Inspiring citizens honoured by Lord Provost

Johnny Beattie receives Glasgow's Loving Cup for the honour and recognition he has brought to the city.

Actor, funny man and stage presence for 60 years, Johnny Beattie was given Glasgow’s Loving Cup at a civic dinner on Thursday 5 April. ‘I was totally surprised,’ said Johnny who has starred in River City TV soap for ten years.

The fresh looking 85-year-old recollects with total clarity his first day treading the boards. ‘It was May 19^th 1952 at the Tivoli in Aberdeen.  I was with Robert Wilson who was the biggest name around in Scotland at that time. I was the comic – you could tell that by the pillerbox red suit I was wearing!’ Johnny who was honoured by the Queen some years ago with an MBE, added: ‘I’ll keep on working till I’m found out.’

The Loving Cup is Glasgow’s highest honour and is presented to a person who has brought distinction and honour to the Dear Green Place.

Lord Provost Bob Winter presided over the annual awards ceremony  when a roll of honour of key people is thanked publicly by the city for their contribution to its wellbeing.

In what was almost his last public event as Lord Provost, Councillor Winter said: ‘This event is truly one of the most rewarding for me as the city’s Lord Provost. It is such a great occasion when we can honour people from diverse walks of life who all have one thing in common – a commitment to Glasgow and its people. I can think of no better way to express our gratitude to these outstanding men and women by celebrating their achievements this way and presenting them with the Lord Provost’s award and one of them with the Loving Cup.’

The gold awards are in the form of a medal and were given to:

Prominent Accident & Emergency consultant Mr Ian Anderson for improving the health of the people of Glasgow and in keeping the city at the forefront of postgraduate medical education. Based at the Victoria Infirmary, his views are frequently sought at national and international level. He is one of the founding Fellows of the Faculty of Accident and Emergency Surgeons and one of its longest serving Council Members. He was elected President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow in 2009. He has also played a key role in establishing collaborations with Medical Schools and hospitals in the South of India.

BAE Systems Maritime received the Lord Provost’s award for business. It was accepted by Mr Angus Holt on behalf of the company which is on track to deliver six Type 45 Destroyers for the Royal Navy by the end of 2013. Four have already been handed over. It also produces Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers and the Type 26 Global Combat Ship among other complex engineering programmes and services. The yards at Scotstoun and Govan employ 3000 people which includes 140 apprentices and 30 graduates in training.

Professor Jane Duckett receives her Lord Provost's Award from Lord Provost Bob Winter.

Professor Jane Duckett was presented with the Lord Provost’s Award for founding the Scottish Centre for China Research at the University of Glasgow. Since its establishment in 2008 it has developed distinctive new MSc programmes in Chinese Studies. A leading international scholar in contemporary Chinese politics, Professor Duckett was instrumental in setting up the Confucius Institute at the University in 2011. It is testament to her dedication to enhancing the understanding and knowledge of China in the communities of Glasgow and the West of Scotland, and her pledge to support the business communities as they reach out to work with Chinese industry.

Dame Elish Angiolini received the Lord Provost’s Award for her services to Law and Justice. Like Johnny Beattie, Dame Elish was born in Govan. She was Solicitor General from 2001 to 2006 and Lord Advocate of Scotland, and was the first woman, the first Procurator Fiscal and the first solicitor to hold either post. Appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to the administration of justice, Dame Elish holds honorary degrees of Doctor of Laws from Strathclyde, Glasgow Caledonian and Aberdeen universities. In September she will replace Andrew Dilnot as Principal of St Hugh’s College in Oxford.

Donald Shaw, founder of Capercaillie was presented with the Lord Provost’s Award for the Performing and Visual Arts. Through his work with the band he built up an international network of contacts and musical partnerships which he has grown in his work with Celtic Connections. A performer, composer, arranger and musical entrepreneur, Donald was acknowledged for his unique contribution to music in Scotland, and Glasgow in particular. His direction of the Celtic Connections festival makes it the city’s largest, most nationally and internationally significant festival.

Robert Booth, who retired in 2011 after 33 years’ service – latterly as Executive Director of Land and Environmental Services at Glasgow City Council – received the Lord Provost’s award for his public service. He joined Glasgow District Council in 1978 and fulfilled senior management roles in both Housing and Building Services before being appointed Director of Land Services in March 2003. In 2007 he became Executive Director of Land and Environmental Services, with responsibility for managing the city’s road network; parks and open spaces; parking; refuse services; enforcement; trading standards; and the design and project management resources of the council. He received an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June 2011 for services to local government.

The Lord Provost’s Sport Award went to Walter Smith, one of the most successful Scottish football managers in history. He managed Rangers (twice) and the Scottish national team as well as Everton, and was awarded the OBE for services to football in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 1997. Previous winners from the world of football in this category include Sir Alex Ferguson (1993) and Ally McCoist (1996).

Bailie Jean McFadden received her award for services to local government. The city’s longest standing councillor, she was first elected to Glasgow Corporation in 1971.

Bailie Jean McFadden, leaves the council after 41 years' service.

She held key positions in various areas of the council most notably as Leader of the Council (1979-1986) and 1992-94) and also including Opposition Leader (1977-1979), and Vice Lord-Lieutenant City of Glasgow from 1981 to 1992. She was also President of COSLA 1990-92 and City Treasurer 1986-92, and was awarded the CBE in 1992 for services to local government.

The Lord Provost’s Special Award for an Inspiring Individual was presented to Julie McElroy. Despite cerebral palsy, mobility problems and profound deafness, Julie has trekked in the Himalayas, canoed Loch Shiel.

Julie has inspired others to be adventurous despite disabilities.

She has used her expertise in assistive technology to make outdoor sports accessible to disadvantaged disabled young people in India. She is an ambassador for Bobath and has received the prestigious John Muir award after completing four adventure challenges and inspiring other disabled people to enjoy the great outdoors.

Free lipreading class available

Deaf Connections in Norfolk Street, Gorbals, offers free lipreading classes to deafened and hard of hearing adults. Additional classes are held in Shettleston as well as in Clydebank, Hamilton, and the Vale of Leven.
These sessions are suitable for any adult with hearing problems whose first language is English. Qualified tutors can help them and also people who already have some lipreading ability as the tuition provides much more than learning to lipread.
An understanding of the different types of deafness people can have, how that is caused and best managed is shared. Advice is given on effective use of hearing aids which are bone-anchored or cochlear implants as well environmental aids. Lots of different ways to improve communication skills will be communicated in the classes which run all year round.
It is worth checking before hand to arrange an appointment or discuss individual needs so that each person make the right choice of class. Contact Carol Grice, Hard of Hearing Services Manager by email:carol@deafconnections.co.uk or follow the link for more information: http://www.deafconnections.co.uk/HearOn-services-for-hard-of-hearing-people/lipreading-classes.html

Interested in joining a lipreading class?

 Over 100,000 people in the Glasgow area have some degree of deafness or hearing loss. People with impaired hearing may have difficulty in following speech and identifying sounds even with hearing aids and listening devices.
Hard of hearing people often have difficulty following conversations, hearing telephones, TV and audio. They may lose confidence and feel anxious about the future.
 Learn to lipread and interpret visual clues, learn more about deafness, services and equipment. Learn to cope with deafness and improve communication. Meet new people and learn new skills and have fun too! 
Register for a class near your area.
Come along to Deaf Connections Lipreading Open Day to find out more. The address is Deaf Connections, Norfolk Street, Gorbals, Just across the road from Bridge Street Underground, opposite the Skills Academy. The day is Wednesday 9 June 2010 from 1.30 to 3.30 and from 6.00 to 8.00.
 Partners, friends and family all welcome!
 For more information, contact Carol Grice, Deaf Connections, 100 Norfolk Street, Glasgow G5 9EJ
Tel 0141 420 1759
Email carol@deafconnections.co.uk

Learn to Sign week helps put finger on deaf awareness

St Francis pupils learn about a different 'digital' future

The recent Learn to Sign week campaign by the British Deaf Association (BDA) once again helped highlight the importance of Deaf Awareness and BSL throughout the UK.

As part of my contribution to the campaign, I decided to take my ‘conver-sign-tion’ talents to pupils of some primary schools in my area.

First on the list were the teachers and pupils at Sacred Heart in Bridgeton, where we all joined together and started off by giving our fingers a ‘wiggling warm-up’.

Then it was off to fingerspell all 26 letters of the alphabet. This great area of the language can help children’s fine motor skills and another handy tip being that your vowels are all on your left hand.

Next port of call was a bit of a nostalgia trip for me, as I went along to see the children at Blackfriars Primary, where I was a pupil – way back in 1971.

Fingers at the ready once again, and this time we took a BSL trip around the globe while practising signs for different countries.
Finally, it was just a short trip along the road to St Francis Primary School, and a BSL workout with three different classes who were all eager to soak up the various signs for emotions like, happy, sad, jumping for joy and more. Full marks to all the pupils who got involved, and also many thanks to the teachers who allowed me to come along.

It is just a pity that there is not a regular place for BSL in school curriculums, as presently children are taught Spanish, Italian and French.

For anyone who is interested in learning BSL, visit the website at www.glasgowbsl.co.uk and if any other schools would like a fingerspelling
workout, contact me at colin@glasgowbsl.co.uk
Meanwhile, the Sign-now.com team have a new dedicated website called www.sign-videotalk.com, where you can see all the information from inviting friends to checking the support page.

In order to invite friends, you need to click the relevant box on www.sign-videotalk.com or go to the top right of the videotalk page and enter your username and password again for security reasons. It is like a telephone book but with a personal security key. So why not invite friends and start chatting!!
If you know a friend that is already a member of Videotalk, just type their username on the top bar and if your friend is not a member, just send them an invitation using their email address on the bottom bar.
Just remember, if you bought a new mobile, you would need to get your
friend’s mobile number to start chatting it’s the same with Videotalk.
But if you encounter any problems please do not hesitate to contact the team
via admin@sign-now.com
But most importantly, enjoy Videotalk.
Sign-now.com was co-founded in 2006 by deaf entrepreneurs Andrew Thomson and
Dean Humphreys, who had the desire to remove the barriers that the deaf
community experience when accessing information and services.

In 2008, Sign-now.com welcomed the addition of Caroline Thomson to make the
most of the combined talents.

Caroline, who also manages Online Advocacy Services, is an independent advocacy for the deaf in Scotland and also current technological prowess in web based technology. It was also in that year Andrew Thomson won the 2008 Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year.