Community project hits milestone
With the support of more than 200 local volunteers and six partner organisations, Edinburgh's Scran Academy Meals Programme will today reach a massive milestone in its essential response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The charity will deliver its 100,000th free, healthy, direct to door, ready meal. This ‘pop up infrastructure’ developed in response to Covid-19 has fed as many as 3,350 of Edinburgh’s most vulnerable people, daily since 20 March 2020.
By uniting and caring about the vulnerable, Scran Academy, a small youth catering social enterprise based in Pilton, North Edinburgh, with three part-time staff members, under the leadership of John Loughton, transformed itself into a highly-organised and efficient catering production line. The team responded from day one, by safely distributing meals to those in desperate need within their local community as the coronavirus crisis hit the Capital. On 20 March 2020 they made and distributed 330 meals to 110 residents of North Edinburgh. Today, more than four months later, 1500 meals will be delivered to at least 761 people citywide.
Ben MacPherson MSP said: “With passion and purpose, Scran Academy has responded remarkably and commendably in this crisis, helping many vulnerable people in communities across our city. By scaling up rapidly, building partnerships effectively, and safely distributing thousands of meals, Scran Academy’s operation has got food to those shielding and self-isolating while strengthening community bonds and upskilling many young people along the way. I’m very grateful to John and his team for all that they’ve done to safely support so many of my constituents and others in Edinburgh at this challenging time.”
Virtual poetry recital launched
Dumfries and Galloway Burns Association is going online to mark the 75th anniversary of its yearly commemoration of Robert Burns’ visit to the Brow Well, near Ruthwell, with an unusual ceremony bringing together some of the regions’ most notable figures.
The event is ordinarily marked with a wreath-laying ceremony at the well, but Covid-19 restrictions have meant that this year’s highlight is a virtual recitation of Burns’ Man was Made to Mourn, which is perfectly suited for our times as this melancholic epitaph reflects on life as well as on the plight of the less fortunate. It includes the famous lines: ‘Man’s inhumanity to man/Makes countless thousands mourn!’
Reciters include Burnsians representing 14 of Dumfries and Galloway’s clubs; dignitaries such as Dumfries Lord-Lieutenant Fiona Armstrong; young winners of the Burns Schools Competitions; and local politicians from all parties, including Secretary of State for Scotland and Dumfries and Galloway MP Alister Jack, David Mundell MP and Emma Harper MSP among others – they all have a line each. The event will also include a lament played by piper Callum Watson, and a short history of Burns’ links to the Brow Well by Professor Gerard Carruthers.
A very ill Robert Burns bathed in the well, whose iron-rich water was said to have healing properties, in July 1796. Rather than helping him recover from what is now thought to have been bacterial endocarditis, the treatment precipitated Burns’ demise and he died three days later on 21 July 1796 in Dumfries, at the age of only 37. The Brow Well has since become a place of pilgrimage for admirers of Scotland’s national poet.
The virtual ceremony and recitation will be launched today on Dumfries and Galloway Burns Association’s YouTube channel and on its Facebook page.
Time for cocktails
St Vincent’s Hospice is inviting you to join them at their upcoming virtual event: Cocktails in the Garden on Sunday 2 August.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, planning was well underway for their summer event: Cocktails on the Clyde, which had been a great success the previous year, bringing in vital revenue for the Howwood based charity.
In response to the unprecedented situation, with events still extremely limited and the fact that everyone has been stuck at home for the last few months, the team are determined to help you make the most of it, offering a fantastic afternoon of drinks, food and entertainment for just £37 for two in the comfort of your own home.
Senior fundraiser for St. Vincent’s Hospice, Louise Strachan, said: “We know how much so many of you were looking forward to our Cocktails on the Clyde event, and that’s why we are determined that despite the current restrictions, we are going to give you the best day possible to support a great cause.
“We have teamed up with Ellis Gin, who will be providing a delicious welcome cocktail, along with a freshly prepared afternoon tea from The Butchers Deli and Bakery in Paisley, both delivered direct to your door. The afternoon then kicks off at 2pm with a welcome from our fabulous host, Peter Ferguson, who will be bringing you laughs, entertainment, raffles and games. We hope you’ve got your dancing shoes on, as Barbara Bryceland, Karen and Curtis Campbell will be providing live music, streamed direct to your home.
“We hope you can join us, and please continue to support the Hospice by taking part in this amazing day. If ‘hame has to dae us’, why not make the most of it?!”
Afternoon Tea for Two with a welcome gin is £37.50 but you can have as many as lockdown allows. Please call 01505 705 635 or email Info@svh.co.uk to reserve your space.
