Author Archives: Reader

Take The Leap with the Royal Marines in Glasgow

Scotland’s Commando Spirit Appeal is calling on participants to sign up for an eye-watering abseil from Glasgow’s Finnieston Crane with the Royal Marines on 25 July. Those who sign up by 3 July will get a discounted entry fee.

Take The Leap is a unique opportunity to meet and spend a day training with the Royal Marines before abseiling with them from the very top of Glasgow’s iconic Finnieston Crane.

The challenge will raise funds for the Royal Marines Charitable Trust and participants can continue fundraising for three months after the event, receiving help and support with their fundraising efforts along the way

Participants can sign up at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/commando-spirit-take-the-leap-tickets-17211610390

A spokesperson for Commando Spirit said: ”Take The Leap is an amazing adrenalin rush and will give anyone, young or old, female or male awesome bragging rights.”

Commando Spirit creates and delivers life changing challenges, which offer once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for participants to show their courage and test their mettle against a substantial commando challenge. Each event offers a chance for those involved to gain a rare insight into what it means to be a Royal Marine Commando and raise life changing sums for Royal Marines and their families in need. Other events in the Commando Spirit Series include Escape The Dunker in which participants take on the formidable underwater escape training all Royal Marines have to face as part of their training; and Survive The Yomp the legendary 30-miler hike across Commando Country in the Scottish Highlands.

Encouraging participants to support the Commando Spirit events, Radio and TV Presenter Dermot O’Leary said: “I am delighted to support Commando Spirit; a great initiative to raise life changing funds for our Royal Marines and their families in need. I urge you to show your courage and sign up for a Commando Spirit challenge; a true test of guts and determination that will give you an insight into what it takes to be a Royal Marine.”

For more information about Commando Spirit, visit http://www.commandospirit.com

Submitted by Kirsty Innes

Recycle your Christmas cards and Woodlands Trust will plant more trees

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LOCAL WOMAN ‘PLANTS’ THE IDEA OF CHRISTMAS CARD RECYCLING

If everyone in Scotland recycles just one Christmas card at Marks & Spencer this year, the Woodland Trust will be able to plant more than 5,295 trees across the country.

Glasgow resident and long-time supporter of the festive M&S scheme, Muriel Finnigan (34), is championing this year’s campaign by raising awareness now in the hope that others will make a note in their diaries to drop their cards off at M&S after the Christmas break. Muriel explained: “The more cards recycled, the more trees the Woodland Trust will be able to plant throughout Scotland. Christmas is a family time and that encourages us to think about the future and what legacy we are leaving, which includes our physical environment. I’ve been telling everyone – recycle at M&S this January! Let’s see how many trees we can plant in Scotland next year.”

Muriel is not the only advocate of the charitable scheme. X Factor TV presenter Dermot O’Leary, a Woodland Trust supporter, is also encouraging people to get behind this year’s campaign. He says: ”When Christmas is over, it’s difficult to know what do with yourself. No more Christmas jingles, no more TV specials, no more mince pies! So, why not do some good? By popping to your local M&S you can recycle all your unwanted Christmas cards, and the Woodland Trust will be able to plant thousands of trees as a result.”

The UK is 8,135 trees richer thanks to the public’s efforts last year – where a staggering 8.1 million cards were dropped into M&S stores instead of kerbside recycling bins. This season, special card collection bins will be in M&S stores* from 2 January to 31 January 2014 and M&S will fund the planting of one tree for every 1,000 cards recycled, likely to result in thousands more trees throughout the UK.

“It’s a win, win,” says Sarah Locker of the Woodland Trust. “By recycling cards via the Marks & Spencer Recycling Scheme, you are playing a key part in turning unwanted waste into much needed trees. The more cards collected, the more trees we can plant so do join in and drop your cards off at M&S. Our aim is to collect at least 10 million cards this year so that we can plant 10,000 trees next year, just by recycling people’s unwanted cards.”

Mike Barry, Director of Plan A at M&S said: “This brilliant scheme plays an important role in helping our customers live a more sustainable lifestyle, a key part of our eco and ethical programme. Small steps taken by individuals can have a huge impact and the M&S collection boxes make it easy for anyone to get involved in preserving our natural habitats, simply by dropping off their Christmas card at their local store.”

The Woodland Trust has been planting trees and standing up for woodland for 40 years. Today the UK is one of the least wooded countries in Europe with just 13% woodland cover compared to the European average of 44% – with Scotland only faring slightly better with just seventeen per cent tree cover.

To find out more, speak to your local M&S store manager or visit http://www.plana.marksandspencer.com

Submitted by L McKenzie

Local School Leaver Awarded Accounting Scholarship worth £15,000

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Seventeen year-old Kayleigh Hagen of East Kilbride is one of just 16 young people to be selected from 300 applicants for an Accountancy Scholarship with Kaplan.

Each year, Kaplan awards school-leavers from across the UK Accountancy scholarships worth £15,000 each to study for an Accountancy Apprenticeship (ACCA, CIMA, ICAEW, CIPFA or CTA) followed by the chance to carry out further professional Accountancy qualifications.

Kayleigh succeeded at each stage of the selection process by impressing the panel of five interviewers with her passion for numbers, ability to remain calm under pressure and passion to work in an Accountancy-related field. Amazingly, all five panellists told Kayleigh they would employ her and she was offered a job and an interview on the day. She now has a secured Apprentice job at local firm, Campbell Dallas where she will start at the end of the month.

Yvonne Anderson, HR Director at Campbell Dallas said:

“Campbell Dallas is delighted to have secured Kayleigh as one of our AAT students for our 2014 intake. She impressed us throughout our recruitment and selection process and we believe she will be a great asset to our firm. Campbell Dallas is currently going through a period of considerable growth and we hope that Kayleigh will be part of this success.”

With the rate of youth unemployment so high, Kayleigh has a rare opportunity to get her foot on the career ladder early, and without incurring thousands of pounds of debt.

On receiving her award from Kaplan, Kayleigh said:

“I’m thrilled to have been selected for the Accountancy Scholarship. Once I’d made up my mind to become an Accountant I became worried about the huge amount of debt I would come out with after studying. Winning the Scholarship is such a huge weight of my shoulders and now I can’t wait to start my Apprenticeship and start earning money.”

Jenny Mason, Kaplan Apprenticeship Advisor said:

“Congratulations to Kayleigh! We had hundreds of applicants of a really high calibre this year so being one of 16 winners is a real achievement, and employers will recognise this. Being awarded the Kaplan Scholarship is a fantastic opportunity and Kayleigh can be reassured she has a bright future ahead of her, which is important when it’s so hard for young adults to find employment. Apprenticeships are a real viable career option to become a qualified Accountant without getting into debt. I wish Kayleigh the best of luck with her Apprenticeship!”

If you’re an employer, you can take on Kayleigh to work in your Accounts department and benefit from a talented addition to your team with her training costs covered. We also have several impressive runners-up who are looking to become an Accountancy Apprentice. Visit http://www.kaplanvocational.co.uk/talent for more information.

The Kaplan Scholarship applications for 2015 open in August 2014 and are available to young people in years 11 and 13 across England and Glasgow. Young people must have a passion for numbers and aspire to work in an accountancy-related field. To find out more, or apply for any of our Glasgow-based Apprenticeship vacancies visit kaplanapprenticeships.co.uk .

Submitted by Laura Crossley

World Cup party at the Love Pub

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Scotland’s national football team may not have made it into the Brazilian World Cup 2014, but pubs and bars throughout Glasgow, Lanarkshire and the whole of Scotland will still be celebrating the world’s most prestigious tournament in style.

Angels Hotel in Lanarkshire, affectionately called “The Love Pub, was picked to be part of Scotland’s Pubs & Bars A Story to Tell initiative because it is famous not just as a meeting place but for staff falling in love and subsequently marrying! It seems apt that one of these stories relates to the World Cup – the current bar manager, Claire Farr, met her husband when he was the manager of the bar at a previous World Cup. In their case, love really does equal football.

Naturally the bar will be hosting an exciting celebration for the duration of the World Cup, launching with a Carnival Kick Off on Saturday 12 June from 12 noon to late including:

Brazilian style World Cup Dancers
Sampling on the hour every hour.
Body painted model sampling
The Rumba Bumba Steel Band
BBQ
Street food
Bonus goodie bags
And much more

The celebrations at Angels, and its sister venue The Parkville, will continue throughout the tournament and into the Commonwealth Games. Highlights include:

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Special tapas meal deals including The Tapas 6 – Any 3 Tapas from their Tapptizer menu
World Cup Cocktails
Prizes including t-shirts and free Brazilian waxing
A La Botella menu
Round the World cocktails – The Coctel 8
The Brazilian – the ultimate party night for women only on 5 July including live music, Butlers in the Buff, a 2 course meal for £20 and more prizes.
The Final Party on Sunday 13 July – a ticketed party including a 5 course meal and sombreros.

And so they have someone to cheer on, the pub has selected three teams of their own to support through the tournament: Brazil, Uruguay and Honduras.

Speaking about the celebration, Siobhan Edwards, Marketing Director for the hotels said:

“Our Angels Hotel bar is affectionately known as the love pub, not least for the number of people who have met and subsequently married in our pub, but also because of the passion all our staff have for what we do. While Scotland may not be in the World Cup, we know that much of our football loving population will still want to celebrate the tournament and what better place to truly get the adrenalin pumping than surrounded by other football fans in your local pub or bar. We have created a very exciting celebration at all our bars so that our locals and visitors have a very special story to tell about World Cup 2014.”

For more information about the stories pubs and bars in Glasgow and throughout Scotland have to tell, visit http://www.scotlandspubsandbars.co.uk

Submitted by Kirsty Innes

Glasgow St Patrick’s Day Festival

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Free event in the Merchant Square from 15th March to 16th March 2014. Times are 12:30pm to 17:30pm each day.

The Festival in conjunction with Tourism Ireland presents a day of family celebration with music, song and dance.

With Celtic Music Radio set to host the main stage, some of the fantastic performers you can expect to see on the day include: local celeb Michelle McManus, St Roch’s Ceili Band, St James the Great CCÉ, Osbourne Academy of Irish Dance and The Keeley’s as well as many more!

The event was attended by over 6,000 people in 2013 and the Merchant Square is the perfect place for all the family to come along and enjoy the day under the safety of the enlclosed roof. With a host of restaurants and bars to cater for all tastes aswell as live music, face painting, Irish Ceili Dancing and the announcement of the Glasgow Mary of Dungloe nomination for 2014.

With this year is set to be even bigger and better than last, you don’t want to miss out, keep an eye out for all updates on our Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/MerchantSq.

Submitted by Lisa Arnold

SECC Glasgow hosts Les Mills GFX fitness festival

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Get ready to roll up your sleeves, shout, sweat, dance and feel the burn as Les Mills, the global fitness brand, and creators of BODYPUMP, BODYATTACK and BODYCOMBAT, brings its world famous GFX fitness festival, powered by Reebok, to the SECC Glasgow on 2 March 2014.

The day-long event will feature 13 of most innovative classes the UK has ever seen and aims to inspire people with a passion for the most exciting trends in studio fitness. Participants can take part in the very best in cutting edge and motivating workouts set to chart topping music, from a 1 million watt sound system, that guarantees an electric atmosphere!

There will also be the opportunity to enter the Inaugural GRIT SERIES Championship, a high intensity interval training challenge guaranteed to push fitness fanatics to their limits.

Delivered and presented by the internationally renowned Les Mills UK national trainer team, this is the first year GFX is open to the public so turn up, step up and see the sweat on your brows like a crown of achievement as you join the Les Mills revolution.

To book your space and for more information on costs, please visit the website.

Submitted by Chris Brown

CATCH THE BEST OF THE WINTER OLYMPICS AT MERCHANT SQUARE

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Merchant Square in Glasgow is giving you the chance to catch all of the action from Sochi on its giant big screen TV in the courtyard as the world’s top athletes go for gold.

Escape the nip of the Sochi climate and enjoy all your favourite sports from figure skating and ice-hockey to snowboarding and skiing all under the warmth of Merchant Square’s twinkling courtyard lights.

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After the adrenalin of watching your favourite game there’s no better way to relax than to enjoy a cheeky cocktail, an ice cold beer, or a bite to eat in your favourite Merchant Square restaurant.

Located in the heart of Merchant City, Merchant Square is a hub of stylish independent bars and restaurants all under one roof including Boudoir Wine Bar, Metropolitan, Arisaig, Fanelli’s, Beer Café, Mercado, Bar Square and Mercado.

For the latest news and updates on Merchant Square, visit http://www.merchantsquareglasgow.com/ or the Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/MerchantSq

Submitted by Lisa Arnold