10 November 2023 Issue 2553 © ULLAPOOL NEWS
LOCAL WEATHER
Weather for Tuesday 31 Oct – Monday 6 Nov Max temp 11.9C = 53F min temp 1C = 34F
We had a dry start with decent sunshine before strong winds on Wednesday which gave us a dull day but it was mostly dry.
Thursday was fine enough then Friday gave us the wettest day of the week. Saturday gave us another fine day. Sunday and Monday were mostly dry.
Clear skies over the weekend gave many a chance to see the Aurora.
The stats are out for October. Last five years rainfall shown below
2019 106.6mm
2020 227.6mm
2021 206.1mm
2022 150.7mm
2023 181.0mm
Data from the Met Office for the north of Scotland.
Mean temp 0C, Rainfall +9% and sunshine +1%
The deer are very much a feature again so take care. SB
*****
LOCHBROOM FIELD CLUB
Thursday 16 November 7.30 pm
in the Village Hall Committee Room
‘The Highland Wildflower Meadow Mosaic
Project’ a talk by Jenny Grant, Countryside Ranger. All welcome, members/non-members
*****
Assynt Field Club
Thursday 16th November
A New Outbreak of a Previously Rare Fungal/Insect Association on Scots Pine: what it is,why is it happening and what does it mean for our pines? Sarah Green (Forest Research)
All indoor meetings are held at Stoer Hall and begin at 7.30 pm. Refreshments are provided afterwards. Admission: pay what you can (suggested donation £3) under 16’s are free and the A.G..M. is free.
All will be available on Zoom, see website: www.assyntwildlife.org.uk
*****
CHAS launches biggest ever Christmas appeal alongside new TV advert to raise vital funds for dying children following a 25% increase in specialist family support.
Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) has launched its biggest ever festive fundraising campaign alongside a brand new TV advert, after the charity witnessed a 25% increase in specialist family support requests, on top of its nursing and medical care provision. The charity has recruited extra staff to help meet demand, including new specialist social workers and family support workers in Aberdeen and Inverness, plus a dedicated bereavement team to help grieving families in communities across Scotland. But CHAS still needs to raise over £12m this year to continue delivering hospice and palliative care for children.
The ‘Christmas Memories Appeal’ aims to give dying children and their families the gift of time to make precious memories together at this special time of year and ensure that no-one ever has to face the death of their child alone. To raise awareness across Scotland about the important work it does, the charity has created a brand new TV advert in partnership with Scottish creative agency, ‘Leith’. The powerful ad depicts the heartbreak faced by families whose children die young and features a real-life CHAS nurse, Jane Carter, who works at Robin House. A new radio advert is also being broadcast nationally in the run-up to Christmas to further raise the profile of the new CHAS appeal.
Iain McAndrew, Director of Income Generation and Engagement, Fundraising and Communications at CHAS, said: “The number of children with a life- shortening condition is going up. The last year has been hard for all families, and even more so when your child is dying. CHAS is determined to help as many families as possible enjoy precious time together filled with happiness and joy.
“We already support thousands of people across Scotland, including babies and children with life- shortening conditions and their families. Our specialist family support team is witnessing a huge surge in requests. As well as providing specialist end of life care CHAS also assists families in other important ways including offering respite stays, bereavement advice and counselling, hospice at home and help with managing finances and debt. Our dedicated teams also offer support on how to access care packages and advice on special adaptations for their homes as well as providing emotional and practical support.
“The Christmas Memories Appeal marks the biggest campaign we’ve ever launched to enable us to continue providing vital and unwavering support to children and families right across Scotland.
“The breadth of support we offer simply would not be possible without our generous supporters who give love and strength to those in the greatest need so we’re appealing to the kindness of the Scottish public to donate what they can this Christmas to help us ensure that no-one has to face the death of their child alone.”
To donate to CHAS’s 2023 Christmas Memories Appeal please visit: www.chas.org.uk/appeal
*****
Book Week Scotland gets ready for adventure in the Highlands
One Scot will find a voucher for a year’s worth of books in one of this year’s free Book Week Scotland books
Scottish Book Trust, the national charity changing lives with reading and writing, has launched the line-up for Book Week Scotland 2023, which will be themed around ‘adventure’. Book Week Scotland, this year taking place on 13 – 19 November, is Scotland’s national annual celebration of books and reading, with events taking place in libraries and community venues across the country.
People picking up a copy of this year’s free Book Week Scotland book, Adventure, may be lucky enough to find one of seven special silver tickets, celebrating Scottish Book Trust’s 25th anniversary, tucked inside the pages. The silver tickets are redeemable for book tokens, with six worth £100 and one valid for a year’s worth of books (to a value of £500). The tickets will be sent across Scotland, so readers far and wide are in with a chance of discovering one.
The book has been published by Scottish Book Trust, featuring true stories from people across Scotland as well as exclusive contributions from Len Pennie, Sumayya Usmani, current Scots Scriever Shane Strachan, Mae Diansangu, and Gaelic writers Alistair Paul and Seonaidh Charity. 70,000 copies of the book will be given out for free during Book Week Scotland through libraries and community spaces, and it will also be available to order online alongside audio and ebook formats.
The Book Week Scotland festivities will kick off with an exclusive midnight launch of Jenny Colgan’s new book, Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop, at John Kay’s Shop in Edinburgh. Tickets are available to win at bookweekscotland.com.
LOCAL WEATHER
Weather for Tuesday 31 Oct – Monday 6 Nov Max temp 11.9C = 53F min temp 1C = 34F
We had a dry start with decent sunshine before strong winds on Wednesday which gave us a dull day but it was mostly dry.
Thursday was fine enough then Friday gave us the wettest day of the week. Saturday gave us another fine day. Sunday and Monday were mostly dry.
Clear skies over the weekend gave many a chance to see the Aurora.
The stats are out for October. Last five years rainfall shown below
2019 106.6mm
2020 227.6mm
2021 206.1mm
2022 150.7mm
2023 181.0mm
Data from the Met Office for the north of Scotland.
Mean temp 0C, Rainfall +9% and sunshine +1%
The deer are very much a feature again so take care. SB
*****
LOCHBROOM FIELD CLUB
Thursday 16 November 7.30 pm
in the Village Hall Committee Room
‘The Highland Wildflower Meadow Mosaic
Project’ a talk by Jenny Grant, Countryside Ranger. All welcome, members/non-members
*****
Assynt Field Club
Thursday 16th November
A New Outbreak of a Previously Rare Fungal/Insect Association on Scots Pine: what it is,why is it happening and what does it mean for our pines? Sarah Green (Forest Research)
All indoor meetings are held at Stoer Hall and begin at 7.30 pm. Refreshments are provided afterwards. Admission: pay what you can (suggested donation £3) under 16’s are free and the A.G..M. is free.
All will be available on Zoom, see website: www.assyntwildlife.org.uk
*****
CHAS launches biggest ever Christmas appeal alongside new TV advert to raise vital funds for dying children following a 25% increase in specialist family support.
Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS) has launched its biggest ever festive fundraising campaign alongside a brand new TV advert, after the charity witnessed a 25% increase in specialist family support requests, on top of its nursing and medical care provision. The charity has recruited extra staff to help meet demand, including new specialist social workers and family support workers in Aberdeen and Inverness, plus a dedicated bereavement team to help grieving families in communities across Scotland. But CHAS still needs to raise over £12m this year to continue delivering hospice and palliative care for children.
The ‘Christmas Memories Appeal’ aims to give dying children and their families the gift of time to make precious memories together at this special time of year and ensure that no-one ever has to face the death of their child alone. To raise awareness across Scotland about the important work it does, the charity has created a brand new TV advert in partnership with Scottish creative agency, ‘Leith’. The powerful ad depicts the heartbreak faced by families whose children die young and features a real-life CHAS nurse, Jane Carter, who works at Robin House. A new radio advert is also being broadcast nationally in the run-up to Christmas to further raise the profile of the new CHAS appeal.
Iain McAndrew, Director of Income Generation and Engagement, Fundraising and Communications at CHAS, said: “The number of children with a life- shortening condition is going up. The last year has been hard for all families, and even more so when your child is dying. CHAS is determined to help as many families as possible enjoy precious time together filled with happiness and joy.
“We already support thousands of people across Scotland, including babies and children with life- shortening conditions and their families. Our specialist family support team is witnessing a huge surge in requests. As well as providing specialist end of life care CHAS also assists families in other important ways including offering respite stays, bereavement advice and counselling, hospice at home and help with managing finances and debt. Our dedicated teams also offer support on how to access care packages and advice on special adaptations for their homes as well as providing emotional and practical support.
“The Christmas Memories Appeal marks the biggest campaign we’ve ever launched to enable us to continue providing vital and unwavering support to children and families right across Scotland.
“The breadth of support we offer simply would not be possible without our generous supporters who give love and strength to those in the greatest need so we’re appealing to the kindness of the Scottish public to donate what they can this Christmas to help us ensure that no-one has to face the death of their child alone.”
To donate to CHAS’s 2023 Christmas Memories Appeal please visit: www.chas.org.uk/appeal
*****
Book Week Scotland gets ready for adventure in the Highlands
One Scot will find a voucher for a year’s worth of books in one of this year’s free Book Week Scotland books
Scottish Book Trust, the national charity changing lives with reading and writing, has launched the line-up for Book Week Scotland 2023, which will be themed around ‘adventure’. Book Week Scotland, this year taking place on 13 – 19 November, is Scotland’s national annual celebration of books and reading, with events taking place in libraries and community venues across the country.
People picking up a copy of this year’s free Book Week Scotland book, Adventure, may be lucky enough to find one of seven special silver tickets, celebrating Scottish Book Trust’s 25th anniversary, tucked inside the pages. The silver tickets are redeemable for book tokens, with six worth £100 and one valid for a year’s worth of books (to a value of £500). The tickets will be sent across Scotland, so readers far and wide are in with a chance of discovering one.
The book has been published by Scottish Book Trust, featuring true stories from people across Scotland as well as exclusive contributions from Len Pennie, Sumayya Usmani, current Scots Scriever Shane Strachan, Mae Diansangu, and Gaelic writers Alistair Paul and Seonaidh Charity. 70,000 copies of the book will be given out for free during Book Week Scotland through libraries and community spaces, and it will also be available to order online alongside audio and ebook formats.
The Book Week Scotland festivities will kick off with an exclusive midnight launch of Jenny Colgan’s new book, Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop, at John Kay’s Shop in Edinburgh. Tickets are available to win at bookweekscotland.com.
