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Julia cycles for ARCHIE next week

This is an inspiring story about one charity fundraiser. (And one of the Reporter’s great friends so you see it it’s not what you know…..)

We wonder if there are any of you out there who plan to go on cycling trips or walks? If so get in touch and we will be happy to tell Aberdeen all about your story and why you are raising money for charity!

Or if you are doing anything else for charity then get in touch too – we have a section about charities.

Intrepid Aberdeen mum, Julia McGlashan is set to undertake a mammoth adventure in November, 2010, where she will cycle 400km from Vietnam to Cambodia in aid of the ARCHIE Foundation. Julia has already carried out a series of exciting fundraising events for the challenge since February 2010.
<div>Human Resources Consultant Julia commented, “Last summer my daughter Cameron (8) was very ill and spent time in the Royal Aberdeen Childrens Hospital (RACH). After a few weeks they discovered that Cameron had Osteomyelitis in her arm, which is an infection in the bone. Following an operation and 10 days of intravenous antibiotics, Cameron made a great recovery.”</div>
<div>Julia added, “Everybody Cameron and I came into contact with at Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital was absolutely fantastic and as a thank you, I have decided to do a Charity cycle from Vietnam to Cambodia in November this year. All money raised will go to the ARCHIE Foundation, which is the official charity for the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital.”</div>
<div>The challenging cycle route, which is to take six days, will start from Vietnamese Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, through the rice paddies and waterways of the beautiful Mekong Delta into Cambodia. She will travel through breathtaking rural landscapes, dotted with ruins of ancient civilisations and small towns where Buddhist temples nestle amongst French colonial buildings and ramshackle houses.</div>
<div>Julia commented, “It’s the heat and humidity that makes the challenge so tough. No matter how hard I train in Aberdeenshire, nothing will prepare me for the heat! I have never done anything like this before and I feel a mix of fear and excitement!”</div>
<div>She added “There are over 20 people doing the cycle but there isn’t anyone else from Aberdeen and I don’t know any of the other cyclists – my biggest motivator in my training is that I don’t want to be the person at the back that everyone is waiting for, so that drives me to do a 60/70 mile cycle every weekend, and a few shorter cycles during the week.”</div>
<div>Julia kick started her fundraising by asking for personal sponsorship from friends and family. The response from this was great and has continued to come through since she started fundraising in February 2010.</div>
<div>She mentioned, “People have been so generous – not just friends and family but also people who I have met who want to support my effort for ARCHIE.</div>
<div>It was my Dad’s 80th Birthday at the end of January, and instead of presents my Dad asked for the guests at his birthday celebrations to contribute to ARCHIE, which raised over £450. This took my fundraising over my initial target of £3,000 so I doubled my target to £6,000 and began planning some other events!”</div>
<div>At the end of May, 2010 a dedicated group of friends joined her in a charity pub-crawl around Aberdeen. They raised over £1,000 and had a great night out too!</div>
<div>The summer has been fairly quiet but Julia has been busy planning the next wave of fundraising events.</div>
<div>At the end of August Julia will be opening her house up as a restaurant where she will provide guests with a 3 course dinner and they will contribute what they think is a suitable amount to her fundraising.</div>
<div>She said, “I will provide the food and guests bring their own wine so 100% of their donations will go to the ARCHIE Foundation. So far I have 4 nights booked which includes, friends, work colleagues and classmates from Matwork Pilates, and course my daughter Cameron will be chief waitress on these nights!”</div>
<div>The Grand Finale to her fundraising is in early November when she will host a Ladies Swishing Party at her house where friends donate never or seldom worn clothes for sale.</div>
<div>Tickets will cost £10 but guests will be provided with a lunch and a mini beauty treatment courtesy of a beautician supplied by the B’s Knees in Oldmeldrum.</div>
<div>Julia commented, “I didn’t have a bike when I signed up for the charity cycle but one of my friends Helen Turner has given me her bike for the duration of my training. Although I have invested in a gel seat and a gel cover to make those long cycles just a little less painful!”</div>
<div>Peter Hutchison, ARCHIE Community Fundraising Manager commented, “What an extraordinary challenge by an extraordinary person. Julia has shown fantastic devotion to the ARCHIE Foundation by her series of fundraising events, and it sounds like she has had a lot of fun at the same time.”</div>
<div>Should you wish to sponsor Julia, please visit her Justgiving page, <a href=”www.justgiving.com/Julia-McGlashan24″>www.justgiving.com/Julia-McGlashan24</a></div>

Aberdeen Breviary on display at NLS

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Two original copies of the Aberdeen Breviary, Scotland’s first substantial printed book, will go on display in Edinburgh tomorrow (Friday, November 5) to mark the 500th anniversary of its completion.

Dating back to 1510, the copies of this important prayer book will form the centrepieces of the National Library of Scotland’s (NLS) latest ‘treasures’ display together with illuminated manuscripts and some of the earliest printed books brought to Scotland – a not to be missed opportunity to see the two books, held by two different libraries, side by side. One copy belongs to NLS while the other is owned by Aberdeen University Library.

The Aberdeen Breviary was compiled under the direction of Bishop William Elphinstone (Bishop of Aberdeen, founder of Aberdeen’s King’s College and counsellor to James III and James IV) and was designed to be recited by the Scottish clergy throughout the liturgical year.

It is also the book which brought the printing press to Scotland. The country’s first printers, Walter Chepman and Androw Millar, were granted a patent by James IV in 1507 to ‘bring home a printing press…for printing within our realm’ breviaries and other service books, of which the Aberdeen Breviary was the only one to be printed.

Helen Vincent, Senior Rare Books Curator at the National Library of Scotland, said: “Only five copies of the Aberdeen Breviary are known to survive, along with some fragments – we know of others which are now lost, such as one which vanished from the Scots College in Paris during the French Revolution. This may be the first time these two copies have come together since they sat side by side in Walter Chepman’s printing house five hundred years ago.

“The Aberdeen Breviary illustrates how active the Renaissance was in Scotland. Elphinstone’s engagement of humanist scholars to investigate the lives of Scottish saints, James IV’s love of new technology and desire for a modern centralised state, the enterprise and initiative of Walter Chepman – all these combined to produce one of the great neglected achievements of the period. We hope this exhibition will rekindle people’s interest in this exciting period of Scottish history and in the Breviary itself – incredibly it has never been completely translated into English.”

The National Library of Scotland (NLS) was delighted to join forces with Aberdeen University Library (AUL) to make the treasures display possible.

Professor Peter Davidson, Chair in Renaissance Studies at the University of Aberdeen, emphasised the huge significance of the Aberdeen Breviary, calling it “one of the greatest intellectual enterprises of Renaissance Scotland”.

He said: “This book, rich in commemorations of the feasts of Scottish saints, is an attempt to foster a distinctively Scottish church, within the frame of international Catholicism.

“This book was only one of a series of modernising initiatives which Elphinstone supported as Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland. He encouraged the compilation of Hector Boece’s History of the Scots, which was for many centuries a key text of Scottish identity, and he founded Scotland’s third ancient University – King’s College, Aberdeen – which later joined with the other Aberdonian University College, Marischal, to form the modern University of Aberdeen.”

The two magnificent books will be in good company alongside contemporary treasures from the collections of NLS and AUL, including a carefully-selected collection of illuminated manuscripts and incunables – books printed before 1500. (See notes to editors for a more detailed breakdown of exhibition items).

The display ‘The Aberdeen Breviary: the 500th Anniversary of the Printing of ‘Our Own Scottish Use’ – which will be showcased within the National Library of Scotland’s public exhibition space on George IV Bridge, Edinburgh – will run from November 5 until January 9.

If you would like to find out more about the items on display, visit the National Library of Scotland’s Rare Book blog during the exhibition, at: http://blogs.nls.uk/rarebooks

Gliterary Lunch in Aberdeen

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The Gliterary Lunch takes place at The Stage Door, Aberdeen on Thursday 4th November between 12 and 3.

Two Outstanding Authors

Men from the Boys
by Tony Parsons

The Author

Journalist, broadcaster and writer, Tony Parsons is the author of the million-copy bestseller Man and Boy which won the Book of the Year prize. His subsequent novels – One For My Baby, Man and Wife, The Family Way, Stories We Could Tell and My Favourite Wife -were all bestsellers. He lives in London. Tony has attended several Gliterary Lunches in the past and he expressly asked if he could meet the Aberdeen Gliterary Lunchers this time.

Praise for Tony Parsons

‘Tony Parsons gets inside the heads and hearts of modern men.’
The Times

‘Funny and touching’
Woman & Home

The Plot

This is the final episode in the trilogy that began with MAN AND BOY. It is ten years on and crunch time for Harry. Life is good; he has a beautiful wife, three wonderful children and a great job. But Harry is about to turn forty and his ex-wife is back in town.

His fifteen-year-old son moves out to live with his mother, Harry’s job is at risk and his wife is unsettled by the reappearance of her own ex, their dream seems to be falling apart. Into the chaos of Harry Silver’s life stroll two soldiers who fought alongside Harry’s late father in 1944. Can these two grumpy old men help Harry Silver and show him what it really means to be a man? Funny, moving and unforgettable, MEN FROM THE BOYS is a story of how we live now.

A Small Town Affair
by Rosie Wallace

The Author

Rosie Wallace is wife of the former deputy First Minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats. A speech and language therapist from Glasgow, she moved to Kirkwall when he won the seat for Orkney and Shetland. There she had to adapt to a life where her husband spent half the week 700 miles south at Westminster. A Small Town Affair is her first book, not autobiographical she claims but certainly set in a world she knows intimately.

Praise for Rosie Wallace

‘Wallace gleefully exposes the gossipy though bubbles of the self-righteous and genteel…consistently wry and often joyously funny.’
The Herald

‘Neatly observed…enjoyably witty.’
The Scotsman

The Plot

Take one small town where everyone thinks they know everyone else’s business. Add three households: MP Mike Andrews, his wife Gill and two young children; Church of Scotland minister Tom Graham, his wife Ali, two teenage daughters and an afterthought; Sixty-something local businessman Jack Caldwell, and his childless wife Phyllis. Mix in several large dollops of scandal, some secrets and a tragedy. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Season with one eccentric old lady – Minty Oliver – and serve with the tabloid press and a big helping of local gossip.

You can get more details of how to get a ticket here.

Avoiding fireworks at work

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As Hallowe’en and Guy Fawkes Night approach, a leading Aberdeen legal expert shares top tips on how to avoid fright and fireworks in the workplace.

According to Lili Hunter, conflict in the workplace can be costly in terms of time as well as having an effect on productivity due to sickness absence levels, employment law claims by employees and legal costs in defending claims.

A new ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures was issued in 2009 encouraging employers to consider mediation as an option in resolving disputes in the workplace.

“The mediation approach differs from the traditional style of litigation which often causes public fireworks,” explains Lili. “Indeed it flies in the face of Guy Fawkes with his underhand, secretive plot and it is there to help avoid a large scale explosion!”

“Mediation can be an incredibly useful method of resolving conflicts and can help avoid an explosive situation arising or developing into a scene akin to a horror movie. It is a non confrontational method and aims to find common ground between the employee and the employer by getting all issues out into the open.

“Mediation creates a win/win situation as opposed to the win/lose situation of employment tribunals and courts and it is a process which can help to restore trust and understanding between parties. In many cases mediation can lead to a productive future working relationship.”

Lili says that top tips to avoid explosive situations include:

Understanding employees – what makes individuals tick? Having an honest and open relationship between parties may help avoid fireworks. Employers should find a way to get behind the mask of employees when resolving workplace issues. Establishing a mutually beneficial relationship based on trust can ultimately help both parties progress when problems arise.

Communication – Often a line manager will assume that employees know what is expected of them when things haven’t been explained. Also, an employee who is suddenly accused of poor performance after a glowing appraisal will rightly be shocked – employees cannot be expected to be mind readers. Equally, there must be clear lines of communication open for employees to ask questions when they do not understand – if an employee is silent a manager may assume that the employee has no problems.

Make the most of your people – employees who feel that their achievements are not recognised will quickly look elsewhere, or become a shadow of their formal self if not provided with opportunities. Sometimes an employee who is aggressive or perceived to be “evil” simply needs more support or training. There may be personal circumstances of which the employer is not aware which is causing stress.

Lili adds: “Ideally through successful policies and practices within the workplace and training employees on these policies, along with effective management training programmes, disputes will never arise. Most potential problems are avoidable. Companies need not face a potential Guy Fawkes catastrophe or Hallowe’en fright if they simply listen to and communicate effectively with their employees.”

“However, in practice, preventative measures are not 100% effective and mediation is a successful tool when disputes arise. What may be perceived as harassment or bullying may often be resolved quickly and effectively through understanding what the real issue is – court or tribunal action will rarely achieve this.

Lili Hunter Consulting and Lili Hunter Legal are located at 499 Union Street, Aberdeen, AB11 6DB. For further information on employment law, training and mediation visit www.lilihunter.com Alternatively, call (01224) 228100.

Aberdeen Solicitors criticise Hospital cleanliness

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Chris Gordon, Partner of Thompson’s Solicitors in Aberdeen has criticised Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital for failing to do enough to step up hygiene controls, 15 months after an outbreak of maggots forced the closure of three operating theatres.

Thompsons Solicitors represent the families in the public inquiry into 18 deaths following an outbreak of Clostridium Difficile, C-Diff at Vale of Leven Hospital. Mr Gordon was speaking after the publication of a report by the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate into hygiene standards at the Aberdeen Hospital.

The report found that the general standard of cleanliness at the hospital was good but identified a number of areas for improvement.

Mr Gordon said: “It’s very alarming that the Inspectorate has found that hand hygiene standards are not being applied rigorously enough and that RACH has not done enough to ensure public awareness of the dangers and the need for infection control.

“The fact the Inspectorate also want to see better reporting arrangements with the paediatric ward at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin where two people died after an outbreak of C-Diff last year, is equally alarming.

“Hospital Acquired Infections can have a devastating effect, and the hospital authorities and the Health Board must do everything in their power to stamp them out.”

Northsound Cash for Kids

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A luxury Raymond Weil designer watch, a hospitality box for eight people at an Aberdeen FC game and an original framed Howard Butterworth painting are among the star lots up for grabs in the 2010 Northsound Cash for Kids live charity auction which kicks off this Saturday, November 6.

The auction runs until Sunday, November 7, and will be broadcast simultaneously on Northsound 1 at 96.9FM and Northsound 2 at 1035MW.

A team of DJs will be encouraging listeners to dig deep and place their bids for items in the hope of securing them.

The more unusual items going under the hammer include a wedding dress and the services of an electrician for eight hours.

A huge range of other fantastic lots are up for grabs, ranging from bed and breakfast packages at luxury hotels to a stand alone wine cooler.

All of the items have been kindly donated by businesses and individuals across Aberdeen City and Shire and the money raised will be spent locally to help children with a disability or illness or who are living in poverty or deprivation.

Michelle Herd, Cash for Kids Charity Manager, said: “We have a fantastic and diverse range of lots for this year’s auction and this variety will hopefully lead to a great deal of cash being raised to help local disadvantaged children.

“The auction always proves incredibly popular with our listeners and we hope they will once again show a great deal of generosity and support in bidding for some of the fantastic items on offer this year. After all, every penny raised will be used to help better the lives of the most vulnerable children in our city.”

Cash for Kids, Northsound’s listener charity, was set up to make grants towards individual youngsters as well as children’s groups, organisations and projects throughout the North-east. Each year it aims to raise £200,000.

For more information on Cash for Kids, visit www.northsound1.com/cashforkids or call 01224 337010.

Inspectors report on Aberdeen Children’s Hospital

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The general standard of cleanliness at the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital is good, according to a report by the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate.

The inspectors’ report, published today, found that staff at NHS Grampian had made progress in their efforts to protect patients from infection. The hospital was clean, isolation practices and management of patients with known or suspected infection were good and there is a clear understanding of antimicrobial prescribing for paediatric patients.

However the report also identified a number of areas for improvement:

* Hand hygiene and dress code standards must be adhered to rigorously
* A lack of integration across infection prevention and management structures needs to be addressed

* Reporting arrangements between the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital and the paediatric ward at Dr Gray’s Hospital need to be formalised
* Surveillance data and information on display should be made more meaningful and suit the needs of patients and visitors
* Public awareness should be increased to ensure everyone is involved in infection prevention and control.

Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said:

“I had made tackling hospital infections my top priority. This report shows that the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital has adopted a number of good practices, but there are areas where issues have been identified in the past and I would like to see NHS Grampian implement the recommendations to improve these as a matter of urgency.

“We want patients and their families to have the utmost confidence in the cleanliness of our hospitals and the quality of care.”

Love Music Festival

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A landmark festival of international live music for children aged four to eighteen kicks off on 1 November. Love Music presents an exotic programme of performances, from throat singing and beatboxing, to funky bluegrass and jazz-infused Balkan klezmer.

Love Music is designed to encourage musical curiosity and experimentation, helping young people to explore and expand the breadth of their musical knowledge.

Supported by £480,000 of National Lottery investment, through Creative Scotland’s Inspire fund, the festival will tour nationally throughout Scotland, visiting the Borders, East Ayrshire, Glasgow, Fife, Shetland, Aberdeenshire, the Highlands and the Western Isles.

As well as performances taking place across the country, the Love Music website offers a range of online music resources for young people, teachers and the wider public to inform and excite their curiosity. The Love Music festival Jukebox allows listeners to rate and tag tracks and to learn more about the music that has inspired them. A wide range of free music resources are also hosted on this site and by Love Music Festival’s education partner, Glow

Venu Dhupa Director of Creative Development for Creative Scotland said ‘Love Music Festival is a brilliant project, led by the unstoppable Stephen Deazley. Introducing new and exotic sounds to young people at the time their musical appetites are developing, in communities from the Borders to the Western Isles, is a fantastic way to develop audiences and the next generation of musicians. The inspiring programme and the resources that are offered alongside the festival allow students and parents alike to explore new, exciting and inspiring music’

The Festival has been conceived and curated by Northern Irish-born composer and renowned educationalist Stephen Deazley, and is produced by the organisation Music at the Brewhouse.

Artists include Jonny Axelsson (Sweden), Creaking Tree String Quartet (Canada), Eva Quartet (Bulgaria), Hobbit (UK), Huun Huur Tu (Tuva), Sokobauno with Sarah Kenchington (UK), Kolektif Istanbul (Turkey), Trio pour un p’tit pois (France), Mamadou Diabate (Mali) Oren Marshall & The Charming Transport Band (UK) and Sväng (Finland).

Alford Millers go to town!

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A family-run business that runs the last commercial water-powered oat mill in Scotland is supplying Waitrose Scottish stores with two exclusive products.

This month, Oatmeal of Alfords’ Scottish Porridge Oats and Scottish Muesli with Strawberry & Hazelnut go on sale exclusively at Waitrose stores in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The Oatmeal of Alford, based in Aberdeenshire, is run by the Medlock family. They mill oats at Montgarrie Meal Mill and turn them into traditional oat products such as oatmeal, porridge and muesli.

The three Waitrose stores in Scotland now stock around 300 Scottish lines including Alford’s Medium Oatmeal.

Tracey Marshall, Waitrose Local and Regional Sourcing Manager, said how pleased Waitrose were to be adding two more Oatmeal of Alford lines to their Scottish selection. She said:

“The products are made from home-grown Scottish oats, which are traditionally prepared and processed. They’re delicious and authentic and Oatmeal of Alford’s are a perfect example of the type of local supplier we love to work with.”

John Medlock is delighted to be working with Waitrose: He said:

“Waitrose really understand about good food that’s carefully and sustainably produced. We pride ourselves on being “the best of the best” in Scottish oats products, so I am thrilled to be able to offer oat aficionados more of our authentic products through Waitrose. Working with them, is a fantastic way to build our business and introduce our products to a wider audience.”

The Medlock family pride themselves for selling 100 percent home grown oats from their farm at Mains of Haulkerton, Laurencekirk. They are harvested at the farm and then transported to the mill where they are dried on an iron kiln and milled using traditional methods which have been used for over a century. After milling they are then taken back to the farm to be packed, or other ingredients such as dried fruit and nuts are added, depending on what the final product is.

The Aberdeen Reporter

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The Aberdeen Reporter is the hyperlocal news website for Aberdeen. It is aimed at people living and/or working in the city, although some of the content will also be relevant for visitors.

We welcome contributions from anyone who has something to say about Aberdeen.If you have an article or even an idea for an article which you could write then please email us at theaberdeenreporter@gmail.com

If the matter is urgent then you may also call us on 07791406498.

We welcome press releases from any PR companies with a story to tell us and our readers about Aberdeen businesses and people. We use press releases to get as many stories as possible out to our readers, but we will always edit them before publication.

Photographs are essential to us so that our pages are alive with good, relevant images.

We also use video and audio where we can, employing the ever-advancing technology available.

The Aberdeen Reporter is edited by freelance multimedia journalist, Phyllis Stephen.