8 NEWS
Highlights to look forward to in the months ahead at Musselburgh
On the right track
Volunteer for virtual Scouting event
Capital artists
collaborate for
a second time
By STAFF REPORTERFollowing a successful joint exhibition
last year, Edinburgh artists, Gillian
Henshaw and Gill Knight, are working on
a second collaboration.
Land, Sea & Flora Art will take place on
11 and 12 November at 4 Belford Park,
Edinburgh and will blend the artists’ two
styles - vibrant flowers and moody land
and seascapes - complementing each
other in a unique way.
Gillian Henshaw started her career in
marketing, but art has always been her
passion. Wherever she lived, she always
found a place to paint. She said: “Inspired
by flowers and colours, I am in my
element painting still life flowers and
particularly French scenes with colours
and textures. The feedback we received
last year was very positive and I am
delighted to put this show together with
Gill again.”PASSION AND DRIVE
Gill Knight’s passion for art began at
school and she has always had the drive
to create. Her first career was in the
hospitality business as a chef before
taking up painting seriously. She said:
“I’m excited to exhibit with Gillian again. I
have put together a selection of some
very atmospheric and energetic pieces
which complement Gillian’s work
perfectly. All original seascapes,
landscapes, abstract, dark and moody,
emotional and dramatic.”
The show is being hosted by Gill’s
sister, Lorna Macdonald, who is looking
forward to welcoming visitors to her
house in the West End of Edinburgh.
She said: “When I saw the girls’ work
together last year, it looked great. This
year they will have even more art to
choose from and during these
challenging times there really is
something for everyone - a wide range
of sizes and price tags. I am really excited
to be hosting this fabulous exhibition.’”Land, Sea & Flora Art
11-12 november
For more information please send an email
to: [email protected]By STAFF REPORTERMUSSELBURGH Racecourse get its 11-fixture
National Hunt jumps season underway this
month and general manager Bill Farnsworth
will be hoping it’s a smoother ride than the first
half of 2022.
A combination of factors conspired against
the best efforts of his hard working team to
bounce back from the enforced Covid
shutdowns of 2021, and like many businesses in
the entertainment sector the cost of living crisis
is biting hard.
Last December, the racecourse was prepping
for the traditional Betway New Year’s Day
opener, with ticket sales indicating it would be
a potential sell-out crowd, but best laid plans
came crashing down when racing was forced to
return to “behind closed doors” amid concerns
about rising Covid cases.
The knock-on effect when racing did reopen
was to stifle ticket sales for the East Lothian
track’s bet365 Scottish Cheltenham Trials
Festival in February. However, the Flat season
opener on Easter Saturday was a success and
there renewed optimism around the Honest
Toun track as the summer season approached.
The next big meeting, the £50,000 Edinburgh
Cup Race Day in May, unfortunately clashed
with a Hampden appearance by Hearts and
sales suffered, while the Jubilee weekend
racing in June was up against lots of competing
Jubilee events.
Farnsworth said: “The summer period sawour sales down 20-30% which was a national
trend across racing and other sporting events
and this was clearly the ripple effect of Covid.
There was a massive number of events now
back on the calendar, reorganised weddings
and other family celebrations taking place,
concerts, and people were desperate to go on
holiday. Naturally this called on people’s time
and money, and we just had to accept thatcrowds and revenues were going to be down.”
Fortunes picked up in August with
Musselburgh’s annual Stobo Castle Ladies Day
which is a fashion and racing extravaganza
which sells out every year and it was indeed the
“highlight of the year” according to the
Musselburgh boss.
Advance ticket sales for the back-to-back
summer finale meetings on 10-11 September
had been promising, but matters were taken out
of Musselburgh’s hands with the sad passing of
Her Majesty the Queen - bringing a halt to
every major sporting event across the country.
But the East Lothian course has dusted itself
down and is now looking forward to a busy
jumps season and with tickets selling well is
hoping for a record 7,000 New Year’s Day
attendance on 1 January.
Other highlights include the bet
Scottish Cheltenham Trials weekend on
4-5 February with prize money of more
than £250,000, and the Go North race day on
24 March which celebrates horses and trainers
who have competed over the winter on the
Northern circuit.
Recognising the difficult economic situation
faced by many, Musselburgh have reduced the
price of their “early bird” weekday tickets from
£20 to just £18 for those who book early, while
concessionary tickets on those days will be £15.For more information on fixtures and to
book tickets please visit the website at:
http://www.mussselburgh-racecourse.co.ukBy PHYLLIS STEPHENSIGN UP FOR an online
information evening on Tuesday
29 November at 7.30pm to learn
how to become a volunteer with
the Scouts.
Edinburgh North East District
(ENE) covers the geographical
area of Portobello, Craigentinny,
Craigmillar, Duddingston, Calton,
Joppa, Stockbridge, Pilrig,
Broughton, Trinity, Leith,
Newhaven, Wardie and
Willowbrae.
ENE is running a virtual event as
they want to enable more young
people to enjoy Scouting, but
need more volunteers to do so. At
present they have a waiting list of
almost 100 young people who
want to become a Scout.
District Commissioner, Rob
Whitelaw, said: “This isn't a job
application, and you certainly
don’t have to be an adventurer like
Bear Grylls to get involved with
Scouting and in fact not many of
our volunteers are! Do you havefirst aid knowledge? Are you good
with numbers? Handy in the
kitchen? Or are you a DIY whizz?
We all have useful skills and you
can volunteer and help in many
ways. Are you ready to inspire ageneration of young people to
experience fun, friendship and real
adventure? The opportunities to
volunteer with us are flexible.
Think of something you'd like to
do and chances are it's just whatwe require. Whatever your skills,
experience and interests, we can
find a role for you.”
The event will be online for one
hour only.
http://www.tinyurl.com/5m3p76heGillian and Gill are getting
the band back together