SWRI Annual Summer School

Join The SWRI Where Schools Not Out For Summer


If learning new skills and meeting new people sounds like something you wouldn’t mind doing over the summer, joining the Scottish Women’s Rural Institutes (SWRI) may be the perfect solution. One of the popular events that the SWRI runs is the annual Summer School, this year being held at the St. Leonard’s School in St. Andrews from 17 – 21 July with 127 delegates already registered.

The courses are educational, fun and a great place for like minded members to meet and participate on subjects that are of interest. Each Summer School is held in a different area in Scotland every year and they not only aim to be accessible to a majority of members, but also offer members the chance for extensive travel throughout Scotland.

The Summer School offers classes such as, Digital Photography at two levels – one for those with computer experience and one for novices - Singing for Pleasure, History of St. Andrews & District, Gardens, Drama for Fun, Silk Shading, Tatting and Scrapbooking. Each year there is a diverse selection of classes catering to all different tastes and abilities of members.

Alison Bayley, National Chairman of the SWRI, says, “The Summer Schools that we offer are hugely popular with members, this year several classes were full within a couple of months of its organisation. The courses prove to be so popular because we offer such a broad range of activities, catering to the different interests of our members. The Summer Schools also offer members the chance to get away with other women with similar interests which in many cases can end up in long lasting friendships being struck.”

“We feel that it is our attention to detail on trips and other courses or classes that we have on offer, which has resulted in our 25,000 strong memberships that the SWRI has throughout Scotland today.”

The SWRI encourages members to participate in many different activities such as attending classes, events or simply to enjoy the friendship of fellow members at monthly meetings. If you feel that the SWRI may have something to offer you in the way of classes, activities, courses or friendships or to find out more about what’s available to SWRI members, call the National Headquarters in Edinburgh on 0131 225 1724.

Austalian Pipe Band Aberdeen Scotland

Male Pipeband From ‘Down Under’ To Perform Scottish Classics For Aberdeen Shoppers


Knox Grammar School Pipe Band from Wharoonga, New South Wales, Australia will treat shoppers to two half hour sets of Scottish musical interludes such as Auld Lang Syne, Flower of Scotland and the Skye Boat Song as part of their music tour of the UK. The 37 strong all male band of pipers and drummers, dressed in Red Macpherson tartan, will perform the free open air concert on the St. Nicholas bandstand of the Bon Accord St. Nicholas shopping centre on Tuesday 27 June 2006 from 12.30 pm to 2pm.

Father’s Day Presents Aberdeen

Fathers’ Day Finds to be Had in The Bon Accord Shopping Centre

Shoppers in search of a special fathers’ day present need look no further than the Bon Accord St. Nicholas shopping Centre this week, as leather accessories specialists ‘Koral Accessories’ sets up shop in the lower mall of the central atrium, from Monday 12 June until close of business on Saturday 17 June.

Selling a range of leather items from wallets to customised belts, Koral Accessories is the ideal shopping stop-off for those looking for a high quality, practical gift for Dads.

Koral Graham of Koral Accessories, says: “As well as items well suited to Fathers’ Day, we have a whole host of products including handbags and purses, in an array of colours from fuscia to lilac, along with the traditional blacks and browns, and various products in the Saddler range. With prices ranging from £1.99 to £12.99 on purses, and from £4.99 to £59.99 on handbags, there is something to suit all budgets.”

Centre manager Frank Sutherland says: “I am pleased to be hosting Koral Accessories in the shopping centre and offering our shoppers the chance to pick up some last minute Fathers’ Day gifts. If past experience is anything to go by, these leather goods normally go like hot cakes, so shoppers should get in quick to see the full range!”

Chris
www.aboutaberdeen.com
www.borntoloaf.co.uk

Swamp Soccer Scotland

Brits Invited to Get Down and Dirty in Alternative World Cup

Wayne Rooney wannabes, footballers’ wives, business men and women… anyone over 17 who likes football, fun and …getting down and dirty, can now sign up for the first ever British ‘Swamp Soccer’ event. Registration for this unique two-day tournament, which makes its UK debut on 1 and 2 July 2006, is now open.

An extreme sport that requires no training, Swamp Soccer originates from the swamps of Finland and is fast becoming an alternative sport phenomenon globally – tournaments already take place annually in Russia, the Netherlands, Brazil, Sweden, Iceland and now in the UK.

Stewart Miller, Swamp Soccer Event Organiser says, “We are really excited to bring Swamp Soccer to the UK for the first time. I’ve taken part in tournaments in other parts of the world and it really is great fun, whether you are entering as a group of friends or as part of a corporate team building exercise.

“Team registration opens today and we are expecting a large number of teams taking part on the 1 and 2 July. Thousands compete in the tournaments elsewhere in the world and in terms of popularity, Swamp Soccer is considered one of the fastest growing alternative sporting events in the world.”

Taking place at the Hunter’s Quay holiday village, Dunoon, Scotland – a unique campus that is made up of a variety of two and three bedroom lodges and caravans – the action packed weekend costs just £20 to enter a team, including free ferry travel, free entertainment, live music, discos and ceilidhs. World Cup fans can also watch the matches on a huge television screen.

The Swamp Soccer rules are similar to regular football with a few exceptions - there is no offside rule, each team consists of six players - one goalie and five field players, unlimited substitutions can be made, the game lasts 24 minutes, players in the same team must wear the same colours but fancy dress is also encouraged and, as the name suggests, players should expect to get more than a little dirty.

Swamp Soccer is open to everyone over the age of 17 years and teams can be all male, all female or mixed. Whether you want to enter as a group of friends, get a team of work colleagues together or just come and watch the fun, this is guaranteed to be a great weekend in a beautiful west coast of Scotland location and much more fun than celebrating the World Cup down the pub.

To enter a team and for further information visit www.swampsoccer.co.uk or call 01369 830000.

Seventh Annual Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise

Five Aberdeen Companies Win Coveted Enterprise Awards

Five Aberdeen based companies are today celebrating their success at the seventh annual Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise that was held on Thursday 8 June 2006).

Capture Imaging of Aberdeen won the New Business Award. A document management copy and scan solutions service company, Capture Imaging, was launched in October 2005 by Colin Yule and Robbie Cheyne. The business aims to provide a local, personal service in the field of document management and in the first quarter of trading secured contracts worth more than £400,000.

The Young Business Award was presented to TSMarine (Contracting) Ltd, a specialist marine and subsea operations support services provider exclusively supporting subsea operations to the offshore oil and gas industry. The company primarily focuses on the decommissioning of redundant subsea production facilities but also supports a diverse cross section of offshore projects when required.

The oil and gas industry is represented for a second time by the winner of the Business Growth Award, C&M Group Ltd. In order to provide a wider range of engineering services to their clients, C&M Group Ltd split their organisation into separate divisions. Two years on, the company has grown beyond recognition with an increase in turnover approaching 500%.

The Sir Ian Wood Award for Innovation was last night picked up by Aberdeen life-science company, NovaBiotics Limited. The design and development of anti-infective technologies is undertaken by NovaBiotics Limited in order to meet an increasing need for safer, more effective antifungal and antibacterial drugs. NovaBiotics Limited concentrates on developing truly original therapies and has an innovative approach to delivering the technology to market which has allowed them to discover more effective antibacterial compounds.

Winner of the New Business Award at the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise in 2003, Richard McLaughlin of attic was last night awarded the Ian Davidson award for Entrepreneurship. Richard took over the family wholesale business nine years ago and now owns two successful shops - one in Aberdeen and one in Inverurie. Richard has also set up a website, one of the first branded clothing websites through which the company serves customers across the world.

Winners of the six awards were announced in front of an audience of 400 north east business people. Rachel Elnaugh, one of Britain’s highest profile female entrepreneurs was the key note speaker at the event.

The Awards commend business achievement in companies of all sizes and enterprising individuals, are organised by Enterprise North East Trust (Enterprise) and sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Business Gateway (in association with Scottish Enterprise Grampian).

Chris Travis, chief executive of Enterprise says, “There was a record number of entries for the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise this year, entry numbers were up by 27% on last year. The awards act as a showcase for businesses from across the north east and highlight the wide variety of industry sectors which are represented in the area. Judging the entries was not an easy task as all of the entries were of a consistently high standard with many demonstrating dynamism, ingenuity, business flair and other entrepreneurial skills.”

Stuart Heslop, director of commercial banking in Aberdeen for RBS, delivered the second key note address to those at the awards ceremony. He comments, “RBS has sponsored this prestigious event for five years now and we are proud to be associated with what has come to be recognised as a key event on the north east business calendar. The finalists and ultimate winners last night reflected the enterprising nature of the north east and this bodes well for the economic prospects of the region.”

All finalists received a certificate and category winners picked up a coveted enterprise award and a cheque for up to £5,000.

Forecourt Art Group Open Air Exhibition

The annual Forecourt Art Group Open Air Exhibition returns to Aberdeen again from Monday 19 June until Saturday 1 July. It will be held each day from 10am to 5pm at The St Nicholas House Underpass in Broad Street, Aberdeen.

The Forecourt Art Group Open Air Exhibition is the North East os Scotland’s longest established open air art exhibition. It was previously held in the forecourt of Langstane Kirk and returns with a new venue under St Nicholas House between Broad Street and the rear entrance to Marks and Spencer.

There will be more than 100 original works of art in oil, pastel, watercolour and mixed media on display each day. Prices of the artwork are from £30 to £150.

Grampian Transport Museum Time Travel Exhibition

Time Travelling Experience in Store for Aberdeen Shoppers

Shoppers in the Bon Accord St. Nicholas shopping centre will be treated to a taste of both the past and future next week, as the
Grampian Transport Museum Time Travel Exhibition makes a road show appearance in the lower mall of the central atrium for one week from Monday 12 June.

The mini exhibition will feature a Ford Thames light commercial van dating from 1950, as well as a Manx Norton racing motorcycle from 1952, thought to be the most valuable of its kind, and certainly the ultimate treat for the motorcycling connoisseur. A CD station aimed at youngsters will also form part of the exhibition, and allow budding time travellers to virtually navigate the Alford based transport museum, through the use of 360 degree panoramic photography.

Mike Ward, curator at the Grampian Transport Museum, explains: “This is an opportunity for the people of Aberdeen to get a taster of the time travel exhibition that is currently on display at our museum in Alford. The vehicles from the 1950s are in great condition, and we will be encouraging the public to interact with the exhibits as well as ask questions of our team, who are experts on time travel and have a good knowledge of local travel and transport history as well.”

Centre Manager Frank Sutherland says: “With the current popularity of shows such as Dr Who, the Grampian Transport Museum’s time travel exhibition is a must-see for fans, as well as a source of interesting facts and figures on the local history of travel and transport. I am very pleased to be hosting the exhibition in the Bon Accord St. Nicholas shopping centre, and helping to provide an unusual way for our shoppers to ‘pass the time’ between shops.”

Ascot Hat Competition

Shopping Centre Says ‘Last Call’ for Hat Design Competition Entries

Local students and school children have less than a week remaining to get their designs in for the Bon Accord St. Nicholas Shopping Centre’s ‘Hat’s Off for Ascot’ competition, if they are to be in with a chance of winning one of the fantastic prizes courtesy of Marks & Spencer and John Lewis, as the closing date is this Friday 9 June.

The hat design competition, which is being organised and judged by shopping centre staff and is open to all local children from nursery to secondary age, as well as to college and university students in the area.

Entrants are asked to think of a hat they would like to wear to a day at the races, and put down their design ideas on paper, in the form of a sketch, painting or graphic design, and send their entries, complete with name, age and daytime contact details to Hat Design Competition, Tricker PR, 9 Victoria St, Aberdeen AB10 1XB, by 5pm on Friday 9June 2006. There will be separate categories for the various age groups and the winners in each category will receive a prize donated by Marks & Spencer and John Lewis.

Grade Athon Aberdeen

Photoshoot Opportunity with Miss Commonwealth Scotland on Friday 2nd June @ 10.15am at the North East of Scotland Music School, 21 Huntly Street, Aberdeen

Grade-♪-Athon Comes to Aberdeen

Gifted musicians from the north east of Scotland will hopefully be making sweet music throughout the winter, to raise funds for two Scottish organisations. CHILDREN 1ST and the North East of Scotland Music School Ltd (NESMS) will benefit from music scholars battling their wits against instruments unknown to them.

The Grade-♪-Athon Aberdeen will see individuals who are at least Grade 7 in any instrument undertake a Grade 1 exam in an instrument in which they have little or no experience. Participants will have one group lesson in the new instrument (proposed date – Saturday 9th September) and then be given 8 weeks to practice before culminating in a one day Grade 1 examination (proposed date – Sunday 19th November).

Miss Commonwealth Scotland, Amanda-Jane Taylor
will be launching the event on Friday 2nd June at the North East of Scotland Music School. Amanda-Jane Taylor said “I’m delighted to have been asked to launch this musical challenge. Learning a new instrument is a challenge in itself but completing a Grade 1 in only 10 weeks is inspirational! I wish all those participating in the Grade-♪-Athon Aberdeen the very best of luck and I hope that everybody succeeds in passing their Grade 1 exam.”

Nicola Bradford, Board Member of CHILDREN 1ST and Council of Management at the NESMS, added “as a music teacher I understand fully the challenge of taking up a new instrument but we are sure that many gifted musicians throughout the north east will rise to it. I’m delighted that sponsorship raised through this event will raise funds for two such worthwhile causes and I look forward to hearing music resonating throughout Aberdeen.”

Anybody interested in taking part should contact the North East of Scotland Music School on 01224 649685.

CHILDREN 1ST is one of Scotland’s leading child welfare charities, helping children and families in the North and across Scotland while its sister organisation, the NSPCC, supports children in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Every one of us can play a part in keeping children safe. Find out what YOUR part could be. View their TV and cinema advert and meet Mairi, the mascot of the CHILDREN 1ST Public Awareness Campaign at
www.children1st.org.uk