You Matter: Ben Macpherson backs Marie Curie call

SNP MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith Ben Macpherson has lent his support to help improve the lives of people in Scotland living with terminal illness.

Meeting with representatives from Marie Curie recently, the charity supporting people through terminal illness, Ben was interested to hear about efforts to encourage people to think about their wishes for the end of their life and discuss preferences with loved ones. The charity has published a free information resource to support conversations called ‘You Matter’, available to download from www.mariecurie.org.uk/youmatter

Marie Curie believes that starting with a simple conversation over cake and a cuppa can help tackle the stigma that exists around dying, death and bereavement. Coinciding with their fundraising campaign Blooming Great Tea Party today in Holyrood Park, Marie Curie is encouraging people to ask friends, colleagues and family round for a tea party, bake sale or ‘Bake off’ style competition. Every donation raised at events help Marie Curie provide vital care and support to people living with terminal illness.

Last year there were over 600 Blooming Great Tea Party events in Scotland raising over £86,000, equating to over 4,300 hours of Marie Curie Nursing care.

Ben Macpherson said: “I am pleased to support Marie Curie’s initiative to empower people when it comes to their end of life care and choices. As a society, we must work together to destigmatise death and dying.

“The ‘You Matter’ campaign is an example of the important work Marie Curie does to provide support services for people at what can be the hardest time of their life.

“In my work on the Scottish Parliament’s Social Security Committee, I have long advocated for better support for people experiencing bereavement, and I brought an amendment to the Social Security Bill to make sure that Funeral Expenses Assistance is uprated in the years ahead.

“This important initiative from Marie Curie will work alongside the practical assistance that can be provided by Social Security Scotland to support individuals and families through their most difficult time.”

Susan Lowes, Marie Curie Policy & Public Affairs Manager Scotland said: “Sadly one in four people in Scotland aren’t getting the care they need at the end of their lives. By encouraging people to start with a simple conversation about their wishes we hope that we can empower everyone to play their part in improving end of life care. There’s only one chance to get this right at the end of someone’s life, and everyone matters in making that a reality.”

To find out more about Blooming Great Tea Party and receive your free fundraising pack, call 0800 716 146 or visit www.mariecurie.org.uk/teaparty

Free Marie Curie Support and Information is available for anyone with questions about terminal illness. Contact 0800 090 2309 or visit mariecurie.org.uk/support

Letters: Marie Curie support at Christmas

Dear Editor

Christmas is a precious time for many families, but even more so for many of your readers who may be cherishing every moment they get to spend with a beloved family member living with a terminal illness.

Marie Curie will be supporting nearly 800 people living with a terminal illness in Scotland over Christmas. Across the UK, more than one million people are expected to be supporting a loved one, while facing the possibility that this could be their last together.

Caring for someone at home can be a very rewarding but also an isolating experience. For some, it will be the first Christmas without their mum, dad, husband, wife or partner, which can also be a very difficult time.

People often say that they don’t know where to turn to and don’t know what help is available to them, which is why I am writing to tell you about our free, confidential Support Line

0800 090 2309

which offers practical information and emotional support about any aspect of terminal illness, as well as offering bereavement support too.

To help everyone who may need us during the festive period, our Support Line will be open from Sunday 24 December – Tuesday 2 January.

Support Line open hours:

24 December (10am-4pm)

25-26 December (10am-2pm)

27-29 December (8am-6pm)

30 December (11am-5pm)

31 December (10am -4pm)

1 January (10am-2pm)

2 January (8am-6pm).

Additionally, our trained Support Line Officers are also on hand to offer support via our online chat service at mariecurie.org.uk/support.

With best wishes,

Eamon O’Kane,

Marie Curie Divisional General Manager Caring Services

Marie Curie Hospice, Glasgow. Balornock Road, Glasgow G21 3US

Envelope collection raises funds for Marie Curie

The Edinburgh South Fundraising Group organised an envelope collection to raise money for Marie Curie. Over the past few weeks volunteer collectors visited homes in their local streets to collect donations from people who would like to support the charity.

A total of £823.20 was collected and will be used to help Marie Curie provide expert care, guidance and support to help people living with a terminal illness and their families.

Fiona Bushby, Community Fundraiser for Marie Curie said: “The support of the community is greatly appreciated and we would like to thank everyone who donated. We also would like to thank all our volunteers who made this collection possible.”

If you would like to find out how you could help Marie Curie in other ways, please contact Fiona Bushby on 0131 470 2290 or email Fiona.bushby@mariecurie.org.uk

Marie Curie Counts on Collection Box Volunteers

Marie Curie is appealing for local volunteers to help manage the charity’s collection boxes in and around the EH5 area. Continue reading Marie Curie Counts on Collection Box Volunteers

Charity appeals for daffodil volunteers

Marie Curie is appealing for people in Edinburgh and Lothians to donate their time to collect for the charity’s annual Great Daffodil Appeal this March.

The appeal is Marie Curie’s biggest fundraiser and the charity needs volunteers to encourage people in the local community to give a donation and wear a daffodil pin. The money raised from the Great Daffodil Appeal will help Marie Curie Nurses care for people with a terminal illness in their own home or at the Marie Curie Hospice in Edinburgh so they can spend more time with the people they love.

Fiona Beaton, Marie Curie Community Fundraiser for Edinburgh and Lothians, said: “We need over 500 people from Edinburgh and Lothians to help with our collections this February and March. Donating just one or two hours of your time to the appeal will allow Marie Curie Nurses to provide more free care to terminally ill people and their families at the time when they most need support, both through care in their own homes and in the Marie Curie Hospice Edinburgh.”

Di Shakspeare, Volunteer Collector from East Lothian said: “I was previously a Marie Curie Registered Nurse for twenty nine years so I know the difference that Marie Curie can make to local families, allowing them to rest knowing that their loved ones are in safe hands. On my retirement, I decided I wanted to help with the charity as a volunteer. In my experience, being a collector is a lot of fun and a great way to meet new folk, some with their stories to tell, while also raising funds and awareness for this wonderful cause.”

To volunteer to collect for Marie Curie and support the Great Daffodil Appeal call Fiona on 0131 470 2291, email fiona.beaton@mariecurie.org.uk or visit www.mariecurie.org.uk/daffodil.

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.