Their Royal Highnesses The Earl and Countess of Forfar visited Edinburgh’s St James Quarter for a tour of the new scheme developed by Nuveen Real Estate that has transformed the east end of Edinburgh. 

St James Quarter, the most significant transformation Edinburgh has seen in a generation opened phase one last week, adding a new retail-led, lifestyle district that fully integrates and enhances Edinburgh’s city centre – providing an inspiring, attractive, and vibrant destination which is creating 3,000 retail and leisure jobs.

As part of its development programme, Nuveen Real Estate also committed to improving local infrastructure and public space in the area through the Growth Accelerator Model, the innovative funding arrangement with the Scottish Government. 

Martin Perry, director of development at St James Quarter, commented: “We were delighted to welcome Their Royal Highnesses to St James Quarter today.

“The team were honoured to show off the brand-new 850,000 sq ft shopping galleria, and the enviable line up of brands within it, but also give them a sneak peek at the amazing spaces and places that are still to come.

“We believe in Edinburgh, and we are excited to help lead the way as part of the city’s wider economic recovery. Throughout this pandemic we have never questioned our investment in not only the St James Quarter but the city itself. We’re here to stay and we’re here to help.

“Everyone involved has worked incredibly hard over the last 5 years to bring the St James Quarter vision to life and to deliver a world-class destination within the heart of the capital city – and a visit from the Royal Household was a great way to top off the phase one opening celebrations.”

Since being sent home from our office in March 2020, the Learning and Engagement Team has been passionate about getting back to in-person activities and interactions in the safest possible way. Our work is anchored in bringing the communities and people of Edinburgh and beyond together to view, engage with and participate in the performing arts. During lockdown we launched several successful digital initiatives, but it just wasn’t the same.

Excitingly, this August sees the return of live performance to the Festival programme, albeit in an adapted format with reduced capacities. With limitations on large group gatherings still in place, we’ve gone back to the drawing board with our plans for community engagement. In the past, our Culture Club initiative would have seen community groups coming together for shared meals and trips to performances, while our Global Communities project took artists from the Festival programme out into the city for pop-up performances. This year, things will look a little different.

To meet our goal of sharing the joy of the Festival with the communities of Edinburgh despite current restrictions, we’ve developed Festival Favours – an opportunity for communities across the city to enjoy a creative slice of the International Festival. Many groups across Edinburgh are slowly coming back together in real life (after over a year of digital interaction only), so we’ve created a new programme that supports this. Festival Favours sees artists and creative individuals being gifted to groups for special activities, workshops or performances.

The opportunity is open to any organised group, club, society, community centre, care home or other activity-based organisation in an EH postcode. Groups will be asked to apply to receive a Festival Favour, and the options are almost endless. The activity could be a workshop or class, it could be a mini performance or recital or it could be something more specific.

Get a baritone for your bridge club.

Or a hip hop dancer for your ballet class.

A rapper for your knit and natter.

Or a string quartet for your wild swim troupe.

These are just a few suggestions, and groups might already have an idea of what kind of Festival Favour they might want. However, applicants don’t need to apply with an idea or plan and their group doesn’t need to have a creative or expressive arts focus. All we are looking for are applicants with a passion to bring creativity to their group, who have an interest in connecting with the International Festival and have the ability to host us this summer.

Festival Favours will take place across Edinburgh in August. Interested groups can find more information on the project and how to apply via our website, where we have also provided a full list of FAQs and some suggestions on what Festival Favours you can request.

All of us at the International Festival are very excited about bringing live performance back to Edinburgh. We hope that Festival Favours brings a little slice of the performing arts to the people of Edinburgh, continuing to embed the International Festival into the heart of our communities and bringing joy and creativity back to the city as restrictions begin to ease.

Surgeons Quarter, which operates the city’s largest independent hotel alongside a host of venues and outlets owned by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd), has recently opened its new “outdoor” venue – Drinks & Dining Al Fresco.

Drinks & Dining Al Fresco is located in a spacious and attractive courtyard on Nicolson Street in the heart of the old town, and provides a safe and socially distanced environment for guests to enjoy food and drinks – including Surgeon Quarter 1505 Gin.

The spacious courtyard setting is aklso available for exclusive private hire. SQ courtyard, set in the historic Old Town is the perfect setting to enjoy delicious food and drinks with colleagues or friends.  The courtyard is covered with a clear roofed marquee and equipped with portable heaters enabling guests to enjoy food and drink in a safe and socially distanced environment no matter what the weather!

To enquire please email:
events@surgeonsquarter.com

Or Call: 0131 527 3434

Further details below!

The impacts of the pandemic will be felt well into the future but for now, businesses are taking their first steps in gradually reopening.  Coffee shops and cafes are welcoming customers inside, hairdressers and beauty salons are switching on their lights and workers are starting to return to the office.

Despite these first steps, trading will continue to be difficult for small and medium-sized businesses, who will have seen their cash flow significantly hit and who need to take a firm control on what they are spending.

Smart meters enable accurate billing, helping to take the stress out of budgeting and putting you back in control. Plus, smart meters send your gas and electricity readings directly to your energy supplier so you don’t have to.

Firms with 10 employees or less could be eligible and as a first step businesses should contact their energy supplier. To find out more please click here.

The Royal Highland Showcase – seven days of livestreamed livestock judging, forestry, equestrian, sheep shearing, industry talks and Scottish produce championships – has drawn to a close, with organisers heralding the innovative hybrid event a resounding success.

Judging of over 3000 cattle, goats, sheep and horses took place at the competitor-only event at the Royal Highland Centre, which was designed to bridge the gap between a no-Royal Highland show year in 2020 and the 180th Show taking place in June 2022, with early-bird tickets now on sale.

In partnership with Royal Bank of Scotland, with funding of up to £750,00 from the Scottish Government, the event was livestreamed throughout the seven days with 252 of hours of live content and a further thirty hours of on-demand programming produced, all watched by 270,000 people from across 87 countries – including Norway, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, America, Argentina, the Philippines and beyond.

With over two million engagements on social media, the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) are celebrating the outcome of a ‘monumental effort’ which resulted in the innovative concept being formulated, funded and delivered in less than 12 weeks.

RHASS Chairman Bill Gray said:

“When we reimagined a hybrid Royal Highland Show we couldn’t have believed it would have had such a monumental impact on so many people from right across the globe. Our aim was to connect and entertain our communities and, in the process, shine a light on our food producers, farmers and our way of life. We have achieved this with people from almost ninety countries across the globe tuning in, and with the content online for a further three months, there is even more of an opportunity to reach a wider audience.”

Speaking about the legacy for future years, Bill added:

“There is no doubt that we will take this hybrid concept forward for future years and in doing so we will achieve greater exposure for our sector, our sponsors and our members. I couldn’t be prouder of our team of Directors, staff, contractors and volunteers who have left no stone unturned to make this Royal Highland Showcase dream a reality.”

Adding to Bill’s comment, Alan Laidlaw, RHASS Chief Executive said:   

“We anticipate that this will continue to grow as word of mouth spreads and more people from across the globe log on to royalhighlandshow.org to view the content. This will give further exposure of our industry at a crucial time for the sector and reinforces the influence and impact of what has been achieved with this hybrid event.”

Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougoen said: 

“The Royal Highland Showcase marks a step change for the Royal Highland Show and Scottish agriculture. Through the new website and online videos, people, farms and businesses across the world were able to experience Scottish agriculture and food & drink.

“I’m so pleased to have been able to see some of the Royal Highland Showcase in person and see the hard work that went into preparing this event and opening it up to a global audience. I look forward to seeing the long-term benefits from the £750,000 of the Scottish Government funding and seeing how we can continue showing people the best of Scotland’s animals and produce.”

Paul Bush, OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events added:  

“Covid-19 has brought unprecedented challenges for the events sector over the last year, forcing many event organisers to look at different ways to connect and engage with new and established audiences.

“The re-imagined Royal Highland Showcase 2021 had innovation, diversification and community spirit at its very heart this year. Offering a range of memorable online experiences and insight for audiences tuning in, this year’s hybrid event was able to successfully pivot, providing a wonderful digital interpretation of one of Scotland’s much-loved major events.”

Malcolm Buchanan, chair, Scotland Board, Royal Bank of Scotland, said:  

“The Royal Highland Show is one of the longest continuous partnerships in Royal Bank of Scotland’s history, and this year, as the Royal Highland Showcase, it illustrated what can be achieved and what challenges can be overcome through working together.

“We have worked with the RHASS since 1981 and this year’s reimagined hybrid event has brought together the very best of what Scotland has to offer and through digital and fintech channels and technology, helped it reach audiences on a global scale.”

DM Hall, one of Scotland’s leading independent firms of chartered surveyors, has boosted the strength of its operations in the west of Scotland with the appointment of two more new property surveyors.

Chartered surveyor Martin Fleming joins the firm’s Hamilton office as a residential surveyor while Christopher Pidgeon has been appointed to DM Hall’s Glasgow operation based in Shawlands. Both previously worked together in a UK-wide chartered surveying practice.

Martin has worked as a surveyor in Lanarkshire since 2015 after graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) with a BSc degree in Property Management and Valuation. He became a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and has extensive experience in surveys and valuations across all types of residential property for many different purposes.

Chris, too, holds a BSc degree in Property Management and Valuation from GCU and qualified as a chartered surveyor in 2016. Originally from Bearsden he now lives in Glasgow’s West End. In his previous employment, where he was an Associate, Chris worked in a range of residential property offices including Glasgow, Shawlands, Bearsden, Hamilton, Falkirk and Stirling.

John McHugh, managing partner at DM Hall, said: “The residential property market is experiencing a near-unprecedented boom in Scotland at present, so we are delighted to have hired Chris and Martin, two experienced residential surveyors, who will empower us to offer consistently high standards of professionalism to our growing client base across Glasgow and Lanarkshire.

“We warmly welcome them and offer our congratulations on joining DM Hall, and look forward to their making a significant long-term contribution to the future success of the firm.”

Edinburgh’s skyline was filled with an array of dazzling light last night as an incredible illumination marked one week to go until St James Quarter officially opens its doors. You can view highlights of the lightshow here.

The countdown is on for St James Quarter’s’ much-anticipated phase one opening, and the new fashion district was officially welcomed to the city by some of the capital’s most famous landmarks. From the Balmoral and Edinburgh Castle to Forth Ports and the EICC, all roads led to St James Quarter as the whole of the night sky was illuminated- a symbol of this new city centre integration.

With its prime location in the heart of Edinburgh, St James Quarter is set to become a welcoming, cultural and lifestyle hub for art, culture, and fashion. Through long-term partnerships with Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh Jazz & Blues and the Edinburgh Science Festivals – to name a few – the upcoming opening is set to complement the city’s world-renowned cultural offering and support its vibrant events calendar.

Inspired by the spirit of Arthur’s Seat and the meeting of tectonic plates, the light show represents the awakening of St James Quarter, after five years of development. Together with festival, tourism and cultural venues across the city, the display is a celebration of connectivity, bringing together landmarks throughout Edinburgh city centre, all leading to St James Square.

Over 500 light fixtures were placed around the ribbon building with accompanying projections and a soundtrack featuring local sound designer, Keith Fortune. Mick Hay from The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo took centre stage, 55m meters from the ground, conducting the soundtrack with the unmistakable sounds of the drums, as lasers of light travelled across the city in all directions.

Rochelle Weir, Brand and Marketing Director at St James Quarter, said:

“As we near the opening of phase one, the anticipation around the city is palpable. We wanted to bring this feeling to life, connecting with other landmarks, businesses, and partners across the city to mark our opening and cement our place on the iconic Edinburgh skyline.

“Our phase one opening is a significant moment in Edinburgh’s history, and we’re incredibly excited for the people of Edinburgh and beyond to see what lies behind the quarter. Last night’s display was just the beginning.”

Lindsay Fyffe-Jardine, CEO Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home

Dogs and cats are in our name, it’s what we do and it’s what gets us up in the morning. The thing about the Home, which many people don’t know about or see, is the reality of the human stories that we come across on a daily basis. The people behind the animals that we are helping. The heart-breaking calls we continued to receive during both lockdowns and every day in between and there after only sharpened our awareness of what is happening across our communities. The question rings in my head over and over again-“without us where would they turn?”. It’s this question that not only rings true for those dogs and cats who will need that second chance, but for those owners backed into a hard corner in life and don’t know where to go.

When I joined the Home, now more than five years ago, I didn’t expect to find myself part of not only an animal welfare movement but a social vulnerability one. I am proud that my wonderfully dedicated team are able to offer hope, dignity and a second chance to people who are struggling in a difficult moment in their life. In the knowledge that the cat or dog coming to us is going to get the best care possible.

The motivation for our foodbank ‘Paws Pantry’ was exactly that, to keep pets in loving homes who had simply fallen on hard times. We love dogs and cats so much that we want them to stay where they are loved and cherished and if we can help out their loving owner through something difficult then we’ll be there. During the height of both lockdown’s this need became more and more apparent, with an increase in demand by 140%. With 47 satellite foodbank locations across the East of Scotland already, and with more than 1000 dogs and cats supported to stay in loving homes, the Home finds itself pushing forward its mission into new frontiers and sectors. Why this is so important is that the Home is part of a tapestry of organisations who provide support to people in need, on a journey to recovery. We’re one stop along the way to getting that help and we’re trusted as one of the many outreach contact points they draw support from. While I find it hard to reconcile the challenges that people were going through before the pandemic, only to be made more acutely difficult in these current circumstances, I am aware that part of their recovery and wellbeing may lie in their dog or cat being by their side. I know myself what my own pets have done for me in those isolated and difficult moments.

To conclude, I am often asked “does it not upset you seeing their sad faces in the kennel and cattery pens?” The honest answer is no, because I see the love, care and attention that goes into each of our dogs and cats and it makes my heart swell with pride. The ones who keep me up at night are the ones we receive the phone calls about who haven’t yet reached us and the ones who no one knows is suffering. Those stories are all too common at the Home. But when a dog or cat comes to our care there is a person leaving our Home, perhaps more bereft and in crisis than before, because they are leaving their beloved pet behind. That is a hurt and an indignity that I hope with our outreach services and future planned programmes we can help reduce.

Balfour Beatty is delighted to have been awarded the contract to undertake remediation works at Dalgety Bay which will remove radioactive particles from the beach.

The remediation plan, to which the MOD has agreed voluntarily, involves the removal of contaminated particles from the beach through a screening process, the installation of geotextile materials and a rock barrier to prevent any further particles resurfacing and the reinstatement of suitable material back to the bay area.

Alongside the remediation works, Balfour Beatty will construct a replacement jetty and slipway for use by the Dalgety Bay Sailing Club.

Balfour Beatty will also work closely with the local community to create a diverse and bespoke social impact plan. This will focus on educational engagement and look to provide opportunities in employment, skills development and volunteering. Our Community Investment Team are already working with the community to identify further opportunities in the Fife local authority area.

The team will be engaging with local organisations and trusts, schools and colleges as well as working with Developing the Young Workforce in Fife. The aim is to leave a positive legacy and deliver meaningful and measurable change for the surrounding communities.

The site at Dalgety Bay held a long-standing relationship with the armed forces with Donibristle serving as a Royal Naval Air Service airfield during the First World War. Subsequently, the site was used as an aircraft repair depot before being repurposed as a Royal Air Force (RAF) training base. The base remained in use until the beginning of the Second World War in 1939 when it became an aircraft repair yard, HMS Merlin. It continued to be used by the RAF until 1959 when it was decommissioned.

Rosyth Naval Base conducted routine monitoring on the site which led, in 1990, to the discovery of sources of radium-226 on the beach. Radium-226 was once considered a useful component in the manufacture of luminescent paint. This paint was used for a number of applications including watches, clocks and aircraft instrument panels as it meant these could be read in the dark.

At that time, the recognised practice for disposing of luminescent paint was to burn the material and bury the ashes, this was done in line with the requirements of the day This is considered the potential source for the particles which have been identified at Dalgety Bay. Local residents have been understandably concerned about the presence of these materials on the beach at Dalgety Bay.

This project directly relates to Balfour Beatty’s sustainability strategy, Building Better Futures, in which we are fully committed to reducing our environmental footprint and having a positive, sustainable impact wherever we work. Across the UK, US and Hong Kong, our Strategy sets firm 2030 targets and outlines our 2040 ambitions to go Beyond Net Zero Carbon, to Generate Zero Waste and to Positively Impact More than 1 Million People in line with our guiding imperative to “think global, act local”. That is why our social impact plan focusses on putting people and the environment at the centre of everything we do.

The works at Dalgety Bay will involve the removal of around 9,000m3 of material from the beach area to be screened, before being replaced. To ensure the material is thoroughly cleansed, 4,500m3 of this material will be removed in 5m2 cells. While the material is removed from the beach, the team will first lay approximately 10,000m2 of geotextile along the shore then cover this with 33,000t of rock armour.

The work will take place over two summer periods between April and September in order to protect wading bird species who overwinter at Dalgety Bay.

During the planning of the works, a desktop study was completed to look at how materials would be imported to the site. The use of road wagons was assessed and would have led to around 2,650 round trips over the construction period – around 22 vehicle movement per day. To mitigate disruption to local residents and reduce the projects carbon footprint, the project will instead make use of its coastal locations and utilise barges to deliver material by sea.

Each barge is expected to deliver approximately 500t of materials and it is expected that there will be in excess of 100 trips to deliver the rock armour, bed material and precast concrete required. The barges will be floated into the bay at high tide, allowed to sink to the beach as the tide recedes and then be offloaded at low tide on to the beach with materials being moved to worksite adjacent stockpiles.

In addition to the foreshore works, we are also required to demolish and replace existing sailing club slipways and jetty and replace with new structures. To achieve this, Balfour Beatty have set up a pre-casting yard in Inverkeithing to produce the required precast concrete units. Building these structures will involve in the region of 1,900 individual precast sections, varying in size from 3t to 13t in weight.

The site in Inverkeithing is located within Cruicks Quarry which has a loading jetty available which we will use to load all pre-cast concrete sections and aggregates to the barges for transport to site. We will also transport most of the plant equipment to site from Burntisland, also by barge. By using the quarry at Inverkeithing, we will reduce disruption to residents and road users, reduce the carbon footprint of the project and provide economic growth for the local community.

We are proud of the work that QMU students and graduates have done to support Scotland during the pandemic, working in the NHS and healthcare organisations, volunteering with local charities to support the most vulnerable, and conducting research which will make a practical impact on all of our lives. We know that their impact on Scotland’s recovery will be equally important.

As lockdown measures are relaxed in Scotland and we all hope to return to a sense of normality, organisations and business can address the challenge of finding suitable staff by looking to the workforce of 60k students who study in Edinburgh.

Queen Margaret University, whilst traditionally associated with health, social sciences, culture and the service industry, offers a wide range of degrees aligned to Edinburgh City Region economy and business needs, including business, finance, hospitality, events, allied health professions, PR, marketing, film and media.

Our students and graduates working part time or after graduation bring knowledge of business functions and challenges and a range of skills developed through well designed courses, work based learning such a placements and internships and extracurricular activities.

Whatever your sector, our students and graduates are keen to connect with you to demonstrate their expertise and support your organisation to achieve its aims. If you are interested in finding talented staff with a range of skills, whilst supporting the next generation of professionals in your sector you can get in touch:

The QMU Careers and Employability team provides free consultancy on recruitment of QMU students and graduates. We can direct you to colleagues within degree programmes if you are interested in, for example, offering placements to students.  We can also create and facilitate opportunities for you to talk directly to our students. When it comes to advertising vacancies, you can do so through our QMU vacancy service, Qmployer.

Careers Events and Jobs Fairs

Throughout the academic year, we deliver a number of careers events including our annual Recruitment Fair. These events give you the opportunity to meet and assess potential candidates both in the autumn and in February.

Our Employer Mentoring Programme provides professionals with an opportunity to develop their leadership skills and nurture the next generation of professionals and entrepreneurs. Mentors receive professional mentoring training and support to develop coaching and mentoring skills, meet like-minded individuals from across sectors and get new ideas on engaging with young people to support business growth.

QMU seeks to position itself as an engaged and entrepreneurial university, supporting our graduates and our industry partners, particularly SMEs, in realising Scotland’s economic aspirations. Our portfolio of work in the provision of research, knowledge exchange and consultancy services to SMEs and industry continues to grow.

If you are interested in finding out more, you can visit our website, check our social media or email us at employability@qmu.ac.uk or employermentoring@qmu.ac.uk .