Women’s football at fever pitch

By Laura Montgomery
It’s Cup fever this weekend as a host of round 2 Unite Scottish Cup matches take place. The pick of the bunch is the only all Premier League clash, involving holders Glasgow City and Edinburgh based, Boroughmuir Thistle.

With the Scotland Under 19 squad away competing in the European Championships, City have three players missing and could have postponed the match, however, with a depth of squad fit and available, boss Peter Caulfield, was happy to play the match.

He said, ‘Every year we end up in a backlog of matches scenario, so we always want to play every game when we can. We have three very talented players missing for the match, but that is why we have a squad pool, and I am more than confident, the team that is selected on Sunday, will give their very best.’

Three times prior winners and twice runners-up, City have a pretty decent history in the Scottish Cup and whatever side takes to the field on Sunday, as current Champions, they will be strong favourites to progress to the next round.

Elsewhere a number of lower divisional sides get to test their skills against some of the top sides in the country. Hamilton Accies Reserves travel to Lennoxtown to take on Celtic to try and achieve a result their Premier League team has never managed over the Hoops – a win. Accies will most certainly be up against it on Sunday as they take on a Celtic side two leagues above them, but Hamilton’s Reserve team are top of the Second Division West Region league, so they won’t be short of confidence going into this tough fixture.

Rangers meanwhile face First Division side Raith Rovers, who up until two seasons ago, were in the Premier League. Although Rovers have lost a few players since their days in the top flight, they still have plenty of experience playing the top guns and will be expected to put up a decent fight against Rangers.

All Second Round ties going ahead this Sunday:

Hibernian 1875 v Spartans, Hibernian v Dunfermline, Glasgow City Reserves v Troon, Hutchison Vale v Inverness, Boroughmuir Thistle v Glasgow City, Raith Rovers v Rangers, Forfar Farmington v Celtic Reserves, Aberdeen City v Cowdenbeath, Forfar Farmington Reserves v Aberdeen University, Dee Vale v Motherwell, Aberdeen v Paisley Saints, Celtic v Hamilton Accies Reserves, Hibernian 1875 v Spartans, Murieston United v Hibernian 2000, Toryglen v Dundee United.

Boroughmuir v Glasgow City is at Meggetland, Edinburgh, 12.30pm Kick Off

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Copycats fans wanted at the Quay

Fans of the extremely successful games show ‘Copycats’ have a chance get up close and personal by being the audience for the next series which is being recorded in Glasgow.

The BBC’s Scottish headquarters building at Pacific Quay is the venue in July. If you want to be a part of the picture, the free tickets can be booked by email from: copycats@bbc.co.uk or by phone on 0141 422 6571. The recording dates are Tuesday 6 to Thursday 8 July; Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 July; Tuesday 20 to Thursday 22 July.

Hosted by Sam and Mark, the show comes from the same Children’s BBC team responsible for hits such as ‘Raven’, ‘Wait for It’, ‘Stakeout’ and ‘Ed and Oucho’s Excellent Inventions’.

‘We’d like to invite viewers and fans to take part, as audience members, in the studio recordings which are due to take place in July, during the summer holidays.’ said their spokesperson.

‘This is an amazing opportunity for adults and children aged from 9 to 13, to come into Studio A at Pacific Quay and be part of the audience for Copycats. The show itself will feature a fantastic mix of mimes, drawing and musical cubical games, with brand new challenges facing the contestants as the two teams compete head-to-head. Misunderstandings lead to some hilarious guesses, and make this a show not to be missed!’

Lucky audience members will enjoy a ring-side seat throughout the fun, and get to cheer on the teams with Sam and Mark!

Venus seen on Southside

by Elyas Hussain

The Goddesses of Peace, Abundance and Life are moving around, almost by stealth, on the Southside of the city.
Created by the skilled hands of artist Lewis McGill, the three 18 inch high, concrete Organic Fertility Goddesses were recently seen in three local gardens.
Lewis took two days to complete each Goddess then placed one each in the Peace Garden outside the Govanhill Baths in Calder Street, the Hidden Gardens at the Tramway in Pollokshields and at Fairfield community garden in Elder Park at Linthouse.
Resident artist in Laurieston / Gorbals and at Galgael Trust, Lewis told the LOCAL NEWS that the statues are based on three wishes. ‘The wish for the Hidden Gardens is a wish for Life. The one in Elder Park is for Abundance and the one in the Peace Garden is for Peace.’
The Peace Garden Goddess had a backdrop of two canvases – 6 ft high and 25 ft long – showing the Goddess motif in black and white and in multi colours. The entire installation was placed there as part of the Govanhill Streetland Festival.
However, all had to be removed pretty quickly as Lewis had not obtained prior permission to placing his art works there. He also had to remove the one in the Peace Garden but simply because it was part of the Streetland Festival so was a temporary exhibit for the three day event.
Lewis said: ‘The aim of these statues is to bring some colour and culture into our community. My favourite is the one in the Peace Garden because with the statue, there are the brightly coloured canvases, made to accompany it.’ He added: ‘I am really happy with the response that I have received.’
The statues are based on the Venus of Strathclyde, and follow a movement of ancient artists who left behind them a collection of small Venuses/Goddesses in Germany, France and Italy.  For further information contactLewis at: contact-luis@gorbalsgallery.co.uk

Junior boffins stand tall

Young scientists from Glasgow joined hundreds of others at the Tall Ship in Glasgow for a special Family Science Day .
The Family Science Day event run by the Shell Education Service on the 22 May saw primary school pupils and their families taking part in practical science investigations that featured electricity, energy transfer, forces and motion and materials.
Meg Post, one of the workshop leaders from the Shell Education Service, said: ‘Children are naturally inquisitive so when they are faced with investigating science their excitement is there for everyone to see.’

 

Molly McKenna (8), from St Rose of Lima Primary School in Garthamlock, gets into a bit of soapy bubble when she takes a close look at the science of bubbles with the help of science teacher and bubble expert James Soper.

Townhead Lottery win

The Townhead Village Hall Project has been awarded £1 million by the Big Lottery Fund’s Investing in Communities section concerned with Growing Community Assets.

Over the next five years – with additional funding from other sources – they plan to build a state-of-the-art hall for the community.

For more details see the LOCAL NEWS GLASGOW website: www.localnewsglasgow.co.uk

Business network has sense to touchbase at Touchbase

 A  relaxed way to enhance business connections has been devised by Networking Unlimited and charity Sense Scotland together. Ashish Kulkarni, who heads up his own software company, is leader in the Glasgow branch of Networking Unlimited. He has chosen to have their regular meetings in the airy space of Touchbase, the Kinning Park headquarters for the charity.

Pictured here are some of the Networking Unlimited members and guests who were shown over the extensive premises this week. They saw the public cafe, the conference rooms for hire, business meeting spaces and extensive capacity to hold events that the premises can offer. Said Ash: ‘We’ve been meeting here for a year and find it just right for us.’

Added Mairi Morrison, Business Development Manager for Sense Scotland: ‘We aim to bring even more businesses into the building. It is fabulous to have the opportunity to tell people about our work with disabled children and adults across Scotland.’

Commented one guest afterwards: ‘ I never knew such good premises were here within a minute’s walk from Kinning Park underground. I’m impressed by the open-ness, ease of access and facilities that are available and certainly plan to use them.’

For more information see websites: www.sensescotland.org.uk and www.glasgowbiznet.com

Kids bowled over on the green

Woodend Bowling Club in the West End has opened its doors to up-and-coming sports stars with their inaugural Junior Open Day. More than 50 local children descended on the club, recently, to be introduced to bowling by former World, Commonwealth and National champion, David Gourley.

Now 101 years old, the Club is part of ‘Get on the Green’; a nationwide campaign to interest young people in the sport. The campaign is organised by Taylor Bowls, the UK’s leading bowls manufacturer.

George Ross, President of Gents Bowling at Woodend, said: ‘The day was a great success and we look forward to more events that get local people interested in bowls. Some of the kids who came along had a natural flair for the sport so we have had additional coaching sessions for them. Who knows, we may even have found a new champion to take Scotland to victory in the 2014 Commonwealth Games!’

Bowling Clubs across Scotland are being helped to rejuvenate the sport by Taylor Bowls. Managing Director, Grant Heron, said: ‘Well done to everybody at Woodend Bowling Club for putting on such a fun-filled Open Day. It was refreshing to see so many children on the green.’

Red Road women become family

Expanded premises and a change of name have enabled Red Road Women’s Centre to welcome more men.

The centre in Balornock, has been reborn as the Red Road Family Centre and is now attracting men from an array of cultures to use its huge range of services.

Around 1600 people a month visit the one-stop-shop on Red Road. First opened in a flat at the base of a Red Road tower block in 1996, it provides everything from childcare to financial, legal and debt advice, counselling, acupuncture and photography classes.

June Aird, Outreach Project Worker, said: ‘It wasn’t that men weren’t allowed in before – we did have a few men who came in for help with various problems – but now that we’re a family centre, we have more men coming in and attending our classes such as computing.

‘The place was becoming more like a family centre, and since we changed the name, we haven’t looked back.

‘We try to help with any issue or any problem which is brought through the door. If we don’t have the answer, we will signpost people in the right direction.’

The family centre in Red Road receives funding from the Glasgow North East Community Planning Board.

Bailie Jim Todd, who chairs the Board, said: ‘The Red Road Family Centre is a real community hub providing a huge range of services to local residents. The dedicated staff do a superb job helping local people with practical and emotional problems. I’m glad that more men have been encouraged by the centre’s change of name, to take advantage of this facility.’

Southside goes heavy on Festival

By Elyas Hussain
An estimated 15,000 people turned out for the annual Southside Festival, and all of them had a wonderful time. The location was changed, however, from Queen’s Park to Queen’s Park Recreation Ground because there are old coal mines under the Park and there were concerns about the ground collapsing under the weight of the crowd, the marquees and all the equipment.
The day started with a procession from Shawlands Academy, down Pollokshaws Road, Allison Street, Victoria Road and along Queen’s Park Drive into the Rec grounds.
Local Councillor, Bailie Margot Clark formally welcomed everyone.
There were different zones for the different activities. Art and music were in the Glasshouses. The acoustic stage was located in Queen’s Park Bowling Club. The other things were inside the park and included a Relaxation Zone, Tai Chi, yoga, Indian head massage, Capoeira and much more.
The Fitness Activity Marquee, gave people a chance to try different sports. Rides and a climbing wall suited all ages. An Integration Community Marquee offered a wide range of music, songs and performance from Egyptian dancers to Theatre Nemo Choir.
At the main stage, performances from Shawlands Academy Dance Group to the Langside Band were well received.
The Band’s lead singer, Dalian Dooley (18), is studying music at Langside College. She and her four class colleagues set up the group. Said Dalian: I’m really happy with the response we’ve had and with my performance. This was our first time playing at the festival and it was great fun.’
One festival goer who was there with his wife and children, was Andrew Card (37) from Cathcart. He said: ‘It’s been really good fun and the kids really enjoyed going on the rides.’
Andrew Montgomery, Chairperson of the Southside Festival, told the LOCAL NEWS GLASGOW: ‘We are really delighted with the turn out. Everybody has had a wonderful time with a wide range of activities on offer. It has been an improvement on last year’s events. It takes a full year to prepare with 30 volunteers. I would like to thank everybody who has supported and helped out with the festival.’

Johnny goes gaily where others fear to tread

Every bride will identify with Big Johnny's wedding reception

 competition

 

WIN WIN WIN!!!!

Two pair of tickets to Little Johnny’s Big Gay Wedding.

At Langside Halls Wednesday 2 June to Saturday 12 June 2010 at 7.30pm

Actor Johnny McKnight has fond memories of Langside where he once shared a flat. So when it came to his theatrical Big Gay Wedding, where else but Langside Hall for the reception?!

That’s how the show, Little Johnny’s Big Gay Wedding, comes to be performing there from Wednesday 2 June till Saturday 12 June.

The third in Johnny’s series of Johnny musicals, this one is the whole wedding reception – with all the nightmares that go with those events in anyone’s life. ‘I just love to tell the daft stories and insane events that have happened in my family and this format gives me the perfect vehicle to tell them and have audience participation,’ said Johnny.  A natural story-teller, he wrote the two previous productions – Little Johnny’s Big Gay Adventure and Little Johnny’s Big Gay Musical – with fellow Artistic Director Julie Brown for their company Random Accomplice.

Said Johnny:’Those who come to see the show at the Langside Hall, are invited to dress up as if attending a wedding reception. ‘Dress to impress,’ is Johnny’s request. Guests (tix £10 or £8 concession) will be seated at tables, and while there won’t be a slap-up meal, there will be ‘something’ to keep the party going.

‘We’ll have a rare tare,’ promised Johnny who has an honours degree in Contemporary Theatre Practice from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD).

A virtual one man show with backing band, and a bit of a jig as it IS a wedding reception, Johnny hopes to take it on tour next year. Theatrically speaking, he’s been from heaven to hell already this year with Snowwhite pantomime at the McRobert Centre in Stirling and Valhala at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow. ‘My job is my hobby,’ said Johnny. ‘I just love what I do and hope the audience at Johnny’s Big Gay Wedding reception will enjoy themselves too.’

The LOCAL NEWS GLASGOW has exclusive competition tickets to offer for the opening night – Wednesday 2 June at Langside Hall, G41 2QR

Just tell us the name of the company Johnny McKnight and Julie Brown run. Email answers to: competitions@localnewsglasgow.co.uk with GAY WEDDING in the subject box. Deadline for the receipt of entries is 9am on Friday 26 May. Remember to include a phone contact number.

 

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