Muckle Media, the creative communications PR agency, is welcoming the boutique hotel group Sonas Collection, to its 2024 roster of hospitality clients, following a period of sustained growth for the agency.
The dedicated food, drink and hospitality PR team, ‘Taste’, which has been part of the Muckle Media Group since 2022, will be providing PR support to new client Sonas Collection following a competitive pitch process.
Taste has been brought on board by Sonas at an exciting time of expansion for their west coast hospitality portfolio, as it launches its first venue on the Scottish mainland.
Sonas has invested in PR support from the agency as a part of its growth plans, tasking Muckle Media with the promotion of Knipoch House Hotel, the group’s newest property opening in Oban this March following a £1.3 million renovation.
In addition to the launch of Knipoch House, the agency will be providing ongoing communications and media relations support across the Collection’s three other hotel destinations, located on the Isle of Skye; Skeabost House Hotel, Duisdale House Hotel, and Toravaig House Hotel.
Founded by Anne Gracie-Gunn and her late husband Ken Gunn from their passion for showcasing Gaelic language and culture, the beauty and accessibility of the Scottish coastline, Sonas Collection has become known for the exceptional hospitality the hotels provide through personal touches, exceptional food and drink and a deeply dedicated team.
Anne Gracie-Gunn, Owner and Director of Sonas Collection, said “We are delighted as a family as we move forward with our strong Management team into Argyll with the launch of Knipoch House Hotel. The Hotel, admired by myself, over many years, from afar as a potential possibility …. ‘One Day!’ With the support and expertise of the Muckle Media Team we look forward to a very successful venture whilst delivering the highest quality on every level under the expert guidance of Andreas Maszczyk our Group General Manager.”
Linsay Brown, Director and head of Taste at Muckle Media, commented: “We have had an incredible year so far within the Taste team, and we are delighted to welcome the Sonas Collection onto our hospitality roster.
“It’s great to see our exciting growth plans for the team coming to fruition with four new destination hotels. We can’t wait to showcase our enthusiasm and creative ideas and get started on our plans with the Sonas team.”
Muckle Media holds offices in four of Scotland’s major cities: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness.
For media enquiries please contact: hello@mucklemedia.co.uk
“Today’s decision to hold interest rates at 5.25% was widely expected. However, it prolongs the period of uncertainty for firms grappling with high borrowing costs.
“Our recent survey of more than 1,000 UK businesses found a third of report a direct negative impact of the current rate, while around one-in-ten are positively impacted. This largely comes down to businesses weighed down by borrowing costs versus those with surpluses to invest. Smaller businesses, and those in sectors such as hospitality and retail, are more likely to be in a precarious state.
“While yesterday’s inflation data showed a further easing, most small businesses know that the economy remains fragile. The interest rate is itself a driver of inflation, as housing, rental, and borrowing costs continue to rise.
“Our most recent forecast expects some cuts to the base rate going forward, potentially falling to 4.5% by the end of the year. But in the meantime, businesses need reassurance from policymakers that there is a clear plan to drive much needed economic growth.”
- STV agrees terms for north and central Scotland licences for 10-year period from 2025
- Broadcaster confirms ongoing commitment to high quality Public Service Broadcasting
- Network programming agreement with ITV in place throughout licence duration
STV Group plc today (Thursday 21 March) confirms that it has accepted new financial terms with regulator, Ofcom, to renew its Channel 3 licences for the north and central regions of Scotland.
The new licences will come into effect from 1 January 2025 and will run for a ten-year period, securing the benefits of Scottish public service broadcasting for STV viewers.
STV notes that ITV has also accepted the same terms for each of its 13 regional Channel 3 licences, which secures the future of the Channel 3 network across the UK.
Simon Pitts, CEO of STV Group plc, said: “We welcome the renewal of our licences, which provides us with the certainty to continue to invest in our business for the long term, while ensuring continued delivery of valued public service broadcasting on Channel 3 in Scotland until the end of 2034. We’re proud to be Scotland’s most popular peak time channel, which is testament to a strong schedule of local programming, news and current affairs alongside popular, award-winning network content through our agreement with ITV.
“It’s now critical that the Media Bill progresses through the UK parliament and is swiftly implemented by Ofcom to ensure Public Service Media’s prominence in the digital era. This would guarantee that streaming services run by PSBs, like STV Player, are easily discoverable by viewers on digital platforms and devices.”
Step back in time and explore the excavation site with guided tours led by archaeologists at an open day on Saturday (23 March).
The excavation, which is being undertaken by AOC Archaeology, is being carried out ahead of the Council’s redevelopment of the former Silverlea Care Home site into much needed new homes. The site will include 142 high quality sustainable homes, including wheelchair-accessible ground-floor dwellings in a mix of social rent (91) and mid-market rent (51) each benefitting from coastal views and access to parkland.
The redevelopment forms part of the £1.3 billion wider Granton Waterfront regeneration, which is delivering thousands of new homes along with commercial and cultural space, a primary school, a health centre, and a major new coastal park.
Discoveries at the site include the remains of the 18th-19th century Murieston Mains farm and evidence for the estate surrounding the former 16th century House. This includes a culvert/flue that may have been used for heating the walled garden. Midden deposits from the 19th and 20th century, including bone, pottery, and milk bottles, have also been found which provides insight into the daily life of the estate.
It follows the discovery of a fossil plant remains, uncovered in a reused sandstone block possibly quarried in Craigleith, believed to be over 300 million years old. The fossil contains fragments of giant Club Moss and Horsetail, which grew in tropical swamps during the Carboniferous Period.
Members of the public are welcome to visit the site at 14 Muirhouse Pkway, Edinburgh, EH4 5EU from 10am-3pm to view the artefacts on display, with archaeologists on hand to talk about their discoveries.
Council Leader Cammy Day said:
“It is fantastic to see work continuing at pace at our £1.3 billion Granton Waterfront site, the largest sustainable regeneration project of its kind in Scotland. Archaeology projects, like the site at Edinburgh’s Muirhouse house and Mains farm, help us to get a glimpse of the area’s past.”
“Our city has a rich heritage, but these discoveries continue to expose new aspects of its fascinating, varied history. The open day on Saturday is a chance for anyone with an interest to come and have a look at the historical work taking place, and to learn from the expertise of our brilliant archaeologists.”
Regular analysis by connectivity experts FarrPoint evaluates connectivity preparedness across the four UK nations
All UK nations are steadily improving their performance on digital connectivity infrastructure, but progress on adoption is stalling – according to a benchmarking framework by connectivity consultants, FarrPoint.
FarrPoint’s Digital Connectivity Readiness Index (DCRI), first launched in autumn 2023 and due to be published three times a year, was designed to help policy makers and digital leaders understand how they perform across both digital infrastructure and adoption.
In the second DCRI report, the UK’s headline readiness score improved slightly since October 2023 – from 84 to 85. Below this, each of the nation’s saw improvements in their overall score, with England scoring 87 out of a possible 100, followed by Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales with scores of 81, 80 and 79 respectively.
As well as an overall score, the UK and each individual nation were also given sub-scores for infrastructure and adoption. All infrastructure scores improved, but on adoption, points stayed the same for England and Scotland, but fell slightly for Wales and Northern Ireland.
The scores contained within the DCRI are based on key metrics gathered from a series of data sources, including Ofcom and the Office for National Statistics. A robust approach to weighting has been used to ensure the indicators take into account commercial, regulatory and policy prioritisation considerations*. This delivers a result that is not only accurate, but also helps deliver real value when it comes to designing digital connectivity infrastructure, adoption and inclusion projects.
The analysis showed a range of differences in performance between the four nations on infrastructure and adoption:
- England remains by far the best performing home nation on both infrastructure (90) and adoption (84). These improvements are driven by strong investment, network rollout of Gigabit services, and enhancements in 5G coverage. The adoption index saw an increase in six out of eight key indicators, including advancements in digital skills and home internet access.
- Scotland’s score for infrastructure (80) was only a slight improvement on its October 2023 score of 79. This reflects the challenge of rolling out networks across remote rural regions, although progress has been made on both 5G and Gigabit. When it came to adoption (79), Scotland scored well on the digital economy, online wellbeing and security indicators but scores decreased on digital skills and affordability. This was due to skills shortages being raised by businesses as a key issue and a rise in the number of workers earning below the Living Wage. Together this led to digital subscription cancellations.
- Northern Ireland is still seeing a significant difference in performance between infrastructure (89) and adoption (75). The high infrastructure score has been driven by continued public sector spending on Project Stratum, as well as commercial roll out. On adoption, it also performed strongly on many indicators. However, a marginal fall in public sector spending, led to a decrease in the country’s score for accessible public services. There was also a slight fall in the security online indicator.
- Wales saw another sizeable gap between infrastructure (81) and adoption (76) performance due to a three-point rise in its infrastructure score. Its adoption index also fell slightly. The country performed well on improved 5G coverage and a continued strong rollout of Gigabit networks. However, it’s adoption score was lower due to challenges around affordability and a fall in the number of people working in digital over the period measured.
Matthew Izatt-Lowry, Senior Economist at FarrPoint, said: “Digital connectivity plays an increasingly crucial role in enabling economic growth, advancing progress towards achieving Net Zero goals, and enhancing social wellbeing.
“Our latest DCRI results show that all four UK nations have built upon their strong position to harness the full potential of digital, with overall headline scores increasing across all four nations. Because activity within the sector has largely focussed on the rollout of infrastructure networks, the results continue to be strongest on the infrastructure side. But without widespread adoption, this alone doesn’t yield any tangible benefits for households, communities or business.
“Unfortunately, the picture on the adoption front is less positive, and is much more mixed across the four nations. Progress has been made on indicators such as increasing general levels of people online and wellbeing, but challenges remain around affordability, skills and security.
“Decision makers within public bodies need to understand the strengths and challenges within their region to enable them to create an evidence-based digital strategy. We hope that our DCRI scores will help them to do that.”
The full report is available to download here https://www.farrpoint.com/news/dcri-march-2024/
The next FarrPoint Digital Connectivity Readiness Index results will be released in summer 2024.
ENDS
Issued by Clark.tech for FarrPoint.
Image caption: FarrPoint’s Digital Connectivity Readiness Index, March 2024.
For further information, please contact Sarah Banks at sarah@clarkcommunications.co.uk or on 07470 271279.
A landmark scheme to transform walking, wheeling and cycling between the east and west of the city was officially opened today (Wednesday 20 March).
Members of the community joined Councillor Scott Arthur, Transport and Environment Convener; Patrick Harvie, Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights; and other stakeholders in Haymarket to celebrate the momentous occasion, following the completion of the City Centre West to East Link (CCWEL).
Pupils from local primary schools were amongst the first to test out part of the route, participating in a group ride from Old Colt Bridge which arrived in Haymarket in time for the festivities. Here, they were treated to music performed by St Mary’s Music School pupils and a range of walking, wheeling and cycling-themed activities.
Construction on the £23m CCWEL route began in February 2022 and has been principally funded by the Scottish Government through Sustrans’ Places for Everyone programme. The scheme connects Roseburn to Leith Walk via Haymarket and the West End with a safe and direct cycle route, as well as significantly enhancing streets for those walking, wheeling and spending time there. This will tie into a new George Street cycling thoroughfare delivered as part of the George Street and First New Town project.
Councillor Scott Arthur, Transport and Environment Convener, said:
Today we celebrated a major development for walking, wheeling and cycling in the Capital, with the completion of CCWEL. This major scheme is not only one of the largest pieces of active travel infrastructure delivered in Edinburgh, but it has transformed spaces along the route for the use and enjoyment of people who live, visit and work here.
I’m pleased that that the community and all those involved were able to share in celebrating the occasion today – we really want them to benefit from the route. I’d like to thank local residents and businesses for their patience throughout construction, which I know has been disruptive at times.
Now it’s open, CCWEL will form a key section of our growing walking, wheeling and cycling network, connecting with Roseburn to Union Canal, George Street and First New Town and other key routes. This kind of joined-up project delivery is essential for helping people to choose clean, sustainable modes of transport, in turn supporting our net zero 2030 goals, as well as improving air quality and reducing congestion.
Patrick Harvie, Minister for Active Travel said:
I was delighted to attend the start of the work on the City Centre West to East Link two years ago and even more so to see it open today. This new active travel route forms a key part of the growing network across Edinburgh, providing another safe and sustainable option for people to move about Scotland’s capital.
This ambitious investment in active travel infrastructure was made possible through grant funding from the Scottish Government administered through Sustrans Scotland’s Places For Everyone Fund. I am grateful to City of Edinburgh Council for working so closely with all partners, not least the many communities set to benefit from this investment.
Karen McGregor, Scotland Director for Sustrans said:
The City Centre West to East Link is an absolute game-changer within the world of active travel. For the first time ever in Scotland, we’ve delivered a fully segregated walking, wheeling and cycling connection that cuts through the heart of the city centre. In doing so, this fantastic new route gives the people of Edinburgh a safe and accessible driving alternative, allowing people to get to where they want, how they want, regardless of age or ability.
I would like to thank all those involved for their support and keen involvement in its delivery.
Other activities along the route included free bike checks from Dr Bike, bike marking by Police Scotland, cargo bike trials and the opportunity to meet the team responsible for the project.
As well as connecting to cycling and walking improvements delivered through the George Street and First New Town project and on Leith Walk as part of Trams to Newhaven, CCWEL will link to the Roseburn to Union Canal route, due for completion this year, and Meadows to George Street. Construction on this is planned for 2025.
By supporting people to travel by foot, bike and wheel, CCWEL aligns with the City Mobility Plan 2030, which envisions a clean, connected and net zero carbon future.
Lauded Scottish Gaelic poet Donnchadh Bàn Mac an t-Saoir (anglicised as Duncan Ban Macintyre) has had an inscribed flagstone unveiled today at Makars’ Court in Edinburgh.
Duncan Ban now joins the illustrious company of Sir Walter Scott, Rabbie Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson and others at Makars’ Court where Scotland’s literary greats have been enshrined since 1988. He is widely acknowledged to have formed a key part of the golden age of Gaelic poetry in the 18th century.
At today’s ceremony there were speeches from Culture and Communities Convener, Val Walker along with Chair of Ionad Gàidhlig Dhùn Èideann and Professor of Gaelic at the University of Edinburgh, Wilson McLeod. Dr Anja Gunderloch also from the University and an expert on Duncan Ban also spoke.
There was also a moving rendition of the poet’s songs from musician and singer Mary Ann Kennedy, one of Gaelic’s foremost modern exponents. The event was concluded by a touching bagpipes performance from Andrew MacIntyre, a descendant of Duncan Ban.
The flagstone contains the following text:
Donnchadh Bàn Mac an t-Saoir (Duncan Ban Macintyre)
1724-1812
‘S e mùthadh air an t-saoghal
An coire laghach gaolach
A dhol a-nis air faondradh
(A change has come upon the world
That the fine, beloved corrie
Should now be desolate)
From The Songs of Duncan Ban Macintyre (Edinburgh: Scottish Gaelic Texts Society, 1952), pp. 176-77.
The sponsor for the flagstone was Chair of Ionad Gàidhlig Dhùn Èideann and Professor of Gaelic at the University of Edinburgh, Wilson McLeod.
Culture and Communities Convener, Councillor Val Walker said:
“Duncan Ban’s addition to Makars’ Court celebrates his seminal impact as a poet and he can now take his well deserved place alongside the finest minds in our nation’s rich history.
“Makars’ Court is an important stop on the Old Town tourist trail and allows our residents and visitors to reflect on these key figures. It was fantastic to be at today’s unveiling and to hear more about a true titan of Gaelic literature and society. I would like to thank the sponsor of this flagstone Professor Wilson McLeod for making this possible and for his unwavering commitment in promoting Gaelic here in Edinburgh and beyond.
“I’d also like to give special thanks to David Lindsay of Stoneworks who designed and built this flagstone, one of 44 over the years. We understand that this flagstone will be his last and we are incredibly grateful for his service, craftmanship and commitment over the years.”
Chair of Ionad Gàidhlig Dhùn Èideann, Wilson McLeod said:
“Duncan Ban was a real literary celebrity in his day and has remained one of Gaeldom’s best-loved poets through the generations. He had a strong connection to Edinburgh and has a special place in Edinburgh’s Gaelic heritage. He lived for many years just off the High Street, and his wife ran a pub in the Lawnmarket, so a celebration in Edinburgh and a permanent commemoration of his life and work in Makars’ Court are particularly appropriate.”
Full-service legal firm Gilson Gray has introduced a new mass litigation service, supporting people all over Scotland with data protection and financial services claims, with the appointment of an experienced legal associate to lead the specialism.
Cat McGarrell joins the firm after nine years at Thompsons Solicitors as a group actions solicitor. During this time, she was responsible for a range of sensitive group cases involving personal injury and medical product liability and the Kenyan tea farmers’ claim against one of the largest global tea producers last year. In 2020, she raised Scotland’s first-ever group action under the chapter 26A group proceedings rules.
In her role at Gilson Gray, Cat will establish the new offering and will initially focus on cases involving financial misselling and GDPR breaches. Cat will also continue her work in the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry, where she represents Homeless Network Scotland – a group comprising over 40 housing and homelessness organisations including Social Bite, Shelter, and Crisis.
The introduction of the new service line comes on the back of a series of successes for Gilson Gray in well-publicised cases during 2023. Led by Rosie Walker, the litigation division – which specialises in commercial litigation and public law – successfully challenged the City of Edinburgh Council’s short-term let licensing policy and overturned the local authority’s strip club ban. The team also acted in the highest value commercial action raised in Scotland.
Gilson Gray’s fast-growing litigation team operates across offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, East Lothian and Aberdeen.
Rosie Walker, head of Litigation at Gilson Gray, said: “Following a strong year, we are building on our offering by introducing this new service line. The capability to handle group claims complements our core litigation expertise and opens the door to new markets and clients. The team’s continued growth reflects its strength and depth, and Cat’s experience will only add to our success to date. She has a proven track record in helping hundreds of people to resolve sensitive and complex issues and we are excited to welcome her on board.”
Cat McGarrell said: “Gilson Gray is a forward-thinking, rapidly expanding firm and I have been following Rosie’s career and case wins for some time. Mass litigation is an interesting and rewarding area of legal work and I am looking forward to taking that one step further in my new role, both leading the new specialism and helping it to grow.”
Scientists have developed an ingestible capsule dotted with sensors that can detect pressure in a patient’s guts and detect points of failure.
The ingestible system will give colorectal medical teams an unprecedented understanding of the movement of a patient’s digestive tract, or lack thereof.
Instead of simply taking images of inside the guts, the system will sense whether it’s contracting, how much pressure is exerted and exactly where it might be inactive.
The system has been tested in a synthetic gut and animals. A patent for the technology is pending.
The team from Heriot-Watt University and the University of Birmingham, with colleagues from the University of Edinburgh, have reported their system’s success in the academic journal Device.
Tiny pressure sensors detect how the gut is moving
Professor Marc Desmulliez specialises in medical device technology at Heriot-Watt University and leads the project.
Professor Desmulliez said: “This could help transform how we detect gastrointestinal diseases and conditions.
“The traditional way to look at intestines or the gut is to have an endoscopy – it’s a camera attached to a tube that will hopefully see any visible obstructions or problems.
“In Scotland, capsule endoscopies have become more common and have been transformative for patients: they swallow a little capsule, it travels along the guts and transmits images wirelessly back to a screen.
“It’s much more pleasant than an endoscopy.
“We wanted to find a way to detect when the digestive tract isn’t working, when it’s not contracting and relaxing as it should when pushing waste along, and when there isn’t a visible problem.”
Desmulliez and team have spent five years developing their new system. The research was funded by UK Research and Innovation’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UKRI-EPSRC) and also looked at the use of ultrasound to detect subcutaneous pathologies of the gut.
It is a swallowable capsule, 3 cm long and 1 cm in diameter, dotted with up to five very thin sensors, all the thickness of one or two human hairs.
Desmulliez said: “The pressure sensors will measure movement and activity right along the eight or nine metres of the gastrointestinal tract.
“They will identify regions where there’s absolutely no movement of the gut, where the gut is functioning as expected or if there’s something unexpected in terms of movement.”
Technological and commercial readiness
Dr Gerard Cummins, an assistant professor at the University of Birmingham, said: “The device is extremely resilient due to the number of sensors and their flexibility: it will continue to work even if it’s damaged.
“We’ve also ensured that it won’t scratch or damage the gut in any way by making the sensors very thin and covering them with a low-friction coating.
The team also focused on making the system sustainable and affordable.
Dr Cummins said: “New medical technology is only useful if healthcare providers like the NHS can afford to provide it for patients”.
“We engineered our prototype at the Scottish Microelectronic Centre at the University of Edinburgh. It uses semiconductor manufacturing processes, like those used to make microchips at a low cost.
“This allows the manufacture of these sensors at scale, making them very cost-effective. We can manufacture hundreds of them at the same time.”
The team is setting up a spinout company to take the innovation forward and a patent is pending.
They estimate it will take at least another five years of clinical testing to bring the product to market.
Supporting health and care technology innovation
Heriot-Watt University is creating a global research institute in health and care technologies to accelerate the adoption of innovative work in the field. This is a significant project in that research focus that aims to develop use-inspired solutions to help solve global health challenges in a spirit of co-creation.
Professor Steve McLaughlin, deputy principal of research and impact at Heriot-Watt University, said: “The development of this device demonstrates how our global research institute will support the creation of ground-breaking technologies that could revolutionise patient care.
“Bringing together academics, industry experts, and clinicians will ensure these vital developments get to market much quicker. We already have several research projects underway and the next 12 months will be a really exciting time as we showcase our developments on the global stage.”
Responding to the latest inflation figures from the ONS, David Bharier, Head of Research at the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
“Today’s easing of the CPI rate to 3.4% will give businesses and consumers some sense of relief. At 4.5%, core inflation has also slowed, and the producer price index for input costs remains negative at –2.7%.
“These positive trends were to be expected as many of the key drivers have begun to fall away.
“However, we are now two years into this inflation shock and prices have simply stabilised at a much higher level. Uncertainty for businesses remains high. Further rises in the minimum wage are likely to impact pay differentials, and the ongoing crisis in Gaza, alongside shipping disruption in the Red Sea, is a source of great instability.
“It is also a concern that the owner occupiers’ housing (OOH) component of CPIH has risen by 6.0%, indicating the adverse impact of higher interest rates. This measure is likely to be exacerbated by further council tax rises.
“The fundamental issues for SMEs still remain – skills shortages, a lack of infrastructure investment, and trade barriers, particularly with the EU, which all feed into GDP growth expectations of less than 1% for the coming years.”
