it more of an inspiring space to wander around at leisure.
“Our Champion’s Corner gives our best producers a place where they can celebrate their accolades and share their BEST produce with food lovers. And we have once again gathered the most awarded chefs, authors and farmers from across Scotland to share their passion for food.
“Finally, we have reviewed our food vendors to ensure what is served at the show is a fitting reflection of the exceptional quality food and drink that is produced in Scotland. Essentially, great food can make a great day out even better and that is what we strive to serve up at this year’s bicentenary show!”
Tickets and parking must be purchased in advance at Royal Highland Show.
Time to Live grant scheme: Shared Care Scotland report published
Shared Care Scotland is the national carer organisation focused on improving short breaks for all of Scotland’s unpaid carers.
Research is an essential part of this work: it helps ensure that short breaks policy and provision is better informed by the experience of carers and cared-for people and that those responsible for the commissioning and delivery of short breaks have access to the current best evidence on ‘what works’.
Shared Care Scotland recently worked with Iriss to hear directly from carers about the impact that the Short Breaks Fund ‘Time to Live’ grant scheme had on their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The final report and a collection of carer stories has been published this week in Rethinking Personalised Short Breaks for Unpaid carers during COVID-19.
The report shows that taking a person-centred approach – supporting carers to have choice and control in short breaks – brings sustainable benefits and can improve their financial, physical and mental wellbeing as well as providing similar benefits to those they care for.
What also emerges from the report is that it is not just the break itself that can lead to positive outcomes, but the process of accessing support can also achieve additional benefits. This includes reducing isolation, helping carers feel valued, and providing that essential preventative support that can help to sustain the caring role.
It is hoped that the report provides important evidence to help reinforce good practice. Above all, it is to show that supporting carers to embed pockets of respite throughout their days can be fundamental in helping them have ‘Time to Live’.
You can read the report here.
Dementia Awareness Week: Policy to be shaped by people living with dementia and unpaid carers
People living with dementia are being invited to join a new panel to help shape policy and delivery.
The national, independent group will also be open to unpaid carers to be sure that Scottish Government is fully considering the impact of policy and funding decisions on those who experience them first hand.
Work will begin with the development of an application and assessment process, with the expectation that it would be established before the end of the year.
Speaking at the beginning of Dementia Awareness Week, Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care, Kevin Stewart said: “The voice of experience is a crucial part of our policy making process, and making sure that it is factored in as early as possible in making important decisions is key to improving services across the country. Only someone living with dementia, their loved ones and carers fully know the complexities and nuances of dealing with it.
“We already have a very active lived experience voice in dementia support and this panel will help to amplify it. Dementia activists across the world us the motto ‘Nothing about us, without us’ and this group will put this into practise.”
Dementia Awareness Week takes place annually in Scotland on the first week of June. This year’s event will run from Monday 30 May to Sunday 5 June and the aim of the week is to raise awareness of dementia and help improve the lives of people with dementia, their families and carers. This year’s theme is ‘Prevent, Care, Cure’ .
To apply to be part of the lived experience panel or for more information, contact dementiapolicy@gov.scot.
Expert reveals how puzzles and games can increase our mental wellbeing
Whilst playing games, whether it’s a board game or a video game or team sport can be a great way to spend your time, there are numerous benefits that games can have on our mental health.
Neal from SudokuCraze outlines five of the biggest benefits that playing games can have on our mental health:
- Reduces stress
Games have been shown to slow our breathing, our heart rate and our blood pressure and can result in giving us a calming effect, therefore reducing stress. By engaging in a gaming activity, whether it be a physical sport, a board game or an online game on a regular basis, can leave us feeling more relaxed and better able to cope with stressors around us from work and home.
- Keeps your brain active and healthy
Games and activities that require problem solving and critical thinking are fantastic ways of stimulating our brain to keep it healthy. Grey matter in the brain decreases as we age – a part that is directly responsible for memory, emotions, and cognitive ability. Studies have shown that the more mentally active we are throughout life and into our later years, the more grey matter that we retain and therefore the more healthy and active our brains are as we age. Board games, video games and puzzles are all excellent ways to stimulate our minds and stay sharp, whether we are young or old.
- Boosts your mood
Not only are playing games fun, they also work wonders in boosting our mood. When we engage in an enjoyable group activity, our body begins releasing feel-good hormones, such as dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins. These chemicals reduce feelings of anxiety and depression, boost our mood, increasing feelings of happiness.
- Increases self-esteem
Often when faced with a new challenge or situation, we may question if we are capable of pushing through and succeeding but through regular games, teamwork activities or sports, we are better able to build our trust in ourselves. Although it may feel scary, or place us out of our comfort zone, consistently working with others on a team can help us to feel more confident both in and out of the team environment.
- Increases attention span
Having a longer attention span means that we are able to focus on a single task, for a longer period of time, without becoming distracted. Attention span and focus is a skill that can be improved upon and can benefit us in all areas of our life, from focusing on lectures and schoolwork to sitting through meetings and staying focused on a project at work.
Playing any type of game that requires concentration, whether it be a board game like monopoly or chess, or a video game, can help to increase our attention span and therefore improve both the length of time and the quality of our focus.
Circle: Last call for DARED Challenge
This is the final weekend before our annual DARED Challenge starts. Hear from our Champions on why you should sign up to Do A Run Every Day this June.
Get your tickets here: https://eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-dared-challenge-2022-tickets-29679901283…
Letters: Schools invited to take part in The Big Breaktime on Childhood Day
Dear Editor,
Next month, for Childhood Day, schools across Scotland and the rest of the UK will come together to raise funds for the NSPCC. This will help us deliver our services and support children across the country.
Childhood Day is the charity’s flagship fundraising event, when the public are encouraged to embrace their inner child, celebrating play to put the fun into fundraising.
As part of the celebration on 10 June, we are encouraging schools and nurseries to take part in The Big Breaktime – an extra hour of play with pupils, staff and parents being encouraged to give a small donation towards funding vital NSPCC projects, like Childline.
Schools can sign up for The Big Breaktime via the NSPCC’s Childhood Day hub The Big Breaktime | NSPCC From there, they will be able to download lots of exciting resources to help them plan a Big Breaktime in their school.
To sign up to the Big Breaktime, all you have to do is visit the NSPCC website, search for The Big Breaktime and fill in your school’s details with the registration form.
Paul Cockram
Head of Fundraising
NSPCC Scotland
TUC: Only good, well-paid work is a route out of poverty
Work should be a route out of poverty. But, especially under this government, it isn’t (writes TUC’s ALEX COLLINSON).
This week, news came out that the Prime Minister hopes to “blunt calls for urgent action on the cost of living crisis by stressing that work is the best route out of poverty”.
It’s a popular line with this government. And it should be true – but sadly, it isn’t.
The majority of people in poverty (57 per cent, or 8.3 million people) live in a working household. That rises to 75 per cent of children in poverty.
The government’s record on this is atrocious. The number of people in in-work poverty has increased by 2 million since they came to power in 2010. It’s now at a record high, as is the number of children in poverty living in a house where at least one adult is in work.
If work is to be the best route out of poverty, the government must do more to get pay rising. In the meantime, it can’t use “work is the best route out of poverty” as a cop out for not properly addressing the cost of living crisis. We need proper action. Structural solutions – such as improved trade union rights, nationalisation of energy companies, and improvements to the benefits system – are needed alongside a windfall tax to fund urgent support to pay energy bills.
17-year pay squeeze
A key reason for the rise of in-work poverty is that work simply doesn’t pay enough. The government’s minimum wage, even the one it calls a living wage, isn’t a real living wage.
And we’re in the midst of a 17-year pay squeeze. Real pay is currently lower than it was in 2008, and the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that it won’t return to above 2008 levels until 2025. This 17-year pay squeeze is, by far, the longest in living memory.
The impact of this on workers’ pay packets has been massive. If real weekly wages had continued growing at the pre-2008 rate, they’d now be £111 per week higher than they are. By 2026, if forecasts are correct, this’ll be £164.
Impact of energy costs
It’s against this background that real pay is falling again. Inflation, at 9 per cent, is hitting wages hard. In March 2022, average weekly earnings fell by £16 per week (-2.7 per cent) compared to the same month a year ago. Public sector pay growth is the worst on record – falling by £30 per week (4.9 per cent) over the same period.
The news that the energy cap will rise by around £800 in October is incredibly worrying. If this does happen, it means that between December 2021 and December 2022, energy bills will have risen by a massive 119 per cent. In contrast, nominal wages will have risen by just 5.2 per cent. The standard benefits payment will have risen by just 3.1 per cent. This means that energy bills are set to grow 23 times faster than wages and 38 times faster than benefits this year.
Insecure work
On top of this, work is too often insecure. 3.6 million people are in insecure work, whether that’s zero-hours contracts, agency work, casual work, or low-paid self employment. The government has repeatedly broken its promise to introduce an employment bill that would tackle insecure work.
The benefits system
Pushing work as the route out of poverty is also often the government’s way of refusing to improve the welfare system. decent work and social security must go hand in hand, not be seen as alternatives.
Since it came to power, the government has repeatedly cut benefits payments in real terms. The real value of the standard benefits payment has fallen by £51 per month since 2010.
As set out above, in the face of massive rises in energy bills, the government has made real term cuts to benefits payments. When the price cap rises again in October, energy bills will be £1,523 per year higher than they were a year before. The standard benefits payment will only be £121 per year higher.
A common proposal around benefits is to bring forward the increase in benefits and pensions that would be expected in April 2023/24 to autumn of this year. For example, if inflation hit 10 per cent in September of this year (September is the reference month for benefit uprating), rather than waiting to increase benefits in April, they could be increased in October, and then maintained at that level from April onwards.
But this would increase benefits by around £7.70 a week, meaning it wouldn’t even go close to making up for cutting the £20 uplift.
Like the standard benefits payments, pensions also went up by just 3.1 per cent in April this year. Government made an active decision not to maintain the triple-lock – which would have seen pensions rise by around 8 per cent in line with the wage figures last autumn. This will cost pensioners almost £500 across the year.
Good, well-paid work is a route out of poverty
The current government has a proclivity towards badly funded temporary schemes and half-baked novelty ideas, which has again become clear during the current crisis. If it’s serious about tackling the cost of living crisis, we needed proper solutions to support people right now, alongside structural changes to fix these problems in the long term.
It’s not enough to just say that work is a route out of poverty. The reality is that too much work is low-paid and insecure. If government wants work to be a route out of poverty, it needs to ensure all work is well-paid and secure.
When it comes to pay, government should stop attacking trade unions, and instead improve trade union rights. Trade unions need stronger powers and better access to workplaces to drive up wages and conditions.
Fair pay deals need to be implemented in whole industries, negotiated with unions, and designed to get pay and productivity rising in every sector. We also need an emergency boost to the national minimum wage, as well as the long-awaited introduction of that employment bill they’ve been promising for ages to tackle insecure work.
To help people with energy costs, the government must recognise that energy is an essential public good that should come under public ownership, and implement an accelerated programme to insulate homes. To help people right now, we need a windfall tax to pay for additional grants to help with the costs of energy. With the energy cap rising by £1,523 in the space of just a year, this support will need to be substantial.
Government must also fix the benefits system. We want much more generous benefits payment (with the standard payment raised to £260 per week), alongside the scrapping of the cruel aspects of the system, such as the five-week wait, the benefits cap, the two-child limit and no recourse to public funds.
Work isn’t currently a route out of poverty, but it can be if government takes steps to ensure that all work is good, well-paid work.
Ten tips to help your kids get the most out of exam revision
With exams well under way, millions of young people across the UK are hitting the books to brush up on their knowledge before they head into the exam hall.
But for many, who after months of home learning will be facing their first formal exams since lockdown, exam season already seems like a daunting prospect.
But, revision doesn’t have to be scary, and to prove it virtual learning experts Minerva’s Virtual Academy have shared some of their top tips for staying focused and getting the most out of your revision.
Tidy space, tidy mind
We’re big believers in the clear desk, clear mind philosophy here at Minerva. Revision can feel like a big task and trying to work amongst lots of clutter can make things feel overwhelming. After all, you don’t want to be rummaging through stacks of science notes when you’re trying to revise Shakespeare!
A quick tidy of your workspace and gathering all of the relevant notes can be a nice way to get yourself into the revision mindset and make sure you’re focused on the task at hand.
Priorities
We’ve all got subjects that we feel more comfortable tackling and often, those are the ones we enjoy the most. To use your revision time effectively, you should think about the subjects you’re less up to speed on and make those your priority.
Giving yourself the time to get to grips with the things you find tricky will pay dividends in the exam hall and make you feel much more confident from the offset.
Divide and conquer
It’s easy to panic and try and revise everything all at once but that’s not the best way to get your mind working at its best. Breaking your revision down into smaller chunks, whether that’s by subject or individual topic will make things much easier to navigate and also will make it easier to identify the topics that you could do with a little more help on.
You’ll likely find that you’re able to take in more information this way too as you won’t be bombarding your brain with lots of information in one go.
Timing is everything
Much like breaking your revision into chunks, the same goes for your time. Long stints of revision might seem to be the best way to cram in all that information, but it’s really not the most effective way to learn, plus it can also be boring!
Dividing your revision time into smaller 10 or 15 minute bursts will keep you engaged, stop your mind wandering and will make things feel much more manageable.
Switch off the social
We’re all guilty of getting distracted with a quick scroll through our social feeds but before you know it you can waste a huge amount of time that could have been spent getting some revision in.
Try using your ‘Do Not Disturb’ or ‘Focus’ function while you’re revising to make sure you aren’t being distracted by constant notifications or even, just switch your phone off during your revision to make sure you can really focus.
Take a break
Revision can be mentally tiring, so it’s important to give yourself regular breaks to recharge. Step away from your workspace and try taking a walk to get some fresh air, doing some exercise or watching an episode of your favourite TV show.
Revision can feel monotonous so breaking it up to do things you enjoy will make it much easier to manage. Remember, exams are important but you still need to have a life so don’t be afraid to have a day off if you need it!
Use your teachers
Your teachers want you to do well and they’re there to help so if there’s anything you’re not sure of, don’t be afraid to ask. Sometimes if you’re struggling with a topic, it can be as simple as someone explaining it in a slightly different way – a new perspective can really help you to get your head around things and after all, that’s what teachers are there for.
Don’t leave it to the last minute
Sticking your head in the sand and avoiding your revision until the very last minute is a surefire way to amp up your anxiety on the way into the exam hall. Make a plan and spread your revision out in the days or weeks leading up to your exam.
You’ll learn far more this way than trying to pull an all-nighter the night before and you’ll go into it feeling a lot more prepared.
Write it down
We’re used to doing everything through a screen (after all, we’re virtual learning experts!) but going back to basics and writing your notes with a pen and paper can be a great way to help things stick in your mind.
Also try to keep your notes as short and snappy as possible – think flash cards, minimal information, maximum impact.
Get creative
Sometimes it’s the weird things that are most likely to stay front of mind so thinking of quirky ways to remember things can be a great way to jog your memory.
Think funny acronyms, songs, even raps – it sounds silly but you’re more likely to remember a rap about Henry VIII’s wives than a whole page from a textbook!
For more tips and tricks or to find out more about Minerva’s Virtual Academy, visit:
D’ Mains Gala needs Volunteers
Hello. As most of you will know, Davidson’s Mains Gala will take place on Saturday 18th June this year.
We are super excited and have already filled all stall holder spots, secured both Mordor Gundogs and Drakes of Hazard display teams, as well as the fair ground rides returning.
However, we desperately need volunteers to help us put on this historical community event. If you can donate some time to any of the following, please let me know.
Your help would be very much appreciated:
Friday 17th June 1.30pm – putting up tents.
Saturday 18th June –
•11.30 – 17:00 Help to run stalls
•17:00 Take down of tents, clear up of field and returning tents, tables etc
Many thanks
The Gala Committee