Jam tomorrow? Support Marie Curie’s marmalade mission

Entries are now open for the 10th World’s Original Marmalade Awards & Festival – and this year any amateur entrant entering from Scotland can put their entry fee towards Marie Curie in Scotland.

For centuries Scotland has been the home of marmalade: it’s said that Mary Queen of Scots brought some over with her from France in the sixteenth century. It’s also claimed that the first real marmalade was made here in Scotland, by Janet Keiller in Dundee. Now the nation’s modern day cooks are being challenged to prove their own homemade preserves are as good as their ancestors and enter a jar into the Marmalade Awards.

There are new categories as well as old favourites to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the awards and 15 categories in total including a special Scottish category. It’s called the ‘Gathering of the Clans’, with Scottish clan chiefs and clansmen and women being urged to put their preserve-making skills to the test. If the recipe goes back generations, the festival organisers want to hear the story.

Entries are now open for the 10th World’s Original Marmalade Awards & Festival, sponsored by Scottish marmalade maker Mackays, which hails the preserve in all its sticky glory!

The closing date for entries is 15 February 2015.

Everyone who enters a jar gets their preserve tasted and judged by experts, and then gets sent a personalised mark card with feedback on how the marmalade can be improved – or if they are lucky, a gold, silver or bronze award. Last year over 2,200 jars were entered. The double gold star winner gets their marmalade made by a commercial kitchen and then stocked at Fortnum & Mason – and 50p from every jar sold goes to charity.

There are categories for artisan, B&B/hotel & restaurant owners as well as homemade marmalade makers to enter and this year any amateur entrant entering from Scotland can put their entry fee towards Marie Curie in Scotland.

Good quality Seville oranges are now easier to source as supermarkets react to customer demand and preserves makers – homemade, artisan and commercial – continue to push the culinary boundaries by exploring unusual marmalade trends and tastes.

Jane Hasell-McCosh, founder of the Awards, said: “We’re seeing fruity, spicy, alcoholic and downright original ingredients, such as seaweed and beer, being combined with citrus to make modern marmalades. Of course people still adore spreading the traditional thick-cut Seville on their toast but our awards celebrate marmalade in all its sticky and diverse, delicious glory!

“Ten years ago I started this event as I was worried that our wonderful tradition of marmalade making and eating was becoming less popular. I’m delighted over the last decade there’s been a renaissance in marmalade making and am looking forward to tasting entries to our 2015 awards.”

2015 is set to be a golden year for marmalade with a growing interest in not only making preserves at home but also a steep rise in exports of British marmalade abroad.

Marmalade maker Mackays, based in the Dundee area of Scotland, has seen a significant increase in exports to countries such as Japan, Germany, Denmark, USA and the Czech Republic.

Martin Grant, Managing Director of Mackays, said: “We are finding an ever increasing demand for marmalade around the world and now export to over 60 countries. We are the last remaining producer of Dundee Orange Marmalade in the area and I think our heritage, coupled with the fact we still make our preserves using traditional copper pans, is the key.”

Paddington Bear, the most famous marmalade lover of them all, presides over the Festival itself making guest appearances and readings from his adventures. Visitors to the Marmalade Festival (28 Feb & 1 March 2015), held at Dalemain Mansion, near Penrith in the Lake District, get the chance to view the entries, taste over 200 different marmalades, attend workshops, lectures, lots of activities for children and the whole event will be well rooted in the Spanish Seville.

The event kicks off National Marmalade Week (28 February – 7 March 2015), overseen by the awards’ organisers, which encourages people to try, buy or make marmalade.

Collection points are available in Scotland for people to drop their entries off, including Mackays (who are offering a marmalade exchange), Hopetoun, Herbie of Edinburgh and more: please see website for full details.

Closing date for entries is 15 February 2014. Further entry details including an entry form, category criteria, submission details, entry fees and entry drop-off points can be found at www.marmaladeawards.com.

Students’ photshoots help families smile

Two Edinburgh College photography students have teamed up with Leith-based charity CCLASP (Children with Cancer and Leukaemia, Advice and Support for Parents) to give children affected by cancer a reason to smile by offering free family photoshoots to provide lasting memories.

The chance to carry out the shoots started after student Derek got chatting to his neighbour and founder of CCLASP, Valerie Simpson. As a way of helping the charity as well as furthering his photography skills, Derek offered to take pictures for the families that the charity supported. He then started carrying out photo sessions with his friend and fellow photography student, David Anderson.

One woman who is forever grateful to Derek and David is Claire Tasker from Kirkcaldy in Fife. After her little girl Jessica was diagnosed with Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), Claire says that CCLASP was a ‘godsend’.

While Jessica, now 6, has been in remission for the last two years Claire’s mum Kay was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer last February. With the family knowing that her mum didn’t have long after her diagnosis, Claire called on Derek and David to bring the family together for a shoot they would always remember.

Claire says that David and Derek were extremely good at making everyone feel relaxed and the pictures now decorate her house and have been given out as gifts to provide lasting memories of her mum, who sadly passed away in April at the age of 53.

Claire said: “It’s the last photos that we got of us all as a family. I was pregnant at the time so to be able to share that as a family just meant the world. It’s amazing to be able to look back and have those photos with my mum and with my daughter.”

While studies for their BA in Photography continue, David and Derek remain committed to working with CCLASP, photographing events and days out put on by the charity for children who are undergoing treatment or whose condition may be terminal. For the photographers, the family photo-shoots were a moving experience.

“It was a great opportunity to meet all the families, who are fantastically strong considering what they’re going through,” said David, 40, from East Lothian.
Derek, 35, from Leith, said: “We’ve met families from different areas, different walks of life. Their experience is very inspiring.”

CCLASP was set up by Valerie and Bill Simpson after their son Robert was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of six. They started up the Edinburgh based children’s charity in 1994 to help support children and groups of families, to express and share the feelings, anxieties and the horror of having a child with a life threatening illness.

New Year resolutions – and how to keep them

It’s a tradition on New Year’s Eve that you make a resolution for the year ahead. Some people pledge to lose weight, others decide to stop smoking and lots more say they are going to get fit and more active – but all too often you break that resolution just a few weeks into the New Year.

If you’ve made a New Year’s resolution – and you’re really, really determined to stick to it this time! – here’s some help and advice to assist you on your journey.

Maybe this time …

1. LOSE WEIGHT and/or GET FIT

One of the most common New Year resolutions is to eat better, exercise more and lose weight. After all of the rich and indulgent feasts you’ve had this holiday season, it might seem easy to stick to a diet of leafy greens at first. But when those cravings set in, it can be hard to stay on track with your diet. Plus, cold weather makes it harder for some people to get motivated and hit the gym.

If you’re looking to eat more healthily, ignore faddy diets – portion control will play a big part in your success. One good way to be more aware of what you’re eating is to use a kitchen scale to measure ingredients or weigh out portion sizes. A solid kitchen scale shouldn’t cost the earth and it’s an investment worth making.

Check out the library for books on good food and healthy eating, and Pilton Community Health Project’s website is a mine of useful information too www.pchp.org.uk

Many people sign up for a gym membership at this time of year but for a considerable number that’s as far as it goes – it can be hard to get motivated to leave the house on cold January days and evenings; it’s so much easier to put it off to another day! Gym memberships can also be very expensive – again, Pilton Community Health should be your first port of call for local exercise and healthy activities.

With Ainslie Park Leisure Centre on your doorstep (551 2400) it’s worth checking out Edinburgh Leisure to see what’s on offer both locally and across the city: telephone 458 2100 or visit www.edinburghleisure.co.uk

If you need a little reminder to be active, a fitness tracker like the Fitbit Flex can be a big help, but starting at around £50 they are quite an expensive reminder! I find trying to tie my shoelaces is enough of a reminder for me …

2. QUIT SMOKING

You know smoking is a bad habit that hits both your health and your wallet, but stopping is tough – it can take some people years and many, many failed attempts before they kick the habit. If you want 2015 to be the year you finally quit smoking, there are all kinds of products that can help wean you off the fags: there’s gum, patches and nasal spray inhalers – all of which help give you a boost of nicotine without having to inhale all that nasty smoke.

Many are turning to e-smoking as an aid to kicking the tobacco habit. If you’re looking to try out e-cigs as a way to cut back on actual cigarettes, you can now get a starter kit, charger, and carrying case set at increasingly competitive prices.

People who are trying to quit smoking the traditional way also appreciate having additional support options, and Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking book is still the most popular on the market.

NHS Lothian offers a range of stopping cessation sessions and Smokeline Scotland is also a great place to go for support, advice and tips.

http://www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk/HealthInformation/HealthAwareness/Smoking/Pages/default.aspx

Smokeline 0800 848484 www.canstopsmoking.com

3. SAVE MONEY AND REDUCE DEBT

Whether you want to get out of debt or just start saving for a big ticket item, there are lots of people who will be trying to spend their money more wisely in 2015. Setting up a personal budget can help you monitor your spending.

One tactic you can try to help you stay on budget is doing all your shopping in cash when you can, rather than using a debit card, cheque or credit card to pay for items – it’s estimated that people who pay for things with a card can spend almost 20% more on a transaction than those who are paying with cash.

If you’ve racked up a lot of debt on a credit card and you’re paying a hefty rate of interest, you should look around to see what deals are on offer and transfer that debt over to a 0% balance transfer credit card. By doing so, you’ll be able to avoid paying interest on that debt for a set period – some up to 35 months – and this will give you plenty of time to start tackling your debt without worrying about the interest accumulating.

The Money Advice Service has a good website for money saving advice, but if you are already in debt – get help, don’t let your problems escalate. Pilton CAB and Granton Information Centre are two local agencies that can help.

Don’t be tempted by payday loans or worse – the interest is astronomical. Check out Credit Unions which are a much cheaper and ethical way of helping you to manage your money.

Remember, if you spent too much over Christmas those bills will be arriving soon, so ACT NOW.

www.moneyadviceservice.org

www.moneysavingexpert.com

www.capitalcreditunion.com

North Edinburgh Credit Union, Wardieburn Drive 466 5006

Granton Information Centre, West Granton Road www.gic.org.uk 551 2459

Pilton CAB, Drylaw Shopping Centre on Ferry Road 202 1153 www.citizensadviceedinburgh.co.uk/

The Scottish Government has also just launched a new website to help guide you to the support and advice you need. Visit:

http://www.lightentheloadscotland.gov.uk/

4. LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE or SKILL

It’s never too late to learn something new and the New Year is the perfect time to try something different, whether for leisure or to open up new employment opportunities.

Locally, check out Edinburgh College – new courses start this month – and Craigroyston Community High School is running a wide variety of adult day and evening classes.

www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk

www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/20070/adult_and_community_learning

5. GO GREEN

Thinking about going green this year? There are lots of small changes you can make to your lifestyle to reduce your energy bill, recycle materials in innovative ways and help do your part to make the planet healthier. www.greenerscotland.org is a good place to start for ideas.

6. VOLUNTEER and/or GIVE TO CHARITY

Many people plan to be more generous with both their time and any disposable income they may have in 2015 (some chance, I hear you say!)

Looking to donate time, not money, then? There are lots of ways you can donate your time – local and national charities and voluntary organisations are crying out for willing volunteers in all sorts of roles. There’s bound to be something to suit you – a good place to start is Volunteer Centre Edinburgh – go to www.volunteeredinburgh.org.uk to see what you can do.

Time Banks are another great way to donate your time, energy and skills and get the same back in return – visit www.edinburghtimebank.org.uk for more information.

So, you’ve decided on your resolution? Here are some tips to help you stay on track when times get tough:

Set yourself realistic goals, not impossible targets. Don’t think about losing two stone in a month, or running a marathon after a fortnight’s exercise!
Don’t be all-or-nothing – you’re likely to have the odd slip along the way but don’t allow that to make you give up
Remove temptation – no point in making things even more difficult for yourself
Reward yourself along the way
Thing positively and keep your eye on the prize – there may be tough times but the end result will be worth it!

GOOD LUCK!

Good Lord – Provost to join Loony Dookers!

Edinburgh’s Lord Provost Councillor Donald Wilson is preparing to plunge into the Forth’s icy waters for charity when he takes on the New Year’s Day Loony Dook challenge in South Queensferry.

Part of the three day festival for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, the event will see over 1,000 ‘Dookers’ cheered on by 4,000 spectators start 2015 with a dip in the River Forth in the shadow of the world-famous Forth Bridges.

The Lord Provost has signed up to take part to raise money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution RNLI, which provides a 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service across the UK.

He commented: “The event is great fun and will be raising money for a fantastic charity. The South Queensferrry branch of the RNLI will receive a 10 per cent donation from each registration fee for the event this year. I’m either brave or barmy to sign up, but I’m very glad to lend my support. I wish everyone taking part the best of luck and a happy – albeit chilly – start to the New Year!”

The Loony Dook is organised by Unique Events, who produce Edinburgh’s Hogmanay on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council. Earlier this month, organisers confirmed that M&D’s, who operate Scotland’s Theme Park in Strathclyde Country Park and also run the Edinburgh’s Hogmanay carnival, will be supporting the event. It is also funded by EventScotland and Scotland’s Winter Festivals.

This year’s event has been a sell out and no more spaces are available. It will start with a Dookers’ Parade, led by the Beastie Drummers, at 1.20pm followed by the Dook itself at 1.30pm on Thursday 1st January. Spectators are welcome to cheer on the Dookers from various vantage points along the route.

Find out more at the Edinburgh’s Hogmanay website

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay programme

Bowled over by a community’s Christmas spirit

Volunteers at Muirhouse Community Shop have illustrated the season of goodwill by creating hand-crafted Christmas gifts for people in need.

Muirhouse Community Shop was asked by Fiona Henderson, Community Access to Schools worker at Craigroyston Community High School, to hold a painting session to support the ‘Empty Bowls’ initiative.

Empty Bowls, an international grassroots effort to fight hunger, was founded in the USA. The basic premise is simple: potters and other craftspeople, educators and others work with the community to create handcrafted bowls. Guests are invited to a simple meal of soup and bread. In exchange for a cash donation, guests are asked to keep a bowl as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world. The money raised is donated to an organization working to end hunger and food insecurity – Empty Bowls has raised millions of dollars to donate to hunger-fighting organizations.

Volunteers at Muirhouse Community Shop were delighted to support the cause and local people enthusiastically got to work to decorate bowls which were later displayed in both the Community Shop and the High School.

The Muirhouse bowls were then filled with goodies donated by the local community and they’ve now being wrapped and will be donated to people in need.

Christmas can be a very tough time when you don’t have much, so these heartwarming little gifts will bring some welcome seasonal cheer into some local homes this Christmas.

For further information on Empty Bowls visit

www.emptybowls.net

Pictures by TRIM

Caledonia Youth to close in Spring

Charity to close after 46 years – eleven staff face redundancy

Castle Terrace based charity Caledonia Youth Services is to close in the New Year due to ongoing funding difficulties.

Speaking on behalf of the Board of Trustees, a spokesperson said:

“It is with great regret that we must announce the forthcoming closure of Caledonia Youth. Our Edinburgh-based charity provides a variety of specialist preventative interventions to support young people under 25 in Scotland through challenges associated with their transition to adulthood, helping them develop their social and emotional capabilities and reduce negative risk taking behaviour.

“Now, after 46 years, we find ourselves unable to sustain our charity following an erosion of funding in recent years. While the team have worked hard to secure new sources of income and been successful in doing so for many years, like other colleagues in the third sector we have faced a constant reduction in statutory funding. For us, this culminated in the termination of our contract with NHS Lothian earlier this year to deliver a specialist clinic in Edinburgh, which had served young people in the region since 1968, along with our school-based programme to help increase knowledge.

“Having exhausted alternative funding avenues vital to the sustainability of our charity, the Board of Trustees have made the difficult decision to wind up Caledonia Youth. We are in the process of applying to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) to formally do so and the last day of operation will be 31 March 2015. Obviously we are hugely disappointed to be faced with what is the only option left open to us, which will bring redundancy for 11 highly skilled people.

“We would like to take this opportunity to say how very proud we are of our extremely dedicated team here at Caledonia Youth who have developed and delivered many ground breaking programmes. They have proved great advocates for tens of thousands of young people, particularly the more vulnerable, disadvantaged and disengaged in our society today.

“Caledonia Youth’s enterprising and adaptable approach has impacted upon our young clients by helping to change long term behaviour, giving rise to both direct and indirect positive outcomes including their enhanced employability and opportunities to enjoy full and rewarding lives.

“While we wish we could do more, the focus now is on ensuring our young clients are supported through the closure, as there is a dearth of service provision. We too experience waiting lists for our services. We will do our utmost to ensure they are connected with an appropriate organisation, although that will possibly mean a different level of assistance.

“On top of this, we will be doing everything in our power to help our team secure alternative employment as quickly as possible.

“Our thanks go to those who have helped us sustain Caledonia Youth – funders, partner organisations and those who make referrals to us – and to all the young people we have connected with and supported over the years.”

Caledonia Youth corporate_brochure

Tom Gilzean to receive Edinburgh Award

‘Inspiring ‘ 94 year old has raised over £100,000 for charity

Edinburgh war veteran and charity worker Thomas Gilzean has been named as the eighth person to receive the much-coveted Edinburgh Award.

The former Royal Engineer has been selected to receive the accolade from a shortlist of 25 nominations cast by the Edinburgh public. He will receive the title and an engraved Loving Cup at a ceremony at the City Chambers early next year.

Mr Gilzean, who was presented with the British Empire Medal by the Lord Provost in 2013, can regularly be found fundraising in his trademark tartan trousers along Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. He has raised more than £100,000 for local causes, and continues to dedicate his time fundraising at the age of 94.

His handprints will be immortalised on a flagstone in the City Chambers quadrangle alongside those of previous recipients Ian Rankin, JK Rowling, George Kerr, Sir Chris Hoy, Professor Peter Higgs, Elizabeth Blackadder and Professor Richard Demarco.

Edinburgh’s Lord Provost, Councillor Donald Wilson, said: “The Edinburgh Award enables the people of Edinburgh to pay a lasting tribute to someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the city. To date, the accolade has been given to people who have contributed to the arts, literature, sport and science – but local charitable work deserves to be held in just as high regard.

“Tom Gilzean is an inspiring man who devotes his life to raising fantastic amounts of money for charity, and we are extremely fortunate in this city to have people like him who so selflessly give up their time for the good of their community.

“It gives me great pleasure to announce Tom as the eighth person to be presented with the Edinburgh Award. Having received more nominations than any other individual, he is a local champion for the people of Edinburgh.”

New puzzles for Sick Kids

The Royal Hospital for Sick Children (RHSC) has taken delivery of a haul of new puzzles thanks to the generosity of the local community.

Hoards of brand new puzzles have been gifted to the hospital by company Jumbo Games following its ‘Bring Back Jigsaw Puzzle’ amnesty. The appeal, which ran in October and November, asked members of the public to donate old puzzles to the Hobbycraft store at Fort Kinnaird in exchange for money off new ones. For every jigsaw puzzle received, a brand new one was donated to the hospital.

Lorna Galbraith, Play Specialist at the Sick Kids said: “We’re thrilled to see these new puzzles delivered in time for Christmas. Play is so important for children in hospital. It lifts their spirits and helps them to relax by making a really abnormal environment, normal.”

Gray Richmond, Managing Director, Jumbo Games said: “It has been great to see the community rally together and lend its support to the recent amnesty. For each puzzle donated by a member of the public to the Hobbycraft Fort Kinnaird, we are able to provide the Royal Hospital for Sick Children with a brand new jigsaw for patients and their families to enjoy. “We hope that these donations will bring as much joy to those who use them as it has to us overseeing this project.”

Spartans supporting the community at Christmas

Help us help our local community this Christmas

The Spartans Community Football Academy would like to extend support to local charities in the North Edinburgh area this Christmas. This year we are continuing our annual support of the Ashbrook Salvation Army based on Ferry Road.

We would also like to extend our support to food banks in our local area. We will be supporting the food banks based at the Granton Baptist Church and The Prentice Centre.

Christmas Appeal Poster

You can support the Academy appeal by donating:

clothing and toiletries
Tinned fruit/veg, pasta sauce, tinned fish, breakfast cereals and bars

Donations can be dropped off at the main office at The Spartans Community Football Academy, 94 Pilton Drive, Edinburgh.

We will arrange for all donations made to be delivered to the local charities we are supporting on Monday 22 December.

The Spartans Community Football Academy

Praise for Scotland's volunteers

Make volunteering your New Year resolution!

Community Empowerment Minister Marco Biagi has applauded the work of one million Scots who volunteer in their communities and is encouraging more people to take up volunteering in 2015.

Around three in ten adults gave up their time for organisations in Scotland in 2013, with those numbers expected to rise thanks to the record numbers of volunteers who helped make Glasgow 2014 the greatest ever Games.

Of those who volunteer regularly, around 23 per cent contribute to youth or children’s organisations, 21 per cent help with health, disability and social welfare organisations and 20 per cent volunteer with children’s activities at schools.

Mr Biagi made the plea as he wrapped up warm for a morning volunteering with the Bethany Christian Trust’s Caring Christmas Trees project in Edinburgh.

The charity relies on volunteers giving up their time to help customers pick out, wrap and carry their trees, with proceeds from the purchase of Caring Christmas Trees in Edinburgh funding the charity’s Winter Care Shelter, which gives rough-sleepers a hot meal and a safe place to sleep during the freezing festive period.

Scotland’s passion for volunteering will be maximised in 2015 by a £114,400 funding boost to Volunteer Scotland to build on the passion of the 15,000 Clyde-siders.

Mr Biagi said: “Over the next few weeks, thousands of volunteers across the country will be giving up their time to help their communities. Whether it’s through bag packing, befriending, carol singing or helping out at homeless shelters, these people are making a real impact and bringing cheer to those who need it most.

“Projects like Caring Christmas Trees provide a crucial life-line to some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and it’s been great to spend time at the project helping out and listening to people’s stories. It really brings the message home about the value of volunteers.

“Volunteering is for everyone and can open up new opportunities to develop talents, boost self-confidence and help others. It’s something I’d encourage everyone to think about this Christmas and consider as a resolution for 2015.”

Iain Gordon, Chief Executive Officer, Bethany Christian Trust said: Without volunteers, much of our work would not be possible. We are delighted that the Scottish Government is encouraging people to volunteer and that Marco Biagi is supporting our Caring Christmas Trees project in aid of homeless people in Edinburgh.”