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Additional funding for three 75th anniversary Edinburgh festivals

Celebrating Scotland’s world-leading cultural brands 

To mark the 75th anniversaries of the Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh International Film Festival, £2.1 million in Scottish Government funding will support anniversary programmes.

This year’s Edinburgh International Festival will also include a special appearance of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, one of three free concerts –  including opening and closing events – staged thanks to this additional funding.  

A showcase of the largest Made in Scotland event at the Fringe will demonstrate the best in home grown talent with 27 artists, companies and ensembles performing. The Edinburgh International Film Festival, which is back in its August slot for the first time in over a decade, includes a line-up of over 80 new feature films.

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said: “The culture sector is renowned for its creativity and resilience so I’m delighted to see the Edinburgh Festivals back with ambitious and diverse programmes following the pandemic.

“With over 3,000 shows to choose from over the next few weeks, there really is something for everyone and many of these shows are free. As well as gallery exhibitions, film screenings and author events at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, there are live performances of theatre, dance and music.

“For people who are not in Edinburgh or unable to attend in person, they can support the festivals by buying tickets to view, or live stream content, online.

“Edinburgh has an incredible 75 year pedigree of offering the best in world-class talent across all genres so I would encourage people to take the opportunity to sample this abundance of culture we’re so fortunate to have on our doorstep.”

Director of Festivals Edinburgh Julia Amour said: “Everyone at the Festivals has greatly welcomed the Scottish Government’s PLACE Resilience Fund – including these awards for our three founding festivals celebrating their 75th anniversaries – as their financial and wider support is crucial not only to our ongoing recovery but also to our continuing ambition to bring increased opportunities to artists and audiences throughout the country, while also showcasing Scotland as a contemporary, creative, outward looking nation.”

Vandalism at Trinity Primary: Appeal for information

POLICE are appealing for information following vandalism at a school in North Edinburgh.

The incident took place at Trinity Primary School on Newhaven Road at about 1.30pm on Friday, 29th July, during which over £5000 worth of damage was caused to school equipment.

A thorough investigation is ongoing and anyone with any information is urged to contact Police via 101, quoting incident 2591 of the 29th July 2022 or anonymously via the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

BP profits tripling show ‘broken’ energy system

Climate campaigners have said that BP reporting a tripling of quarterly profits shows that the UK energy system is ‘fundamentally broken.’ The oil giant today announced profits of £6.9 billion ($8.45 billion) in just 3 months. 

Meanwhile, energy consultants have forecast that energy bills could reach over £3,600 per household. 

BP have said they will use these record profits to pay out to their shareholders as well as buy back shares in the company from investors. Share buybacks are a way of increasing the value of shares for shareholders.

BP continues to invest in fossil fuel projects such as the Murlach oil field which will further ‘lock us into’ this broken energy system for decades, increasing company profits even further at the expense of people and the planet, campaigners say.

Climate scientists and energy experts have warned that we cannot afford any more investment into fossil fuel extraction if we are to limit dangerous climate warming to 1.5ºC. 

Recent research revealed the oil and gas industry has made over $52 trillion in profit over the last 50 years.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Oil and Gas Campaigner Freya Aitchison said: “This announcement of yet another obscene profit for BP is a clear sign that our energy system is fundamentally broken.

“Rising energy prices are a key driver of the cost of living crisis which is plunging millions of people in the UK into fuel poverty, yet bosses and shareholders at BP are getting even richer by exploiting one of our most basic needs.”

“BP is also worsening climate breakdown and extreme weather by continuing to invest and lock us into new oil and gas projects for decades to come. Instead of allowing these companies to continue causing social and environmental devastation to boost their profits, we need to overhaul our energy system to rapidly phase out oil and gas.

“A fair and fast transition to renewables must ensure that everyone has access to affordable and clean renewable energy.”

HMRC: Couples urged to “say yes” to Marriage Allowance proposal

At the height of the wedding season, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding married couples and people in civil partnerships to put extra cash at the top of their gift list and sign up for Marriage Allowance.

Marriage Allowance allows married couples or people in civil partnerships, including those who have been together for many years, to share their personal tax allowances if one partner earns below the Personal Allowance threshold of £12,570, and the other is a basic rate taxpayer.

Eligible couples can transfer 10% of their tax-free allowance to their partner, which is £1,260 in 2022/23. It means couples can reduce the tax they pay by up to £252 a year. They can apply any time and, if eligible, could backdate their claims for up to four previous tax years to receive a payment of up to £1,242.

Marriage Allowance is free to apply for, and customers are reminded to claim directly via HMRC’s online portal to ensure they receive 100% of the tax relief they are eligible for. Visit GOV.UK to find out how to apply for Marriage Allowance.

Marriage Allowance is one of a number of benefits and reliefs available to boost family finances at a time when many are concerned with the rising cost of living.

Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Deputy Chief Executive and Second Permanent Secretary, said: “We want to ensure people are receiving vital financial support at a time when they need it most.

“Married couples or those in a civil partnership could potentially receive tax relief worth up to £1,242, meaning extra cash in their pockets.

“To find out if you are eligible and how to apply search ‘Marriage Allowance’ on GOV.UK.”

More than 2 million couples currently benefit from Marriage Allowance, but there could be thousands more who are eligible to claim.

Even if couples don’t qualify for Marriage Allowance when they first get married, a change in circumstances years later could mean they become newly eligible. These include:

  • one partner retiring and the other remaining in work
  • a change in employment
  • a reduction in working hours which means their earnings fall below their Personal Allowance
  • maternity, paternity, or shared parental leave
  • unpaid leave or a career break
  • one partner studying or in education and not earning above their Personal Allowance

If a spouse or civil partner has died since 5 April 2018, the surviving person can still claim by contacting the Income Tax helpline.

Marriage Allowance claims are automatically renewed every year. However, couples should notify HMRC if their circumstances change.

Operation Soteria: the story so far

#OperationSoteria, Edinburgh Policing Division’s city wide Operation continues to put the brakes on criminals involved in motorcycle thefts and associated anti-social behaviour.

Over the past week, enquiries have led to the arrest of 5 individuals with significant links to motorcycle crime across Edinburgh. This equates to a weekly total of 42 charges and the recovery of 11 bikes, all as a direct result of our targeted activities.

Since the commencement of #OpSoteria on 20 June 2022, we have made 17 arrests, with a further individual reported for warrant.

This translates to 104 charges all relating to motorcycle theft and antisocial behaviour offences and the recovery of 51 motorcycles, bringing the total value of bikes recovered since June to more than £360,000.

Anyone with information about motorcycle crime or the dangerous use of motorcycles in the capital can speak to officers confidentially and anonymously on 101, or through the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Fringe 2022: Musclebound

One woman’s quest for tortured beefcake, 80s action and raw sexual power

Pre-pandemic Rosy became the world’s first female time-travelling doctor in her multi-award-winning theatre debut ‘Passionate Machine’. Now this feminist powerhouse is Musclebound to examine our most shameful sexual secrets.

When bodybuilders and 80s action films unite, you can always count on one thing: a good hard flogging! And for a five-year-old Rosy, witnessing live action film characters like He-Man and Conan the Barbarian being stripped, beaten and humiliated by their male antagonists sparked an odyssey of secret obsession that would shape her erotic life forever. 

Now forty, with a string of disappointing relationships behind her and her own grown-up daughter about to leave home, a chance re-watching of He-Man reignites the spark of Rosy’s lust, setting her off on a mission to replenish her sexual power. But can tortured beefcake really be the key to her salvation? Or does a more uncomfortable sexual truth lurk, waiting to be reckoned with? 

Join Rosy in this intelligent, provocative and terrifically funny real-life story, as she goes to any lengths to find out – even if that means asking Dolph Lundgren and Arnold Schwarzenegger themselves …

‘It’s about me getting to grips with my childhood passion for watching these incredible scenes of hyper-muscular men being abused’, says Rosy.

‘About why that dynamic felt so powerful. Musclebound takes a playful, candid and highly singular look at sexual power, female pleasure and the politics and principles of orgasm-faking.’  

Rosy is forced to ask herself: what are the sexual lessons we want to pass on to our daughters – and what do we still need to learn for ourselves? Is it ever OK to objectify people?

Rosy Carrick is a writer, actor and translator. Her critically acclaimed play Passionate Machine won theawards for Best Design and Best New Playat Brighton Fringe in 2018, and The Infallibles Award for Theatrical Excellence at Edinburgh Fringe. She has co-hosted the poetry stages at Glastonbury, Latitude and Port Eliot Festivals for the last decade.

Her debut poetry collection Chokey was published in 2018 and its follow-up, 26 Letters, is due for release in 2023. Rosy has a PhD on the Russian revolutionary poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. She has released two books of his work in translation, and is currently working on a third, which will be published in 2024 by The 87 Press. www.rosycarrick.com

Musclebound is directed by Fringe First winner Katie Bonna. Katie won the Most Promising New Playwright award at the 2018 Off West End Awards (for All The Things I Lied About).

In 2021, her queer comedy The Entertainment was nominated for OFF Fest’s Best Online Theatre production, and her short film IRL was nominated for Best Comedy at the Cannes Shorts Festival.

Part of the prestigious BBC Comedy Writers Room course 2019/2020, Katie is currently under commission from BBC Radio 4 and RADA.

‘Intelligent, articulate, funny’ Scotsman (on Passionate Machine)

Listings information: 

Musclebound

Venue: Assembly Roxy (Venue 139)

Dates:  3-29 Aug (not 10, 16, 23) First review date 3 Aug

Time: 17:50 (60 mins)Tickets: £11.50 – £13.50 (previews 3 & 4 Aug £7.50)

Venue Box Office: 0131 623 3000 

www.assemblyfestival.com

Military families to benefit from £3,000 of childcare support

Serving personnel across the UK will be entitled to free wraparound childcare from September as part of new measures announced today by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

  • Service families with children aged 4 to 11 years to benefit from wraparound childcare2
  • More than 20,000 service children will be eligible for 20 hours free childcare per week
  • Defence Secretary outlines further family support for UK Armed Forces personnel

The Wraparound Childcare (WAC) scheme will provide up to 20 hours per week of free childcare before and after school during term time for eligible military parents with children aged 4 to 11 years.

Its roll-out follows successful trials at pilot sites around the country over the last two years and from the Autumn school term will be open to more than 20,000 children across the UK.

While childcare costs vary across the UK, serving personnel are expected to save around £3,000 per child per year based on typical costs.

The wraparound childcare scheme provides practical support to some of the unique challenges faced by service families, such as frequent relocations that require military families to move home, find new schools and childcare provision, and adjust their lives. This is part of the Armed Forces’ commitment to being an inclusive, modern and flexible employer.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “Our Armed Forces personnel sacrifice a great deal in the service of their country and whether it is providing flexible working or accommodation options, I am determined they feel supported in their family life.

“Providing free wraparound childcare is another clear way of supporting the unique challenges they face as parents and will go a long way to helping them to enjoy a thriving family life as well as a thriving career.”

Corporal Vicki Taylor, Royal Air Force said: “Everyone I have spoken to who also benefits from wraparound childcare agrees that it’s a fantastic scheme. For my family it saved us financially, reduced our stress levels, and has given us more quality time with our children.

The wraparound childcare pilot scheme began in September 2020 and an expansion in September 2021 meant six sites – Woolwich Barracks, RAF High Wycombe and RAF Halton, Catterick Garrison, and in Lincolnshire and the Plymouth area – took part. Over 1,900 children benefited from support at these sites during the pilot.

This scheme is part of the wider package of support to service personnel and their families, as laid out in the Armed Forces Families Strategy, and has already had a positive impact on service families involved. Recent feedback shows an improvement in family wellbeing, increased contentment with service life for non-serving partners as well as the huge financial savings.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to supporting service families and has also introduced flexible working arrangements, expanded offerings to co-habiting couples and extended Help to Buy, giving our armed forces the chance to get a foot on the housing ladder.

Sun, Sea and Spritz – Enjoy the Taste of a Scottish Summer with Buck & Birch

Flavour Alchemists Guide to Making the Perfect Summer Tipple

Get summer ready with Buck & Birch’s deliciously fresh, thirst-quenching drink, The Amarosa Spritz, perfect for those looking to spice up their favourite summer classic cocktails.

Sourcing ingredients just a stone’s throw from their East Lothian distillery, the alchemists have put a Scottish twist on the likes of the Italians Aperol and English Pimms, giving you the very best taste of the wilds of Scotland.

With flavour notes of juicy green apples, honey and herbs with spiced vanilla and molasses to finish, simply add 50ml of Amarosa, 25ml fresh apple juice, topped with chilled champagne, prosecco or sparkling wine and garnish with fresh summer fruits for the perfect taste of a Scottish Summer.

The Amarosa Spritz is perfect for sipping at a garden party or barbeque in the summer sun, and to really get your tastebuds tingling, enjoy alongside grilled halloumi or a mezze platter.

Creative Director and co-founder, Tom Chisholm on why this is the perfect summer tipple: “This is the first lockdown free summer we have had in three years and whilst we all want to be outside the Scottish summer weather doesn’t always allow us to get out.

“But with The Amarosa Spritz, we’ve got the taste of summer with an unmistakable Scottish twist. So, whilst we may not get outside with the unreliable Scottish weather, we have got the next best thing: having a drink from the beautiful landscape that is right on our doorstep.”

To view the full selection of drinks available for purchase, visit:

www.buckandbirch.com