Scottish Independence Referendum
Hearts tour gets VisitScotland stars
Fashion Show
Festival City in Motion
Fundraising for Diabetes UK
Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and the Leader of the Opposition David Miliband are all headed to Scotland today to endorse the message put out in the latest Better Together broadcast. Prime Minister’s Questions has been postponed at Westminster to allow all three to travel together to put forward the No camp’s message.
On the day the three Westminster leaders visit Scotland, Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon will join campaigners from across the Yes family to promote the message that only a Yes vote for the powers of an independent Scotland can secure real job creating powers, and ensure that vital public services such as our National Health Service are fully protected from the impact of Westminster privatisation and cuts.
The Yes campaign published a new advert on the chaos of the No campaign parties’ more powers proposals – which offer nothing new – saying that only a Yes vote delivers a real timetable for the real powers Scotland needs to build a fairer, more prosperous country.
In addition, more business leaders have come out overnight in support of a Yes vote – with 100 putting their names to a newspaper advert taken out by Business for Scotland.
Mr Salmond said: ‘I relish David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg coming to Scotland – collectively, they are the least trusted Westminster leaders ever, and this day-trip will galvanise the Yes vote. No-one believes their panicked pledges – it is a phoney timetable for measly powers. A Yes vote delivers a real timetable for the full powers that Scotland needs.
‘More and more people in Scotland are waking up to the fact only with the powers of independence can we secure real job creating powers and ensure that our National Health Service is fully protected.
‘That is why I’m delighted more business men and women have today announced they are backing Scottish independence. They understand that only with the full range of economic powers available to us can we create new jobs and generate more investment.
‘Now that David Cameron is paying a panicked visit to Scotland, it is high time he found the courage of his convictions and agreed to debate the issues with me. The No side have lost their poll lead, and people are switching directly over to Yes – if David Cameron thinks he is the answer to the No campaign’s disintegration disarray, let him put his case to the test in a head-to-head debate.’
The Yes campaign also published a new advert:
A behind-the-scenes guided tour at the home of Heart of Midlothian Football Club has achieved a hat-trick of stars from VisitScotland.
The Tynecastle Stadium Tour, which has been operating in Gorgie since 1998, has been awarded a three-star “very good” grading under the national tourism organisation’s world-leading Quality Assurance Scheme.
Giving die-hard Jambos and football fans in general the chance to see everything from the dressing rooms to the dug-outs, the tour offers an in-depth look into one of the country’s most famous football clubs.
Operated by the Big Hearts Community Trust, the personal show-round of the stadium allows visitors the chance to see a range of memorabilia, including some of Hearts legend John Robertson’s Scotland shirts, footballs dating back more than 100 years and memorabilia accumulated through the club’s various adventures in Europe.
Fans can also learn about heroes from Hearts’ past – including the likes of the Terrible Trio of Alfie Conn, Jimmy Wardhaugh and Willie Bauld, and Scotland great Dave Mackay.
The main highlight of the tour, however, is a walk down the famous Tynecastle tunnel – where some of the country’s greatest footballers have run out to cheers from thousands of adoring fans.
Alan White, who operates the tour, said: “This is a great accolade for the hard work we’ve put into making the tour a truly memorable experience for die-hard Jambos and for football fans in general. It is important to have this recognition from the national tourism organisation and we are delighted to add our VisitScotland plaque to our trophy collection.”
Manuela Calchini, VisitScotland’s Regional Director for Edinburgh and the Lothians, said: “I would like to congratulate Hearts and the Big Hearts Community Trust on achieving this three-star grading for the Tynecastle Stadium Tour. Having an official grading means that visitors know exactly what they are going to get, with the Tynecastle Stadium Tour providing a fascinating, behind-the-scenes insight into this famous football club.”
VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance Scheme currently boasts more than 6,000 participants. Ninety-four per cent of participants in the scheme, which has been used as an example of best practice in countries all over the world, including Sweden and Namibia, have made an investment in their business in the last two years totalling around £70 million.
To book your place on the Tynecastle Stadium Tour, phone 0131 200 7219.
An exclusive fashion show previewing the latest key trends from L.K. Bennett in support of Royal Blind
Enjoy a glass of bubbles, some nibbles, and an intimate fashion show as you view the season’s latest at L.K. Bennett’s beautiful George Street store.
Tickets for this exclusive event are priced at £10.00 and will help raise much needed funds for Royal Blind who provide services to blind and partially sighted children and adults which enable them to live without disadvantage.
All funds raised from ticket sales will be donated in support of Royal Blind.
An exclusive 20% discount is being offered on the night with the opportunity to try on styles and seek the services of an L.K. Bennett stylist or colour consultant. L.K. Bennett’s shoes, ready-to-wear collections, handbags and accessories, appeal to women who want a wardrobe perfect for any occasion.
This special occasion takes place on Thursday, 2 October from 6.00pm to 8.30pm at L.K. Bennett, 45-45A George Street, Edinburgh.
Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis and can be purchased online at www.royalblind.org/events. For more information please contact our Marketing Team at events@royalblind.org.
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The now well-known Walid Salhab a lecturer at Queen Margaret University has made another film showing off Edinburgh at its best.
The University said: “There are some amazing and unique views of Arthur’s Seat, as well as some great footage of Edinburgh Castle, The Scottish Parliament, Scottish National Gallery, St Giles’ Cathedral, Festival Theatre, The Hub, Usher Hall and the majestic firework finale to the International Edinburgh Festival.
“Walid spent six solid weeks filming Kinetic Edinburgh III and 10,000 static photographs made it to the final edit of the film.”
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A team of investment managers from Business Growth Fund (BGF) swapped their brogues and boots for trainers earlier this year to raise funds for Diabetes Scotland and met to hand over their £2,376 fundraising donation to the charity.
BGF colleagues Duncan Macrae, Mark Bryant, David Gammie, Gemma Hamilton, Jennifer Graham and David Murray were joined by BGF board director, Karen Bothwell from Lloyds Banking Group, to form two marathon relay teams during this year’s Edinburgh Marathon Festival in May. The first BGF team completed the marathon relay in 3 hours 34 mins, with the other only three minutes behind.
BGF risk and compliance manager, David Murray who ran two out of four legs of his team’s marathon relay totalling 12.4 miles, explained:
“BGF chose to raise funds for Diabetes Scotland as a number of us have close family members who suffer from the condition and have a good understanding of the dangers and strains of living with it on a day-to-day basis. We are all very proud to have raised so much for the charity and understand it will go far to helping those currently living with diabetes as well as those that will be diagnosed in the future.
“We really enjoyed training together but also competing against each other on the day.”
Susie Williamson, Diabetes UK Scotland regional fundraiser for Glasgow and Edinburgh said:
“Team BGF Edinburgh’s fundraising efforts totaling £2,376, including matched funding from BGF itself, represents one of the biggest donations from this year’s Edinburgh Marathon Festival, and this has increased the total raised at the event by Diabetes Scotland runners in 2014 to more than £31,000. Both teams made a tremendous effort in fundraising during their grueling training, for which we are immensely grateful.
“Diabetes is a condition where there is too much glucose in the blood because the body cannot use it properly. If not managed well, both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes can lead to devastating complications. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in people of working age in the UK, and is a major cause of lower limb amputation, kidney failure and stroke. There are over 260,000 people living with diabetes in Scotland, and around 50,000 more who have Type 2 diabetes but are undiagnosed. As many as 620,000 people are at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and if current trends continue, an estimated 350,000 people will have diabetes by 2025.
“Donations such as BGF’s play a vital part in helping our charity to care for, connect with and campaign alongside people living with, and at risk of, diabetes. We can’t thank the team enough for their efforts.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
