An Edinburgh Napier University Veterinary Nursing student had an especially memorable graduation day – as her partner proposed outside the Usher Hall following her ceremony.
After collecting her degree, Shannon Ward met her family at The Napier GRADUATE Graduate pub, where Jamie Carty popped the question – and got the answer he was hoping for. The moment was captured on video by Shannon’s mum Clair and cheered by many other new graduates nearby.
Shannon, from Consett in County Durham, said she had no inkling of what her other half had planned for her big day. She said: “I had no idea! I even pointed out some jewellery I liked as we passed shops on the way here and he stayed quiet.
“My reaction … just shock and awe! Jamie has always said he wouldn’t propose to me in front of people, so it completely took me aback. “It’s been such a great day!”
Jamie, from Darlington, County Durham, said he had a tough time keeping the idea quiet. He said: “I was so nervous, but I just tried to focus on Shannon as I was saying the words – and not think about all the people around!
“I wanted it to happen somewhere which is already associated with so many wonderful memories. It made the nerves worthwhile!”
While the happy couple turn their attention to planning a wedding, Shannon is already putting her studies to good use, finding work in Northumberland.
ACTIVISTSmarked the anniversary of the enactment of the 1967 Abortion Act, which legalised abortion in Britain, at an event on Lothian Road yesterday.
Also marking the significant date, but for different reasons, were pro-life group SPUC, who held a simultaneous Pro-life Chain event.
Abortion Rights Scotland’s Audrey Brown (above) said: “NHS Scotland has long supported women to make their own choices about pregnancy.
“Abortion care is extremely safe, and in fact is safer than continuing a pregnancy. NHS doctors, nurses and midwives working in abortion care are trained to provide a safe and supportive service.
“The majority of women now choose early medical abortion in the privacy of their own home. Restricting access to abortion won’t stop abortion, it will push it underground and make it less safe.
“We must continue to support free, safe and legal NHS abortion care.”
A number of politicians showed their support at the demo. Among them were Edinburgh East MP Tommy Sheppard.
THIS MORNING (Saturday),Abortion Rights Scotland is celebrating the fifty-fifth anniversary of the date the 1967 Abortion Act became law in England, Scotland, and Wales, from eleven am to 1pm on Lothian Road Edinburgh – Usher Hall side – because on the other side of the road, SPUC (the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child) are holding their protest against access safe, legal, local abortion, provided and delivered by the NHS.
The SPUC protest against safe legal abortion and the feminist celebration of the Abortion Act, are both now in their tenth year – two years missed because of lockdown.
Audrey Brown, retired NHS abortion care consultant, says: “NHS Scotland has long supported women to make their own choices about pregnancy.
“Abortion care is extremely safe, and in fact is safer than continuing a pregnancy. NHS doctors, nurses and midwives working in abortion care are trained to provide a safe and supportive service.
“The majority of women now choose early medical abortion in the privacy of their own home. Restricting access to abortion won’t stop abortion, it will push it underground and make it less safe. We must continue to support free, safe and legal NHS abortion care.”
The counter-vigil against the anti-abortion protest, is both in support of the continuing right to safe, legal, local abortion in Scotland, provided and delivered by the NHS, but also standing with people in countries like Poland and the United States, where the anti-abortion movement has achieved its goal of denying free access to safe legal abortion.
SPUC’s frequent assertion is that they want to make this essential reproductive healthcare “unthinkable” – and most people in Scotland oppose that goal.
SPUC has organised a ‘Pro Life Chain’ event from 11am – 1pm
Organisers say: ‘Remember the lives hurt and lost through abortion by attending SPUC’s 2023 Pro-Life Chain. This peaceful act of witness spreads the message that abortion kills unborn children and hurts women and families.’
The Forth Awards, a night of celebrating the great and the good of Edinburgh and the East, came back with a bang, with the sold-out Usher Hall playing host to a night to remember.
Wet Wet Wet were on hand to surprise guests after the Forth Awards, alongside performances from award winners Tony Hadley and Heather Small.
The Forth Awards, which celebrate the best of Edinburgh and the East, returned on Thursday (23 June) after last year’s noticeable absence due to the lockdown measures.
In total, ten awards were handed out with local heroes and celebrities all part of the celebrations.
Local heroes, Keith Armour and Steven Carr were awarded Volunteer of the Year and Local Hero respectively, with both raising huge sums of money over the past two years for good causes.
Emma St. Clair won the coveted Teacher of the Year award, with Edinburgh Zoo picking up the Visitor Attraction of the Year award, following the first full year of allowing visitors into the park.
Elsewhere, Tony Hadley won the Forth Icon award after decades of working across the music industry, and Heather Small won The Forth Music Recognition award, with both performing to the crowd.
Joining the already star-studded line-up, The Eves and Vula took to the stage to perform their biggest hits.
The Forth Awards were, once again, a celebration of the best music and entertainment around, with the opportunity to hear inspiring stories from Forth’s local heroes. Whether simple acts of kindness by local teachers, or staggering amounts of money raised for life-altering charities, everyone had an afternoon to remember.
Richie Jeffrey, Head of Events said: “The Forth Awards are always a truly incredible and inspiring afternoon, with our return from a two-year hiatus made it extra special.
“From the unrivalled Usher Hall atmosphere, to our non-stop entertainment and moving stories from very worthy winners, it is with real pride that Radio Forth is able to support and reward people in our community in this way.”
Full list of winners on the night:
THE FORTH FRINGE AWARD WITH MULTREES WALK
Winner: DANIEL SLOSS
THE FORTH BEST ARTIST AWARD WITH VICTOR PARIS
Winner: CALLUM BEATTIE
THE FORTH ICON AWARD WITH THE EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE
Winner:TONY HADLEY
THE FORTH MUSIC RECOGNITION AWARD WITH THE LIQUID ROOMS
Winner: HEATHER SMALL
THE FORTH BEST RESTAURANT AWARD WITH HERITAGE PORTFOLIO
Winner: PRANA INDIAN GRILL
THE FORTH CHARITY VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR WITH NEWTOWN REFURBISHMENTS
As the founder and chairman of Dnipro Kids, Steven has put his business and family life on hold to help evacuate 50 orphans and their house parents from the war in Ukraine, and found them a safe haven in Scotland.
Steven has been chairperson and founder of Dnipro kids charity since 2005 when he and a group of Hibs supporters visited local orphanages in the city of Dnipropetrovesk at the time Hibs played a UEFA cup tie in the city. Steven built a strong relationship with the orphanages, and this was the founding of Dnipro kids.
Since then, he has visited 25-30 times once or twice a year to take donations over and to help out in any way he can. Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine Steven has taken it upon himself to travel to the country in order to help evacuate orphans from a number of Dnipro orphanages to the safety of Poland and in due course hopefully to settle in the UK.
Emma is the teacher all the children at Colinton Primary School want . At 62 years of age, she has worked at the school since graduation. She encourages by example, has an incredible way of building confidence and always makes learning fun.
Throughout her career, Emma has been the ‘soil’ to the children she teaches where she has nourished, nurtured and protected them as well as feeding them with the knowledge and skills they need to survive in life. She is well-thought of by the whole-school community
One of the entries said ‘She is a phenomenal person who loves the job she does and the kids love her in return.’
THE 2022 World Fair Trade Gathering is getting underway to return to the stage with a sizzling ceilidh fusion and ska line up, this Saturday.
Headlining this high-energy concert at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, are Skerryvore, Peatbog Faeries and Bombskare, who will take to the stage in an amazing line-up of traditional music from Scotland coming together to celebrate World Fair Trade Day and Scotland as a Fair Trade Nation.
Special guests, Pulse of the Place – a local, youth Leith-based Samba band – will be taking to the stage to help make the concert a super lively one. There will also be a range of stalls selling Fair Trade products in the main foyer throughout the evening.
This concert is set to lift the roof at Usher Hall and will be a fun night to remember and once again has been organised by Hand Up Events, a local social action company, led by director, Tania Pramschufer, who said: “It is wonderful we can celebrate World Fair Trade Day again with such a great and exciting line-up.
“This year, we are focussed on climate change and what we can do to make a difference linking to the WFTO climate justice theme.
In a gesture of solidarity with the victims of the war in Ukraine, Edinburgh International Festival is partnering with the Scottish Government to welcome the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra for a historic free concert at the Usher Hall on Saturday 6 August 2022 at 2pm.
Marking the orchestra’s only performance in Scotland, this concert is part of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra’s European and USA tour in artistic defence of its country.
Edinburgh is twinned with the city of Kyiv, and this special collaboration between the International Festival and the Scottish Government is in support of the city’s Ukrainian community and those directly affected by the war.
The special concert will see invitations extended to the Ukrainian community in Scotland and organisations leading efforts in the resettlement of Ukrainian refugees, as well as those supporting people impacted by the conflict.
Assembled by New York’s Metropolitan Opera and the Polish National Opera, the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra includes recent refugees, Ukrainian members of European orchestras and leading Ukrainian musicians and performers.
The Ukraine Ministry of Culture is granting a special exemption to military-age, male members of orchestras inside the country to participate, allowing them to put down weapons and take up their instruments in a demonstration of the power of art over adversity.
Under the leadership of Canadian-Ukrainian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson, the orchestra’s repertoire includes Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov’s Seventh Symphony; Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Ukrainian virtuoso Anna Fedorova; and leading Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska performing an aria from Verdi’s Aida.
Seventy-five years after Rudolf Bing, himself a refugee, co-founded the Edinburgh International Festival, the 2022 programme reflects the organisation’s rich history of promoting unity and healing through cultural collaboration.
The 2022 International Festival also features Refuge, a season of contemporary theatre, dance, visual art, film and conversation created to explore themes of refugeehood, migration, identity and inclusion.
Free tickets for the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra’s concert at the Usher Hall will be available to book online from late June 2022, with further information to follow.
Fergus Linehan, Festival Director of the Edinburgh International Festival said, “The staff and board of the Festival are honoured to be given the opportunity to welcome our colleagues from Ukraine and offer them our support and solidarity at this time.”
Neil Gray, Minister for Culture and Refugees from Ukraine said: “The Scottish Government is delighted to provide the support to enable the Ukraine Freedom Orchestra of more than 70 displaced Ukrainian professional musicians to perform at the Edinburgh International Festival in August.
“The Edinburgh International Festival was first created to bring together Europeans suffering in the shadow of war, and as the festival celebrates its 75th anniversary it has never been more appropriate to underline its founding principles of peace, collaboration and solidarity.
“Scotland has responded to the present crisis by offering a warm welcome to those Ukrainians fleeing the brutal invasion of their country – and we offer the same warm welcome to these wonderful musicians. I am sure this historic free concert will be one of the highlights of this year’s cultural celebrations in Edinburgh.”
Oleksandr Tkachenko, Ukrainian Minister of Culture said: “Today, culture is showing a completely new side. It can also be the ‘soft power’ that helps heal wounds.
“Ukrainian culture is original and deserves to be at the centre of attention abroad. We thank our international colleagues for producing the tour.”
Tickets for the 2022 Forth Awards have been released for sale, giving Radio Forth listeners the chance to join in the annual celebration of community champions across Edinburgh and the east.
A renowned and hugely popular event in the city’s social calendar, Radio Forth will hold its 16th annual awards ceremony at the Usher Hall on Thursday, 14 November and has today announced the release of the highly sought-after VIP balcony tickets for public sale.
Saint James Quarter is this year’s main sponsor, following the move of Forth 1 into the shopping centre where it will broadcast from 7 days a week.
The return of the awards, following a three year absence due to the pandemic, aims to celebrate those people across Lothian and the East who have went above and beyond for their community.
Radio Forth Awards recognise those who go above and beyond in their community, whether it be in education, volunteering or entertainment. There are ten categories which include Best Teacher, Best Artist, the Community Venture Award and the much-loved Local Hero Award.
This years categories celebrate the best of Scotland with Best Teacher, Community Venture Award, Local Hero as well as Best Artist, Contribution to Music Award and Forth Fringe Award, all up for grabs this year.
Richie Jeffrey, Events and Marketing Manager at Radio Forth said: “The Radio Forth Awards are something that we have been passionate about since they first launched back in 2003. They offer an opportunity for communities to come together and celebrate the outstanding efforts of some truly remarkable people from our small corner of the world.
“The awards have quickly become a favourite on the event calendar and we are delighted to be able to offer our listeners the chance to attend the event. With some of the best names in music and entertainment appearing at the ceremony in previous years, I’d recommend listeners get their tickets fast!
“The Usher Hall is one of Edinburgh’s great venues, and the fact we have already sold out of the grand circle seats shows just how much the city has been deseperate for the event to return.”
The Forth Awards also celebrate some of the biggest names in music and entertainment, with Scotland’s very own Lewis Capaldi being amongst those who have been recognised at the awards in previous years.
As usual, this year’s live acts is a closely guarded secret until the day itself and the countdown is on to find out who will follow in the footsteps of previous performers including Stereophonics, Paolo Nutini and Olly Murs.
A new walk-through coronavirus testing centre has opened in Edinburgh. The new facility is being provided by the UK Government as part of a UK-wide drive to continue to improve the accessibility of coronavirus testing for local communities.
The centre, in the Usher Hall, will offer pre-booked tests for those with coronavirus symptoms.
The new site is situated so as to be easily accessible without a car. Those being tested will be required to follow public health measures, including social distancing, not travelling by taxi or public transport, practising good personal hygiene and wearing a face covering throughout, including while travelling to and from the testing centre.
Anyone attending an appointment at a walk-through testing will be provided with guidance on getting to and from the test site safely, with additional support for vulnerable groups and people with disabilities.
Testing at the new site started yesterday at 2pm, with appointments to be made available every day.
The latest UK Government site is part of the largest network of diagnostic testing facilities created in British history, which now comprises 75 drive-through sites, 112 walk-through sites, 258 mobile units, home testing and satellite kits and network of Lighthouse laboratories.
Testing is available only for those with coronavirus symptoms – a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, or a loss or change to sense of smell or taste.
Anyone with one or more of these symptoms should book a test at NHS Inform or by calling 0800 028 2816. From the start of the pandemic, testing has been prioritised for the most vulnerable, including patients in clinical settings and care home residents, vital health and care staff and to manage outbreaks.
Anyone testing positive for the will be contacted by contact tracers to help them trace their contacts. This will help people to identify who they may have been in close contact with, protecting others from further transmission.
Close contacts of those testing positive will also hear from contact tracers, asking them to stay at home for 14 days to prevent them from unknowingly spreading the virus. They will be advised to also book at test if they develop symptoms.
Health Minister Lord Bethell said: We continue to expand testing to make sure that everyone with symptoms can get a test, with our new walk-in sites making it even easier no matter where you live.
“This new site forms part of our national testing network, which has the capacity to test more than a million people a week and is growing all the time.
“If you have symptoms of coronavirus, I urge you to book a test today and follow the advice of contact tracers if you are contacted to protect others around you and stop the spread of the virus.
“This is a national effort and we are proud to be working with a number of partners to turn this ambition into a reality and roll out additional capacity to where it is needed.”
Baroness Dido Harding, Interim Executive Chair of the National Institute for Health Protection, said: “Our new walk through sites offer communities better access to coronavirus testing, so everyone with symptoms can get a test. This new site is part of our ongoing work to expand testing across the UK to deliver 500,000 tests a day by the end of October.
“Please book a test if you have coronavirus symptoms: a new continuous cough, a high temperature and a loss or change in sense of smell or taste.
“Everybody should continue to think hands, face, space, and follow the advice of contact tracers if you are contacted – this is the only way we can return to a more normal way of life.”
UK Government minister for Scotland, Iain Stewart, said: “The UK Government is committed to helping all parts of the UK fight coronavirus. We are providing the bulk of covid testing in Scotland, and this new walk-through centre in Edinburgh comes on top of nine other testing sites across Scotland funded by the UK Government, as well as the Glasgow Lighthouse Lab.
“Testing will play a vital part over the coming months, helping to manage local outbreaks and protect livelihoods. This walk-through centre will help people in Edinburgh have easy access to a test in the city centre.
“We are pleased to be working with commercial partners and with Edinburgh’s iconic Usher Hall. These sites are not possible without the hard work of many people and I would like to thank everyone involved for their incredible efforts.”
The testing centre is being operated in partnership with Mitie and will self-administered tests.
Simon Venn, Chief Government & Strategy Officer, Mitie, said: “Our priority during the pandemic is to support the nation’s efforts to fight COVID-19 and help keep the country running.
“Testing is a critical part of the UK’s strategy to combat coronavirus and we’re proud to support the UK Government with this vital task. A big thank you to all the NHS staff, Mitie employees and other frontline heroes in Edinburgh, who are working tirelessly to keep us all safe.”
Giant new artwork – Justice for Sheku Bayoh – at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall joins the rapidly expanding Mural Trail as Scotland’s artists and arts organisations combine their voices to support Black Lives Matter
Scotland’s Black Lives Matter Mural Trail is expanding rapidly. The addition this week of 5 new artworks at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall takes the total to 24 (across Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness) with over a dozen more planned in the coming weeks, in Stirling and Dundee, as well as Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The latest additions are by Kirkcaldy artist Abigail Mills aka Abz including an impressive 5.5 meter x 6.5 meter print on the Usher Hall’s Glass Wing, and a further 4 images next to Lothian Road.
Striking, colourful and thought provoking, Abz’s work reflects her regular job as a tattoo artist, but goes far beyond that, reflecting her Scottish/Jamaican heritage and self identifcation as a “queer artist”.
The Glass Wing artwork – Justice for Sheku Bayoh – is inspired by the death in 2015, in police custody in Kirkcaldy, of Sheku Bayoh (now the subject of a recently announced public enquiry).
Aamer Anwar, lawyer for the Bayoh family, said: “The family of Sheku Bayoh & his partner Collette are deeply grateful to the artist for this mural which encapsulates for them their long struggle for justice & truth.
“It’s time that those who fly the banner of #BlackLivesMatter realised that there are also many George Floyds in the UK and their families need your support”
Abz’s work joins The Neon Requiem’s 3 portraits of female inspirations in his life – The Healer, The Nurturer and the Teacher, on display at the Lyceum Theatre, text contributions by Annie George at The Traverse Theatre, and a further 6 posters featuring words by some of Scotland’s leading BAME musicians including Emili Sande, Young Fathers and Findlay Quaye, making a remarkable cluster of creative activity by BAME artists/writers, at Edinburgh’s “theatre hub”.
“This is hugely significant, and not just for art and culture” – Cllr Donald Wilson, Culture Convenor, City of Edinburgh Council
World-renowned winner of multiple Emmy® and Grammy® Awards, The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square will perform in Scotland on 14 July, for the first time since 1955.
Audiences at the 2,200-seat Usher Hall will enjoy a performance by The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, known for its one-of-a-kind signature sound created by 320 volunteer voices.
Sixty-five members of the Orchestra at Temple Square, the Choir’s companion all-volunteer symphony orchestra, will accompany the Choir.
The Orchestra recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Distinguished choral composer and arranger, Dr Mack Wilberg, will conduct along with assistant director Dr Ryan Murphy. The Choir’s repertoire will range from Handel, Gounod, and Rossini to American folk hymns and spirituals. The concert will be just under two hours in length.
Tickets for the performance can be purchased via the Usher Hall webpage at www.usherhall.co.uk. Tickets can also be purchased at the Usher Hall ticket office or over the phone at 0131 228 1155. Tickets are available for those over the age of 8.
The Tabernacle Choir’s “2020 Heritage Tour” will take the Choir and Orchestra to six other cities. In addition to cities in four Nordic countries—Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Oslo—they will perform in Cardiff and Newport, South Wales. Information about the full tour including the Edinburgh concert can be found at thetabernaclechoir.org/tour.
Choir president Ron Jarrett said the name of the tour is a nod to the history of the Choir, many of whose first members were early converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with musical talents from Europe.
“We stand on the shoulders of these musical pioneers who created a legacy that has influenced the entire world for good”, he added. “What an honour it will be to share the joy and peace the music of the Choir and Orchestra bring in some of the very places where it all began.”
United by their faith and shared love of music, the Choir and the Orchestra support the work of the Church. For most of its history the Choir was known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir; in 2018 its name was changed to The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square to more fully align with the work of its sponsoring organisation.
