Pat Fenlon resigns – Lord Provost’s charity dinner for homeless – Philomena opens this weekend – Jobs on the trams – CHAS lunch raises £51,000
The Hibs manager Pat Fenlon has resigned following the team’s defeat to Hearts earlier in the week. More on this story here. Anyone have ideas about his successor?
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A dinner hosted by the Lord and Lady Provost of Edinburgh raised thousands of pounds for local homelessness charities.
Shelter Scotland and Four Square will split £15,000 thanks to the fundraising event held at Steak Edinburgh restaurant on Thursday evening.
A hundred guests, including City of Edinburgh Council leaders past and present, representatives from a host of the city’s international consulates and football legend and Fife Provost, Jim Leishman, heard from the charities as to benefit their generosity would bring. Suitably motivated they then took part in a lively and fruitful auction before enjoying entertainment courtesy of 2007 X-Factor winner Leon Jackson.
Donated auction items included a night with Ian Rankin at Inspector Rebus’ favourite haunt, the Oxford Bar, fishing and stay in the Fisherman’s Cottage on the Queens Water at Balmoral and two pieces of artwork by renowned Edinburgh artist Richard Demarco.
The Lady Provost, Elaine Brand, had previously volunteered at Steak Edinburgh, helping to dish up Christmas dinners for homeless people, and was keen to work with the restaurant again.
Lord Provost Donald Wilson said:- “Elaine is determined to raise awareness of homelessness in Edinburgh during her time as Lady Provost and last night’s event was testament to her commitment to this marvellous cause.
“The money raised will go some way towards helping these two fantastic charities to keep up the good work they already do across the city, particularly in the challenging months ahead. We are extremely grateful to everyone who attended and gave so generously, to those who donated such fabulous auction and raffle prizes and, of course, to Steak Edinburgh for being such great hosts.”
Phil MacHugh, Marketing Director at Steak Edinburgh, said: “We are thrilled to support the Lord Provost’s inaugural Charity Dinner in aid of the homeless. We are humbled to be the chosen venue for this special occasion and delighted to help those in straitened circumstance.”
Alison Watson, Head of Services at Shelter Scotland, said: “We were delighted to be involved in this fundraising dinner, and thank the Lord and Lady Provost for organising a wonderful event.
“Raising awareness of bad housing and homelessness is important all year round, but it becomes particularly more significant as the cold winter months start to set in. These types of charity events go a long way and really make a difference in informing people about housing issues and the need for everyone to have a secure and decent place to live.”
Heather Arni, Chief Executive, Four Square, said: “Four Square is very honoured and extremely grateful to be included as a recipient charity of the Lord and Lady Provost Charity dinner.
“Every night we provide a safe and friendly place for 40 vulnerable young people here in Edinburgh. We then support them in the months that follow to face the challenges of independent living.”
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The new film Philomena starring Dame Judi Dench and Steve Coogan opened last night across the UK. We are going to see it – what are you going to see at the cinema? We could do with your film reviews!
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Edinburgh Trams is currently recruiting for a number of Ticketing Services Assistants (TSAs) to join the team in advance of the launch of passenger services next year.
Fifty-two positions are available and the role will involve carrying out ticket inspections on board Edinburgh Trams and ensuring that all passengers travelling on the service have paid for their journey. As part of their role, TSAs will also be required to provide customer service advice and guidance to the public on the tram service.
The recruitment of these positions will largely complete the Edinburgh Trams team, which is now preparing for next year’s passenger services launch.
Around 130 staff in total will work in a variety of different roles within Edinburgh Trams once the service goes live. Recruitment for these positions has so far seen tram drivers, controllers and administrative staff, among others, appointed. Earlier this year 1336 people applied for 57 tram driver and controller positions with Edinburgh Trams.
Councillor Lesley Hinds, the city’s Transport Convener, said: “Understandably there has been a focus on the role that tram drivers will play in the launch of the new service and we were overwhelmed at the amount of interest in these positions. However we need a whole team to help ensure the smooth running of the new tram service and TSAs will play a vital part in this. They will be the face of the service, dealing directly with the public on a daily basis, and so we’re looking for personable, professional people who will help us to deliver an efficient and customer focused tram service for Edinburgh.
“This is an exciting phase in the project with preparations for the launch of passenger services beginning to move up a gear. The target for service launch is May 2014 but we’ll bring this forward if we can. It’s important to recognise the significance of this testing, commissioning and staff training programme. There is much to be done and it’s vital that we are as prepared as we can be before passenger services begin.”
Applications are now open and interviews will be held over the next couple of months. Start dates for this role will be staggered from early January through to March 2014.
Successful candidates will initially be required to undergo a period of comprehensive training to prepare for the launch. They will work on a rota system with an average of 40 hours a week, over seven days. The starting salary for the role is £17,000 p/a.
Ticketing Services Assistants will work towards delivering a top quality service for the people and visitors of Edinburgh, helping to make ‘Trams in Edinburgh’ into a customer focused service that is efficient and operationally effective.
Tom Norris, Edinburgh Trams General Manager, said: – “With passenger service fast approaching there’s a growing excitement and team spirit at Edinburgh Trams and I’m sure our new additions will only add further to this. We are looking for applicants who are professional and committed and with these customer-facing roles, it’s also important that we recruit people who want to enjoy their job and have fun. This is a chance to be a part of the future of transport in Edinburgh, to be able to say you were part of the team when Trams returned to the city’s streets.”
Apply now at http://www.edinburghtramscareers.com/
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The CHAS lunch yesterday at Prestonfield House raised around £51,000 for the Children’s Hospice charity. The event was hosted by former STV news presenter Juliet Dunlop and everyone was bowled over by the wonderful entertainment staged by Michelle McManus who brought her Fringe show to Prestonfield.
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