With kitten season nearly here, Cats Protection is releasing a documentary highlighting the potentially tragic risks of buying underage kittens online from unscrupulous sellers who put profit before welfare.
The Big Kitten Con, narrated by Caroline Quentin, features traumatic accounts of kittens being sold at less than the legal age for commercial sale, which is eight-weeks, and sadly dying from debilitating illnesses.
Last year, 340,000 of the 500,000 cats that were purchased in the UK were found online on sites like Facebook, Gumtree, Pets 4 Homes and Preloved.
Though many sellers are responsible people, there are unscrupulous individuals who will exploit the anonymity of the internet to sell kittens that have been taken from their mums too young, denying them vital nutrients and social development, while passing them off as healthy, eight-week-old kittens.
As well as giving advice, we are encouraging the public to sign a petition calling on the Government to regulate cat breeding. It has just been introduced in Scotland and we would like to see England, Wales and Northern Ireland follow suit.
We want anyone who breeds two or more litters of kittens in a year to be licensed, which would make them subject to regular inspections.
To watch Cats Protection’s The Big Kitten Con video and to sign Cats Protection’s petition, please visit www.cats.org.uk/kitten-con
Yours faithfully
Madison Rogers,
Acting Head of Advocacy & Government Relations, Cats Protection
Vital research to benefit from Make 2nds Count fundraiser
Revellers at a glamorous Great Gatsby Ball have raised more than £90,000 to support vital research into a forgotten form of breast cancer.
The gala event, at Edinburgh’s Prestonfield House, was organised by leading UK charity Make 2nds Count which campaigns to raise funds and awareness of secondary breast cancer which kills 1000 woman a month.
The charity, which helps to finance various crucial research projects, also supports patients and families and educates and informs about the little-known disease.
The ball, on March 25, was hosted by STV’s Laura Boyd and brought the Scottish business community together for an evening of fine dining, live entertainment and auction prizes.
The live and online auctions, which included prizes of a three-night city break to Lisbon and an Icelandic Northern Lights adventure for two people, raised a combined £31,664, while ‘Crack the Code’ – where participants were invited to guess the winning combination to win a stunning diamond necklace donated by Rox Edinburgh and the Grimes family – and ‘The Gift Tree’ boosted the cause by another £8,010.
Two incredibly generous anonymous donations of £10,000 each and ticket sales of over £30,000 pushed numbers towards the final sum of £90,274, to the delight of organisers and the sponsors – headline sponsor Copart UK Ltd and table sponsors Bruce Tait Associates, Saltire Roofing, Erskine Financial, David Rankin, Lamborghini Edinburgh and Sutherland Independent.
Make 2nds Count founder Lisa Fleming of Edinburgh said: “We are absolutely thrilled with the fantastic result we’ve achieved. Every penny raised will be invaluable to boost much-needed research into the disease and offer support to more and more patients and families.
“We not only had an incredible evening, but we come away from the experience with the knowledge that we can and we will continue to raise awareness and that the work we do can make a real difference to people’s lives across the UK.”
The little-known, incurable cancer – also known as metastatic, advanced or stage IV breast cancer – is a cancer that has spread beyond the breast to other parts of the body. On average there are around 35,000 patients in the UK currently living with this form of the disease.
Lisa set up Make 2nds Count after being diagnosed with secondary breast cancer. She had no primary diagnosis, warning signs or lump when she was told the disease had already spread to the majority of her bones. It swiftly spread to her brain and she is living with a life sentence.
For more information about Make 2nds Count and the work they do, please visit:
Calling All Musicians * Calling All Musicians * Calling All Musicians
Tuesday the 21st of June will be Make Music Day and Edinburgh City Libraries are calling out to all musicians, groups, ensembles, choirs, orchestras to join us. The service will be putting together a varied program to fill midsummers day with music:
‘In 2019 we ran successful programs of events in Central, Morningside, Craigmillar and Stockbridge Libraries (see poster below).
With a range if groups performing Opera to Klezmer, recorder solo’s to the Rolling Hills Chorus. In 2020 and 2021 we were forced online with a curtailed but no less interesting program of events with choirs, instrumentalists and the Libraries staff singing the Make Music Day anthems Bring Me Sunshine and Stand By Me.
Make Music Day started life 40 years ago in 1982. In France under President Mitterrand’s Socialist Party Maurice Fleuret , was appointed as Director of Music and Dance at the French Ministry of Culture with a responsibility for festivals and events.
He immediately saw that there was a discrepancy in the number of children and adults able to play musical instruments and the numbers who actually participated in any form of music making.
Fete da la Musique was born. His, Fleuret’s, statement rang loud “Music is everywhere and the concert is nowhere” and mission statement for day became, amateur and professional musician should give of their time freely and that all performances should to be free to attend, forty years on those statements are pretty much the same.
Year on year the festival grew and not just in France, by the early 90s the festival had become an event in approximately 80 countries and this year that number stands at 126 countries around the world. The 21st of June was chosen as it is normally the longest day of the year or the summer solstice.
If you wished, and some people do, you could have musical events from the early hours when the sun rises to when it sets late in the evening, and those performances could be anywhere street corners, driveways, concert halls, Libraries, Bandstands, telephone boxes. Anywhere and everywhere, performed and watched by anyone and everyone.
In that spirit, this year we are back and able to welcome musicians into the building to perform and we will welcome audiences to the Library to watch live music.
Please get in touch with us and give us a description of what you do or what you would like to do on the 21st of June, if you are able to link us to any online examples of your previous work, would be useful, but certainly not essential.
* Calling All Musicians * Calling All Musicians * Calling All Musicians!
A stunning event to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and hosted by TV presenter and comedian, Stephen Mulhern, will be held in June on a former opencast coal mine in Fife.
Launched today (11th April) and taking place on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th June at St Ninians, near the village of Kelty, the Platinum Jubilee Youth Spectacular will be held in a newly constructed arena located on the former mine site.
Being undertaken by Community Interest Company, National Pride UK, which is looking to deliver an Eco-Therapy Wellness and Leisure Park on the site, it has been organised by the former Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo impresario, Mel Jameson.
The extravaganza will showcase the extraordinary talents of our young people, with performers including:
· The Imps Motorcycle Display Team, the world’s foremost youth motorcycle display team
· The world-famous Red Hot Chili Pipers
· Massed pipes and drums from Scottish schools
· Massed military bands
· The musical skills of the massed army cadet force brass bands
· Highland dancing displays and other dancers
The event will also feature scouts, guides, boys brigade and police cadets.
Irene Bissett, Chair of National Pride UK, said: “We are delighted to be hosting this spectacular event to celebrate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee.
“It brings together an incredible range of some of Scotland’s top performers in the stunning setting of St Ninians, showcasing the amazing skills of our young people.
“Those attending this extravaganza are in for a real treat.”
Prices range from £6 for children (up to the age of 16) and OAPs (over 65) and £12 for adults.
The former Debenhams store at Ocean Terminal has temporarily re-opened its doors to welcome community groups across Leith and the capital, as a new social enterprise delivered under the umbrella of the Living Memory Association.
The Wee Hub brings life to the empty unit while its future is decided.
For the next few months, The Wee Hub will occupy the ground and first floor of the old department store. As well as bringing in a variety of arts, drama and sports organisations to make use of the space, the Living Memory Association has constructed areas dedicated to dance and theatre, children’s play, crafts, a library and a ‘wee sit and knit’ (amongst many others) to bring people of all ages together.
It will also be the base for several community projects including the Wee Crowd of Folk, where anyone can dress or decorate one of the many available mannequins, the Wee Reekie, which invites people to paint where they live and the Wee Heritage Centre.
Whilst the wider shopping centre at Ocean Terminal is going through planning consents to revitalise the centre and introduce a mixed use offering in the longer term, this empty space of over 90,000 sq ft has been made available by the centre owners for community groups to use and enjoy free of charge.
Some of the community groups to take advantage of the new Hub space include:
Sikh Sanjog – local charity will host a mural project offering insight into the Sikh Community and a powerful response to the global pandemic along-with a celebration event
Salle Holyrood Fencing Club – intend to introduce schools and other groups to the sport and have three Team GB members in the team that will deliver group and individual lessons
Citadel Youth Centre – offers a wide range of social, recreational, and educational activities for children and young people in Leith and plans to use space as a separate breakout area to its main location on Commercial Street
Thistle Model Makers – a group of railway modellers based in Edinburgh will use part of the ground floor to display some of their exhibition layouts set in Britain, Europe and the US
Street Soccer – already located within OT its facilities will extend to use the hub to continue its mission to inspire and empower young people through football starting with an Easter event bringing their Hexagol to the centre, a fully-inclusive mobile sports arena, allowing players of all ages to practice and play in a safe environment
Think Circus – their talented team of performers and creators will hold a variety of engaging and entertaining workshops and performances to bring people together
Tinderbox – will use the space to continue to support young people to gain new skills, confidence and a sense of possibility through music and arts.
Edinburgh Festival Carnival – will display the vibrant carnival costumes for 2022 as well as use the hub as a making space for artists and community participants
Giraffes About Town – The Wee Hub provides studio space for artists painting their giraffe sculptures for Edinburgh Zoo’s sculpture trail due to hit the streets of Edinburgh this summer.
Miles Tubb, project co-ordinator of The Living Memory Associationsaid: “Our new community hub provides a much-needed lifeline to groups on the back of Covid that require additional and flexible space to support their needs.
“Whilst this is a temporary facility for us to use and enjoy, it is fantastic that Ocean Terminal has had the drive and determination to repurpose the unit for the community, rather than leaving it to stand empty.”
Michelle Macleod, Centre Manager at Ocean Terminal, added: “As a team we are excited to welcome this incredibly varied mix of sports and arts community groups to the centre.
“As our community opens up again post COVID, these organisations will bring new energy to the centre and create more reasons beyond our current retail and leisure offering for new and existing audiences to come to OT.”
A dedicated website for The Wee Hub will be launched shortly detailing the activity schedule for the groups, as well as upcoming special performances.
The Hub is keen to hear from organisations across the city who may want to use the space for one-off events and would welcome contact to comhist@googlemail.com
There are just two weeks left to have your say on the governance, scope and operation of the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board.
The Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) for Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership is made up of representatives from City of Edinburgh Council and NHS Lothian, Third Sector representatives, service users and carers.
The Edinburgh Integration Joint Board, through its Chief Officer has responsibility for the planning, resourcing and the operational oversight of a wide range of health and social care services.
The City of Edinburgh Council and NHS Lothian are consulting on a general update to the Scheme of Integration – the document which outlines the governance, scope and operation of the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board.
The consultation is being conducted to help further inform and finalise this revision of the scheme.
You are invited to participate in the consultation, by providing your views on the revised Scheme of Integration:
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s remarks during Saturday’s meeting with Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy in Kyiv:
Thank you very much Volodymyr. Thank you for having me today at this incredibly difficult time for you and your country.
I want to begin by once again saluting the bravery of the people of Ukraine in defying the appalling aggression that we have seen. In the last few weeks the world has found new heroes, and those heroes are the people of Ukraine.
When I was here just a few weeks ago and we were in another room I think in your palace, the defence intelligence we had suggested Russia thought Ukraine could be engulfed in a matter of days and that Kyiv would fall in hours to their armies.
And how wrong they were. I think that the Ukrainians have shown the courage of a lion, and you Volodymyr have given the roar of that lion.
I thank you for what you have been able to do, your leadership has been extraordinary.
I think what Putin has done in places like Bucha and Irpin, his war crimes have permanently polluted his reputation and the reputation of his government.
It’s clear – and we discussed this at length – it’s clear that he has suffered a defeat but his retreat is tactical and he is going to intensify the pressure now in Donbas and in the east.
That’s why it’s so vital as you rightly say Volodymyr that we, your friends, continue to offer whatever support we can. Together with our partners, we are going to ratchet up the economic pressure and we continue to intensify week by week the sanctions on Russia. Not just freezing assets in banks and sanctioning oligarchs, but moving away from use of Russian hydrocarbons.
We will give you the support that you need, the economic support but also of course the defensive military support in which I’m proud to say the UK helped to lead the way. Just the other day we raised I think £1.5bn at a donor conference from friends, partners around the world, dozens and dozens of countries that now want to support Ukraine.
We want to liberalise trade with Ukraine as we go forward to help your economic circumstances, barley and other commodities – there are things we should be doing. We want to help with demining your country, getting rid of the savage traps that the Russian army has left behind.
To come to your central point Volodymyr, I think we are evolving a vision now for the future. Heraclitus said war is the father of all things – that was an exaggeration, war isn’t the father of everything – but what this war is certainly producing is a clarity about the vision of a future for Ukraine.
Where together with friends and partners, we – the UK and others – supply the equipment, the technology, the know-how, the intelligence, so that Ukraine will never be invaded again. So Ukraine is so fortified and protected that Ukraine can never be bullied again. Never be blackmailed again. Never be threatened in the same way again.
In the meantime, there is a huge amount to do to make sure that Ukraine is successful, that Ukraine wins, and that Putin must fail.
Over the last few hours I’ve been able to see quite a lot of your beautiful country, and it’s an amazing country. I’ve also seen the tragic effects of the war. An inexcusable war, an absolutely inexcusable and unnecessary war.
But having been here in Kyiv for just a few hours, I have no doubt Volodymyr, listening to too listening to your team, your redoubtable team, I have no doubt at all that an independent sovereign Ukraine will rise again thanks above all to the heroism, the courage of the people of Ukraine.
Thank you very much and slava Ukraini [glory to Ukraine].
Collective is delighted to host artist Cauleen Smith in Edinburgh to produce a new public performance, in association with her 2014 film H-E-L-L-O currently screening in our City Dome.
At the centre of H-E-L-L-O is John Williams’ famous five-note musical motif from Stephen Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Working with Collective’s unique landscape, architecture and backdrop, the artist’s specially devised performance will take place across Calton Hill and will feature five locally based musicians playing Williams’ score as a ‘call and response’ on their bass clef instruments.
The installation of Cauleen Smith’s film in our City Dome, which is screening until 15 May, brings the themes of H-E-L-L-O into conversation with her long-term interest in astronomy and coastal cities. The piece bears witness to the devastating impact and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and hones in on the damage that has been done to the long established African American community through the city’s eagerness to embrace regeneration.
Collective is situated in an exposed location on top of Calton Hill and this will be an outdoor performance, so please check the forecast and dress accordingly.
This is a free, drop-in event, no pre-booking needed.
Comedian Paul Black has been out and about in Edinburgh as the “money mule man” to raise awareness of the fraudulent activity.
Money muleing is on the up since the pandemic and sees criminals recruit individuals – predominantly young people – to channel illicit funds via their bank accounts to create a fake paper trail.
Members of the public who stuck to their guns and said no were rewarded with £100, while those who fell for temptation and took the quick cash fix went home empty handed.
The consequences of acting as a money mule are severe, with those involved facing a prison sentence of up to 14 years and banned from having a bank account.
