Paul Murton opens Douglas Mausoleum at Historic Kilmun
Broadcaster, writer and Scottish adventurer Paul Murton was on hand recently to officially launch the new tourist season at Historic Kilmun.
Paul, who currently has his “Grand Tours of Scottish Rivers” airing on BBC Scotland, also performed an opening ceremony for the Douglas Mausoleum using a recently discovered key at the ancient venue, dubbed the ‘Rosslyn of the West’, on the banks of Holy Loch.
The Douglas Mausoleum is dedicated to the memory of General Sir John Douglas who saw action in the Crimean War including the Battle of Balaclava and the Siege of Sebastopol in 1854. Born in 1817, he inherited the Glenfinart estate in 1871 and died in 1888.
Jennifer Bryson, a Trustee at Historic Kilmun, explained: “It was great to see Paul, a Patron of Historic Kilmun, open the mausoleum for the first time in front of so many friends.
“Historic Kilmun will be open from Thursday to Monday, 11am to 3pm, until the end of October. Expert guided tours will be available for visitors and we also have a busy programme of events including live music, book sales and recitals using our famous water driven organ.”
Edinburgh’s cultural staple, Beltane Fire Festival will be returning to Calton Hill on Sunday 30th April 2023.
Beltane Fire Festival is a living, breathing re-interpretation and modernisation of an ancient Iron Age Celtic ritual and is the largest of its kind, bringing people from all over the world to join and revel in the birth of Summer and the fertility of the land since 1988. Join us for an immersive Celtic experience, more spectacular and expansive than ever before!
This year’s festival will tell the traditional tales of The Procession of the May Queen and The Death and Re-Birth of The Green Man from a unique and exciting perspective; revellers will be surrounded by fire-play, acrobatics, drummers, dancers, clowns, musicians, actors, puppeteers, artists, poets, crafters, curious and mysterious characters and even cats!
Edinburgh’s Beltane celebrations are the largest of their kind and have attracted crowds of around 10,000 people from all across the globe.
Festival Co-ordinator Tom Watton said: “It is an honour to facilitate all of the hard work and dedication of the Beltane volunteers; who over the last ten weeks, have been busy preparing for another spectacular one of a kind fire festival. Come and join us this year as raise the Beltane toast: to the earth our mother and the fire our host!”
“Join us at the end of the month, celebrate the turning of the wheel, and revel in the beginnings of Summer! “
Tickets for the Beltane Fire Festival are available from Citizen Tickets here.
Detectives in Edinburgh are appealing for information following a robbery at shop premises in Morvenside.
Around 4.05pm on Saturday (8 April), a man entered Scotmid and threatened staff and demanded money. He left with a three-figure sum of money.
Staff were shocked but unhurt.
Detective Constable Peter Lyons of CID in Edinburgh said : “We are keen to trace a man described as 6’2” tall, of slim build, with a Scottish accent. He wore a black scarf or face mask, light blue hooded rain jacket, dark blue jogging bottoms and black trainers.
“He was seen to run off towards the Westburn area.
“Anyone who was in the area and witnessed the incident is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting 2383 of Saturday, 8 April, 2023.”
Metro Bank, the UK’s community bank, supports UK Finance’s 2023 Take Five week from 17th April – 21st April 2023. The theme is ‘Seems Legit?’ A challenge to consumers to stop and consider if something just doesn’t ring true – especially if you are being pressured to act quickly.
Take Five is delivered by UK Finance in collaboration with a range of partners including the payments industry, financial services firms and law enforcement because in 20211 over £1.3 billion was stolen by criminals – that’s nearly £2,500 every minute of the day.
Take Five is a national awareness campaign which offers straightforward and impartial advice to help everyone protect themselves from preventable financial fraud. This includes email deception and phone-based scams as well as online fraud – particularly where criminals impersonate trusted organisations.
Despite fraud being the most common type of crime in the UK – accounting for more than 40% of all reported crimes – only 2% of police funding is directed to tackling the problem – so consumers need to participate to help protect themselves.
“No-one believes they will become the victim of a scam, however in the heat of the moment, it’s easy to forget the basics around keeping yourself and your details safe from fraudsters”, warns Baz Thompson, head of fraud and investigations, Metro Bank.
“It is human nature to trust people – especially if someone says they’re from a bank – why wouldn’t you believe them? Take Five urges everyone to stop, pause and consider whether the situation is legitimate.”
Take Five has created a punchy reminder on what to do if you’re faced with a scenario where you are asked to make some kind of payment:
Stop – Take a moment to stop and think before parting with your money – trust your gut if something doesn’t feel right, it’s probably not!
Challenge – Is this person who they say they are? It’s okay to refuse any requests for money and financial or personal details.
Protect –Follow our tips to prevent yourself falling victim to scams. If you believe you have fallen victim to a scam report it to your bank immediately.
Visit Take Five’s website for the latest advice around frauds and scams:
Staff and residents at Barchester’s Strachan House care home in Blackhall celebrated Easter with a whole host of different activities including an Easter Egg Hunt, hatching duck eggs, afternoon Easter tea for the residents and local community and Easter baking sessions.
Good Friday saw residents at Strachan House enjoy an eggs-tensive range of Easter activities, from an Easter Bonnet parade, egg painting and rolling, to enjoying live entertainment.
Easter Sunday saw residents also tuck in to a delicious tradional Easter lunch prepared by the home’s head chef Paul Gow after hosting a wonderful Easter egg hunt in the beautiful gardens of Strachan House. And if there was any more room from all that chocolate then there was an afternoon tea to relax with amongst family and friends!
General Manager Gordon Philp said “As always, we’ve all been looking forward to Easter. It’s such a lovely time of year – the residents love all the colourful Easter eggs and huge selection of Easter themed activities we had on offer.
“It’s really been an eggs-cellent few days!”
Muriel who is 102 years old and a resident at Strachan House said: “It has been so lovely to spend time with our families and friends this Easter, though like every Easter, I think I’ve eaten too much chocolate!
” It was so wonderful to see everyone go to so much effort. I have really enjoyed having the ducks hatch and spending time playing with them”
Our varied life enrichment programme keeps residents active, and provides a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities.
Strachan House is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering high-quality care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides nursing care, residential care, respite care.
Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK
Healthy Heart Tip: Eggs & Heart Health
Eggs & cholesterol
Egg yolk is rich in cholesterol and therefore there has been some debate about whether people with raised cholesterol levels should eat them or whether they’ll considerably increase blood cholesterol levels.
However, experts agree that dietary cholesterol, such as that found in eggs, has much less of an effect on the level of cholesterol in your blood compared to the amount of saturated fat you are consuming.
How you eat your eggs matters
How people cook eggs varies widely and what people use to cook eggs in can differ too. We recommend poaching, boiling or baking your eggs to limit your use of oils and fats when cooking.
What we eat eggs with matters too, for example, consuming poached eggs with wholegrain bread and some vegetables is much more healthful than consuming them as part of a greasy fry up which lacks fibre.
The takeaway points
Eggs are an affordable source of protein and are rich in vitamins and minerals. It’s therefore perfectly healthy to include them as part of a balanced diet.
As with many diet recommendations, the key is moderation and not consuming one thing in excess. Specifically in relation to cholesterol, we should focus more on reducing our consumption of saturated fat rather than worrying about the cholesterol in eggs.
I would like to send my personal thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery, who have been supporting Cats Protection since 2018.
During that time, funds raised by players have enabled us to help and care for around 10,000 cats and kittens in our adoption centres across England, Scotland and Wales, while they await their forever homes.
In addition, they have also helped us provide cat behaviour expertise to our cat care volunteers and staff and adopters; run our Paws to Listen grief support service to help bereaved cat owners; and speak up for cats to help create positive change for cat welfare via our advocacy work.
Thank you to all the players of People’s Postcode Lottery for your ongoing support. Together we create a better world for cats.
Anyone wishing to adopt a cat or support Cats Protection, or seeking advice on cat welfare, can find out more at www.cats.org.uk
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will welcome President Biden to Belfast this week
Prime Minister will take part in a number of events to commemorate the anniversary of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in the coming days.
He will welcome President Biden to Belfast on Tuesday – the President’s first visit to Northern Ireland since taking office.
The UK will host a Northern Ireland Investment Summit later this year to encourage inward investment and growth.
The Prime Minister will welcome President Biden to Belfast this week as the people of Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK prepare to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.
President Biden will arrive in the UK on Tuesday evening, where the Prime Minister will meet him off Air Force One. The President will then undertake a programme of engagements including a meeting with the Prime Minister.
On Wednesday 19th April the Prime Minister will travel to Belfast again to address Queen’s University’s ‘Agreement 25’ conference and host a special Gala Dinner to commemorate the anniversary.
Monday marks a quarter of a century since the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement was signed, transforming the political and economic of Northern Ireland, and serving as a framework for peace and prosperity.
The United States greatly supported the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement process and has played a pivotal role in boosting prosperity in Northern Ireland over the last 25 years. The Prime Minister will use President Biden’s visit and his engagements with business leaders and others in Belfast to celebrate Northern Ireland’s successes and encourage further long-term investment.
The United States is one of the largest sources of foreign investment into Northern Ireland, putting £1.5 billion into its economy over the last decade and creating 13,000 jobs. This includes tech giants such as Microsoft establishing themselves there. Around 1,000 US-owned businesses operate in Northern Ireland and in 2022 businesses in Northern Ireland exported goods worth over £1 billion to the United States.
In the last few months the economic links between the US and Northern Ireland have grown further, with companies like semiconductor manufacturer Wolfspeed announcing a major R&D partnership with Queen’s University Belfast. Wolfspeed is based in North Carolina, a US state the UK signed a state-level trade agreement with in July last year.
As part of the Prime Minister’s ambition to bring more inward investment into Northern Ireland’s thriving economy, he will announce that the UK will host a Northern Ireland Investment Summit in September this year.
The Summit will connect international investors with Northern Ireland businesses, showcasing the best of what Northern Ireland has to offer. The Summit will profile Northern Ireland’s innovation and technological strengths, with a special focus on financial & professional services, life & health sciences, technology, green manufacturing and the creative services.
Bolstered by its place within the UK, Northern Ireland has a diverse and thriving economy. Northern Ireland received almost £20bn in inward investment in 2020, with companies from around the world recognising its growth potential, talent and expertise. Belfast is the biggest hub for technology companies in the UK after London and Northern Ireland is home to more than 100 cyber security companies.
The UK Government is also supporting growth in Northern Ireland through investment in infrastructure and education to foster Northern Irish talent and expertise. The UK Government provides around £15 billion a year to Northern Ireland and through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund we are providing new community and neighbourhood infrastructure and improving facilities for families in every council in Northern Ireland.
The Prime Minister said: “The Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement was an incredible moment in our nation’s history. It was a powerfully rare example of people doing the previously unthinkable to create a better future for Northern Ireland.
“It is that promise of a better future that we offered to everyone in Northern Ireland that I will be thinking of first and foremost over the coming days. It is my responsibility as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to ensure we are making good on that promise.
“Northern Ireland – like the rest of the UK – is teeming with opportunities, talent and ingenuity. The biggest thing we can do to improve people’s standard of living and secure a prosperous and thriving Northern Ireland, is economic growth. That’s something I’m relentlessly focused on delivering.”
The Northern Ireland Investment Summit will be led by the Department for Business and Trade in partnership with the Northern Ireland Office and Invest Northern Ireland. It will take place on 12th and 13th September 2023 in Belfast.
The event is a key part of the UK’s overall programme to mark the remarkable progress in Northern Ireland over the last quarter century and will support our vision for a prosperous 25 years ahead.
Disabled people are being urged to find out if they are eligible for Scottish Government disability benefits as part of a new campaign to increase benefit take-up.
The nationwide campaign aims to raise awareness about financial support available to help with the extra costs that disabled children and adults may face.
Child Disability Payment provides financial support to help families and carers with the extra costs of caring for a disabled child or young person or a child or young person with a long-term health condition. Adult Disability Payment is available to people aged between 16 and state pension age who are disabled, have a long-term health condition or a terminal illness.
These benefits are administered by Social Security Scotland and replace the Department for Work and Pensions’ Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for Children, DLA and Personal Independence Payment.
People already getting disability benefits from DWP will see their award transfer automatically and they do not need to apply separately.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Being disabled or having a long-term health condition can come with a variety of extra costs, such as paying more for accessible transport. We want to make sure that disabled children and adults get all the extra financial support they are entitled to, to ease the impact of those costs.
“This campaign is not just about raising awareness but also has an important role to play in helping to remove any stigma that people may be worried about when applying for social security. We believe social security is a human right. It is here for any of us should we need it and we want to make sure people are accessing what they are due.
“This is the first time that we are proactively promoting disability benefits as part of a national advertising campaign, including adverts on TV. We are not aware of the UK Government running a campaign on the equivalent UK benefits for over 30-years. I want to actively encourage people to check if they are eligible for Child and Adult Disability Payments and make sure they get extra financial support to help them live full and independent lives.”
The campaign features Piper, 9, who has Down’s Syndrome. Her mum Caroline Milburn, says disability benefits have helped cover extra costs as well as give Piper opportunities she’d never have had without them.
Caroline, from Edinburgh, said: “Piper is such a unique character. When she was born we were told she wouldn’t walk until she was around six, but she was walking at two. She’s so determined and knows her own mind. If she wants to do something she’ll do it.
“Disability benefit allowed me to buy her a sensory swing and a tablet that gives her access to games that help her learn. She just thinks she’s having fun but the games have taught her so much. She plays them with her five-year-old brother sitting beside her and he learns with her.
“Child Disability Payment helps cover the costs of buying Piper new clothes and duvets as she is always chewing holes in them It also allows me to send her to holiday clubs. She loves them and they’re really good for her, but they cost about £40 a week.
“Piper is such an amazing girl and she makes everyone’s lives better. Without disability benefits we’d not have been able to give her all the experiences and opportunities she’s had to learn and connect with the world.”
As a coalition of organisations that support vulnerable children and young people, many of whom have mental health problems, we would like to congratulate Humza Yousaf on becoming First Minister.
It was however disappointing that the issue of mental health featured little in the SNP leadership campaign, but now that he is in office, we would urge Mr Yousaf to focus on this vital matter.
As many will be aware, we were already experiencing a mental health emergency in Scotland, even before Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis took hold. These have worsened an already devastating situation for many children and young people, resulting in a perfect storm of challenges as demand soars.
There is no health without mental health, and already overstretched budgets are having to stretch even further to keep pace with escalating inflation. In the face of a mental health tsunami, we would urge the Scottish Government to prioritise spending on services, reversing the freeze on this year’s mental health budget and boosting the workforce.
With the resultant personal cost to those concerned and their families, as well as to the economy overall, we need to invest more, not less, in our mental health services, ensuring that our children and young people receive the high-quality care they need when they need it.
