Every year, the team of veterans at Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory hand-make five million poppies to be handed out during the annual Scottish Poppy Appeal. It is safe to assume that the vast majority of these stay in the country, but wouldn’t it be interesting to know how far the Scottish poppy can travel? Continue reading Scottish Poppies Take Flight Across the Globe
Scotland has become one of the first countries in the world to develop a national strategy to deal with the serious problem of social isolation.
To kick start the strategy, Minister for Older People and Equalities, Christina McKelvie said the strategy would be backed by £1 million over the next two years to support and expand innovative projects and approaches to bring people together.
Improvements to health and social care, more accessible transport and investment in digital connectivity will all help to create a Scotland where individuals and communities are more connected.
Actions within the strategy include:
Launching the strategy at Bridgend Farmhouse, a community-owned charitable organisation in south Edinburgh which provides space for learning, eating and exercising, Ms McKelvie said: “One in ten people in Scotland report often feeling lonely.
“In today’s fast paced world, with technological advancements, people can sometimes feel overwhelmed and unable to cope with rapid changes in society. This can lead to people withdrawing and losing touch with friends and family.
“People often feel afraid to admit they are lonely or isolated yet these feelings can affect anyone at any age, or stage, or walk of life. It is known that social isolation and loneliness can have a significant impact on a person’s physical and mental wellbeing which is why we are tackling this issue with a preventative approach allowing loneliness and social isolation to be treated as a public health issue.
“This is just the beginning of work we are doing to tackle loneliness but we can’t do it alone. It is the responsibility of all of us as individuals and communities, and within the public sector, local authorities and businesses to reach out with kindness and build a country where all of us feel welcome within our communities and valued as an important part of society.”
A Connected Scotland: Tackling social isolation and loneliness
Conservative Health spokesman Miles Briggs MSP has welcomed the announcement.
Charities such as Vintage Vibes, based in Edinburgh, and Craigshill Good Neighbourhood Network, based in West Lothian, do exceptional work tackling social isolation and loneliness in Lothian.
Miles Briggs, Scottish Conservative Lothian MSP, said: “Social isolation and loneliness is very prevalent across Edinburgh and the Lothian’s and it can affect anyone, but is particularly common amongst elderly people.
“The Scottish Conservative Loneliness Action Plan puts forward practical measures to tackle loneliness and social isolation.
“Loneliness can have a serious impact on peoples mental health, so steps to bring people together are incredibly important.
“Whilst many of us will be spending Christmas with friends and family, not everyone is so fortunate.
“I encourage everyone to think about what they can do to help, whether it is a visiting an elderly friend, calling in on an older neighbour who lives alone or inviting an older person round for a coffee or meal over the Christmas period.”
It’s also been welcomed by services charity Poppyscotland. Poppyscotland Chief Executive Mark Bibbey said: “Social isolation has been reported to affect at least 15 per cent of the Scottish ex-Service community and we need to break the stigma that surrounds this topic.
“We must then build the required practical support for our Armed Forces community to become more connected, and finally align policy, strategy, funding and resources so that our Armed Forces community receives the support they need and so rightly deserve.
“We welcome the new strategy and are particularly pleased to see that a number of aspects of our Break, Build and Align campaign have been included. We would like to thank the Scottish Government and a range of MSPs who have helped ensure the voices of veterans and members of our Armed Forces community have been heard, and that their specific needs have been recognised within the final strategy.”
A National Implementation Board is now to be established by the Scottish Government and Poppyscotland has expressed their interest in being involved and supporting the implementation of the strategy.
Frank Ross, the Right Honourable Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh, was joined by the Right Honourable Nicola Sturgeon MSP, First Minister of Scotland, and fellow politicians, as well as members of the Armed Forces community, for a ceremony at the Stone of Remembrance to mark Remembrance Sunday and 100 years since the signing of the Armistice that would lead to the end of the First World War. Continue reading Remembrance Day service: Scotland says thank you
This weekend, all across the country, nearly 150 Scottish landmarks will be glowing red in support of the Scottish Poppy Appeal and to commemorate of the Centenary of the end of the First World War. Buildings large and small, from the globally iconic to the locally loved, will ‘Light Up Red’ for Poppyscotland in a collective display of thanks to the generation that gave so much. Continue reading Edinburgh lights up red for Scottish Poppy Appeal
Calling all schools! Leading Armed Forces charity Poppyscotland has joined forces with STV News to launch its eagerly-awaited Learning Competition for 2018 which calls on P4-S3 pupils to produce their own news story by imagining how they would report the end of the First World War if it happened today. Continue reading Breaking News! Poppyscotland launches learning competition
… in the Poppyscotland Poppy Ride event at Holyrood! Continue reading Landmark victory for Scottish Lib Dem …
The sun shone and the tins rattled as thousands turned out to donate and be entertained at the fifth annual Edinburgh Poppy Day. In St Andrew Square, and across the rest of the city, scores of collectors were out in force to do their bit for Poppyscotland while the music played. Continue reading Edinburgh Poppy Day a great success
Frank Ross, the Right Honourable Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh, led a special group of wreath-layers at the annual Opening Ceremony of the Edinburgh Garden of Remembrance, at the Scott Monument in Princes Street Gardens yesterday. Continue reading Lord Provost opens Edinburgh Garden of Remembrance
A striking 32-metres-long red thread containing the words of War Poet Wilfred Owen has been unveiled at Edinburgh Napier University’s Craiglockhart Campus to mark the start of the 2018 Poppy Appeal. Continue reading Installation says ‘Thank You’ to the Great War Poets
With knitting needles and crochet kits in hand, Partners and customers from John Lewis & Partners have been working tirelessly for almost half a year to take on the Poppy Challenge of producing 2,018 poppies to raise funds for and raise awareness of the work of leading Armed Forces charity Poppyscotland. Incredibly, not only was the challenge duly accepted, but it has now been smashed as the “Totaliser” edges close to the 3,500-mark! Continue reading John Lewis rises to the Poppyscotland Challenge
