Latest news with #BFG
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Reviving a town with traditional building skills
Young people in a quiet corner of southern Scotland are restoring the area's crumbling buildings by learning traditional craft skills. Their latest project tackled a centuries-old property on Whithorn's High Street which lay roofless and derelict for decades. Building Futures Galloway (BFG) teaches at-risk skills like stone masonry while providing employment for young people from rural communities. The scheme emerged after the Covid pandemic when traditional industries like restaurants were still recovering. Behind the scaffolding and stonework are 10 young people gaining hands-on experience. Adam Molyneux, 22, has been with the team since the start. He was on universal credit and struggling to find permanent work when he joined BFG. "I hadn't had a real job before, to be honest," he said. Adam said the craft role has built both his confidence and practical skills, all while earning the real living wage. "I have ADHD, so I'm not very good with doing the same repetitive task all day long," he said. Instead the variety of hands-on work, fixing walls and building roofs keeps Adam focused and engaged. He added that locals stop by with a smile to look at the building. "I think everybody's quite happy with what we're doing," he said. "It does kind of feel like my own village and nice to think that we're helping the town come back to what it used be." BFG has seen 20 trainees through its ranks but the team has also trained more than 120 pupils from the nearby Douglas Ewart High School in Newton Stewart since 2021. Volunteer Julia Muir Watt said the project "joins up the dots" linking young people who need opportunities with buildings that are in dire need of repair. "There is often a skill shortage in rural areas when it comes to 'heritage skills'," she said. "That area is really needing new young recruits." Lead skills trainer Shaun Thomson agrees. He lives in Whithorn and said the area had a particular need due to the high number of listed buildings. "You struggle to get a tradesperson who can use traditional skills to make the correct choices in the repair and the maintenance of the building," he said. "It's very important for the area, the buildings, to look after them, but also to pass on the skills because there'll be a time where you won't have anybody who can pass them on." Historic Environment Scotland - which provided funding for building restoration in Whithorn - has previously highlighted the need for endangered traditional skills. "Scotland needs to scale up its training opportunities in heritage skills as demand is rising rapidly due to the need to repair and retrofit traditional buildings," it said in March. "Around 71% of traditionally-built housing in Scotland is in need of critical repair." It estimates 10,000 new jobs are needed over the next decade to do that work. One of those buildings in need of critical repair was 9 High Street. It had no roof, no back wall, wobbly chimneys, even a tree growing from the roof. "From our point of view it offered every single skill that you could wish for if you're going to train in traditional buildings," said Julia. The project recycled material on site and used traditional materials like lime and local greywacke sandstone. The roof was made from local timber and squared using "medieval axe techniques". "There are only about 360 traditional masons left in Scotland, which is a tiny number when you think of our vast numbers of stone buildings," Julia said. Work is already under way on the team's next project repairing Whithorn's old town hall. Hazel Smith, a chartered architect and a 20-year Whithorn resident, called the repairs fantastic. "It was such an eyesore on the streetscape and I know the neighbours had a terrible time with the water ingress into their house," she said. "I think people are just delighted to see these old buildings being cared for and nurtured in the right manner with knowing that they've got the skilled workforce working on them and that they've got a future." Positive impact All of which, Julia said, provided a "good example of how young people can be seen positively rather than negatively in a local community". In return, they get meaningful work which encourages them to stay and help revive a rural area. "I think I'd just like to keep going along with it and I think we also want to start trying to train other young people to keep these crafts going," said Adam. "The long-term goal of this project is to keep these traditional crafts alive." More stories like this Breaking down walls in the world of bricklaying
BBC News
3 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Young people use traditional skills to restore Whithorn buildings
Young people in a quiet corner of southern Scotland are restoring the area's crumbling buildings by learning traditional craft latest project tackled a centuries-old property on Whithorn's High Street which lay roofless and derelict for Futures Galloway (BFG) teaches at-risk skills like stone masonry while providing employment for young people from rural scheme emerged after the Covid pandemic when traditional industries like restaurants were still recovering. Behind the scaffolding and stonework are 10 young people gaining hands-on Molyneux, 22, has been with the team since the start. He was on universal credit and struggling to find permanent work when he joined BFG."I hadn't had a real job before, to be honest," he said the craft role has built both his confidence and practical skills, all while earning the real living wage."I have ADHD, so I'm not very good with doing the same repetitive task all day long," he said. Instead the variety of hands-on work, fixing walls and building roofs keeps Adam focused and added that locals stop by with a smile to look at the building."I think everybody's quite happy with what we're doing," he said."It does kind of feel like my own village and nice to think that we're helping the town come back to what it used be." BFG has seen 20 trainees through its ranks but the team has also trained more than 120 pupils from the nearby Douglas Ewart High School in Newton Stewart since Julia Muir Watt said the project "joins up the dots" linking young people who need opportunities with buildings that are in dire need of repair."There is often a skill shortage in rural areas when it comes to 'heritage skills'," she said."That area is really needing new young recruits."Lead skills trainer Shaun Thomson agrees. He lives in Whithorn and said the area had a particular need due to the high number of listed buildings."You struggle to get a tradesperson who can use traditional skills to make the correct choices in the repair and the maintenance of the building," he said."It's very important for the area, the buildings, to look after them, but also to pass on the skills because there'll be a time where you won't have anybody who can pass them on." Historic Environment Scotland - which provided funding for building restoration in Whithorn - has previously highlighted the need for endangered traditional skills."Scotland needs to scale up its training opportunities in heritage skills as demand is rising rapidly due to the need to repair and retrofit traditional buildings," it said in March."Around 71% of traditionally-built housing in Scotland is in need of critical repair."It estimates 10,000 new jobs are needed over the next decade to do that work. One of those buildings in need of critical repair was 9 High Street. It had no roof, no back wall, wobbly chimneys, even a tree growing from the roof."From our point of view it offered every single skill that you could wish for if you're going to train in traditional buildings," said project recycled material on site and used traditional materials like lime and local greywacke roof was made from local timber and squared using "medieval axe techniques"."There are only about 360 traditional masons left in Scotland, which is a tiny number when you think of our vast numbers of stone buildings," Julia is already under way on the team's next project repairing Whithorn's old town hall. Hazel Smith, a chartered architect and a 20-year Whithorn resident, called the repairs fantastic."It was such an eyesore on the streetscape and I know the neighbours had a terrible time with the water ingress into their house," she said."I think people are just delighted to see these old buildings being cared for and nurtured in the right manner with knowing that they've got the skilled workforce working on them and that they've got a future." Positive impact All of which, Julia said, provided a "good example of how young people can be seen positively rather than negatively in a local community".In return, they get meaningful work which encourages them to stay and help revive a rural area."I think I'd just like to keep going along with it and I think we also want to start trying to train other young people to keep these crafts going," said Adam."The long-term goal of this project is to keep these traditional crafts alive."
Scottish Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
You have the eyes of a hawk if you can spot the animal in huge new maze in 10 seconds
The hedges currently stand around five feet high but they're expected to reach eight feet by the end of the summer GIANT PUZZLE You have the eyes of a hawk if you can spot the animal in huge new maze in 10 seconds Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) YOU have the eyes of a hawk if you can spot the animal in this huge maze in ten seconds. The massive installation, in Fife, spans the length of three football pitches. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 A 'mega maze' spanning the length of three football pitches is in the shape of a dog Credit: SWNS The sprawling labyrinth stretches over six acres at Cairnie Fruit Farm near Cupar. The hedges currently stand around five feet high. But they're expected to reach eight feet by the end of the summer. The elaborate maze has been created in the shape of a dog. Each year, the local attraction is altered and grown into a different shape. Planting begins each May, with gardeners using GPS trackers to create the striking design. Previous designs have included sea turtles, hedgehogs, Star Wars supervillain Darth Vader and Roald Dahl's BFG. This year, the Laird family - who run the farm - held a competition to choose the next design. And the winning entry was a canine, in homage to their family pup Koda. The lucky winner will be offered a free day out at the farm. They will be allowed to bring their own dog to try out the maze. The maze will remain standing until late October, when the farm's gardeners will harvest the hedges to prepare to start the process all over again next year. Cairnie Farm is one of Scotland's top fruit farms and is an ideal day out for families. It has a cafe, children's play area and a farm shop.
Scottish Sun
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
New ‘mega maze' the size of three football pitches in Scotland revealed – and it's the perfect day out for families
The hedges currently stand around five feet high but they're expected to reach eight feet by the end of the summer GIANT PUZZLE New 'mega maze' the size of three football pitches in Scotland revealed – and it's the perfect day out for families A MASSIVE MAZE spanning the length of three football pitches has been created in Fife. The sprawling labyrinth stretches over six acres at Cairnie Fruit Farm near Cupar. Advertisement 1 A giant maze the size of three football pitches has been created in Fife Credit: SWNS The hedges currently stand around five feet high but they're expected to reach eight feet by the end of the summer. The elaborate maze has been created in the shape of a dog. Each year, the local attraction is altered and grown into a different shape. Planting begins each May, with gardeners using GPS trackers to create the striking design. Advertisement Previous designs have included sea turtles, hedgehogs, Star Wars supervillain Darth Vader and Roald Dahl's BFG. This year, the Laird family - who run the farm - held a competition to choose the next design. And the winning entry was a canine, in homage to their family pup Koda. The lucky winner will be offered a free day out at the farm. Advertisement they will be allowed to bring their own dog to try out the maze. The maze will remain standing until late October, when the farm's gardeners will harvest the hedges to prepare to start the process all over again next year. Major card chain with 163 shops launches closing down sales ahead of shutting its doors for good Cairnie Farm is one of Scotland's top fruit farms and is an ideal day out for families. It has a cafe, children's play area and a farm shop.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bell Financial Group (ASX:BFG) shareholders have endured a 5.7% loss from investing in the stock a year ago
Passive investing in an index fund is a good way to ensure your own returns roughly match the overall market. When you buy individual stocks, you can make higher profits, but you also face the risk of under-performance. Unfortunately the Bell Financial Group Limited (ASX:BFG) share price slid 11% over twelve months. That contrasts poorly with the market return of 14%. Longer term investors have fared much better, since the share price is up 7.9% in three years. More recently, the share price has dropped a further 11% in a month. Since shareholders are down over the longer term, lets look at the underlying fundamentals over the that time and see if they've been consistent with returns. We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free. While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement. During the unfortunate twelve months during which the Bell Financial Group share price fell, it actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) improve by 26%. It could be that the share price was previously over-hyped. The divergence between the EPS and the share price is quite notable, during the year. So it's easy to justify a look at some other metrics. We don't see any weakness in the Bell Financial Group's dividend so the steady payout can't really explain the share price drop. The revenue trend doesn't seem to explain why the share price is down. Of course, it could simply be that it simply fell short of the market consensus expectations. You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image). It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Bell Financial Group As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Bell Financial Group, it has a TSR of -5.7% for the last 1 year. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments! While the broader market gained around 14% in the last year, Bell Financial Group shareholders lost 5.7% (even including dividends). However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 7%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Bell Financial Group (including 1 which is significant) . Bell Financial Group is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of small cap companies at attractive valuations which insiders have been buying. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Australian exchanges. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
