- What does a £58,000 watch look like?
- The Scottish Parliament are running an Instagram competition
- Tesco staff on cycling fundraiser
- Septemberfest at Broughton High
- Thistly Cross want your apples!
Well it looks a lot like this. Patek Philippe created the watch specially for Hamilton & Inches who have 25 of them for sale. It is yet another way of the Edinburgh jeweller celebrating 150 years in business, following the visit from HM The Queen earlier in the summer.
The lovely thing about it is that it uses Edinburgh as the central point rather than London!
Thierry Stern who is President of Patek Philippe was in Edinburgh yesterday morning to unveil the specially designed watch along with Stephen Paterson of Hamilton & Inches and Mark Hearn UK Director of the family owned Patek Philippe.
This was not the only watch in the room! Every representative of Patek Philippe was wearing a different watch and there was a special exhibition laid out on the board room table at the National Museum of Scotland. The fascinating thing about the Swiss company is that they have a museum in Geneva where they also keep old tools, so no matter how old your watch they can fix it for you!
The limited edition watch is presented in a presentation box made of Scottish elm with a silver plaque and is accompanied by a set of white gold cufflinks.
You can see the timepiece in Hamilton & Inches’ showroom on George Street – and you can see Andy Scott’s rook there for another week before it has to leave. (it is taking up five car parking spaces!) If you haven’t seen it then we recommend you go along and have a look.
We met acclaimed Scottish photographer Harry Benson CBE earlier in the summer when his photography exhibition at Holyrood was launched. He is the most charming and modest man, but a great photographer as you will see if you go to see the exhibition (which we heartily recommend).
Inspired by the exhibition and Harry Benson, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, Ken Macintosh MSP has announced that The Scottish Parliament is now running a photography competition.
The #SeeingScotland competition asks people to share their photos on Instagram that encapsulate:
• Your life in Scotland
• What Scotland means to you
• A celebration of Scotland
Entering the competition just requires people to include the #SeeingScotland hashtag in the caption of their photo and follow the Scottish Parliament on Instagram @scotparl.
Every week a winner will be chosen. The winner of each week will receive feedback on their image from Harry Benson. Harry will then choose three finalists.
On St Andrew’s Day these three photos will go to a public vote on Facebook and Instagram to decide the #SeeingScotland winner. The finalists will then be awarded first, second and third prizes, which will include signed Harry Benson books, their winning Instagram photo framed alongside Harry’s feedback and a special tour of the building by the Presiding Officer.
The Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, Ken Macintosh MSP said:
“This competition aims to provide a celebration of Scotland through the medium of photography. We wanted to use Instagram because it’s a very visual way to share experiences. I want people to engage with and feel connected to their Parliament and this competition offers a unique opportunity to do so.
“The Parliament has a major spotlight on photography with the Harry Benson exhibition that is currently on display. So it provides an opportunity from people from across Scotland to be inspired by Harry’s work but then to get involved themselves.
“Of course there are many ways people can feel part of their Parliament by coming on a free tour, attending parliamentary business or engaging with a Committee. We also hope to use Instagram more generally as a way to provide an interesting insight into what goes on in the Parliament.
Harry Benson said: “Now with digital cameras and the new mobile phones, you can photograph what you see, but what you see should inform.”
Staff from Tesco stores in Edinburgh are saddling up for a cycling adventure to raise money for two charities.
A total of 120 colleagues from 45 stores across the country will take on a 23-mile bike ride to Callander on Tuesday 27 September 2016.
Organised by Tesco Cupar store manager Sharon Duchan, the event will raise money for the National Charity Partnership of Diabetes UK and the British Heart Foundation.
Colleagues took on the trek last year – and Sharon organised it again this year in response to public demand.
She said: “The event was a great success last year and everyone really enjoyed it – so much so that colleagues requested that we have another one again this year.
“We have colleagues taking part who are keen, experienced cyclists and there are also some who haven’t been on a bike for many years. All ages, abilities and fitness levels are very welcome.
“It’s not a competition – some people complete the cycle in an hour, others take three hours or more. The most important thing is that people enjoy it and feel like they’re doing something worthwhile.
“It’s so important for us to raise money for the National Charity Partnership and this is a really fun way to do it which helps to promote a healthy lifestyle. It also gets people from stores across Scotland talking to each other and making good connections.”
Broughton High School are holding their Septemberfest today. You are invited to the school campus for the free event which is now in its sixth year.
It is run in conjunction with Active Schools, Community Learning and Development and other community groups.
This year it has an Olympics theme and you will have the opportunity to try out various sports and bouncy castles. Sumo suits are also available!
Scotland’s Original cider-maker, Thistly Cross, wants to rediscover all abandoned, overlooked and neglected local Northern apple trees to put their fruit to good use, hand-pressing them at their Cidershed, near Dunbar in Scotland. And what’s more, they’ll swap those donations, big or small, for real fruit cider or apple juice!
Thistly is just as happy with a bucketful of good fruit as an orchard full. Last year’s “Bucket for a Bottle” scheme harvested well over a 160 tonnes of apples and this year Thistly would love to top that with its 2016 #apples4cider campaign.
One of the things that make Thistly Cross Cider so unique is its blend of Scottish heritage apples, hand-pressed on Belton Farm, East Lothian; establishing a proud tradition of using apples grown across the country from a wide range of sources, including local schools, professional apple growers, estate owners and the general public. And so, proud of its Scottish roots and northern heritage, Thistly Cross invites the public to donate their spare fruit.
Peter Stuart, Head Cidermaker at Thistly Cross said: “The apple season is the most important time of year for Thistly. This year’s harvest is looking bountiful. As apple donations are already flooding in, we’re hoping to exceed the 2015 crop. Thistly wants to give Scottish fruit a chance to really prove itself!”
Based in the heart of East Lothian, Thistly Cross was established in 2008 as a collaboration between farmer, Ian Rennie, and artist-turned-cidermaker, Peter Stuart, and has rapidly gained a growing reputation for making ciders that people love.
For any enquiries about apples, call Thistly on 07960962510 or email Head Cidermaker, Peter, on peter@thistlycrosscider.co.uk.
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
