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Recording breaking crowds put on a show for Scotland’s biggest gaming event

RECORD-BREAKING crowds turned up on Saturday for Scotland’s biggest gaming event.

Many of those attending the event were dressed in amazing costumes as they re-enacted the characters from their favourite video games.

More than 6000 fans are expected to descend on The Arena at intu Braehead for PLAY Expo Glasgow 2019 for the two-day extravaganza of gaming and popular culture that continued on Sunday.

And for the first time the Scottish Gaming Championships are being held at the show with the heats being held today and the head-to-head contests to find the country’s top gaming gladiator tomorrow.

PLAY Expo Glasgow is staged by experienced video game show specialists, Replay Events. Organiser Andy Brown said: “Ticket sales have been phenomenal and already we have sold many more tickets than we did for the same show last year.

“It’s definitely going to be a record-breaking weekend and I expect we’ll have more than 6000 through the doors compared to 5000 last year. A lot of this is down to the bigger show we’re putting on with more video games and gaming machines for people to play.

“It’s going to be a fantastic, colourful weekend with the fans coming along dressed as characters from their favourite video games and as well as the tickets already sold we also expect a lot of people to turn up on the day.”

The PLAY Expo Glasgow has something for everyone including retro consoles and computers, classic arcade and pinball machines, indie and modern games for PC and console.

There will also be gaming tournaments, LAN gaming and Cosplay contests, board games, Minecraft, Fortnite, merchandise stalls and much more. And best of all, once you have bought your entry ticket, all the games are free to play.

For the first time, this year’s show features live entertainment with Australian comedian, John Robertson hosting his hilarious game show The Dark Room, which sees members of the audience being trapped inside an imaginary retro video game.

Log on to www.playexpoglasgow.com to buy tickets that start at £16 for adults and £10 for youngsters or pay at the door of Arena in the lower mall next to Costa Coffee.

10/06/2019/by Brian McGuire

Renfrewshire Council has proven its commitment to its workforce, following it’s recognition as a Carer Positive employer.

Carer Positive is a Scottish Government funded initiative which recognises employers who offer the best support to working carers, allowing them the flexibility they often need to continue to provide care at home for their loved ones.

Carers Award 1

Renfrewshire Council has been presented with the “engaged” level of Carer Positive, recognising the commitment made to support carers through workplace policies and practices – for example the Carers Leave Policy, introduced in 2018, which provides employees who are primary carers with access to additional paid leave to help better balance their work and caring commitments.

Employees are already experiencing these positive benefits. Zara Kerr, a Housing Assistant for Renfrewshire Council said: “We all know the importance of having a positive physical and mental health and there are now more carers trying to balance all aspects of their life.

“I’ve been able to use the Carers Leave Policy to care for my mother without having to use all of my allocated annual leave. It’s allowed me to continue with my role as her primary carer, without her feeling like a burden and without having a detrimental effect on either of our mental or physical wellbeing.”

Sue McLintock from Carer Positive, who came to Renfrewshire to present the award, said: “We are delighted to recognise Renfrewshire Council as a Carer Positive employer.

“The local authority has demonstrated a genuine commitment to supporting staff with caring responsibilities and developing a culture where they feel valued and will undoubtedly benefit in terms of their health and wellbeing. It is encouraging to see the importance placed on making life better for carers, not just within the authority, but in the wider community as well.”

Renfrewshire Council will now work towards achieving the second level of Carer Positive, involving carers in the development of the processes and policies that will best support them and establishing a Carers Peer Network Forum with the aim of enabling employees who are carers to share experiences, access training opportunities and raise awareness of local and national support available.

Councillor John Shaw, Convenor of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board, said: “Reaching the first level of the Carer Positive award is a great step for Renfrewshire Council, and shows the commitment to supporting those employees in caring roles to maintain their health, wellbeing and life beyond caring.

“I look forward to seeing the support network grow further as the Council progresses through the next two levels of Carer Positive.”

For more information on becoming a Carer Positive employer, visit www.carerpositive.org

07/06/2019/by Brian McGuire

An initiative is being launched to encourage more girls in Renfrewshire to take part in sport

A small army of coaches will be trained and go into primary schools to encourage girl pupils to take up either basketball, gymnastics, dance or girls football.

The project is being financed by a grant of almost £23,000 from the Scottish Government’s Women and Girls Fund and will be run by Renfrewshire Leisure in partnership with the Scottish Football Association, Scottish Gymnastics, basketballscotland and Renfrewshire Council.

A survey by Renfrewshire Leisure showed that at least 35 per cent of primary aged girls were considered to be inactive, as they took part in between zero and three hours per week of sporting activity.

The four sports in the project were in the top ten requested by girls taking part in the survey, as activities they would be most likely to take part in.

Now more than 80 coaches, chosen from current sessional staff, volunteers, sports clubs, sports leaders and placement students, will be specially trained and go into local schools to deliver the programme of sports to more than 1500 girl pupils.

Each of the 49 primary schools in Renfrewshire will receive a total of 24 hours of coaching made up of six hours for each sport in six-week blocks and girls-only sports clubs will also be set up in primary schools.

The project will also give girls a pathway to joining one of the many accredited local sports clubs.

Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes, chairperson of Renfrewshire Leisure said: “Following the results of the Renfrewshire Leisure survey it was obvious one of the priorities should be to encourage more girls to take part in sport and physical activity.

“We hope to see the girls who only take part in up to three hours of sport to increase their activities to more than seven hours a week.

“We will train the coaches to provide the environment where the girls can learn a new sport and develop their skills, even to the extent of becoming competitive in a particular sport.

“We aim to increase the number of girls taking part in sport and this can only be good not only for their immediate health and well-being, but as they grow into adulthood.”

Scotland’s Sports Minister, Joe FitzPatrick said: “There are so many benefits to making sport and physical activity a part of daily life.

“From improving physical and mental health, to developing skills and strengthening communities, the impact can be life-changing and that’s why we want as many people as possible to enjoy those benefits.

“It is encouraging to see that participation in sport and physical activity by women and girls in Scotland is increasing, but some still face barriers to taking part.”

07/06/2019/by Brian McGuire

It’s game on as record-breaking crowds are expected to turn up this weekend for Scotland’s biggest gaming event.

More than 6000 fans will descend on The Arena at intu Braehead for PLAY Expo Glasgow 2019 for the two-day extravaganza of gaming and popular culture on Saturday and Sunday, June 8 and 9.

And for the first time the Scottish Gaming Championships are being held at the show with the heats being held on Saturday and the head to head contests to find the country’s top gaming gladiator on Sunday.

Many of those attending PLAY Expo Glasgow will be dressed in some amazing costumes as they re-enact the characters from their favourite video games.

PLAY Expo Glasgow is staged by experienced video game show specialists, Replay Events. Organiser Andy Brown said: “Ticket sales have been phenomenal and already we have sold many more tickets than we did for the same show last year.

“It’s definitely going to be a record-breaking weekend and I expect we’ll have more than 7000 through the doors compared to 5000 last year. A lot of this is down to the bigger show we’re putting on with more video games and gaming machines for people to play.

“It’s going to be a fantastic, colourful weekend with the fans coming along dressed as characters from their favourite video games and as well as the tickets already sold we also expect a lot of people to turn up on the day.”

The PLAY Expo Glasgow has something for everyone including retro consoles and computers, classic arcade and pinball machines, indie and modern games for PC and console.

There will also be gaming tournaments, LAN gaming and Cosplay contests, board games, Minecraft, Fortnite, merchandise stalls and much more. And best of all, once you have bought your entry ticket, all the games are free to play.

For the first time, this year’s show features live entertainment with Australian comedian, John Robertson hosting his hilarious game show The Dark Room, which sees members of the audience being trapped inside an imaginary retro video game.

Log on to www.playexpoglasgow.com to buy tickets that start at £16 for adults and £10 for youngsters or pay at the door of Arena in the lower mall next to Costa Coffee.

07/06/2019/by Brian McGuire

PRIMARY school girls have been getting a kick out of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which starts this weekend.

Almost 200 girls from all over Renfrewshire took part in a festival of football organised by Renfrewshire Leisure, at Ferguslie Sports Centre.

The Primary 5 to Primary 7 pupils certainly had a ball with football coaching, games and a visit by Bonnie – the official mascot Scotland women’s team who play their first game in the top international tournament against England, on Sunday, June 9.

The event – organised to celebrate the Women’s World Cup and to encourage more girls to take part in sport – has been made possible with funding from the Scottish Building Society.

Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes, Chair of Renfrewshire Leisure said: “It was fantastic to see all these girls enjoying a game of football and I hope it serves to whet their appetite to play even more football.

“Using the increased profile the World Cup has given women’s football, this event has built on the great work Renfrewshire Leisure’s Active Schools team has developed over the last couple of years in the girls’ game.

“We’re also working closely with a number of local grassroots clubs who now have girls sections to encourage more girls to take up the game.”

06/06/2019/by Brian McGuire

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Yoga at Iconic Fitness

The light in me acknowledges the light in you, or Namaste, for short.
How are we all this week? As we move into summer, late nights, warmer weather, a chance to connect more with others and with ourselves, in theory anyway, even if the weather doesn’t quite agree.
Anyway, as Sir Billy Connelly would say, “there’s no such thing as bad weather, put your coat on and shut up”. Probably.

In seasonal yoga we talk about the organs that are connected with the various seasons of the year, for early summer (21 May to 21 June) the organs are the pericardium and the triple heater.

Have you just made up a season, and an organ? you may ask, no, I haven’t, honest it’s a thing.

The triple heater is the name given to the connective tissues of the body, the fascia, microfascia, tendons, cartilage and all the other wee gristly bits that hold the body together.

Like the sma’ shot, the tiny threads that hold woven fabric together, the triple heater holds the body together, muscles are attached to tendons which attach to cartilage which attaches to bone, without that connection you can flex all you like but nothing’s going to move.

So, why are you telling us all this, weirdo, you ask, again, interrupting me.

This is the season of connecting, see, connection, connecting, connectivity – there is a point to this.

Holding poses for longer periods in yoga strengthens and lubricates the fascia, the muscles are encouraged to switch off and allow the tendons etc to get a good stretch and their own turn at the synovial fluid that oils up the movements of the body, without that fluid, connections become adhesions, things that should slide, stick, and when they stick they tear, and tearing a tendon is never good.

So keep moving, keep connecting and keep it seasonal.

See you on the mat.
Ronnie

Em, excuse me.. pericardium?

What, oh aye. It’s the thick bag of sinew that the heart lives in, keeping it safe and protected, it’s part of the triple heater too, see, connections!!

06/06/2019/by Brian McGuire

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Thread carefully…weaving exhibition moves home

An exhibition which celebrates the dedication and creativity of a group of Paisley weavers is back open in a new venue.

Work produced by the Artisan’s Institute weaving group – part of Paisley’s Townscape Heritage and Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme2 (TH.CARS2) – is now on display at the Disability Resource Centre in Love Street until Friday 12 July.

Weaving Exhibition

Glasgow Clyde College’s Fashion & Textiles Department has been delivering weekly weaving workshops as part of the regeneration project since 2017.

Led by professional weaver Amy Bond, weavers used handheld frame looms to learn about a variety of patterns, before moving onto four-shaft table looms, where they can experiment with colour.

The exhibition displays woven samples and finished pieces created by participants, and marks the conclusion of the weaving part of the regeneration project.

TH.CARS2 is a £4.5m regeneration project which will run until 2021 and includes a building restoration and shopfront improvement work in the area around Paisley High St, as well as a programme of community activity celebrating the town’s heritage.

The project is led by Renfrewshire Council, with funding provided by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic Environment Scotland.

Renfrewshire Council leader Iain Nicolson said: “The weaving sessions have been a great success. As well as learning about the art of weaving, the people involved discovered more about Paisley’s history and heritage, and the textile industry overall.

“This exhibition celebrates the work produced by everyone who has taken part, and all of the weavers should be very proud of what they’ve achieved.”

The exhibition initially ran at Made in Paisley gallery in Paisley High Street for a week in May.

Woven designs can be viewed at the DRC between 9am and 4pm, Monday to Thursday, and from 9am to 3pm on a Friday.

Now that the programme of classes is complete, the DRC will continue to fund a weekly weaving workshop.

06/06/2019/by Brian McGuire

A new £30,000 fund has been established to support cultural exchanges for schools and pupils.

The Provost’s School Exchange Fund will offer the opportunity for schools in Renfrewshire to apply for a grant of up to £10,000 for an international exchange visit to schools in either of Renfrewshire Council’s twin towns of Gladsaxe in Denmark or Furth in Germany.

Danish Visit

International visits have already taken place to Renfrewshire and school pupils from Skovbrynet School in Gladsaxe visited Renfrew High School last month on a film-making visit.

The young people from Skovbrynet School took part in lessons about Scotland, and spent some time getting to know their peers through a series of filmed interviews about life at Renfrew High.

Danish Visit

This is the third time pupils from Skovbrynet School have visited Renfrew, and Renfrew High Head Teacher Billy Burke hopes the Provost’s School Exchange Fund will help the school plan a return trip to build on the friendships they have already formed.

He said: “Our young people have learned so much from the time they spent with the pupils from Gladsaxe and it’s been incredible to see how quickly pupils from the two schools bonded.

Danish Visit Dancing

“Strengthening our international relationship with Skovbrynet School is very important to me and I hope we will be able to take a group to Gladsaxe for the first time to further develop our partnership and allow our young people to gain a greater understanding of life in other countries.”

Exchange trips will expose pupils to new cultures and languages, and pupils will improve their international awareness. As well as forming friendships, the exchanges contribute towards acceptance and understanding of different cultural traditions.

Renfrewshire’s Provost, Lorraine Cameron said: “Celebrating our strong international links is very important and the best way to learn about other cultures is to experience them first hand.

“There have been many exchanges between various groups in Renfrewshire and our twin towns of Gladsaxe and Furth and the School Exchange Fund will now offer those exciting opportunities to our young people, allowing them to visit new places and learn about how their peers in other countries live.”

06/06/2019/by Brian McGuire

After 33 years in the hotseat, Renfrew bids farewell to Effie McGachie as she retires from the role of Community Council Chair.

A stalwart of the local community in Renfrew, her drive and enthusiasm to make the town a better place has made an immeasurable difference to the area over the past three decades.

A well-known face in Renfrew and beyond, all at Renfrewshire Council wish her a long and happy retirement – although we’re not so sure she’ll be able to stay quiet for too long!

Here’s what just some of her well-wishers had to say

Renfrewshire’s Provost Lorraine Cameron said: “What a fantastic asset Effie has been to the town of Renfrew in her 33 years as Chair of the Community Council.

“Through her passion and dedication, she’s made such a positive difference to the area and I was delighted to be able to present her with some tokens of our appreciation.

“I hope she enjoys a well-deserved retirement but I’m sure she’ll find it difficult to sit and twiddle her thumbs after all these years!”

Newly elected Chair of Renfrew Community Council, Callum Reid said: “Renfrew has come far because of Effie.

“Everyone you meet will have a story to tell you about Effie and her passion for the town.

“These are stories of inclusion, opportunity and love, and those 3 words are the values of our town because of our friend Effie put them at the very heart of everything she did for us.

“Thank you for everything you have done for our town and its people.”

Local Councillor for Renfrew North and Braehead, John Shaw said: “I was delighted to be able to attend Effie McGachie’s retirement presentation, a wonderful occasion shared with her friends, family and colleagues past and present.

“There can’t be many who have given more to Renfrew than Effie and for that we all owe her a very special thanks.

“I wish her well in her retirement, we all have huge shoes to fill now!”

05/06/2019/by Brian McGuire

Read Write Count Moving Up kits have been gifted to every Primary 7 pupil in Renfrewshire to support their transition to secondary school. Nine local authorities including Glasgow, Inverclyde, Dundee, West Dunbartonshire, North Ayrshire, Clackmannanshire, North Lanarkshire and East Ayrshire will take part in the pilot scheme, which aims to support parents and pupils during a time of change.

Pic Alan Richardson Pix-AR.co.uk
Free to use from SBT

The Scottish Government initiative, in partnership with Education Scotland and Scottish Book Trust, will provide a kit containing the following items:

reusable water bottle
protractor and ruler set
pen /pencil and rubber set
journal notebook
scientific calculator
pocket dictionary
parent/pupil booklet
USB Stick

The Moving Up kit was created after consultation with local authorities and ADES (Association of Directors of Education). Learning professionals, librarians and teachers provided feedback about items that would be helpful for Primary 7 pupils who are transitioning into secondary school.

Pic Alan Richardson Pix-AR.co.uk
Free to use from SBT

Scottish Book Trust will also provide training and support to all the local authorities involved in the pilot scheme, helping to build and enhance current transition programmes between primary and secondary schools.

Deputy First Minister and Education Secretary, John Swinney, said:

“The move to high school is a new and exciting time for many pupils and families but it can also bring a degree of uncertainty. These unique packs are a national first and aim to make the transition between primary and secondary a little easier. The kits contain items and advice which will give pupils the best chance at a smooth change and help parents and carers to support their children at this important time.”

Pic Alan Richardson Pix-AR.co.uk
Free to use from SBT

The Moving Up kits will be delivered by Scottish Book Trust, the national charity changing lives through reading and writing.

Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said:

“The transition from primary school to secondary school is an exciting time for young people, and our new Read Write Count Moving Up kits give pupils and parents much needed support. Learning professionals, librarians and teachers were consulted to ensure that the Moving Up kit contains essential items for any pupil starting high school this summer.”

05/06/2019/by Brian McGuire