Tag: swan

Edinburgh College student named runner-up in Scottish Nature Photography competition

An Edinburgh College student was named runner-up in a national photography competition for a selection of images he created as part of his degree programme.

BA Professional Photography student Stephen Rodger took second spot in the student category at the Scottish Nature Photography Awards 2020 for his portfolio titled Swan Lake on Fire, which depicts a number of swans swimming on a lake in the early morning sun.

The Scottish Nature Photography Awards was launched in 2010 to provide a platform to celebrate Scotland as a key destination for nature photographers and to acknowledge the excellence of the photographic work that is undertaken here.

The annual competition invites entries of images taken in Scotland by professional or amateur photographers from around the world.

Stephen said: “It was tremendously exciting to be told I’d been awarded second place in the Student category this year. I’m now in the final year of my BA Professional Photography course at Edinburgh College.

“As I write this, none of my class have yet stepped onto campus and so being awarded this prize is especially valuable for one’s spirits in times such as these.

“All three pictures were shot in April last year. As the seasons change, you can on occasion get these incredible mornings where the mist rises from the loch and is spectacularly backlit by the very first rays of the sun.

“This mute swan was out for the first leisurely paddle of the day. The light was incredible, but fleeting, lasting not much more than half an hour.”

Edinburgh College curriculum manager for Performing Arts and Photography Ethelinda-Lashley Scott said: “I would like to offer my congratulations to Stephen on gaining this recognition from the Scottish Nature Photography Awards for his Swan Lake on Fire portfolio. 

“We are very proud of all the hard work and dedication that Stephen has demonstrated throughout his studies. Our photography department has a strong record of award success which is a testament to the breadth of talent studying here, as well as the hard work and dedication of our lecturing staff.” 

New pamphlet on the need for a publicly-owned care service

The horrific – and often avoidable – impact of the coronavirus pandemic in Scotland on the lives of those in care (like older people and disabled people) has thrown into sharp relief the inadequacies of our social care system.

While the recent Report of the Independent Review of Social Care (the Feeley Review) identified some of the problems, its recommendations shrank back from confronting the cancer at the heart of social care, namely, its domination by market forces and by private providers whose primary concern is with profit and not care.   
 
By contrast, this pamphlet, jointly published by the Jimmy Reid Foundation and the Social Work Action Network (SWAN) with contributions by leading disabled activists, public sector trade unionists, frontline workers and campaigners including Neil Findlay MSP and journalist Kevin McKenna, calls for a publicly owned, controlled and funded national care service, where care workers and care users are in the driving seat.
 
The pamphlet can help shape the debate in the coming months over the kind of National Care Service we want to see in Scotland. Buy it, read it and order copies for your union branch, your college course or your organisation.
 
Copies can be purchased in pdf or hard copy from Calton Books for £4 each:
 
PDF: https://www.calton-books.co.uk/books/people-before-profit-the-future-of-social-care-in-scotland-pdf-version/
 
Hard copy: https://www.calton-books.co.uk/books/people-before-profit-the-future-of-social-care-in-scotland/
 
If you wish to order more than 10 copies, there is a 10% discount so please contact Calton Book at shop@calton-books.com to do so

Yours sincerely

Professor Gregor Gall, 

Director, The Jimmy Reid Foundation

Hats off to Scottish SPCA following swan rescue

‘Hoppy’ ending for Shore’s snared swan!

The Scottish SPCA was alerted at the beginning of April to a swan spotted with a baseball cap tangled around her foot. Scotland’s animal welfare charity received a call to their animal helpline after a member of the public became concerned about the welfare of the bird, who lives on The Shore in Leith. Continue reading Hats off to Scottish SPCA following swan rescue