THAT WAS OUR WEEK
MON March 11
■ A bereaved mum from Midlothian has been recognised for her campaigning work to support parents through the loss of a child. Marion Currie, co-founder of Baby Loss Awareness Week, took the title of Campaign of the Year at this year’s GLOMAMA awards, presented earlier this month during a ceremony in London. The ‘people’s choice’ awards are often dubbed the “Baftas for mothers.”
FESTIVAL PRICES
Edinburgh International Festival director Ni cola Ben ed et ti has defended the use of dynamic pricing to sell tickets for shows as she unveiled new measures aimed at ensuring afford ability this summer.
TUE March 12
■ Health officials have raised concerns over a rise in the number of cases of whooping cough. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said there were 553 new cases of whooping cough in January. This compares with 858 cases for the whole of 2023. Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes.
CANCER CARE
Three new cancer medicines, including the first of its kind for a rare form of breast cancer, have been approved for use on the NHS in Scotland, health officials have said.
WED March 13
■ Young people and those affected by smoking are to descend on Westminster to mark the 40th anniversary of No Smoking Day. Hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health. people will tell their stories about the impact of smoking on their lives and why parliamentarians should back the government vision for a smokefree generation by 2030.
COUNCIL SPENDING
Edinburgh residents will be asked which council services should be “reduced” or scrapped in the face of increasingly strained budgets. Engagement with the public starts next month.
THU March 14
■ An Edinburgh pensioner has fulfilled her dream to take up tap dancing – at the grand age of 90. Care home resident Margo Bald was always a keen dancer, but the one style she had never tried – and had always longed to – was tap. When staff at Lauder Lodge learned about her yearning, they reached out to local dance school HB Arts, determined to make her dream a reality.
ADAM STEPS DOWN
The leader of City of Edinburgh Council’s SNP group has announced he will step down next month. Adam Nols-McVey was leader of the authority’s first-ever SNP-led administration from 2017-22
FRI March 15
■ The Government has unveiled its new definition of extremism amid rising concern about threats to social cohesion and British democracy. Groups covered by the definition, which is designed to include conduct that falls short of criminality but is still deemed unacceptable, will be denied access to Government funding and prevented from meeting ministers and officials.
RED NOSE DAY
Comic Relief ’s annual fund-raising day, Red Nose Day, is here. Founded by Richard Curtis, Sir Lenny Henry, Peter Bennett-Jones and Jane Tewson in 1985 it has raised more than £1.5bn.