Gail Porter has formally launched LOVE Gorgie Farm’s Big Christmas Mission appeal, looking to bring some festive cheer to children and young people in need.
The Edinburgh-born celebrity has joined LOVE Learning, the education and social care charity that owns the farm, to reach out to the community and urged it to play its part by donating wrapped toys, clothing, food, and anything else they can spare.
An invite has also been extended to any local businesses or organisations that would like to get involved. These can be emailed on christmas@l-o-v-e.org.uk
If donating, please label to advise on age, sex, and product description to ensure it goes to the right recipient.
These can be donated at LOVE Gorgie Farm and there is also a GoFundMe page to make it as easy as possible for people to donate: https://bit.ly/33dXVrw
In addition to this, money raised from a series of activities in December will go onto support LOVE Gorgie Farm and the valuable work it is doing to support vulnerable children and their families.
Starting tomorrow (Wednesday 2nd December) it will be creating a Santa’s Grotto within it’s stables. The Grotto will cost £10 per child and includes a gift to take home.
On Wednesdays each week, low-income families who are already users of LOVE Learning’s services be able to enjoy the Grotto for free.
Alongside this, they will also be hosting a 1-2-1 small animal handling experience for £15 per child. This will grant recipients access to the animals for half an hour and comes with a souvenir photo.
There will be a virtual light switch on today to celebrate the beginning of the Big Christmas Mission appeal.
Gail said: “This is a fantastic appeal and I would urge everyone who feels able to dig deep and do what they can to support children and families in need. I was delighted to visit the farm earlier this year just before it reopened and have very fond memories of it as a child.
“This is a fantastic charity doing valuable work in the local community and I am delighted to see it continue this through the Big Christmas Mission appeal.”
Lynn Bell, CEO of LOVE Learning, said: “We are seeking to brighten up Christmas this year for children and families in need and are asking for generous donations to help bring some much-needed joy.
“It has been a tough year for everyone and no more so than for our children and young people, so please give what you can, whatever that may be.
“Help us to bring the LOVE back to Christmas this year and for many years to come.”
A cat missing for nine months and presumed dead is reunited with a grieving young girl – and her reaction is priceless.
After nine months of searching for her beloved cat, 10-year-old Katya Harmon had reluctantly accepted that she wouldn’t see Timmy again. The pair had been inseparable since they bonded eight years previously and the loss made 2020 an even more difficult year for Katya.
Katya’s father Perry had died of cancer in the summer and the family was so overcome with grief that her mother Svitlana took extended leave from her role as a care home worker to come to terms with the loss and care for Katya.
In January the Surrey family moved from Chertsey to West End, Woking. Timmy was kept indoors for the first few weeks but, on only the second time being let out in his new neighbourhood, he failed to return home. They searched garages and sheds, knocked on doors and posted on social media, but no sightings were reported.
Katya was inconsolable for weeks, living in hope of his safe return. After being missing for nine months, mum Svitlana felt the time had come to accept that Timmy was gone for ever and she would need to help her daughter heal. The process started with Svitlana getting rid of Timmy’s toys and bedding, unaware that their luck was about to change.
Within days, Svitlana received a ground-shaking call while doing the school run. Incredibly, Timmy had been found safe and well and would be coming home, thanks to him being microchipped (https://youtu.be/moZDgX-dfEc).
Pauline Welch, Welfare Officer for Cats Protection’s Woking and District Branch said: “We had a report from a lady who had been feeding a suspected stray cat for a couple of months. I went round and scanned him for a microchip, which he had thankfully. While there I looked up the number on our system and saw that it had been registered to an address in Chertsey.”
Although Svitlana hadn’t updated their address on Timmy’s microchip, her mobile number remained the same and Woking’s Cats Protection team (www.cats.org.uk/woking) was able to call and break the happy news.
Pauline said: “The lady who answered was indeed missing her cat Timmy and was over the moon that he’d been found. Her daughter had been devastated when he went missing and had asked her mum that very morning if she’d ever see him again. It’s a heart wrenching story with a happy ending.
“It certainly brought a few tears to our eyes, that’s for sure!”
Relieved mum Svitlana was bowled over when she took the call. She said: “I had just taken Katya to school when I received a totally unexpected call from Cats Protection. I had given up hope of ever receiving such a call. Timmy was coming home. It was almost unbelievable.
“I knew that Katya would be overjoyed to see Timmy. That was when I hit on the idea of filming that special moment, to capture Katya’s reaction to finding Timmy hiding on her bed.”
No sooner had Pauline made the call than Timmy was delivered back to his home.
All the while Katya was at school and couldn’t imagine the surprise waiting for her on her return.
Thankfully, Svitlana captured that moment when Katya is reunited with her beloved cat on video: https://youtu.be/moZDgX-dfEc
The joyful return of Timmy went some way to improving a devastating year for Katya and her mum.
Svitlana said: “We’ve had it hard this year, like so many people. It has been hard to see any end to it. And then I had a miracle call from Cats Protection. It really brought some light back into our world.
“If it wasn’t for that microchip, we wouldn’t have Timmy home with us now. He won’t leave Katya’s side and she is besotted with him. He came back to us two days before my birthday; that really was the best present I could have hoped for this year.”
Cats Protection’s work is possible thanks to the generous donations of supporters and volunteers, especially during the COVID-19 crisis when fundraising has been hit hard.
Timmy’s story mirrors Cats Protection’s Christmas campaign featuring a tear-jerking animation created by multi award-winning Aardman Studios. The beautiful three-minute animation is inspired by the true story of a young boy and his missing cat, Casper, and highlights the value of microchips for pets.
According to Cats Protection’s CATS report 2020*, over a quarter (26%) of owned cats in the UK are not chipped. The charity is actively campaigning to change this by making it a legal requirement for cats to be microchipped, as it is for dogs.
‘This is about protecting both people and wild places’
Wild swimmers and environmental campaigners are leading an appeal, which includes a campaign film, song and petition, for Wardie Beach to be included in Scotland’s list of designated bathing waters.
In 2019, the Wardie Bay Wild Ones and Wardie Bay Beachwatch came together to make an application to SEPA for designated Bathing Water status for north Edinburgh’s much-loved and increasingly popular bathing site, Wardie Beach, situated between Granton and Newhaven Harbours.
Evidence of over 150 beach users across the bathing season, from 1st June to 15th September, was provided. The decision not to designate was made, not by the review panel, but by the Scottish Government. Feedback cited issues relating to a lack of appropriate infrastructure and facilities.
On 28th August 2020, SEPA offered the group the opportunity to appeal the decision, and the #WardieBay4BathingWater campaign was born.
A petition launched on 25th September received over 1000 signatures in four days. The appeal document was submitted on Friday 30th October. The review panel meets to confirm 2021 Bathing Waters in December, and a decision will be made by the government early next year.
Karen Bates, volunteer organiser of Wardie Bay Beachwatch said: “The community works so hard to look after Wardie Beach, which receives marine litter and sewage related debris on every tide.
“We don’t believe we should be penalised for a lack of existing infrastructure and protection from these harms. We believe people need water quality monitoring and deserve the same safety protections in Granton that other similar local beaches are afforded.
“Large numbers of people come to Wardie Bay anyway, because of the semi-wild nature of this place not despite it. We saw a huge rise in the number of bathers in 2020 due to the pandemic. We don’t want the unintended consequence that Wardie Bay loses its special character and precious wildlife because of a perceived need to develop it.”
The group’s campaign film, shot by Carlos Hernan in recent weeks, includes interviews with swimmers, swim safety coach Colin Campbell, health and ecotoxicology experts Kate Swaine and Professor Alex Ford, and illustrator Alice Melvin who recently published her ‘Book of Swims’. Alice Caldwell also created a beautiful song for the campaign.
Kate Swaine, local wild swimmer and nutritionist, said: “One of my big concerns, when I’m swimming all the time is, what exactly is in the water? We know that when there’s been lots of rainfall, there will be an increase in the number of parasites, viruses, bacteria that can get into the water through sewage, and some of these have the potential to cause sometimes severe symptoms …
“I would like for Wardie Bay to be monitored as other beaches are in Scotland, so that the swimmers who choose to swim here, the paddleboarders and other people that use the water, have an idea of whether the water quality is rated poor, average, good.
“That would be really useful for people so that we can just enjoy being in the water and getting all the benefits from it: the mental health benefits, the physical benefits and just knowing that we’re not possibly putting ourselves at any risk.”
A spokesperson for the Wardie Bay Wild Ones said: “It is a frequent occurrence that swimmers will ask one another in the group for advice or thoughts on water quality, either generally, or on a given day. At present the only thing anyone can do is guess.
“Even people who’ve been in the water that day have no way of actually knowing what the water quality is like, and how safe it is to swim. Having some kind of testing, or even informed estimates of water quality available publicly would make a huge difference to swimmers.”
Karen added: “There is remarkable biodiversity and natural history at Wardie Bay, especially for such a city location.
“Environmental monitoring isn’t just for the many children and adults that use the water for swimming or playing, vital though that is. It is also an indicator of the environmental harm that untreated sewage does to our coastal ecology.”
Dr Alex Ford, Professor of marine biology, ecotoxicology and parasitology at the University of Portsmouth, who took his PhD at Napier University, said, “The general public have been very good at adjusting their behaviours to how damaging plastic pollution can be.
“But one of the problems we have with the chemicals coming out through our storm water overflows is that they can’t be seen and they don’t need to be there in very high concentrations to damage wildlife and the many species we use for food.
“Within that effluent, you’ve got fertilisers, industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals as well as the organic matter from faeces. With that pollution comes disease but also abnormalities in those coastal organisms’ development. There are also suggestions that us humans are suffering as well.
“During Covid-19, there’s been an extraordinary number of people to have taken up water sports which is absolutely fantastic for health and wellbeing, but that combined with this increase in sewage going into the water; it may have detrimental effects on our health as well.”
A designated bathing water profile would be a holistic investment for both our environment and society. It would result in Wardie Beach visitors receiving water quality monitoring across the bathing season, daily water quality predictions, information on the potential pollution sources and risks to water quality as well as feedback on the measures being taken to improve water quality at the site.
Karen added: “If the issue is under-resourcing of our Environmental Protection Agencies, we must emphasise that we need them now more than ever. Rainfall is going to intensify with climate change and consequently, damage to our oceans due to infrastructure that is increasingly unfit for purpose.
“Unless we monitor, record and report on environmental issues we can’t do anything to protect ourselves and perhaps more importantly, marine habitats.”
“What we are looking for is environmental protection, not just for swimmers, but for everything else that lives in these waters and might be affected by pollutants”, says swimmer Vicky Allan, member of the Wild Ones, and co-author of Taking the Plunge.
“Many of us swimmers love this bay not just for its access to water, but for its wildlife. This is about protecting both people and wild places.”
PICTURES: Karen Bates, Dr Mark Hartl, Carlos Hernan
The lockdown and Covid 19 have been particularly difficult on many BAME, low income and isolated families here in Edinburgh.
In June 2020 ELREC started a food project to help bridge the gap between BAME people and food poverty and access to free food services such as food banks. This came about after ELREC was contacted by many community members asking for food support due to job losses, furlough, redundancies, and benefits income not being sufficient to live on for many families.
The work is all volunteer led and these include ELREC staff, board members and our other volunteers who give up their time to help us deliver this project. ELREC provides on average 25-30 food parcels per week.
The volunteers not only put the parcels together but also deliver them to anyone who is not able to collect for health or Covid reasons. We are working in partnership with Edinburgh Community Food and Fareshare to deliver this service for the community.
We are seeking donations to top up the food parcels with specific items such as meat.
PLEASE DONATE what you can and help us keep doing this important work for our community: https://gf.me/u/yw6r7s
Police Scotland have issued an image of a man they believe may be able to assist them with their investigation into a robbery in Edinburgh.
The incident, which saw a man threatened with a weapon and a three figure sum of cash stolen, occurred around 2.25pm on Friday, 10 July, 2020 at Gorgie Farm off Gorgie Road.
Officers believe that the man shown in the image may have information that will assist with their investigation and would appeal to any members of the public who recognise him to come forward.
The man is described as white, in his 40’s, around 6ft 1 in in height, of average build with short ginger hair.
Detective Constable Jenifer Bell said: “Nobody was injured but this was a frightening experience for the man involved and I would urge anyone who may be able to identify the man in the image to come forward. If you can assist with this or have any other information which may help, please do get in touch.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 quoting incident 1891 of 10th July 2020 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
As Scottish Government extends lockdown, Childline reveals how the past three weeks have affected children
NSPCC launches ‘We’re still here for children’ – an emergency appeal to raise vital funds to support children and families across the UK
Childline has revealed it has seen almost 400 children in Scotland getting in touch due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), with about three quarters of the contacts in the latter three weeks.
The 390 counselling sessions have been held between the end of January, when the first cases of coronavirus were identified in the UK, and April 8. A large proportion of the sessions have taken place since the Scottish Government announced social distancing rules, schools’ shutdown and the lockdown in close succession.
Since the end of January, there have been 2,200 counselling sessions with children across the UK about the issue, with 1,700 contacts since measures were announced.
In more than half of the contacts, Children talked about concerns over their mental or emotional health.
Despite Childline having to close the night service for the first time and having a 30% drop in volunteer hours, due to counsellors having to self-isolate, it’s battling to still be there for children across the UK.
Kat McMahon, a volunteer counsellor at Glasgow’s Childline base, said: “At the moment, young people are contacting us with the same kinds of concerns as they usually do, such as family arguments, sexual abuse and suicidal thoughts but everything seems amplified.
“On top of their existing anxieties about what it is happening in their lives, they are now struggling with the anxiety around the lockdown and Covid. Some have fears about their families catching the virus and many are struggling being away from school and their friends.
“For children living in homes where physical, emotional or sexual abuse is happening – there is now no escape for them. We hear from some young people who say they feel trapped because they cannot leave the house.”
Dave Black, a volunteer counsellor at Aberdeen’s Childline base, said: “At the moment, young people are not getting their usual support in the community, with the closure of many public services, and we are hearing how this is impacting on them and causing distress.
“This situation is challenging for anyone but if you are already struggling it can be extremely difficult. Children are saying they are missing school – for some, school is their safe place and where they get support and fed.
“Some of these young people don’t have anyone to talk to and Childline is absolutely critical for them to be able to share and get some support.”
The NSPCC, which runs Childline, is growing increasingly concerned about the number of children who will experience abuse or neglect due to the impact of Coronavirus.
During the past week Childline has delivered 363 counselling sessions across the UK where children have experienced physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect – up nearly a fifth from the week before. Counselling sessions about physical and emotional abuse increased by 36% and 31% respectively during this time.
One 15-year-old girl told Childline: “I am not happy at home. My parents are physically abusing me – it’s happening quite often now since schools closed and I’m really scared.
“They hit me and often it leaves me with bruises. I really want to get out of the house and be somewhere safe and happy. I’m scared that my parents will get angry and hurt me more if I tell someone.”
In the past few weeks Childline has heard from children whose parents have lost their jobs and are under growing financial pressure, as well as from young carers struggling to look after their siblings whilst their parents fall sick with Coronavirus symptoms. Childline is also hearing from children who have had suicidal thoughts and talk about feeling trapped and isolated.
To continue to support children during this challenging period, and to adapt to the ever-changing situation, the NSPCC has launched its emergency appeal ‘We’re still here for children’.
The NSPCC is urging the public to visit its website and donate £10 to help fund vital services like Childline, so the charity can continue to answer calls and be here for the young people who desperately need someone to talk to, especially when home isn’t a safe place.
To support the appeal, the NSPCC has launched a new TV ad which features a Childline counsellor talking after a shift about the vital importance of the service.
Peter Wanless, CEO of NSPCC, said: “At this uncertain time when children’s lives have changed so dramatically the NSPCC needs to be there as a reassuring voice for those worried about their children and for the most vulnerable in our society.
“Sadly, we know that for many children, home isn’t a safe place and they need our Childline counsellors more than ever. This is the greatest challenge we’ve faced in decades and we are calling on the support of the public to help us ensure we can still be here for children.”
Dame Esther Rantzen, Founder of Childline, said: “The world is an unfamiliar and very frightening place for thousands of children across the UK at the moment.
“We know that school no longer provides the sanctuary it once did and many young people are having to face unprecedented challenges at home without the vital support networks that normally surround them. Childline is more crucial than ever as a safe way children can reach out for help. We really are, as one volunteer counsellor told me, the fourth emergency service.
“Now more than ever we must continue to be there for the young people who desperately need us, no matter what. We don’t know what other challenges lie ahead, but we want to be prepared to weather any storm so that we can be there for children. That is why we are urging the public to get behind our very important emergency appeal and donate £10 so that we can provide essential support.”
Scotland’s largest children’s charity, Aberlour Child Care Trust, is appealing to the nation to come together to help the thousands of children and their families who it expects will experience significant levels of poverty as a result of the Coronavirus.
Whilst the full-scale impact of Covid-19 is yet to be fully quantified, Aberlour Child Care Trust warns many families are already at breaking point and as the situation unfolds, will struggle to put food on their tables, heat and light their homes, or even meet basic and essential needs.
Aberlour has today called on supporters and members of the public to donate some of the money they will save as a result of working at home, such as the cost of a takeaway coffee or the price of a bus fare, to its Urgent Assistance Fund.
The Aberlour Urgent Assistance Fund makes cash payments to those most in need, helping them pay for a range emergency needs. The charity is expecting significant demand for money to pay for everything from food and toiletries, to household essentials, power cards and emergency clothing.
SallyAnn Kelly, Aberlour Chief Executive said:“Demand for our Urgent Assistance Fund before the Coronavirus struck was already at an unprecedented level. More than £57,000 had been given out so far this financial year and we expect this to climb sharply in the coming months.
“Covid-19 is now causing severe disruption to normal everyday life: jobs are already being cut and other businesses will take some time to recover. The result is that the people worst affected will be those on low incomes.
“Many people unable to work because they have contracted the virus will receive statutory sick pay however this is usually less than their normal wages and seldom sufficient to pay for all expenses a typical family may face.
“We know that so many people are desperate to help those less fortunate, but just don’t know how or what to do. That’s why we’re asking the public to donate some of the money they will save as a result of working from home, such as the cost of a takeaway coffee or their bus fare to work.
“If we all come together as a nation and help in a small, affordable way, it will make a huge difference to the most vulnerable in society as we help them through these unprecedented times.
“Please take this opportunity by donating to the Aberlour Urgent Assistance Fund so that children, young people and families don’t suffer as a result of Coronavirus.”
How Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund helped Sarah and her baby
Shortly after Sarah’s baby was born, both became unwell and were rushed to intensive care for a week. After recovering, they were due to be discharged when it became apparent that Sarah had very little income and no support from family. That meant after paying her household bills and baby essentials, there wasn’t enough money left to buy warm clothing.
Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund came to the rescue for Sarah and her baby. It provided Sarah with a sum of money to enable her to have food for her cupboards and freezer, warm clothes for her and her baby to minimise any repeat visits to hospital, and money for her gas and electricity meters.
You will have seen that, due to the ongoing uncertainty around the full impact of Coronavirus, supermarkets have been much busier than usual and customers are choosing to stock up.
I wanted to personally reassure you that we have more food and other essential items coming to us from manufacturers and into our warehouses and distribution centres. If we all shop just for the food that we and our families need, there will be enough for everyone.
I also wanted to let you know that at Sainsbury’s, we are working really hard to ensure this remains the case. Over the past two weeks we have:
Ordered more stock of essential items from our suppliers
Put more capacity into our warehouses and
Set limits on a small number of items, including some cleaning products, soap and pain relief.
This is a precautionary measure – if everyone shops normally, there will be enough for everyone.
There are gaps on shelves because of increased demand, but we have new stock arriving regularly and we’re doing our best to keep shelves stocked. Our store colleagues are working tirelessly and doing the best job they can.
Which brings me onto a request. Please think before you buy and only buy what you and your family need.
If we all do this then we can make sure we have enough for everyone. And please help elderly and vulnerable friends, family and neighbours with their shopping if you can.
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support and to thank our colleagues who are all working incredibly hard to ensure we can continue to serve our customers well.
Police have released CCTV images of a man they would like to speak to as they believe he may be able to assist with their enquiries in respect of a robbery and a theft which took place in the Leith Links area this summer.Continue reading Leith Links robberies CCTV appeal
