Latest news with #DumfriesandGalloway
Daily Record
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Dumfries and Galloway's stunning coastline to feature in new Channel 5 show
Coastal Adventures with Helen, Jules and JB will visit Bainlock Deer Park and Kirkcudbright Canoe Club Dumfries and Galloway is set to feature in a new Channel 5 TV show. Coastal Adventures with Helen, Jules and JB will see Helen Skelton, JB Gill and Jules Hudson explore some of Britain's 11,000 miles of stunning shores. And the third episode of the series will see Helen, who hails from Carlisle, visit the Stewartry. First up is a trip to Bainloch Deer Park near Sandyhills. The park is home to more than 600 deer and Helen goes on a 4x4 trip to get up close and personal with some of the heard. Then she heads west to join Kirkcudbright Canoe Club and find out more about Dumfries and Galloway's smuggling history. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. With taxes sky-high on goods like tea and tobacco, cunning traders turned to the Isle of Man for cheaper contraband and launched secret coastal trades that helped fuel the local economy. Coastal Adventures with Helen, Jules & JB,is on 5 at 8pm on Tuesdays. The episode featuring Dumfries and Galloway will be shown on July 29.
Daily Record
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Big Lit 2025 in Gatehouse announces exciting programme of literary performers
The volunteer-run festival will be welcoming back old and new faces and promises something for everyone. An exciting programme of literary performers from across Scotland and beyond has been announced for this year's Big Lit. The Gatehouse literary festival will take place in the Mill on the Fleet between July 18 and 20. The volunteer-run festival, organised by The Bakehouse Community Arts, will be welcoming back old and new faces and promises something for everyone. Highlights include Big Lit cabaret open mic evening with poet Charlie Gracie on the opening night. There will also be the chance to enjoy Bards for Breakfast on July 19 with storyteller and former Scots Scriever Sui Briggs and writer and musician Alan McClure. The pair are long time collaborators with song, storytelling, plays and poetry. They co-created globally loved storytelling show Oor Wee Podcast together as well as the play Drookit for Braw Clan theatre. The same day, Gatehouse author Karen Campbell will be speaking about her latest novel, This Bright Life, and journalist Gerry Hassan will be in conversation with Alec Ross discussing his new book Britain Needs Change: The Challenge for labour and the Politics of Hope. Sunday will see the launch of Southlight 37 – with writers talking about the 37th edition of Dumfries and Galloway's leading creative magazine. Award-winning voice actor from Gatehouse, Ruth Urquhart, will be sharing her decade long experience of narrating more than 200 books for listeners all over the world.
Daily Record
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Dumfries and Galloway rugby star to captain Scotland in first game of summer tour
Stafford McDowall will lead Gregor Townsend's team out against the Maori All Blacks on Saturday. Dumfries and Galloway rugby star Stafford McDowall is set to captain Scotland this weekend. The centre from Dundrennan will lead Gregor Townsend's team out against the Maori All Blacks. The match, which kicks off at 4.35am UK time, is the first fixture of Scotland's Skyscanner Pacific Tour. McDowall, who came through the ranks at Stewartry RFC, captained the side against Portugal in November. He was also co-captain when they defeated Canada in the opening match of their summer tour last year. McDowall, who plays his club rugby for Glasgow Warriors, currently has 13 caps for the national side. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. However, he won't add to that tally on Saturday as it is classed as a non-cap international. Saturday's game at the Semenoff Stadium in Whangarei is the first of three games on Scotland's summer tour. Next up is a game against Fiji in Suva on July 12 with the final match against Samoa in Auckland on July 18.
Daily Record
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Hue and Cry and Timmy Mallet among Kirkcudbright Fringe 2025 attractions
The event is returning for its third year with a range of innovations, including a bigger and better programme. Hue and Cry, Timmy Mallet and a former First Minister are among the attractions at this year's Kirkcudbright Fringe. The event is returning for its third year with a range of innovations. The programme is bigger, better and more diverse with an increased number of performers and venues across the town, exciting developments such as a three-day beer festival and a wider range of stalls and food outlets over the fringe weekend, which runs from September 4 to 7. Co-founder, Gerry Hassan, said: Kirkcudbright Fringe builds on our fantastic reputation as an artists' town, bringing new voices and talents, and showcasing many local artists and the stories that help to make the town so special. 'Our programme continues to grow in range and ambition – showing our commitment to being contemporary, diverse and thought-provoking.' More than 60 events will be taking place in 25 venues, with full details available in the programme that features a stunning cover designed by Kirkcudbright Academy's Elena Gourlay. Highlights include 1980s pop sensations Hue and Cry; an expanded Late Night at the Fringe on Friday and Saturday with fabulous music; sensational magic and comedy from Pete Heat; stories of cycling and travelling from Timmy Mallet; Beatle biographer Philip Norman reflecting on the magic and enduring appeal of the Beatles and Peter Tatchell on a life campaigning for equality and human rights. There's also Gabriel Gatehouse on the threat of Trump and Trumpism; Scottish filmmaker Anthony Baxter talking about chronicling Trump in Scotland; broadcaster Lesley Riddoch and former first Minister Henry McLeish discussing the state of Scotland and next year's elections; and TV historian Kate Williams on Mary, Queen of Scots. The fringe has a host of events on local history, pioneers and storytellers – from remembering the last alleged witch killed in the town (Elspeth McKeown) to the woman car designer who built cars for women (Dorothée Pullinger) to the recent discovery that Dumfries and Galloway invented the game of football in Anwoth (with Phil Richardson and Julie McNeill) to the modern day with Kirkcudbright residents Graham and Anne Bryce telling their story of cycling from Scotland to the West Bank. Co-founder, Chris Walker, said: 'Kirkcudbright Fringe Festival aims to provide something unique and enjoyable in an intimate setting in a town that knows how to welcome and host. Our fringe goes from strength to strength, providing a wide range of events that aim to be fun, stimulating and sometimes challenging.' This year's fringe has received support from RSK, Dark Art Distillery, Castle MacLellan, Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival, SW Audio, Pioneer Foodservices, Wheatley Homes South, Beer Haul, Cairndale Hotel and Spa and many others. Physical tickets are available from Rhubarb, 25 St Mary Street, Kirkcudbright and Samphire Gallery, 149 King Street, Castle Douglas from July 1.
Daily Record
12-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
NHS Dumfries and Galloway predicts budget burst of £28 million in 2025/26 financial year
The overspend is down from the £33.6 million previously expected and includes £21.7 million of cuts. The financial picture of Dumfries and Galloway's healthboard is improving ... but not enough to win approval from the Scottish Government. A report for Monday's board meeting of NHS Dumfries and Galloway revealed an overspend of £28 million is expected in the current financial year. That's down from the £33.6 million prediction at the last meeting. However, the Scottish Government has set a target of a £25 million overspend. Finance boss Katy Kerr's report states the previous draft plan, submitted at the end of March, was not approved. And while 'additional Scottish Government funding' and 'local improvements' have led to the expected overspend being brought down, it still does not meet the requirements of Scottish Ministers. The previous meeting was told that, as things stood, NHS Dumfries and Galloway was due to overspend by £95 million over the next three years. That position has been improved, with the budget burst now expected to be around £87.5 million. That includes £66.7 million worth of savings over the same period. Ms Kerr reported that more than 50 savings schemes worth around £15 million have been found for the current financial year. The savings target is £21.6 million – more than the record £20.1 million the health board saved last year. Members approved the financial recovery plan on Monday and chief executive, Julie White, said: 'This past year's savings have been hard-won, delivered through changes to financial controls, service reviews and transformation which have impacted the way we work right across oursystem. 'But we're now in a position where we have to go further, and faster. 'The next phase of recovery will be even more difficult, and it will require difficult decisions. 'To deliver the level of savings required, we will have to become more efficient and consider further changes to the way in which we deliverservices. 'We will, however, continue to focus on delivering improvements to our performance, particularly our waiting times for planned and unscheduled care. 'We've shown this year that progress is possible. But we need to be honest about what comes next. 'Recovery at this scale means changing how we deliver care. 'Our focus will be on protecting what matters most — that is the delivery of front line core NHS services to the highest possible standards within our available resources, but we need to be clear this requires us to modernise our provision through areas such as a greater use of technology and digital innovation.'
