BIG magazine Scotland - Issue 8 - Big Lottery Fund

free! free! free! INSIDE: How the Big Lottery Fund is putting Lottery money back into your community Sing when you’re winning

scotLAND Issue 8 biglotteryfund.org.uk

PAGE 10

Clyde’s Lottery

PAGE 39

Canoe Man22 Page

Top role models

2 Page 1

Welcome!

It’s less than a year until the Commonwealth Games come to Scotland and Lottery funding is available not only to help people prepare but to leave a lasting legacy once the Games are over.

So which of our programmes is right for you?

w people Do you want to bring ne encourage into grassroots sport or active? them to become more be 2014 Communities may

the answer.

e the Games Do you want to Celebrat one off coming to Scotland with ity events? arts, sports or Commun for Then Celebrate could be

you.

I’ve always known that the Big Lottery Fund here in Scotland is having a huge impact on people, families and communities but putting together this issue of BIG magazine has really made me stop and think, there are very few areas where we don’t offer support.

y Fund Published by Big Lotter Website: k www.biglotteryfund.org.u Email: tteryfund.org.uk enquiries.scotland@biglo 0 Phone: 0300 123 711 a Quinn Publishing director: Lind Editor: Emma Whitfield Fellows Executive editor : John iven, Contributors: Lorna McN holm and Landa Rolland, Frances Chis Oliver Howe Production manager: Emma Robinson Tom Barnes Design: Carmel Parker, Printer : Belmont Press

Follow us on twitter at @BIGscotland

Turning your life around when many people would write you off can never be easy but Jenna Lippiat and Ashley Wilkie want to make sure they lead by example for their little girls by being the best role models they can. Both mums are determined that being young lone parents won’t count against them, and having met them I know just how determined they are. Make up your mind and read their story on page 12. The next few months are set to be a golden opportunity for Scotland’s sports stars as they compete on home turf in the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Our Lottery funding has been helping more and more people inspired by the games become active. When Jonathan Riddell was paralysed in a car accident his recovery was only strengthened by his lifelong involvement with Forth Canoe Club, find out more on page 22. Many of us are dealing with the challenges of growing older, some of us are caring for loved ones and others simply trying to do the best for themselves. On pages 36-37, Brian Malone and Paula Sapietis tell their moving stories of their journey into old age.

or facebook at facebook.com/ So it’s over to you, I hope you enjoy discovering about biglotteryfundscotland

the people whose lives National Lottery funding is changing every day.

To find out more about each of these programmes visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/scotland Or call us on 0300 123 7110

Emma Whitfield Editor SCOTLAND Issue 8 Find out more at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk | 3

PHOTOGRAPHY: PETER DEVLIN

Get ready to get active and celebrate

BIG difference

10

12

Top role models

16

Sing out sister

Learning to live again

G I B e d i Ins BIG shorts

6 National Lottery Awards; The shape of the future; Game of Thrones star comes to Greenock 8 Raasay House reopens; Golden moment; Pedal on UK – Scotland; High street heist

Real life 10 Sing out sister: carers, Moira and Pat have joined a choir to sing their hearts out and their troubles away 12 Top role models: Young mums, Ashley and Jenna look forward to a bright future 4 |

16 Learning to live again: one family’s story of how they are building a better future 18 Share allot: an ambitious nursery has helped to transform a derelict area of land in the middle of Paisley 22 Canoeman: after a brush with death Jonathan is now helping others 24 Playaway: read all about the busy week in the life of a toy library on Skye 26 Rising from the ashes: an island community come together to restore a magnificent 18th century house

18

Share allot

22

30 Eat yourself fit: Teenager Kelsey Caldow and her mum Mairi are inspiring each other to embrace a heathier lifestyle 32 A stitch in time: Stitchers across the world have come together to produce one of the world’s longest and most stunning tapestries 36 Journey to old age: getting older is a fact of life and Paula and Brian are getting the help they need to make that journey more bearable 37 Over the rainbow: a short film about the gritty reality for young adults with Down’s Syndrome was one of the cinematic choices on offer at the 2013 Edinburgh International Film Festival

Canoeman

Your BIG regulars 38 My Lottery Q&A: Clyde is the Glasgow 2014 official mascot. Find out how he will be celebrating when the Games come to Glasgow!

COUNTRY SCOTLAND Issue XIssue Find 8out Find more outonline more at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk | 5

BIG shorts Union J

National Lottery Awards

The National Lottery Awards celebrate all that’s great about Lotteryfunded projects up and down the country, and they are voted for by you. The nation’s favourite Lottery-funded projects received their awards at a celebrity-studded ceremony at Pinewood Studios. To find out more about the awards and all the winners visit lotterygoodcauses.org.uk or follow them on Twitter @LottoGoodCauses

BIG shorts PHOTOGRAPHY: DIANE COPE, DAVID NEWBIGGING

The shape of the future The Helix Project in Falkirk received Big Lottery Fund’s largest ever Scottish grant of £25 million. It’s changing the landscape for thousands of people in central Scotland. Recently they got the chance to experience what’s to come at the first ever Helix Day. Local people were invited to explore the brand new Helix Park and take part in activities from cycling to Nordic walking. Find out more here: www.youtube.com/user/HelixFalkirk

6 |

Game of Thrones star comes to Greenock

Veteran Scotti sh actor and Game of Thro nes Cosmo has lent star James his Hollywood st yle made by youn to a movie g people in Inverclyde. Co smo, better know as Jeor Mormont in the cult TV se rie voiced a charac s, has te Light, a psycho r in Dying logical thriller by Rig Arts. The Rig Arts pr funded throug oject h Start program our Young me has given unemployed yo ungsters the chance to gain experience and skills in fi lm making. Bafta awardw director David inning film Newbigging of Inverkip sa id, Cosmo agreei “James ng to appear in our film is am az great supporte ing. He’s a r of Scottish films. The youn g who made Dyi people ng Light are all massive fans of Game of Thrones and co uldn’t believe he was invo Clydebank-bo lved.” has a string of rn James TV and film credits to his nam during more th e amassed an 40 years on screen. He said, “It w as great to see youngste rs in Greenock encouraged an d in the making mentored of the movie.”

SCOTLAND Issue 8 Find out more at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk | 7

BIG shorts

Raasay House reopens

Charles Kennedy opened the rebuilt Raasay House. Find out more on page 26.

Golden moment

Running tlandfrom home – Scoaway Pedal on UK Glasgow residents enjoyed a spectacular day of cycling and walking activities recently for the grand finale of Pedal On UK, as part of a series of free community celebrations. Organised by charity Sustrans and backed by the Big Lottery Fund’s Keeping the Spirit of 2012 Alive campaign, Pedal On UK events were held across the country over the summer to mark the success of extending more than 80 new walking and cycling networks into the heart of communities. With more than four million people living within a mile of these networks, people of all ages and abilities can now get around their communities more easily. Find out more here: www.sustrans.org.uk/scotland

PHOTOGRAPHY: HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS ENTERPRISE

High street heist

With decades of sporting moments and champions to choose from, a poll by National Lottery Good Causes has revealed that contemporary sporting icons Sir Chris Hoy and Andy Murray are Scotland’s all-time sporting heroes. Over a third (39 per cent) of Scots named Andy Murray’s triumph at Wimbledon this summer as the country’s greatest sporting moment in the poll carried out by YouGov. However, the accolade of Scotland’s ultimate sporting hero went to six-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy with almost a fifth of votes (19 per cent) with Murray placed second (16 per cent). Sir Chris’ record breaking sixth Olympic gold medal at London 2012 Olympics was voted second in the list of Scotland’s greatest sporting moments (22 per cent). Find out more here: www.youtube.com/ user/Glasgow2014OC 8 |

. Young people took Earlier this year a month long high street heist took place in Glasgow transformed the over empty shop space just off George Square in the city centre and upcyclers. The young by made e furnitur de handma g place into a stylish venue featurin of musicians, artists shop opened with a fantastic launch event featuring a whole line-up Fund helping young and designers. It’s part of a UK-wide initiative funded by Big Lottery people access space to do the things they love for free. here: Visit www.somewhereto.com/restore to find out more and see a trailer www.bit.ly/highstheist

Ser ving up a great launch


t u o g n i S SISTER real life

first appearance on Since choirmaster Gareth Malone’s of people across Scotland television six years ago thousands ir. In Kirkcaldy a very have been inspired to join a local cho es behind for a couple of special group are leaving their car s out hours a week as they sing their heart

PAT’S STORY

P

with her. A good night at Graham, 59, from meant you were getting up Kirkcaldy is also in the around half a dozen times choir. Pat looked after her and a bad night could be 20 daughter Lauren, who has times or more. severe learning difficulties, n for over 20 years. Laure STRONGER moved into supported “Then there was all the year. last tion accommoda medication and Pat said, “When Lauren lived appointments to sort out as time spare my of all home at well as dealing with social was taken up looking after services and the hospital. My her as being a carer is a partner, Alan, and my older n round the clock job. Laure daughter Jenna have been gets doesn’t sleep well and brilliant and I don’t know the g durin up several times what I would have done up get to have night and we without them. “We still see Lauren What we did most days and it’s a real comfort to know Princess Royal Trust Fife Carers she is happy in her Centre’s Carer in Charge project home. new received £472,731 in March 2011 from our Investing in Communities programme to support adult carers across Fife. www.bit.ly/singoutsister

PHOTOGRAPHY: Chris Watt

MOIRA’S STORedYin

he Fife Carers Choir was only form n April this year but its impact has bee has y, cald Kirk from 70, huge. Moira Simpson, for , rew And d, ban hus been caring for her has almost 50 years. Moira says, “Andrew a had He’s life. his all s blem pro had medical

T

“For me it’s not really the day to day caring role but it’s the constant worry as my mind is almost constantly on Andrew.”

“it’s the best thing I have ever done for myself”

JOY

cataracts heart bypass, a hip replacement, trouble and bowel trouble as well as all the ed after he’s had with his kidneys. I’ve look t especially him all of our married life but mos ld say I wou I n over the last four years whe r. have been a full-time care 10 |

months Moira joined the choir almost six can forget she ago. It’s the one place where ir at cho a in her worries. She says, “I was e mor or, nce cha school but never had the It n. the e sinc re spa importantly, time to hour really lifts me and, during our two I e tim only the it’s , ions practice sess my life. in on g goin t’s wha et forg completely

sing and I It gives me such a feeling when I e ever hav I g would say it’s the best thin done for myself.” create Lesley Childs whose idea it was to gs so brin sic “Mu s, lain exp ir the Carefee Cho the much joy to people and we can see and l arsa rehe ry eve at t tha truth of we performance we give. Starting out t’s tha and s spoke to local choral societie ical mus ful how we found our wonder n a carer director, Bob Barclay. Bob has bee g son a ten writ n himself and he’s eve r Day.’ the Ano t ‘Jus d calle us especially for ir to It’s a really personal song for the cho te to rela perform as everyone singing it can the words so much.”

“it gives me such a feeling of joy” “I have always wanted to be in a choir. I think the feeling got even stronger when Alan and I watched the programmes where Gareth Malone puts a choir together. I found something so emotional in that. Every single time I sing it gives me such a feeling of joy in my heart. I never, ever thought I would get a chance to do this.” BIG

Why singing is good for you There are many social and emotional benefits from singing and recent research has shown it can benefit your health as well. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden found that choral singing had the overall effect of slowing the heart rate. The scientists asked a group of teenagers to perform three choral exercises; humming, singing a hymn and chanting, and monitored each of their heart rhythms during each exercise. Results showed that singing together as a group had a dramatic effect on heart rate variability, which is linked to a reduced risk of heart disease.


real life

Top role

models

Young single parents are often stigmatised by society, but Lottery funding is supporting lone parents across Scotland as they try to turn their lives round, for themselves and for their children, and prove the naysayers wrong 12 | 12 |

Ashley’s Story

W

atching her young daughter drawing a picture, Ashley Wilkie thinks about her future. “I wonder what Violet will love doing and what she will grow up to be?” When Ashley from Royston, North Glasgow left school fate took a hand in her future. “I was looking through the prospectus for the City of Glasgow College and something made me plump for Legal Services,” says the 22 year-old mum. “Basically I went in without a clue but I realised that I had a natural aptitude for it.” Ashley completed the one year course and went straight back to college to do her HNC but things didn’t go so smoothly. She explains, “I wasn’t long into it before I discovered that I was pregnant. I was about seven weeks when I found out. I kept going for a while but when I learned the date of my final exam was the same day as my delivery date that was it.” Violet was born six months later and, for the next 18 months Ashley concentrated on being a new mum and a single parent. She says, “I didn’t think about career, college or anything. “Then my housing officer told me about Rosemount Lifelong Learning and how they had special courses for young mums. Within two days she had set up an appointment for me and I met them for an informal chat. I was really interested in what they had to offer but was also in a complete panic about Violet’s routine being disturbed. But everyone was great and put my mind at ease. I settled in straight away and very much enjoyed the range of things we

learned over the nine months. The thing that inspired me the most was the careers guidance session. It really made me think about my future again.” Now she has completed the course, Ashley’s mind is firmly focused on her future. She says, “Yvonne at Rosemount is still helping me and, at the moment, we are working to confirm a volunteering and training opportunity at a local Citizen’s Advice Bureau. It’s the first step in a long road to qualify to become a lawyer but I’m determined to do it, one step at a time.

“anything is possible if you put your mind to it” “Once Violet goes into nursery next year, it’s really all systems go and I can concentrate on college courses. I just want to be a role model to my daughter and show her what you can achieve through hard work and that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.” Ashley knows what a big part Rosemount has played in her future. “Everyone here has been absolutely amazing and given me the confidence and drive to do this. If it wasn’t for them I would still be in exactly the same situation. Doing the course has helped me realise that by focussing on me I can help to get a better future for me and my daughter.”


real life

Jenna’s Story Jenna Lippiat was just 17 when she discovered she was pregnant with her daughter Carla. Despite believing she was in a secure relationship just 16 weeks into the pregnancy she found herself on her own. While Jenna was able to move back home with her mum, she found herself with limited support at home due to her mum’s ill health.

PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRIS WATT

“At that time I had lost all my so-called friends, I was in a state and I felt very alone” “Mum was happy to have me home and wanted to do all she could to help me so I had a lot of moral support but the practical things were a little bit more difficult,” says Jenna. Living in the rural South Lanarkshire town of Lesmahagow meant that for all her antenatal check-ups and scans Jenna had to take a number of buses. A 15-minute car journey translated into over an hour on the bus. Then one day at a scan Jenna’s midwife asked if she’d like to speak to someone 14 |

from Healthy Valleys Grassroots Project. The Lottery funded project has a number of volunteers who can help give people in their rural area a lift when they need it. “It sounded like a good idea. At that time I had lost all my so-called friends, I was in a state and I felt very alone,” says the young mum. “The fact there were people who would help without judging was amazing.” It was a lifeline with a simple start that Jenna credits with turning her life around. “After Carla was born the volunteers at Healthy Valleys were there for me. There were parenting groups, mums groups, healthy eating classes and cooking courses. “I had post-natal depression but if it hadn’t been for Healthy Valleys I would have been locked away in my house with nowhere to turn, I know I would have felt very alone.” For Jenna, now 19, becoming a mum to 18 month-old Carla has been the catalyst to changing how she lives her life. She explains, “Before I was into drinking and partying 24/7. I was off the rails and I didn’t care. I thought it was cool and the thing to do. My only plans in life were where I was going out next, I didn’t want a job or anything. “With Carla I know I want to be there for her, and to do the best for her I can. Thanks to Healthy Valleys we get to go to soft plays and on trips that I could never afford on my own. But I also believe in myself more now. “I’m looking to go to college and study nursing next year, then Carla will be able to go to a crèche. These are the kind of plans I would never have thought of or made without support of the people I’ve met here.”

Gillian’s Story One of the volunteers who gave Jenna a lift from time to time is 45 year-old Gillian Armstrong. The mum of two teenage girls spends a couple of days a week volunteering for Healthy Valleys but her introduction to the project was a decade ago when she joined one of their cooking on a budget courses. Gillian from Forth recalls, “My husband was ill, I had two little children and I’d been made redundant. The course seemed like a good practical idea but I didn’t think that down the line I’d be the one delivering the course and becoming so involved.” Now, as one of the longest serving volunteers, she knows that often it is the time she gives that can make all the difference to families throughout her community. She says, “The thing is the volunteers are a friendly face who can give someone who needs it a hand. If they want to talk to us then that’s fine but if they just want a lift then you know that’s okay too. “Some people I’ve become really good

friends with and I know the difference it makes to me as well as them.” Gillian’s own story is not without bad luck. After several years of illness her husband Robert died suddenly four years ago. “I was very down after Robert died,” she says quietly. “It took me a long time to think if I wanted to continue volunteering. I was depressed and I felt pretty worthless. “But the girls at Healthy Valleys came to have a chat and suggested they might be able to help. We had a talk about what I might feel able to do and gave it a go. “It wasn’t easy but I’m glad I did.” BIG

What we did Rosemount Lifelong Learning’s Making a Difference Project received £495,450 in May 2011 and Healthy Valleys Grassroots project received £422,547 in November 2011 from Big Lottery Fund’s Investing in Communities programme.


real life

Learning to live again

After being the victim of a violent sexual attack while her husband was out at work mum of three Layla* fled her west African homeland in search of a safe haven for herself and her children *name changed for purposes of anonymity

F

PHOTOGRAPHY: ISTOCK.COM

ive years later she’s still in Scotland and she credits the support she’s had from a Lottery-funded project as the thing which has helped the family of four cope with the aftermath of their abuse. Here Layla, 47, tells her story: “I arrived here nearly five years ago with a single bag, the clothes I stood up in and my children. When I left my home I did so on a tourist visa, I was so frightened. I knew if anyone thought I was leaving not to come back they would stop me from leaving the country all together. “In my home country my husband was involved with the military and he was outspoken so it put all of us in danger. We had lived through months with the threat of violence from his enemies hanging over us. Then one day they came knocking. I don’t know if they already knew he wasn’t at home or if they were genuinely looking for him. “Whatever the case, he wasn’t there so

16 |

they attacked me instead. I was physically attacked and sexually abused. I was terrified. I was scared for my life and that of my children. It was the last straw for me. I waited a couple of weeks for the children’s school holidays to come around, got on a plane and left. I’ve not been back since.

wonderful

“I headed for Scotland as I knew one person who lived here as it was better than going where I knew no one at all. But it has been very hard. I arrived with nothing and had no idea how the asylum system worked, who I needed to speak to or what I needed to do. “When I was told about the Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture I didn’t know what to expect or even if they would be able to help me at all. From the start they have been wonderful. They have time. The atmosphere is calm and welcoming and they have been able to really help my children as well as me.

“As asylum seekers we still don’t have any official status” “It’s a place I can come to and feel safe. I can come here and talk and know that I won’t be judged and that the pressure on me has been lifted. I’ve had therapy and done courses but I know I can come here as long as I need to. “I’m now in the middle of the process where I hope to be given leave to stay. It involves long and difficult meetings with lawyers and the home office. Fortunately the people at the Foundation are able to come with me and give me moral support and advice. It helps more than words can say. “Here while we still fight to be granted leave to stay, with the help I’ve had from Kathleen, my therapist, my children have grown up free from fear. They are all doing really well at school and my eldest daughter is seeking a place at university. While we are

not entitled to any support it hasn’t stopped her wanting to make the best for herself and trying really hard. “Life can be very difficult here. As asylum seekers we still don’t have any official status and therefore receive very little in terms of benefits or help. But in my heart I know I did the right thing. I can’t go home as I fear that we will be targeted. Last time it was sexual abuse after months of living in fear of an attack. I know it would be the same. Perhaps even worse.” BIG

What we did The Medical Foundatio n for the Care of Victims of Torture rec eived £351,257 from the Investing in Co mmunities programme in May 2013 to continue their work with extrem ely traumatised and vulnerable familie s who have experienced torture an d have fled their country of origin.


real life


Share allot

18 |

An ambitious children’s nursery in Paisley has transformed a derelict area of land into a blossoming hub of herbs, shrubs and fruit and vegetables. The allotment and garden are a far cry from the wasteland that was there before and are being used to teach the children about gardening and using what they grow in cookery

R

un by the Hillview Nursery Parents Management Committee, the group invited families and friends to a gardening BBQ day where staff and the community worked to create the allotments and plant bushes and trees to create a natural boundary. Michelle Goodwin, from Hillview Nusery, says, “It was a great day and the garden really began to take shape. Even though the day was a washout everyone got involved and shared ideas and tips on gardening and we all enjoyed some hearty food afterwards. “We also held an open gala day within the community where staff held planting

demonstrations and made planters of vegetables with our families and the community to take home. Visitors on the day shared their expertise and advice with others and the children loved digging and planting the vegetables.” Michelle continues, “So far we have created three raised allotment beds, each containing a variety of mixed herbs and vegetables and have planted raspberry and gooseberry bushes, hawthorns, Pyracanthas and Rosa which act as a natural boundary around the garden. These have a variety of wildlife such as butterflies and insects which the children love.


real life

“On the other side of the allotments, we have planted fruit trees of cherry, apple and pears as well as planting potatoes, tomatoes, rhubarb and strawberries in the main garden area. We have art displayed along the fencing of mirrored bumble bees, butterflies, snails and a metal spider’s web, as well as a metal butterfly and flower blackboards for the children to draw on. By using the garden as their creative inspiration, we want to encourage their learning outdoors and share in using these resources to educate the children in biodiversity and support the nursery’s eco 20 |

Local children take a closer look

schools as well as adding colour and warmth to the garden.” The group has already harvested some of their fruit and vegetables from the garden and made some delicious snacks and lunches. Chatting together, the children and staff came up with ideas for the nursery menu, as well as creating recipe cards to take home and cook and share the experience within the home. But the project isn’t just focused on nurturing little green fingers – they have been involved with the wider Hillview community as well, inviting the local

church to share in the allotment vision. Michelle explains, “We linked up with local churches to donate and deliver some of our home grown produce of runner beans, garden peas and potatoes to their local food bank. Every week local people are invited to come and help prepare and then eat Sunday lunch. We also want to use this as a platform to then encourage these people to come along and work together as families or members of the community to grow their own produce.” Michelle says, “We have also successfully achieved our first parent and

child twilight cookery workshop making vegetable soup, providing each group with the ingredients and a recipe card to follow on the night. Our cook supported all the families through step-by-step instructions and guidance and after the session everyone took their soup home to share with their families. We gave them a more advanced soup recipe card to take home and to share with extended family and friends and so far the feedback from our families attending was very positive. We plan to work in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society at our next cookery workshop where we will be using our autumn produce. “We recently provided a hanging basket workshop of strawberry and tomato planters for the children, their families and the wider community which was met with great enthusiasm. People have commented on our Facebook page about how much they enjoyed the workshop and the progress their plants have made.” But the work doesn’t just stop there and the group have big plans for the garden. Michelle says, “Next in the pipeline is building a decked area. A local delivery company have donated pallets to the nursery as material for a large seating area within the allotment grounds where staff, children and families can work, rest and have picnics.” BIG

What we did Hillview Nursery Parents Management Committee received £10,000 in December 2012 from our Communities and Families Fund to create an allotment and garden at the nursery to enhance the learning experience of the children, as well as being accessible to local community groups.


real life

ROB HARDIE

Canoeman

Canoeing is in Jonathan Riddell’s blood and not even a life-changing car accident has stopped him passing on his love of the sport to others. Here Edinburgh based Jonathan, 31, tells his story


“

I’ve been canoeing all my life. My dad still tells the story that he took me out on the water in a boat with him when I was only two days old. That’s where it all started and I have been out on the water pretty much every day since then. “I was Scottish Champion for white-water racing when I was 15 and Scottish Schools Slalom Champion in 1990. I always liked to take part in competitions but the fun

22 |

stopped for me when I stopped winning medals. My teenage years were spent practising alongside Olympic Silver Medallist, David Florence, who is a member of our club and learned to canoe here. Competing at the highest level, like David does, just doesn’t interest me as much as coaching and bringing new people to the sport. “About eighteen months ago my life changed forever when I was involved in a near fatal car accident when I was in Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. I had gone

there to learn French and explore new styles of canoeing. I have absolutely no memory of what happened and I’m told I finally began to come round about three days later. It’s not like in films where you wake up all of a sudden and recognise the loved ones by your bed. I was gradually drifting in and out of consciousness for a couple of days before I was fully conscious. “I came back home as soon as I was able to travel and, since then, have had a never-ending succession round of tests and scans. The upshot is that there’s no real treatment for what has happened to me. I’ve seen countless doctors and specialists and there’s not even a specific name for my condition; head trauma, brain damage, concussion, it’s all pretty much the same thing. I’ve been told all I can do is look after myself and keep as active as possible.

“Since my accident I have so much more empathy for young people who have a brain injury” “It’s slowly getting better although my energy levels can fluctuate from day to day and I get tired really easily. To some people who don’t know me I can appear a bit woozy or like I’ve had a really good night out on the drink the night before. Basically my brain just works more slowly than most people’s. “I still canoe but I can’t do water racing or marathons now so I’m really concentrating on coaching and helping other people to become coaches. The money from Awards for All has meant we’ve been able to buy three general boats that can be used by

Olympic Silver medallist, David Florence, in action

people who have a range of disabilities. We’ve never ever put any restrictions on anyone joining the club and it’s always been in my mind to help other people who face more barriers to taking up a sport. “Since my accident I have so much more empathy for young people who have a brain injury. I think there’s a real gap for people who appear to be not so obviously affected by what has happened to them and seem to be getting on with their lives. But I know more than most that it can be a struggle and there’s a lot going on beneath the surface. That’s why I want to do my bit, however small, to help and possibly introduce them to something they grow to love as much as me. BIG

What we did

”

Forth Canoe Club received an award of £2,000 from our 2014 Communities programme in May 2013 to buy three boats to introduce people with disabilities to the sport.

Watch Forth Canoe Club’s David Florence in action with Richard Houndslow as they win silver in the London 2012 C2 slalom: http://bit.ly/bigcanoeman

Scotland Issue 8 Find out more at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk | 23

real life

Playaway

…a week in the life of toy library very parent knows the difference toddler groups can make, not only do the kids have fun but mums, dads and carers have a chance to chat and offer each other moral support. But when you live remotely on an island those opportunities are not always easy to come by. Now the Islay and Jura mobile toy library has become a lifeline to many. Based in Bowmore, Islay, it has toys to borrow, sets up activity and play sessions and offers a friendly and informative meeting place for parents and carers which means everyone gets a share of the action.

Curator of fun Kirsten McLellan shared her diary…

monDAY

Started with a production meeting in Bowmore. We spent the morning discussing our Children’s Summer Activities leaflet and confirmed the publication deadline. The open play session in the afternoon had two families attending with two babies and one toddler. They exchanged toys and stayed on for a further hour with one mum booking out a car seat for the month of August.

TueSDAY I sorted out the toys for a toddler water play session in Port Charlotte. Having filled the van with a selection of toys, the water tray and refreshment boxes, I delivered these to a volunteer’s house. Later, we welcomed a new member to the afternoon’s play session who came to choose a toy for her toddler. Next we prepared toys and resources for the Gaelic playgroup sessions and delivered toys to the meeting room for them.

wedneSDAY I left home early to drive to Port Ellen for the seashore session with Port Ellen Toddler Group. I remembered to take my wellies and spare towel, as well as tissues and sun cream in case anyone forgot their own. Fiona 24 |

MacGilivray led the session with games, including seashell bingo, and then we walked along the beach searching for shells which would match our picture cards. We moved on to fishing with a net at the end of a long pole and tried to catch anything that moved! After this, I drove to Port Charlotte to check on the toddler water play session and had a Toys in transit catch-up with the volunteer who was taking fortnightly basis rather than our previous the session to check how it was going, then monthly visits. The toddler session was held it was back to Bowmore for the afternoon in the morning and then in the afternoon it open play session. was our Little Angels Nursery where the THURSDAY children come in to swap their toys. Then it was back to Islay and Bowmore to clean and Returned all the water play toys from Port check all the swapped toys and return them Charlotte back into our store and then to the store so we can do it all again next sorted out toys, games and resources for week. BIG the next day’s trip to Jura toddlers’ group which is carrying on throughout the summer. Because of the time of year, this session includes their older siblings and relatives, so I What we did packed a large sports bag with equipment Islay & Jura Toy Library have received for outdoor activities for the older children.

friDAY I headed in the van to Port Askaig to catch the ferry across to Jura. The Jura mums are always very welcoming and pleased that we have continued to support them on a

several awards. Most rec ently £9,879 in March 2013 from our Co mmunities and Families Fund to contin ue to run their stay and play services for eight year olds and under across local islands.


PHOTOGRAPHY: Mark Unsworth

E

Rising from the ashes After years of neglect, the small island community of Raasay took it upon themselves to restore the magnificent 18th century Raasay House and return it back to its former glory

26 |


PHOTOGRAPHY: HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS PHOTOGRAPHY: XX

real life

PHOTOGRAPHY: XX

real life

A

t the start of 2009, as work was nearing completion and the house was to be handed over to the community, the project suffered a devastating blow when a fire tore through the building. The inferno undid all the hard work carried out over the previous year and gutted the entire building leaving just a smoking ruin. Undaunted, the Raasay House Community Company Ltd (RHCC) were not to be denied and they doubled their efforts to ensure the former stately home, which is of huge historical and economical importance to the island, was refurbished and reopened for business. With Raasay’s fragile economy, the 258-year-old mansion – once belonging to the Clan MacLeod – is vital to the long-term future for many of the island’s residents and businesses. Raasay Outdoor Centre, which is based at the house, creates a lot of income for the island bringing clients and visitors to the island. With the centre in jeopardy, its survival was essential as if the business closed, it would have to relocate and take its vital local employment elsewhere.

Enthusiasm

The residents of the remote island started again on the £4.5 million redevelopment with renewed enthusiasm and rebuilding work started in August 2010. Once again, fate intervened with another disastrous setback as the main contractor for the redevelopment went into administration and all work on the house ceased. Undeterred and determined to reach their goal, the RHCC set about appointing a new contractor to finish the job. After another year of delays, a new contractor was found and work commenced at the beginning of November 2011. As the site and the shell of the house had been left exposed to the elements for a year, it needed a lot of clearing and cleaning work done before actual building work 28 |

Charles Kennedy at the opening ceremony

could start. After years of delays and misfortune and four years after it was due to originally open, the finished building was finally handed over to the community company on 3 April 2013. David Westgarth, chairman of RHCC, says, “The community has worked so hard on this project for such a long time and to see the finished result makes every minute worth it.” “The Raasay Outdoor Centre is now in situ and we look forward to helping them make the house a key economic driver to help sustain the future of the Island and its community.” Raasay House was officially opened by Charles Kennedy MP on 20 September, 2013. David says, “We were delighted to welcome Mr Kennedy here. Well-wishers on Raasay and far beyond are eager to celebrate the completion of a project which has delivered a magnificent building with a stunning new interior, but looking as it always did from the outside. It will be a real landmark for the Highlands and Islands.” BIG

Before

What we did Raasay House Commun ity Company received £1 million in June 2007 from our Growing Commun ity Assets programme to redevelop Raasay House and the Raasay Outdoor Centre.

after SCOTLAND Issue 8 Find out more at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk | 29

Eat yourself

FIT

As Scotland gears up to host the Commonwealth Games next year it’s hoped the legacy of such a landmark-sporting event will be considerable. Right now Lottery funding is supporting families across the country to help young people deal with issues around weight and exercise

K

elsey Caldow may only be 16-years old but she knows better than most how difficult having a problem with her weight can be. “I’ve always been heavy and self conscious. While I’ve got quite an outgoing personality, which has meant that I didn’t get bullied at school, my weight has made me unhappy,” she says. It was six years ago that Kelsey became involved with the MEND programme in her East Ayrshire hometown of Kilmarnock. And although Kelsey admits that she still has issues about how much she weighs it’s

30 |

thanks to her involvement with the programme she knows how to go about improving things. “Right from the start the weekly sessions looked at how to change our eating habits. And we didn’t come on our own. My mum had to come too. “The first hour we’d spend learning about foods and why one could be better to eat than another. It wasn’t about dieting and cutting out certain things, it was all about learning how your body uses food and which foods are best for your body.

“The second hour was then all about exercise. It’s much easier to get up, run and jump about in a room full of other children who feel the same way you do about their bodies.” Kelsey’s mum Mairi, 50, adds, “When children are overweight you can’t deal with them in isolation, they aren’t making their food choices and they certainly aren’t cooking. At first I wondered what it would be like but straight away I knew this was something that could and would work for us. “Parents and children would do the education part together, then while the children exercised parents got to chat. It starts off as kind of a support group and then turns into a time to catch up with friends.”

“I go line dancing twice a week so I know that I am much fitter than I ever would have been” Mairi explains, “In a way I think Kelsey’s problems were an extension of my own. I’ve always been heavy and we were eating all the wrong things.” Despite the original course only lasting three months, it had such a positive impact on almost all of the parents and children involved that they created a ‘graduates’ session and even now six years later meet up once a week. Kelsey says: “My problem now is comfort eating in front of the telly but both mum and I are trying to overcome that. “I go line dancing twice a week so I know that I am much fitter than I ever would have been.


real life

“While I’ve grown up at the same time I know that I feel better, more comfortable and different to how I would’ve felt before.” The MEND course is now called My Time Active and the success of the scheme has led to it being offered across many more places in Scotland. Mairi says, “We are not perfect and both Kelsey and I still have a long way to go but this approach doesn’t judge. It just offers a new way of looking at what and how you eat. “In terms of helping a young person’s confidence Kelsey couldn’t have had better support. She has given speeches and stood in front of packed rooms talking about her experience. “She has the confidence to say this is who I am, and I think that is a wonderful gift to be given.” BIG

What we did My Time Active received £1,699,746 in June 2013 from Big Lottery Fund to improve the health and wellbeing of children, young people and adults. This project will also raise awareness of the Commonwealth Games, helping to achieve the aims of the 2014 Communities Legacy Programme.


A stitch in time real life

H

undreds of stitchers from communities in 25 countries around the world where Scots have settled have been invited to create over 160 metre-square panels for an ambitious project to create one of the world’s longest tapestries. In 2010, Prestoungrange Arts Festival produced a 104 metre tapestry celebrating the Battle of Prestonpans in 1745 – one of the longest tapestries in the world. Now

“Prestonpans has a very rich and diverse history. After a chance visit to Bayeux, we decided that a tapestry would be a perfect way to share this. Our town was the scene of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s greatest victory in 1745 and we decided to tell his story in the same way as William the Conqueror did in 1066.” Not content with having produced one of the world’s longest tapestries at the

“Our town was the scene of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s greatest victory in 1745 and we decided to tell his story in the same way as William the Conqueror did in 1066”

Completed panel stitched in Barga “Most Scottish Town in Italy”

the group has set its sights on bettering this with a second, even longer, tapestry, capturing the stories of the Scottish Diaspora in time for the year of Homecoming Scotland 2014. The tapestry was designed by Dr Andrew Crummy, from Prestoungrange Arts Festival. He explains,

time, the group of volunteer stitchers asked themselves: “What next?” Dr Crummy explains, “Our stitchers wanted to keep going. They loved the team approach to individual panels and to the artwork as a whole and wanted more. And they enjoyed learning the stories behind what they stitched. Many marvel at the skilled crafting and vibrant

e Ballarat Drawing of th Gold Fields

ndigo Drawing of Be sh Ru ld Go

In progress - Botany Bay panel

Sketch for panel on the Company Bagan and Robert Kyd


real life

l stitched in Completed pane Game of st Gothenburg Fir en ed Sw in ll Footba

Montreal - Canada

colours of the embroidery.” As part of Homecoming Scotland 2014, the group chose to explore the theme of Scots who left home to seek new lives elsewhere. This includes communities who settled not just overseas but also within other parts of the UK. Dr Crummy says, “One of the six panels coming from Corby in England, where thousands of Scots from Glasgow and Aberdeen went in the 1930s to man the steel works, shows a plate of porridge and a crater. Amazingly the town’s porridge eating contest inspired Apollo astronauts to name a crater on Mars after the town! Another depicts a giant pipeline called PLUTO which was built to carry petrol and water under the Channel after the D-Day landings in 1945.” Many of the panels come from abroad, where Scots spread far and wide, shaping 34 |

the places they settled in and sharing Scottish heritage with the local population. Dr Crummy continues, “Swedish panels show how Scots helped found the city of Gothenburg and develop its Chalmers University of Technology, its Carnegie Porter and East India trading. The Scots even introduced football to Sweden! “Australia saw Scots involved in the gold rushes and settling as farmers. We settled communities in New Zealand, founded the Hudson’s Bay Company in Canada, tea planters in India and great textile merchants in China. “These are just a few of the unique instances which will be recounted from particular communities. Almost every Scottish community across the globe has fine records of Highland Games, pipe bands, Scottish dancing, Burns statues and nights, the tartan and a taste for whisky.”

As a backdrop to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, hundreds of local school children will be introduced to the various Commonwealth country panels and their stories. They will research what the communities are like today and be ready when the Games are running to watch and support the athletes from those other countries. Dr Crummy says, “We now truly believe that the life of a tapestry begins when we finish the stitching. It lives to share the stitched stories far and wide, to learn more about the extraordinary achievements of hundreds of thousands of Scots who left our shores to find new lives, but remained forever Scots.” BIG

Settlers’ Lament drawing

Drawing of John Muir Dunbar

Drawing of John Mu ir Wisconsin

The Glenalladale Settlers drawing

What we did Prestoungrange Arts Festival received £10,000 in July 2013 from our Celebrate programme to create the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry. Find out more at: www.prestonpanstapestry.org/tapestry/ and www.scottishdiasporatapestry.org/


Journey to old age real life

“What I love about this band of angels is that they have all the time in the world for you”

Getting older is a fact of life but for many it brings unexpected challenges. Whatever the problem, it is help and support from others that make their journey into old age bearable

Brian’s Story

T

hree years ago, Brian Malone was diagnosed with dementia with Lewy bodies and vascular dementia. The 63 year old, who lives in Dundee with his wife Sharon, recalls it took almost a year to accept that he had dementia. It was when he was referred to Alzheimer Scotland that life began again. An outreach worker for the Dundee Dementia Resource

Paula’s Story

P

PHOTOGRAPHY: PAULA SAPIETIS, ALZHEIMER SCOTLAND

“I truly believe I started living again that day” Centre visited him in his home. Brian says: “She suggested that I might benefit from attending the weekly Early Stage Men’s group. Initially I was reluctant to go along but the outreach worker was very reassuring and promised that if I got there and changed my mind, she would bring me home again. “The following week, the outreach worker took me to the resource centre. She showed me into a room where I walked into a wall of noise. There were at least ten men in the room and they were all laughing and joking. I was completely taken aback and I had to ask where the dementia room was. To my utter surprise, she replied, ‘This is it!’ I truly believe I started living again that day. I enjoyed myself so much I came home a very different person.”

36 |

Brian explains: “In the early days of my condition, I had a few nocturnal episodes and left the house in night attire. I was fortunate that the police found me and brought me home. I now keep an Alzheimer Scotland Helpline card in my pyjama pocket, just in case. Two years later, Brian has accepted his condition and thanks to his group support, is living and coping well with dementia. “From the minute you walk in the front door, you can feel a warm and welcoming atmosphere. This is down to an excellent management team and every single member of staff and, of course, the volunteers.”

aula Sapietis, 73, who cares for her artist husband Zigi, 90, attends Woodburn Day Care club once a month. It’s the friendship and support from this club that has helped Paula move from being a teacher to young people with additional needs to a full time carer to her husband. “Once Zigi’s health began to deteriorate,” says Paula, “this is where the Woodburn Day Care Club stepped in to support me, when I was under an avalanche of not knowing which way to turn. “Donna, the carer support worker from Woodburn, came round and she identified my needs, where I was coming from, and she could see I was finding it

very hard to cope with the paperwork. She saw that I was in total disarray and helped me with getting power of attorney which has been so useful in sorting out problems that have crept up. “She saw that I was the sort of proactive person who might reach out to organisations and get what I needed. She has done other amazing things like helping with my husband’s pension from Germany for being displaced as a young man.” But Woodburn Day Care Club doesn’t stop at just providing practical solutions to the day to day problems faced by carers. They give carers the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings.

Paula explains, “What I love about this band of angels is that they have all the time in the world for you, they listen with compassion, insight, with perception, taking in information that they can share with other people who use this resource. “I get a lot of strength from our monthly meetings, networking and sharing with people in the same situation as myself.” BIG

What we did Woodburn Day Care Club received £261,858 from the Big Lottery Fund in November 2012 to expand and develop the activities of the Woodburn Day Care Club in Dalkeith. Brian Malone was a member of the Alzheimer Scotland group who worked on the development of the £50 Million Life Changes Trust, launched in April 2013.


Over the rainbow Among the cinematic choices on offer at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival was a short movie showcasing the gritty reality of life for young adults with Down’s Syndrome

R

PHOTOGRAPHY: TANYA REID STILLS FROM THE MOVIE AND SHOTS FROM EIFF

here: Watch the film tland nssyndromesco www.bit.ly/dow rpeople25 Password – othe

“Dylan is a role model for aspiring actors with Down’s Syndrome” Heather Irish from Down’s Syndrome Scotland says it can be hard for young people with special needs to negotiate their way through life. She says, “Rainbow Connection is a gritty portrayal of a young man with Down’s Syndrome who faces family illness, poverty and bullying. This short film shows that people with Down’s Syndrome face struggles and have hopes and dreams just as everyone else. “We’d like to commend the filmmaker Kire Paputts for showcasing these very real issues and for lead actor Dylan Harman’s performance. Dylan is a role model for aspiring actors with Down’s Syndrome.” BIG 38 |

What we did Down’s Syndrome Scotla nd’s Making Your Way Through Life project supports adults and you ng people with Down’s Syndrome , like Eugene, helping them to plan for their future and teaching life skills. The project received £311,136 fro m Big Lottery Fund in July 2013.

Clyde is the Glasgow 2014 official mascot. Between now and the Commonwealth Games next summer, he is really busy making sure everyone across the country can get set for Scotland’s biggest ever sporting moment. Tell us what’s the best thing about your role for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games? I really enjoy travelling around the country telling everyone all about Glasgow 2014. I get recognised everywhere I go, which is super cool – I feel like a proper celebrity! I even have over 5,000 followers on Twitter@Clyde2014. What do you think makes Glasgow, the host city, so special? Glasgow is my hometown. It’s Scotland’s largest city and it’s even livelier than I am – if that’s possible! The people are friendly, there’s always loads going on and whether you like sport, shopping or going to museums, you’ll find it here.

Will Scotland’s Games be one of the best ever? You know that it will! People in Scotland know a thing or two about throwing a party, and Glasgow 2014 is going to be a party like no other. Scottish fans are known for cheering louder than anyone else and that is one of the things that will make our Games totally epic.

How will you celebrate the Games? I can’t wait to see my sporting heroes compete for medals. I’ll be in the middle of it all. But it’s not just happening in Glasgow – celebrations will be taking place up and down the country. It’s great that so many communities across Scotland have already applied for Celebrate funding. Just think what your community could do with up to £10,000 to celebrate the Games?

What things are you looking forward to over the next 12 months? I can’t wait to find out who’ll be picked for Team Scotland! Then there’s Culture 2014 which will have loads of great music, theatre and special events. The Queen’s Baton Relay will see the baton visiting the two billion people of the Commonwealth over 288 days covering more than 190,000 kilometres.

www.glasgow2014.com/

@Clyde2014


PHOTOGRAPHY: IAN JACOBS PHOTOGRAPHY

ainbow Connection is a film from Canadian Director Kire Paputts about a young man with Down’s Syndrome. He says, “This was an opportunity to create awareness of disability in film. I wanted to break away from the conventional portrayal of people with special needs in cinema. When mainstream cinema and television look at people with disabilities, it’s often done in a very safe manner. With the lead character Eugene, I wanted to challenge this perception. Eugene’s story is one that any teenager could experience. I wanted to give a demanding, mature lead role to an actor with special needs rather than perpetuating stereotypes.”

my lottery

PHOTOGRAPHY: XX

real life

We want to in communities Investing in Communities is here to support communities and individuals most in need all across Scotland. Through Investing in Communities we make grants of up to £1 million for projects lasting

up to five years. We have three main themes, Life Transitions, Supporting 21st Century Life and Growing Community Assets. You can apply at any time and we are welcoming new applications now.

r project could be ing in Communities and if you est Inv ut abo re mo out find To or iglotteryfund.org.uk/scotland eligible visit our website www.b call us on 0300 123 7110