Latest news with #Boys'Brigade
Glasgow Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow Boys' Brigade call for former members to join group
The Glasgow Stedfast Association supports the Boys' Brigade, founded in the city in 1883, and aims to bring people together from the organisation's long legacy. Born in 2008, as one of many across the UK and Ireland, The Glasgow Stedfast Association was created to sustain the spirit of the Brigade by fostering friendship, sharing updates, and promoting its values to the wider public. Read more: Parent says 'many factors' contributing to rise in home education The movement has since expanded worldwide, with 49 companies still operating within the Glasgow Battalion. People don't need to be a former Boys' Brigade member to get involved. Any former officers, helpers at badge classes, event organisers, Bible Class worship leaders, or supporters of the Brigade's mission and values are welcome to join. The Glasgow Stedfast Association orchestrates a yearly programme filled with an array of events that people can get involved in. These range from social evenings to festive Christmas gatherings, and from afternoon visits to local landmarks to summer away days. Recent outings have featured visits to the Govan Stones exhibition, the Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow City Mission, and the Hamilton Low Parks Museum. The kick-off for the 2025/26 session is a social evening, featuring fish and chips at Ibrox Parish Church in September. Glasgow's association also holds a treasure trove of Boys' Brigade history, and it is currently negotiating with Glasgow Life to locate a permanent exhibition space. Read more: Met the Glasgow teacher preparing to trek 50km along Great Wall of China Access to this rich collection is just one of many reasons to consider membership, which comes at a yearly rate of £15. Along with three editions of the Link Magazine annually, members will receive regular updates on the Brigade's activities and the work of the Association. With 49 companies still within the Glasgow Battalion, the organisation continues to have an impact throughout the city. For more information and an application form, interested parties can contact secretary John Montgomery at 0141 637 2416 or johnsmontgomery@
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Singapore triathlete Ben Khoo smashes his own national Ironman record in Hamburg
Benjamin Khoo clocked 8 hours 49 minutes and 46 seconds in Hamburg on June 1 to break his own Singapore record in the Ironman race. PHOTO: COURTESY OF BENJAMIN KHOO SINGAPORE – Battling the choppy waves and cold wind, Singapore triathlete Ben Khoo struggled at the start of the Ironman race in Hamburg, Germany, on June 1. But the 34-year-old pushed through the swim leg in the Alster Lake, made up ground on the bicycle before completing the marathon to clock 8 hours 49 minutes 46 seconds. In the process, he smashed his own Singapore record of 9:02:24, set at the Ironman Copenhagen race in August 2023. The Ironman race comprises a 3.8km swim, 180km bicycle ride and 42km run. Khoo, a business executive in the chemicals sector, said: 'There was a thunderstorm, so the race was delayed, and we were afraid that that might affect the conditions. 'I didn't have a very good swim and the swim was longer than expected – 4km instead of 3.8km – but I was quite happy to make time on the bike. 'So I went much, much faster than I expected. And then I got off the bike, I was like, 'okay, more or less there already', I just need to finish a marathon conservatively, and I will be able to break the record with quite a comfortable buffer.' Triathlon Association of Singapore president Paul Rachmadi said Khoo 'delivered a monumental race'. He added: 'Smashing his previous best of 9:02:24, Ben continues to redefine the limits of endurance, discipline and dedication. 'An extraordinary achievement and a powerful inspiration to the next generation of triathletes in Singapore.' In April, Khoo had also competed in the Singapore leg of the T100 triathlon series at Marina Bay, where he finished as the quickest Singaporean in the open category. The T100 is a shorter event, with participants completing a 2km swim, 80km bike race and 18km run. Khoo said: 'The intensity of racing is higher (for the T100) and in Singapore, the course is also much more difficult, because it's hot and it's hilly, so it requires a lot more fitness and skill, whereas the Ironman is more of a test of endurance. 'They always say that the Ironman only begins at the last 10km of the marathon, which is not true. It's a nine-hour race… But the last 40 to 50 minutes are incredibly hard. With 14 km to go, my body shut down. So I couldn't run fast, couldn't take in nutrition, which was difficult. 'It was not a race against the rest of the field but a race against the clock. So I'm always checking the clock, looking at the total time.' Khoo was introduced to multi-sport racing at Raffles Institution, where he participated in adventure racing – running and cycling – as part of his Boys' Brigade co-curricular activity. After secondary school, he dabbled in triathlon and first represented Singapore in the Under-23 category of the Asian Triathlon Championships in Taiwan in 2011. Khoo, who holds a master of science in management science and engineering from Stanford University, said he chose the Ironman Hamburg race as it is known to be a fast course, adding: 'The age group world record was set there last year, and this year the pro women world record was also set there.' Having lowered his own national record in Germany, Khoo is eyeing something else closer to home. He is hoping to be part of the national duathlon team for the Dec 9-20 SEA Games in Thailand. 'The Iron Man is a nine-hour race, whereas the SEA Games format for me would be 20 minutes,' he said. 'It's a real transformation of systems and I have to change from a long and slow athlete to high octane and pretty much a sprint. It will take some time to transform the body, so that will be my focus for the next six months.' Melvyn Teoh is a sports journalist at The Straits Times. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Otago Daily Times
15-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Funds needed to continue key project
Primary school pupils are working with male mentors to reinvent pallets in cool DIY projects. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED A new trailer is needed for a programme visiting Central Otago schools to teach boys about DIY and self-esteem in the process. The trailer that carries tools to six primary schools in and around Alexandra as part of Boys' Brigade's Edge Workshops needs replacing. The programme has been running in the area for five years and facilitator Warwick Tomlinson said the trailer in use was "starting to die", gather "rust spots" and cost the organisation money. The Boys' Brigade is gathering funds for a new trailer for the organisation's Edge programme that visits primary schools in Alexandra, Clyde, Omakau, Poolburn and Roxburgh. On cold, wet days, the trailer becomes a welcome makeshift classroom for at-risk young people often struggling to engage with their school work, Mr Tomlinson said. The programme accommodates six pupils each term at each school, rolling up once a fortnight with volunteer mentors and one paid co-ordinator willing to teach the children how to turn used wooden pallets into new gadgets or toys. At the end of April, after hearing from Mr Tomlinson, the Vincent Community Board unanimously approved a grant of $5000 to Boys' Brigade New Zealand for a new trailer. But almost four times that amount is needed to get the project across the line. Boys' Brigade national director Mike Brewer described the programme, which has been running for nearly 15 years in New Zealand, as "hugely successful". "We try and target boys who are struggling or not doing well in the education system and really help them over a term to give them a bit of self-esteem and work on their values and behaviours to try and get them integrated back into some good classwork," he said. The young people were taught how to use some basic tools as they completed small building projects that have included wooden race cars, mobile phone charging stations and candlesticks. Mr Brewer said the organisation relied on grants and donations to ensure its programmes gained the "traction" needed to make a difference in their communities. Boys' Brigade's unique philosophy of having "men teaching boys" was special, he said. "In some of these guys' lives, they may not have a father figure or a male role model ... So [our programmes] can fulfil that function well ...We really do find that the boys respond well to having an older guy working with them."
