Club enjoys Burns’ lunch

The House for an Art Lover’s music room was full when Glasgow South Business Club President, Remo Pisaneschi welcomed members and guests to their annual Burns lunch on Tuesday 24 January.

Govan High School music students entertained the crowd as people assembled and their Heidie, Iain White, piped in the haggis. Club member, journalist Grace Franklin, gave her usual flamboyant performance of Burns’ Address to the Haggis. The toast to the Immortal Memory of the Bard was given in humorous fashion by Alan Murray who is modest about his knowledge of the poet. In the course of his illuminating and witty speech, he sang one of Burns’ songs and recited verses from several poems. An effective tour de force that was as entertaining as it was enlightening. Alan is a Govanite by birth and early education. He currently runs a new styled, multi uses, community centre in Maybole, Ayrshire.

Honorary Life Member, Frank Bendoris, thanked all the contributors. The Club, which meets monthly, has important guests signed up for future meetings, including Brian Souter and First Minister Alex Salmond. Full information from the Club’s website: www.glasgowsouthbusiness club.co.uk

Run – for kids’ sake!

TV personalities Debi Edwards and Raman Bhardwaj have joined thousands of others and signed up for the Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run on Sunday 4 September with the youngsters’ event on Saturday 3 September.
They took a photo opportunity this week to encourage others to sign up for the event before the registration deadline of Friday 19 August.
Said STV news reporter Debi: ‘I’ve taken part in the Great Scottish Run a few times before and it’s a brilliant day with a fantastic atmosphere – there’s always a great crowd lining the streets to cheer the runners on. Like Raman, this year I’ll be running for STV Appeal 2011 to help raise funds for children affected by poverty. It’s such an important cause and I’m delighted to support it in any way I can – it will make the race an even more memorable experience.’ She will be running in the half marathon.
Added STV sports presenter Raman who will tackle the 10k: ‘After taking part in the 10k for the first time ever last year, I’d encourage anyone to give it a try. It’s a fab day. And the feeling when – not if – you finish, is fantastic. Not only is it a great opportunity to support a charity that might be important to you, but you’ll give your fitness a boost at the same time. I’ll be running in support of STV Appeal 2011 to help combat the shocking extent of child poverty in Scotland, and I hope others will join me in supporting this fantastic new charity in its first year.’
Described as the largest mass participation sporting event in the country, organisers Glasgow Life, on behalf of Glasgow City Council, are urging people to pull on their trainers and take part in Scotland’s biggest running festival.
The 10k and half marathon races will be on Sunday 4 September and the 1.5k and 3k junior races on Saturday 3 September. Scotland’s elite wheelchair athletes will also be taking part in 1.5k and 3k races on the Sunday.
Sign up at www.runglasgow.org
On average, runners raise £1.5 million for charity each year.
The Bank of Scotland is a long-standing supporter of sports and arts in Scotland. Said a spokesperson: ‘Through our sponsorship we aim to support emerging talent across Scotland and to inspire and support young people, colleagues, communities and businesses all the way through to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond.’
Photographer:  Ian Watson.

Gok takes a look in Scotstoun

Words and photograph by Stuart Maxwell

The construction of a new community centre in Scotstoun is ahead of schedule according to the Chair of the local group heading the project.

Heart of Scotstoun, a group of local volunteers, are close to realising a 12 year old dream by opening a new community centre in the area, in an economic climate that has seen many such centres close across the city.

On Wednesday 13 October, Chair Maria Fletcher told the LOCAL NEWS that: ‘the building should be completed by the end of November, ahead of schedule’.  All is going to plan, the facility will officially open for public use in April 2011.’

Said Maria: ‘Scotstoun’s last community centre closed its doors 12 years ago. The centre will provide a focal point and is a great example of a community getting together to make a difference.’

This effort has been aided in no small way by charity worker Mhairi Owens, who spent two months working with the Heart of Scotstoun after being selected, from over 1000 applicants in 2009, to undertake a Vodafone funded placement.

On the day that TV celebrity stylist Gok Wan visited the site on Balmoral Street, Mhairi told the LOCAL NEWS: ‘I was in between jobs and decided to offer my services for a charity. A friend told me what the Heart of Scotstoun were trying to do and it sounded like a worthwhile cause. It has been very rewarding being involved.’

Mhairi added: ‘The vodaphone World of Difference placement gave me the chance to get involved with this charity and has left me inspired to do more.’

The World of Differencee programme pays individuals to work for a charity of their choice for a two month period. The face for the Vodafone initiative is stylist Gok Wan, who visited the Scotstoun development to see the fruits of Mhairi’s efforts.

Gok told the LOCAL NEWS: ‘Travelling across the UK and seeing all the work these guys do is a real eye opener and very emotional.’  Gok, who has made a name for himself persuading middle-aged people to go naked on TV, added: ‘It’s great to be in Glasgow, I’ve been here many times and it’s a very stylish city.’

Come April, Scotstoun should have a very stylish new community centre.

Queens Cross Gala day to be at Firhill

Actress Libby McArthur will launch Queens Cross Gala Day on Saturday 21 August at Firhill Sports Complex in Hopehill Road from noon till 4pm.

The River City star will join local residents to enjoy a feast of free entertainment including belly dancing, live music, a bouncy castle, face painting, the Brazilian martial art/dance form called Capoeira, trampolines and street performers.

The fun has been organised by Queens Cross Housing Association and the Garscube Community Foundation. Around 30 stalls will offer information, advice, home baking, bric-a-brac and super raffle prizes.

The Regenerators, a band of Queens Cross Housing Association staff, will also play. A BBQ will raise funds for the Courtyard Café and a beer tent will be available for over 18s.

Even rain won’t spoil the carnival atmosphere – if the weather is bad , the festivities will move into the main hall of the sports complex.

Libby, who plays Gina in River City, is patron of the Garscube Community Foundation. She has also starred in shows such as Rab C Nesbitt and Hamish MacBeth.

She said: ‘I would urge everyone to join in this tremendous community gala day. Queens Cross Housing Association and Garscube Community Foundation work hard in the local community for all residents. Staff and volunteers also work hard on the day to provide this free event. So come along and join the fun!’queens-cross-gala-poster

Homecoming for Leon Jackson

Home Showcase for Leon Jackson

Best known for being an X Factor winner, Leon Jackson is looking forward to coming home to Glasgow on a whistle-stop visit. Fans can see him at the o2 ABC in Sauchiehall St on July 10 for an intimate gig.

He applied to audition for the X Factor as a way to gain experience and things took off from there. Leon’s style has changed and developed a lot since 2007 and he is now much more in control of the writing and producing of his music.  He has been working on new material in the studio recently and feels happy with his more relaxed, honest style. The new songs are his own project and have a rich, three dimensional feel that really does reflect how much more comfortable he feels with this new acoustic direction. The sound is simple and the production minimal. At the moment there is no clear timescale for the release of the new material but the o2 ABC showcase will offer a sneak preview as well as, possibly,  some amazing covers like Ernie Halter’s Lighthouse or Different Lives. Don’t make assumptions based on a talent show, Leon’s found his own style

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!