Ecclesiastical Insurance is encouraging churches to take steps to prevent being a victim of theft as they welcome visitors over the Easter period.
With Easter considered the most important date in the Christian calendar, churches up and down the country will be hosting services and events., bringing together congregations and the wider community.
However, with the extra footfall, there is concern about opportunistic thieves potentially stealing cash and priceless items in the process.
Churches have long been targeted by thieves, often for lead and copper from church roofs, and earlier this year Ecclesiastical revealed more than £500,000 worth of silver was stolen from church premises in 2024.
In February St Andrews Church in Little Steeping, Lincolnshire had paintings removed by thieves, while police are looking for a man caught on CCTV stealing from St Gregory’s Church in Northampton in late March.
As a leading insurer of churches, specialist insurer Ecclesiastical is urging churches to take steps to protect themselves to avoid being a victim during this important time of year.
Helen Richards, church operations director at Ecclesiastical Insurance, said: “Theft from church buildings can have a heartbreaking impact, both on the volunteers and congregation who worship at the church – even more so during such an important time for Christians and the church.
“Sadly we’re seeing more incidents where churches are being targeted, with items such as silver, cash, statues, artwork, furniture and even paving stones being stolen. Thankfully there are steps churches can take to help protect themselves, including storing valuables in a high-quality modern safe in a secure area of the church when they’re not in use, or storing items off-site where suitable alternative security arrangements can be made and with the approval of church insurers.
“We want churches to be open to welcome their communities, congregations and potential visitors – especially during Easter – but we must all be aware of the risks. It is critically important that churches follow our risk management advice to protect themselves. Our team of experts is on hand to support customers and can be contacted on 0345 777 3322.”
Ecclesiastical’s risk management team has developed guidance as part of its call to review existing security arrangements and help churches protect themselves from potential break ins. The advice includes:
Consider installing electronic security protections in the church, such as intruder alarms or remote video surveillance systems, linked to a monitoring centre
Make sure any safes are high-quality and modern with a Euro rating between 0 and 7 and that they are permanently fixed to a wall or floor to make them more difficult to remove
Ensure items are recorded in the church inventory and security marked using a forensic marking solution, such as SmartWater, which will assist recovery if stolen
Keep portable valuable items in a secure area, the safe where practical, or a locked vestry or similar area when not in use
Where this is not possible consider keeping items at the home of a church member (which would be covered by the church’s insurance policy with Ecclesiastical)
Encourage the local community to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity as thieves may complete reconnaissance prior to a theft
For any church customers concerned about potential theft, Ecclesiastical’s risk advice line is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm on 0345 600 7531 or they can e-mail risk.advice@ecclesiastical.com.
Strokes are serious and time-sensitive medical emergencies that require immediate attention. Knowing how to quickly recognise the signs can be crucial in saving a life. That’s where the FAST method comes in – an easy-to-remember acronym to help you spot the signs of a stroke.
Strokes can strike anyone, regardless of age or gender. Remember, every minute counts when it comes to strokes.
Stay informed, share this knowledge with your loved ones, and help spread awareness
Would you like to join our veg bag membership scheme in 2025?
This is Year 3 of our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Veg Bags scheme and we are hoping to provide food for up to 160 households in North Edinburgh.
This year’s CSA will run for 25 weeks (six-and-a-half months), every Thursday from June 5th to Nov 20th.
As well as getting your share of fresh farm veg, you can also choose to add mushrooms from @rhyze.mushrooms, bread from @grantongardenbakery and organic free range eggs from Croft Farm in Penicuik.
Returning members from 2024, and folk who are already on our waitlist have already been contacted via email – so if that’s you, please check your inbox and spam folder and respond before the 22nd April.
As we are increasing membership numbers this year, we are open to new expressions of interest from North Edinburgh residents.
If you are interested in becoming a member, please go to our website for all the details
We’re delighted to be part of this year’s Folk Film Gathering, and to be hosting the opening event featuring a Surprise Film curated by our NEA Film Selection Group.
The Folk Film Gathering is an annual film festival that showcases community minded stories on screen. In partnership with Transgressive North and Cameo Cinema, we are hosting the first two screenings of the festival.
Visit our website to find out more & book your FREE tickets:
Back by popular demand, LifeCare Edinburgh to re-run free Power of Attorney info event to help local people simplify the future
Thinking about what would happen in the future if our, or our loved ones, faculties deteriorated can be stressful and worrying. How would someone manage our affairs, access our accounts to set up the right care for us, or pay the bills? Without the right processes in place, an already very emotional situation can be made worse with often very serious consequences.
Local charity, LifeCare Edinburgh understands how daunting and complex these situations can be and will next month host a free information giving event to help debunk the complexities and help people put the right practical support in place to ensure someone trusted can quickly make decisions on behalf of a loved one if they’re not able, or no longer able, to make them themselves.
Power of Attorney is a legal document where someone – while they still have mental capacity – nominates a trusted friend or relative to look after their affairs if they later lost capacity in the event of an emergency, illness or accident. It is not limited to people who are older or unwell, everyone needs to consider setting up a Power of Attorney at any stage of life to avoid any future complications. For example, due to having a stroke, serious accident or dementia.
Delivered in partnership with experts from Lindsay’s Legal Services team, LifeCare initially held this successful event last year designed to help simplify matters for local people. This first event was so well attended that the organisers are bringing it back to meet demand. One attendee noted:
“LifeCare’s informative Power of Attorney talk spurred me on to have the difficult conversations with my mother that we had both been avoiding, resulting in her setting up a will and PoA. Future planning felt like an act of love and respect; it also inspired me to start planning for myself. Thank you.”
Sarah van Putten, Chief Executive of LifeCare said: “Unfortunately at LifeCare we are well aware of how stressful life can be when people don’t have the right documents in place. No one can predict when they may face an unforeseen illness, accident or other debilitating event that may render them incapacitated.
“As one of Edinburgh’s leading charities providing practical care support we know how emotional these situations can be at the best of times but we also know how much worse they can be when family members and loved ones are locked out of helping access the support for the people they care for.
“Relatives can’t just walk into a bank and access your money, even if it is to pay for your care. Unless you’ve a Power of Attorney, loved ones would need to apply through court, which can be long and costly.
“We understand that thinking about the future can be upsetting and frightening. We’re thrilled to bring back our free and informal information giving event delivered in partnership with Lindsays; there will be no jargon and there will be plenty of time for questions and discussions and an opportunity to discuss any concerns with legal experts for free.”
LifeCare’s ‘What is Power of Attorney’ event, delivered in partnership with Lindsay’s, will take place at 3pm on Wednesday 21st May in the charity’s fully accessible community café, CafeLife at 2 Cheyne Street, EH4 1JB.
Free tea and coffee will be available along with the opportunity to find out more about LifeCare’s vital services for older people and the community overall.
The event is free to attend but those interested are encouraged to register their interest on Eventbrite https://shorturl.at/ypqMO or by calling the friendly team on 0131 343 0940.
We have two weeks of FREE Chi Gung sessions coming up! Wednesday 16th & 23rd April 11am-12pm come along and try out Chi Gung with Tamsin.
These two classes will focus on boosting our energy, becoming softer and more flexible, and transforming any internal or emotional difficulties using the smile.
We will perform them sitting (or standing if you feel strong enough), at a gentle pace and with an easy concentration.
Friday 25 April at 18:30 – Scottish Storytelling Centre
The opening night of this year’s Pomegranates Festival of international traditional dance (25 – 30 April), kicks off with a packed programme of ten short films celebrating traditional dance on screen.
Traditional dance is rarely presented through the genre of screen dance, and this exclusively curated programme aims to fill in this gap. It honours multiple types of trad dance styles and diverse cultural heritage traditions, including Scottish Step and Highland, Indian Classical, East African, Chinese, Hip Hop, and Breakdance.
The programme includes three diverse films directed by award-winning Canadian dance filmmaker Marlene Millar, Firstly, To Begin the Dance Once More – the newly revisedTraditional Dance Forum of Scotland’s first-ever screen dance production exploring Scottish and Egyptian stories of motherhood, featuring choreography by Vincent Hantam, andset to the new epic poem about Beira and Bride (the Queen of Winter and the Goddess of Spring) by Scottish storyteller Donald Smith.
Secondly, Offering – inspired by traditional dance processions from the Quebec-based Migration Dance Film collective, world-renowned for their innovative use of vocals and body percussive movement. Offering is directed by Marlene Millar in collaboration with choreographer Sandy Silva with the guest appearance of street dance sensation Omari Motion Carter. And thirdly, Bhairavafilmed on the ancient site of Hampi in India, directed by Marlene Millar and Philip Szporer (Mouvement Perpétuel, Montréal) with cinematography by Kes Tagney.
Kes Tagney’s recent short Homefeaturing Scottish step dancer Sophie Stephenson accompanied by musician Ronan Martin is also featured in the programme.
The Bright Fabric of Life directed by Mare Tralla
Other highlights include The Bright Fabric of Life directed by celebrated Estonian artist and filmmaker Mare Tralla; Deer Dancer which was first released as a major commission at the Edinburgh Art Festival in 2019 and features three dances, including Highland Fling, by Hanna Tuulikki exploring male masculinity in dance; two breakdance shorts Autocorrectcommissioned by Sadler’s Wells and directed by this year’s choreographer-in-residence MC, hip hop dance artist Jonzi D; and Second Guessing by Glasgow Bgirl Emma Ready which explores the harm experienced by coercive control.
HOME directed by Kes Tagney
Two other rarely screened films include Chinese short Crowned by Flame directed and performed by Lyuxian Yu; and Echoes of a Taiko Drum which was produced by Billingham Festival Director Olga Maloney, and features a unique fusion of Taiko Drums, Georgian, Irish and Indian Kathak Dance.
This 80-minute shorts film programme will be followed by a Q&A with featured creatives, including Scottish Bgirl Emma Ready, Estonian filmmaker Mare Tralla and Canadian filmmaker Kes Tagney.
Iliyana Nedkova,who together with Wendy Timmons is co-founder and curator of the Pomegranates Festival said: “I am very pleased that this year’s Pomegranates Festival’s opening evening show is all about world traditional dance and music specifically devised for the camera, not for the stage.
“I believe that magic happens where cinematography meets choreography. Following years of curating, judging and producing short dance films and screen dance festivals, I always wondered why we don’t have a dedicated platform for trad dance on screen.
“Well, while waiting for the dance film festival circuit to create such a platform, we decided to launch our own global programme and perhaps sow the (pomegranate) seeds of world trad dance on screen by selecting some of the best and rarest examples in this emerging new genre.”
Mare Tralla, the Estonian-born and Edinburgh-based artist, as one of the creatives featured in the programme said: ‘I can’t wait for the launch on the big screen of the latest Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland’s screen dance production The Bright Fabric of Life at the opening night of the Pomegranates Festival.
“I designed the set and costumes, shot and edited this new film in the summer 2024 with a great team of creatives using the body language of traditional African dance choreographed specifically for the camera by the esteemed Vincent Hantam.
“The film tells stories of motherhood and kinship, love and loss from Sub-Saharan Africa and Scotland. Also on the night we will celebrate the paperback release of Mhairi Collie’s book which inspired our film.
“The book, just like the film, explores the dramatic life story of Sylvie, an Ethiopian patient and Juliet – a Scottish surgeon.’
The dance films featured in the World Trad Dance on Screen programme at the Pomegranates Festival are:
AUTOCORRECT (2022, Dir. Jonzi D) Commissioned by Sadler’s Wells and directed and performed by Jonzi D, AUTOCORRECT features three male hip hop dancers from New York, London and Kampala. The short film takes inspiration from the cerebral poetry of Saul Williams, supported by Soweto Kinch’s textured soundscape.
Bhairava (2017, Dir. Marlene Millar and Philip Szporer) This short evokes facets of Shiva, the Lord of Dance, as both the destroyer of evil and the guardian of time. Carried by a strong and deeply evocative musical score and by the singular energy of the ancient site of Hampi, dancer and choreographer Shantala Shivalingappa embodies the presence and distinctive qualities of Bhairava. With her technical mastery and refined expressivity, she alternates between moments of precise symbolic gestures and more abstract body language surging from the powerful and omnipresent persona of Bhairava, creating a vivid incarnation of the deity.
Crowned by Flame (2024, Dir. Lyuxian Yu) In this work, the artist uses cigarette boxes (the world’s smallest drum), fire, and the traditional Ji Guan Headpiece (Cockscomb Headpiece)—key symbols of the Chinese ethnic minority Yi culture—to tell a powerful story about navigating cultural heritage and personal freedom. The performance contrasts black modern props with vibrant, traditional ethnic objects, creating a striking collision between cultural pride and the push for liberation.
Deer Dancer (2019, Dir. Hanna Tuulikki) A cross-artform project that grew out of research into the Deer Dance of the indigenous Yaqui of Sonora, Mexico, and their Pascua Yaqui descendants in Arizona, USA; the Highland Fling of the Scottish Highlands; and the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance of Staffordshire, England. The piece was further informed by experiential research into hunting practices and by direct observation of deer in their habitat and explores the mimesis of male deer behaviours, from the capering fawn, to the rutting stag, and how they can inform a ‘performance’ of masculinity by male dancers, and the implications of these gendered performances in society today.
Echoes of a Taiko Drum (2022, Dir. Olga Maloney)A new short screen dance and music film, produced by Billingham Festival Director Olga Maloney, featuring a unique fusion of Taiko Drums, Georgian, Irish and Indian Kathak Dance.Winner of the Best Audience Award at the European Short Film Festival in Berlin in 2022.
HOME (2024, Dir. Kes Tagney)
Shot in Scotland and Cornwall, HOME premiered last year at the Inverness Film Festival. It features Scottish step dancer Sophie Stephenson accompanied by musician Ronan Martin. Inspired by Stepheson’s love for Scotland, at its heart is a real sense of belonging and feeling of deep connection with the place you call Home.
Offering (2023, Dir. Marlene Millar) Using the traditional dance procession choreography, Offering creates a meaningful and joyful conversation between the body percussion artists featured in all Migration Dance Film Projects to date and new emerging artists from street, hip hop and gigue dance and circus arts. Special guest appearance by the British hip hop artist OmariMotion Carter.
Second Guessing (2023, Dir. Emma Ready and Therese Lynch ) Second Guessing investigates coercive control from the victim’s perspective. Emma Ready is a Bgirl, choreographer, and creative educator. During her 25 years of breaking, Emma has established an international reputation as an inspirational, and empathetic motivator.
The Bright Fabric of Life (2024, Dir, Mare Tralla)Using the body language of traditional African dance choreographed specifically for the camera, The Bright Fabric of Life tells stories of motherhood and kinship, and love and loss from Scotland and Sub-Saharan Africa. It captures the poignant story of Sylvie – a beautiful Ethiopian girl, whose dreams are destroyed when a disastrous childbirth leaves her broken both emotionally and physically, facing rejection and isolation.
To Begin the Dance Once More(2023, Dir, Marlene Millar) Four international dancers based in Scotland and Egypt reimagine the mythological world inhabited by the Celtic and Egyptian mothers of Earth. A beautifully compelling and vital piece of storytelling and movement for the screen. Featuring choreography by former Scottish Ballet Principal Dancer Vincent Hantam, and set to a new epic poem about Beira and Bride (the Queen of Winter and the Goddess of Spring) by Scottish storyteller Donald Smith.
The Pomegranates Festival (25 – 30 Apr) is the annual platform for the diverse 250+ individual and organisational members of the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland to teach, learn and perform in new dance theatre and screen dance shows, as well as new productions and residencies. This is the fourth edition of Scotland’s annual festival of international traditional dance, initiated, curated and produced by the Traditional DanceForum of Scotland. It is presented in partnership with TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland), Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Central Library, Dance Base and the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
In 2025 the Pomegranates Festival is funded by Creative Scotland Multi-Year Funding through TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland); the City of Edinburgh Council and University of Edinburgh through the Edinburgh Local Community Fund.
PRIME Minister Keir Starmer said yesterday: “As Prime Minister, I will always act in the national interest to protect British jobs and British workers.
This afternoon, the future of British steel hangs in the balance.
Jobs. Investment. Growth. Our economic and national security…are all on the line.
I’ve been to Scunthorpe. I’ve met the steel workers. I know how important steel is, not just to the region, but to the whole country.
It’s part of our national story. Part of the pride and heritage of this nation. And I’ll tell you this – it is essential for our future.
Our Plan for Change means we need more steel not less. So we will act with urgency.
Now, we should be clear – This situation – and our response – is unique.
While it is true that we are facing a new era of global instability our concerns about this plant and negotiations to protect it have been running for years.
This moment could have happened at any time. But it has happened now.
And I will not stand by. There is no time to waste.
So we are recalling Parliament tomorrow for a Saturday sitting.
We will pass emergency legislation in one day to give the Business Secretary the powers to do everything possible to stop the closure of these blast furnaces.
And as I have said, we will keep all options on the table.
As Prime Minister I will always act in the national interest.
We are using emergency powers to save British steel production and British jobs.
Nominations will open this summer for traditions like Notting Hill Carnival, Hogmanay and artisanal crafts to be officially recognised
New inventory of traditions will champion UK values and heritage
Follows ratification of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Culture Heritage last year
Communities across the UK will soon be able to nominate their favourite traditions to be included within official inventories of our living heritage.
Traditions that are central to the rich tapestry which makes up the UK’s many cultures and identity – from Eisteddfodau to Notting Hill Carnival, Hogmanay and Highland dancing – are among those expected to be put forward for a UK-wide official inventory. Artisanal crafts such as basket-weaving, thatching and the art of creating tweed, will also be considered.
Today the Government has published its response to a consultation asking the public for their views on making sure the new inventory of living heritage encompasses the broad spectrum of traditions practised in the UK.
The response sets out how the Government will, together with the Devolved Governments, create inventories of living heritage across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Submissions to the inventories will be encouraged from communities and groups practising living heritage, including from those who practise traditions brought to the UK by immigrant communities.
This follows the UK ratifying the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage last year, which requires each member state to compile their own inventory of living heritage practiced by communities in their country. This can include the folklore, performance, customs and crafts that play an important role in telling our national story and making people feel proud of where they live.
Heritage Minister Baroness Twycross said: “The UK is rich with wonderful traditions, from Gloucestershire’s cheese rolling to folk music and dancing and the many heritage crafts that we practice, such as tartan weaving and carving Welsh love spoons.
“I would encourage everyone to think about what traditions they value so that we can continue to celebrate them, tell our national story to the rest of the world and safeguard the traditions that make us who we are.”
This UK-wide inventory will start a national conversation about the crafts, customs and celebrations that are valued across the UK and raise awareness of them, in order to help protect them for future generations. Nominations for the inventory are expected to open later this year.
DCMS ran a public consultation from January to February 2024 to inform the development of an Inventory of Living Heritage in the UK. This included 16 roundtables, which sought the views of those interested in recognising living heritage, such as grassroots organisations, non-governmental organisations, museums and academics as well as government representatives from across the UK.
Following this engagement, it has been agreed that nominations will be accepted under seven categories, which are:
Oral expressions, which could include poetry and storytelling
Performing Arts
Social Practices, which could include festivals and customs
Nature, Land and Spirituality, which could include land practices and living heritage knowledge and practice relating to nature and the environment
Crafts
Sports and Games
Culinary Practices
Further information about how to nominate traditions and crafts to be included on the inventories, including gaining support and consent from the community, will be available when the call for submissions opens later this year.
