Jailed for racially motivated attack – New RCAHMS project gets Lottery grant – Lothian Buses win another award – Deaf Action get funding boost – Exhibition of golf art
At Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday Douglas Cruikshank was sentenced to nine months imprisonment and Chelsea Lambie 12 months in a Young Offenders Institution, for their part in a racially motivated attack on the Central Mosque in Edinburgh.
Wayne Stilwel was earlier sentenced to 10 months imprisonment at an earlier date after admitting his part in the incident.
The court heard that all three who are associated with the Scottish Defence League, carried out the attack in the early hours of 31 January 2013.
Having purchased bacon at shops in Dalkeith and Edinburgh they proceeded to the mosque and wrapped it around door handles there.
One man who was inside praying noticed the trio at the door appearing to wave at him and assuming they were coming in to pray returned to his worship. He then heard a noise like something hitting the prayer room window and slices of uncooked bacon were later discovered stuck to the window.
Speaking following sentencing today John Logue, Procurator Fiscal for East of Scotland, said:
“The Muslim community are a valued and integral part of Scottish society and there is no place for such attacks in modern Scotland
“As we strive to become a fairer and more tolerant society to live in we will not let it be blighted by a narrow minded and hateful minority.
“Prejudice and bigotry have a corrosive effect on our nation and we will maintain our zero-tolerance approach towards such crimes which will continue to be investigated carefully and prosecuted robustly.”
***
People living in towns and cities across Scotland will be able to investigate and tell the history of their own communities through a project which has been awarded a £1.65m Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant.
RCAHMS has been awarded the funding by the HLF for a five-year project, Scotland’s Urban Past (SUP).
The project builds on the success of the Scotland’s Rural Past (SRP) a community archaeology project which trained hundreds of volunteers in 60 local groups across Scotland, in recording historic settlements.
Now Scotland’s Urban Past (SUP) will focus on the urban built environment, working with 60 communities the length and breadth of Scotland, to explore the rich architectural, social and personal histories of their urban environments and to study how they have changed over time.
A call for participants and interested groups will be launched in spring 2015.
***
Lothian Buses has scooped the Public Transport Operator of the Year award at this year’s Scottish Transport Awards.
At the awards ceremony on Thursday night in Glasgow the company won and was shortlisted in many categories. More here.
***
Deaf Action in Edinburgh has been awarded a funding boost of £10,000 through the Clydesdale Bank Spirit of the Community Awards to recognise the important role it plays in the local community.
The Spirit of the Community Awards announced the substantial donations to voluntary groups at an awards ceremony in Glasgow to recognise the charities and not-for-profit organisations which are going the extra mile.
Twelve community groups across Scotland were selected to share funding of £75,000 to make a real difference in their local areas, including Deaf Action which aims to help hearing impaired, deaf and deafblind people. The Clydesdale Bank funding will be used to support the cost of a part time employee fluent in British Sign Language who will provide money advice and information to deaf people online and create additional signed resources online.
Now in their second year, the awards were open to a range of organisations across the third sector which could demonstrate their support for the local community. Groups were invited to enter the awards scheme under one of three categories; education, employability and environment.
An overall winning group has been selected in each category securing £10,000 of funding, along with three highly commended winners that were each awarded £5,000.
David Thorburn, Chief Executive of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, said: “Clydesdale Bank’s Spirit of the Community Awards recognise and support the important role that voluntary and charitable organisations play in their local communities. It has been inspiring to see the great work that is being done at grass roots level across the country.
“Deaf Action is an extremely deserving winner and has been recognised for its community spirit with this award from Clydesdale Bank.”
Aidan McCorry, Chief Executive at Deaf Action, said: “Many Deaf people are denied access to ‘mainstream’ money advice, as services don’t allow for their access needs, particularly for people who use British Sign Language (BSL) as their first or only language. This funding will enable us to broaden an existing and popular specialist advice service to many more Deaf people across Scotland, including Deaf people in remote and rural areas. The service will be delivered directly in BSL and using new technologies.”
Clydesdale Bank’s sister organisation, Yorkshire Bank, has also announced 12 successful recipients of £75,000 as part of the Spirit of the Community Awards initiative. This brings the total funds awarded to 24 community groups up and down the country to £150,000.
For further information about Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank Foundation’s Spirit of the Community Awards, please visit www.cbonline.co.uk/foundation
***
The Scottish National Gallery is showing off a selection of art relating to golf this summer when Scotland is playing host to the Ryder Cup and the Commonwealth Games. The exhibition opens on 12 July 2014 just ahead of the opening ceremony of the Games.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
