Also in the news / Charity awards, library funding appeal, Scottish Opera and more …
VOLUNTARY organisations and volunteers are being encouraged to apply for the annual Scottish Charity Awards.
Now in its 19th year, the ceremony highlights the best of the voluntary sector and shines a light on the incredible organisations, people and projects which make an important difference to their communities.
Applications are now being accepted for 2025. All registered charities, social enterprises, campaigning groups, community interest companies and people who work and volunteer in these spaces are eligible to enter.
There are 11 categories at the Scottish Charity Awards, including charity of the year, volunteer of the year, campaign of the year and community impact.
All finalists will also be entered into the running for the People’s Choice Award, giving members of the public a chance to vote for their favourite finalist to win.
This year the awards ceremony will be hosted by Sally Magnusson at Glasgow’s Radisson Blu on 19 June.
Anna Fowlie, chief executive of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), said: “The Scottish Charity Awards are a highlight of my year. I never fail to be overwhelmed by the breadth and depth of what voluntary organisations achieve across the country – on all aspects of life in Scotland and beyond.”
Applications are open until 12 noon on 7 March and can be completed on the SCVO website here.
THE CHIEF executive of the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) has urged Shetland Islands Council not to cut any library funding.
Writing to council leaders, Alison Nolan said that 53 public libraries across the country had closed their doors for good over the last decade.
She said libraries “deliver enormous value to communities across the country”, only to “find themselves at risk when budgets are debated”.
“I’ve written to councillors across Shetland before crucial budget decisions are made for the next financial year, to remind them what investment in public libraries truly means,” Nolan said.
“Public libraries remain the most popular service local government delivers.
“Closing these doors means cutting off opportunities — a cost far greater than any savings achieved.”
Nolan added that closures and cuts all too disproportionately affected rural communities, making existing inequalities worse by stripping people of access to education, digital resources and safe spaces.
“For these communities, libraries are not a luxury but a necessity,” she said.
“They provide essential services to support job applications, digital literacy training and social connection.
“To lose them is to deepen the isolation already felt by many.”
SCOTTISH Opera is heading to Mareel later this month for a weekend of events, including a workshop on How to Stage an Opera.
A performance of Opera Highlights on Saturday 22 February will also be included, with the show heading to the Mid Yell Public Hall two days earlier.
Led by theatre-maker Flora Emily Thomson, How to Stage an Opera is a free interactive session which will engage participants in the process of powerful storytelling through opera, using scenes from Scottish Opera’s Opera Highlights tour as inspiration.
Touring 24 venues across Scotland, Scottish Opera presents Opera Highlights is back on the road with a new piano-accompanied production.
This season’s show by director Rebecca Meltzer and designer Kenneth MacLeod explores and celebrates Scotland’s rich landscape.
It brings classic operatic excerpts by Beethoven, Bizet, Handel, Donizetti, Tchaikovsky, and more to life under the musical direction of Joseph Beesley.
Tickets for How to Stage an Opera (free) and Scottish Opera Presents Opera Highlights are available to purchase online from tickets.shetlandarts.org, in-person at the box office in Mareel, or by calling on 01595 745 500.
SHETLAND Indoor Bowls Club hosted its Dalziel Open pairs competition at the Clickimin on Sunday.
This was a modified round-robin format – due to the numbers involved and time constraints – with three groups of three pairs competing against each other.
These games were played over the best of seven ends, with the two teams with the best records qualifying for the final.
After the group stages were complete the pair of Angus Ward (skip) and Rosie Jamieson qualified from group two with four points and a shot difference of +19.
There was a tie on four points and a shot difference of +8 shots for the pair of Ian Scott (skip) and Eric Muir from group one, and Willie Coutts and Jim Wood from group three.
A count back on total ends won was needed to decide the other finalists, which was won 10 ends to 9 by Scott and Muir.
The final was again played over seven ends and was very close, with each end seeing a single shot won by either team.
The score was 3-3 going into the final end and the match was to be won by one shot.
A lovely weighted draw to within four inches of the jack by Jamieson proved too difficult to beat, leaving Ward and Jamieson 4-3 victors and winners of the competition.
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