People from Paisley | Paisley Scotland

YOUNGSTERS at three Renfrew Primary schools got the chance to take part in their annual sports day – even though they were still in lockdown.

Thanks to the team at Renfrewshire Leisure Sports Services, pupils from Kirklandneuk, Arkleston and Newmains Primary schools competed in a virtual sports day.

All the usual summer sports day events were held in the pupils’ own gardens as the individual houses in schools competed against each other. Events included Egg and Spoon, Wellie Toss, Limbo, Speed Bounce, Human Pyramid, Transfer the Water, Bowls, Plank, Obstacle Course, Laps of the Garden, Keepie Ups, Burpees and Standing Long Jump.

The winning house at Kirklandneuk Primary was Spartan; Arkleston house winner was Viscount and Newmains winning house was Wallace.

Olympic athlete, Eilidh Doyle sent pupils a good luck video to encourage them to take part. The youngsters were also asked to design flags and banners to put up in their gardens, or the windows of their homes.

The Renfrewshire Leisure Sports Services team paid tribute to Kirklandeuk principal teacher, Mrs Gillian Stafford and teacher Mr Darren O’Hanlon; Newmains principal teacher, Mrs Gillian Hall and Arkleston principal teacher, Mrs Kajla for their help in organising the event.

Chairperson of Renfrewshire Leisure, Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes said: “Lots of pupils and their families look forward to their school sports day and it was a great idea from our Sports Services Team that they shouldn’t miss out this year.

“Lots of things have been happening online since the lockdown began and it was an inspired move to create a virtual sports day for the three schools. I want to thank all the teachers and pupils for getting involved and making virtual sports day a success, they have been brilliant.”

30/06/2020/by Brian McGuire

Blog, Business, Newsletter, Paisley, People from Paisley, Press Release, Renfrewshire

Love Towels

Love Towels products are designed to last, sumptuously thick and absorbent.

Love Towels offer luxury white towels, bathrobes and bathmats direct to your door. Have you ever fallen in love with a Hotel’s thick, fluffy white towels and bathrobes and for a split second been tempted to take them home with you, if so, these towels are designed for you!

At Love Towels, we invest in quality products manufactured in Europe that are designed to last and we recommend you buy the best you can afford so they will last for years to come. We don’t mind this may impact you regularly re-ordering as we value long lifecycle and the environment. We prefer this to today’s throw-away culture.

White is a classic neutral colour that matches any décor making these towels and bathrobes a fabulous ‘gift that will keep on giving’ and they are great for engagements, weddings, anniversary and housewarming celebrations.

Every order is beautifully packaged in our signature Love Towels gift box and to help you look after your investment we include a complimentary Love Towels laundry care kit comprising of washer and dryer care magnets and 2 pure new wool tumble dryer balls. Call it a ‘little gift of laundry love’ from Love Towels to help you keep that new towel feeling for longer. Your order is lovingly handpicked and packed in Historic Paisley, the Town that thread built. Love Towels aim to make every day a Spa day.

See links below for more detail

https://lovetowels.co.uk/blog/love-luxury-say-hello-to-love-towels/

https://lovetowels.co.uk/about/

This is a new business and would appreciate the support of as many local People to our premises

Web www.lovetowels.co.uk

FB @lovetowelspaisley

29/06/2020/by Brian McGuire

This weekend marks the digital debut of Paisley’s annual Sma’ Shot Day celebrations as a series of virtual events and workshops will take place to mark this important date in the town’s calendar.

Sma shot day 2020

The online event will take place on Saturday 4 July – the time when the weavers and their families would traditionally always take their holidays.

The move to take the event online for 2020 is in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure celebrations can still take place in adherence with national guidance.

The traditional Sma’ Shot holiday in Paisley takes its name from a famous dispute between the local shawl weavers and manufacturers in the 19th century. In 1856, following a long dispute, the manufacturers backed down and an agreement was reached to pay for the Sma’ Shot, the invisible stitch which bound the Paisley shawls, with a new table of prices published on 1 July 1856.

This year’s event will not only mark this important date in the town’s history but will also celebrate our fantastic key workers.

The event always offers plenty of opportunities for people to get involved and have fun and this year is no exception.

The day will kick-off in style at 12pm as The Charleston Drummer himself, Tony Lawler, will lead a mass online drum-off where the public are being encouraged to make as much noise as they can and share their celebrations on social media.

Aerial dance theatre company, All or Nothing, will be performing dance and music project – Connecting Threads – inspired by the background and history of Sma’ Shot. Everyone is invited to join in and dance along to the new Sma’ Shot inspired music track by Dave Boyd.

In the run-up to Connecting Threads local groups and individuals have been participating in online classes and creative tasks with the group and have submitted videos that will feature in a short film that can be viewed online on the day.

Local theatre company PACE will be hosting live drama workshop sessions created especially for the day – an interactive storytelling workshop suitable for 3-7 year olds and an activity-based session aimed at children aged 7 and above.

Sma’ Shot Day favourite – The Tea Dance – will also take place this year, albeit it from the comfort of your own home, as Renfrewshire Leisure and Paisley FM bring a special Sma’ Shot Day radio broadcast of this popular event.

For those who want to be fully immersed in the day’s events, local upcycled fashion innovators ReMode have put together some online video tutorials to show how people can get crafty and make their own costumes or window decorations to celebrate the day.

It would not be Sma’ Shot Day without the popular Poetry Slam. This year the spoken-word event will be known as the ‘Dooslan Staying Hame’ where people can enjoy some poetry written during lockdown and performed by some of Renfrewshire’s finest contemporary poets and spoken-word artists.

In addition, Renfrewshire Leisure and The Bungalow are partnering up for the Sma’sh Hits Sma’ Shot Special music event, showcasing a selection of local musicians.

For those looking to start Sma’ Shot weekend off early join CREATE Paisley and host Jordan Stewart for an unplugged Live Open Mic night on Friday 3 July featuring young singer/songwriters from across Renfrewshire.

This will be followed on Saturday 4 July by ‘Paisley in Song’ where people can enjoy five songs from young Renfrewshire songwriters in this exclusive online showcase. The youngsters worked alongside Paisley-songwriter Michael Cassidy to develop a set including two new collaborative songs celebrating our key workers and NHS, and three songs exploring Paisley’s incredible history of song writing and poetic legacy, written in 2019 as part of Renfrewshire Council’s THCARS2 project.

Renfrewshire’s Provost, Lorraine Cameron, said: “Sma’ Shot Day is such a popular date in the town’s calendar and it’s excellent that we can still celebrate it this year through a series of fantastic online events.

“The digital programme is packed full of fun, interactive and creative activities that the whole family can participate in and enjoy – helping to create the amazing sense of community that is always so present at this event.

“I can’t wait to welcome you all to Saturday’s event and I look forward to logging on and enjoying some of the great activities planned.”

For all the information on what’s taking place as part of this year’s digital Sma’ Shot Day and how you can get involved, please visit www.paisley.is/featured_event/sma-shot-day/.

29/06/2020/by Brian McGuire

Councillors have committed to researching Renfrewshire’s history and links to the slave trade as part of stand against racism and hate crime.

Renfrewshire’s Provost Lorraine Cameron opened the first-ever virtual full Council meeting by outlining her desire to reflect on the area’s part in the slave trade as part of its support for the Black Lives Matter campaign.

Provost Cameron said: “As an organisation, we value diversity and will not tolerate racism in our schools, workplaces or communities.

“The killing of George Floyd shocked and sickened us all and has marked a turning point for the anti-racism movement. We must work to eradicate racism in all its forms now and be prepared to examine the role it played in our past.

“Renfrewshire’s thread-making was part of an international industry built on slavery, a part of our history that we must reflect on and come to terms with.

“We were, however, a community that had an active abolition movement in the late 18th and early-mid 19th centuries, embracing diversity and campaigning for equality in all its forms.

“It is that sense of fairness and justice that has shaped our present and that we must draw on now, but we must also move away from that comfortable place where we have positioned ourselves as abolitionists – because that position is not enough anymore.

“That is why we are committing to researching the past and links between Renfrewshire and the slave trade. It is vitally important that we have a conversation about how we ethically address this part of our history, represent all the voices within our community and ensure that racism has no part in our future.

“It’s what we do next that matters. We must look to our past, stare it in the face and claim it. Only then can we begin to move forward.”

Following discussion, councillors agreed to support Black History Month each year and to support both cultural and educational events outside of the designated month, with consultation completed with the black community on how this should be done.

An anti-racism discussion group has also been established by Renfrewshire Leisure’s cultural team and will build on their ongoing research into Renfrewshire’s past and look at how museums can be decolonised moving forward.

Also at the meeting, which was attended by 21 of the 43 elected members to limit potential connection issues, councillors received an update on the current situation in Renfrewshire relating to Coronavirus, as well as details of the area’s recovery plan to restart, recover and renew services in line with national guidance with partners, businesses and communities.

Councillors also approved the move to undertake virtual meetings for the scheduled policy boards in August and September, as it is not yet clear when meetings of this nature will be able to take place in the conventional manner.

Council meetings will now move into recess until 14 August, although to ensure required decision can be made, the Emergencies Board will continue on a fortnightly basis and its membership has been extended to 15.

26/06/2020/by Brian McGuire

Blog, Business, economy, Newsletter, Paisley, Paisley First, Paisley Visitor Attractions, People from Paisley, Press Release, Renfrewshire

Love Local Love Paisley launches this weekend!

Paisley First has launched a new shop local campaign as businesses start to reopen from the COVID-19 lockdown.

Love Local Love Paisley aims to build on the renewed community spirit as people pulled together to fight against the pandemic which has seen much of the country closed down for the last three months.

Most retail businesses will begin reopening in Paisley town centre from this Monday, 29th June.

Hospitality businesses with outdoor seating areas will be reopening from Monday 6th July.

Hospitality businesses, including cafes, pubs and restaurants, will then be able to reopen their indoor seating areas from Wednesday 15th July.

And who doesn’t already know that our hairdressers and barbers will also be reopening from 15th July!

Now Paisley First, the town centre Business Improvement District, is hoping that those people who relied on local businesses during lockdown will return the favour and continue to shop local as restrictions are eased.

Colette Cardosi, Chair of Paisley First, said: “Local people relied on local businesses during lockdown, businesses have been there when people needed them most. Now we’re asking the public to be here for them!

“Our town centre businesses have been working hard to get their premises safe and secure to welcome customers back, with social distancing measures all in place.

“Of course, some of our amazing local businesses have remained open throughout lockdown, in order to serve the local community and we are so grateful to all their hard-working staff!

“We have a great range of independent retail businesses – food, florists, jewellers, giftware, fashion, homeware and more and they can’t wait to welcome back customers, both regular and new.

“You can still support your favourite hospitality or hair and beauty business before they reopen by leaving them a good review online or why not contact them via Facebook and see if you can buy a gift voucher, help support a local business now and give yourself a treat to look forward to!”

Colette added: “My message to the local community is that our local business owners can offer you a safe way to shop. While many things have changed, our town centre remains the heartbeat of our local community.

“Don’t queue around the block elsewhere, support our local businesses who need you to shop local like never before and together we can make Paisley a stronger and more vibrant town centre.

“With summer well and truly here, we have plenty of fresh air and wide-open spaces, we look forward to welcoming you back safely to Paisley town centre soon. Love Local, Love Paisley!”

26/06/2020/by Brian McGuire

Blog, Events, Newsletter, Paisley, Paisley Events, People from Paisley, Press Release, Renfrew, Renfrewshire, renfrewshire events, West College Scotland

NEW beginner courses launching this autumn at the Ferguslie Centre!

Great news! West College Scotland has a new range of beginner courses launching this autumn at the Ferguslie Centre!

The Ferguslie Learning Centre provides certificated learning opportunities for adults who have little or no prior qualifications and delivers courses that increase employability skills and career opportunities.

The college would like you to know that they are continually working on how they can deliver their courses safely to community learners. When the College starts back in Autumn they envisage a ‘blended’ approach which may include online contact and socially distanced classes. They are in the early stages of planning and more information will be available soon.

To find out more about the courses highlighted, or to register your interest contact Kathleen on 07980 696139 -or email kathleen.brown@wcs.ac.uk

22/06/2020/by Brian McGuire

A NEW creative arts project has been launched for children and grown-ups.

It’s aimed at people looking to be part of a creative community, to pass the time creatively in lockdown, or to encourage and motivate friends and family to try new things.

Called Tiny Revolutions Renfrewshire, the initiative aims to encourage everyone to get creative in an easy and fun way and be able to share their artistic endeavours with the wider community.

Renfrewshire Leisure’s Arts Team ~~and~~ joined with the Fun Palaces – Tiny Revolutions of Connection organisation to engage with the local community and stimulate creativity.

Every Friday Tiny Revolutions Renfrewshire will post an activity card on the Renfrewshire Leisure website – www.renfrewshireleisure.com/arts-projects – for people to download and complete, with activities such as collage, colouring, animation, singing and dancing.

And when the arts project is completed, those taking part are being asked to share photographs of their creations by emailing artsteam@renfrewshire.gov.uk or posting on social media using #TinyRevolutionsRen.

Renfrewshire Leisure’s Arts Team is also planning to organise a future display of artwork from the project in Paisley and the wider Renfrewshire area.

The first two weeks’ arts projects have been to create a rainbow from all kinds of everyday items and to make a two-metre long message paper message made from a single sheet of A4 paper to send to family and friends, re-connecting people who haven’t been able to see each other in a while.

Chairperson of Renfrewshire Leisure, Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes said: “Friday is fun time for people of all ages, who like being artistic and trying new things.

“The Tiny Revolutions Renfrewshire brings together everyone in our community who like to be creative and it’s an ideal activity during the current lockdown.

“Why not encourage your family and friends to take part and then let everyone see how creative you are by sending us photos of your artistic efforts.”

15/06/2020/by Brian McGuire

Blog, Business, Events, Newsletter, Paisley, People from Paisley, Press Release, Renfrewshire

Nik Makeup Artist Winner at the Scottish Makeup Awards 2020

Nik Makeup Artist is overwhelmed and honored to have won two top tiles at this years Scottish Makeup Awards 2020.

She took home Best in Glasgow award as well as regional Creative Makeup Artist of the Year 2020 (south west).

More for the awards team below…

Creative Oceanic is delighted to announce the winners of the first ever Scottish Make-Up Awards 2020.

The 1st Scottish Make Up Awards 2020 celebrate the talent within the country’s make-up sector that has shown no sign of shying away during these challenging days. Some of the most successful businesses and professionals from all over the country are amongst the winners in The 1st Scottish Make-Up Awards 2020.

The winners are chosen by members of the public and are a true reflection of the talent, creativity and impeccable customer service that flow within the profession- three key features that enhance the reputation of the Scottish make-up industry nationally.

Several of the awards were split into regions to ensure the diverse establishments from across the country are recognised for their exceptional work.

A spokesperson for The 1st Scottish Make- Up Awards, said: “The make-up industry plays a vital role in the country’s economy by employing thousands of staff and it is time to show our appreciation to those who have dedicated their career to making people feel beautiful.

“The Scottish Make-Up Awards provide a platform to reward those who stand out amongst the rest with their commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction.

“We would like to congratulate all finalists and winners for their achievements!”

https://creativeoceanicblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/27/the-winners-of-the-inaugural-scottish-make-up-awards-2020-are-announced/?fbclid=IwAR01haUzy_nG-MmJOwH64YsraCEWmPqERLO6EyOoN9kw7floDeCmaj8Fzmk