2009 September | Shine on Scotland

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Archive for September, 2009

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Miss Scotland ready to hit the heights

Sunday, September 27th, 2009 | Tags: Allan Thomas, bighearted scot, bighearted scotland, celebrity climb, celtic football club, celtic supporters club, child of the year award, Clyde 1, Katherine Brown, kirsten mclaughlin, Michelle Mone, Miss Scotland, MS Society Scotland, Multiple Sclerosis Campaign, Ryan McLaughlin, Shine on Scotland, Suzie McGuire, Vitamin D, vitamin d campaign
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MISS Scotland Katharine Brown and DJ Suzie McGuire have signed up to join Celts ace Gary Caldwell in a Bighearted charity climb up Mount Kilimanjaro.

The daring celebs have agreed to take part in the Comic Relief-style trek up the 19,340ft Tanzanian mountain next summer.

We told earlier this month how Hoops defender Gary volunteered for the adventure at our glitzy Bighearted Scotland Awards.

He was impressed with the plan to conquer Africa’s highest peak by award-winners Ryan McLaughlin, 14, and Allan Thomas, 41 – and now Kath and Suzie will join them too.

Kath, 22, from Dunblane, Perthshire, said: “I was thrilled to be asked and immediately said yes.

“I’ve always wanted to climb that mountain – I’m drawn to it.”

Clyde 1’s Suzie, 35, from Eaglesham, Renfrewshire, added: “I’m definitely up for it – but I am nervous.”

Gary, 27, said: “I’m really excited about Kilimanjaro. As long as the dates don’t clash with football commitments I’ll do it.

“There are a couple of others in the dressing room who want to climb it too.”

Aberdonian Allan, who won our Fundraiser of the Year, and Child of the Year Ryan, of Drumchapel, Glasgow, hope the trek will raise £100,000 for the six Bighearted Scotland charities, plus their own causes.

TO sponsor Ryan or the event , email awareness@shineonscotland.org.uk

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/scottish/scottish_showbiz/523973/Katharine-Brown-will-climb-Kilimanjaro-for-charity.html

Ryan begs the Old Firm to get behind KANO

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 | Tags: bringing martin home campaign, Campaign Walk, celtic, celtic football club, celtic supporters club, Deputy First Minister, devics syndrome, gordon, gordon strachan, kano, martin kane, Michelle Mone, Multiple Sclerosis, Nicola Sturgeon, rangers fottball club, Scottish Parliament
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BRING KANO HOME NOW !!!

There has been much media attention since the Daily Record broke the story of Martin Kane, a Scot stuck in a hospital in OZ with the worst case of MS you could ever imagine, the campaign to bring martin home to his wife and children in Australia has been spearheaded by a few amazing hoops supporters that have undertaken the challenge to help martin go home in time for Christmas 2009.

Ryan McLaughlin begs both sides of the old firm to get together and unite 2 clubs to show there love for a Scot in a far flung place suffering in pain with only a hope to see his family and his beloved Celtic play every weekend win or loose.

Ryan has been aiding the campaign with the very few tools at his disposal, he has been trying to get as much publicity for the campaign as he can, but he now begs Celtic and Rangers fans and the clubs to dig deep, pull out all the stops and help get KANO get home in time for Christmas.

http://www.bringingmartinhome.com/

Ryan McLaughlin meets Scottish Government

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 | Tags: bighearted scot, Bill Kidd MSP, celtic supporters club, child of the year award, Daily Record, Deputy First Minister, Holyrood, JK Rowling, kirsten mclaughlin, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Multiple Sclerosis Campaign, Nicola Sturgeon, Oliver Gillie, petitions committee, Ryan McLaughlin, Scottish Parliament, Shine on Scotland, Vitamin D, vitamin d campaign
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Shine on Scotland Campaign makes case to Scottish Government

The subject of vitamin D was on the agenda at the Scottish Government’s headquarters on Wednesday 22 September as Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon and Minister for Public Health Shona Robison both took the time to meet with Shine on Scotland campaigners.

14 year old Ryan McLaughlin was joined by his parents, Alan and Kirsten, Craig Wilkie from the MS Society Scotland, and Glasgow Anniesland MSP Bill Butler. The high profile campaign has already been tremendously successful since its launch earlier this year and the lodging of a petition at the Scottish Parliament in June.

The Scottish Government is taking a keen interest in the campaign and Nicola Sturgeon took the opportunity to praise Ryan for his efforts and the increased awareness around the issue of vitamin D that has resulted from the work done so far.

Nicola Sturgeon assured campaigners that they would be invited to play a key role in helping the Government draw up its own awareness campaign on the importance and benefits of vitamin D. Shona Robison also expressed great support for the campaigner’s idea of holding a vitamin D summit in Scotland. Shine on Scotland and the MS Society Scotland will now begin the task of organising a summit to attract international experts on the subject to present the latest evidence and research.

Commenting after the meeting, Ryan said:

“It was great to continue the campaign with this meeting and I’m delighted that both the Health Secretary and the Minister for Public Health took the time to meet us. We’ve achieved a lot so far but there is still a lot to do, especially before we go back to the Petitions Committee in November. I’d also like to thank Bill Butler for his continued support”.

Craig Wilkie, Policy Officer with the MS Society Scotland, commented:

“The Health Secretary said that the door was ajar for the campaign and we look forward to opening it further. The Ministers were very generous with their time and complimentary of the campaign’s achievements. The MS Society Scotland is delighted to be supporting Shine on Scotland and we will continue to work with them and the Scottish Government for the benefit of people affected by MS”.

Vitamin D ‘can boost survival from cancer’

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 | Tags: asthma, British Journal of Cancer, cancer, cancer research uk, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine, MS, MS Society Scotland, Multiple Sclerosis, Multiple Sclerosis Campaign, new study, osteoporosis, Prof Julia Newton Bishop, Prof Kimmie Ng, Ryan McLaughlin, Sara Hiom, Scottish Parliament, Shine on Scotland, survivng cancer, telegraph, Vitamin D, vitamin d campaign
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People who spend more time outside have a better chance of surviving certain cancers, new studies suggest.

Those who had higher levels of vitamin D – produced by the body in the presence of sunlight -when diagnosed with colon cancer were 50 per cent more likely to survive than those with low levels, researchers found.

A separate study also found that patients who had high levels of the vitamin when they were diagnosed with skin cancer were more likely to have thinner tumours.

Vitamin D, which is also present in a small number of foods, such as fatty fish, is thought to be important in protecting against a number of other conditions, including osteoporosis, diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, depression and Multiple Sclerosis.

Earlier this year scientists cautioned that health warnings about the damaging effect of the sun could be causing vitamin D levels to drop.

Prof Kimmie Ng, from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, in Boston, who followed 1,017 patients with colon cancer, also called colorectal cancer, for around nine years, said: “Our study shows that levels of vitamin D after colorectal cancer diagnosis may be important for survival.

“We are now planning further research in patients with bowel cancer to see if vitamin D has the same effect, and to investigate how vitamin D works.”

The findings were published in the British Journal of Cancer and Journal of Clinical Oncology.

A second study found that skin cancer patients who had the lowest levels of vitamin D in their blood when they were diagnosed were almost a third more likely to relapse than those with high levels.

Prof Julia Newton Bishop, from Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine, who led the study, said: “It’s common for the general public to have low levels of vitamin D in many countries.”

She added that skin cancer patients tended to avoid the sun as sunburn is known to increase the risk of the disease.

The findings suggested that they should increase their vitamin D levels by eating more fatty fish or taking supplements, she said.

Sara Hiom, from Cancer Research UK, said: “Both these studies support the theory that higher levels of vitamin D can improve the chance of surviving cancer.

The key is to get the right balance between the amount of time spent in the sun and the levels of vitamin D needed for good health.

“But protection from burning in the sun is still vital.”

Story by the Telegraph.co.uk

Star-Trek

Thursday, September 17th, 2009 | Tags: awards ceremony, big hearted scotland, bighearted scot, Campaign, celtic football club, child of the year award, Deputy First Minister, JK Rowling, kilimanjaro, Michelle Mone, MS Society Scotland, Multiple Sclerosis, news of the world, Revive MS Support, Ryan McLaughlin, Shine on Scotland, Vitamin D, vitamin d campaign
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TWO of our plucky Bighearted Scotland winners are planning to climb one of the world’s highest mountains – and want celebs to join them!

Go-getting gong heroes Ryan McLaughlin and Allan Thomas have asked Ultimo tycoon Michelle Mone and Celtic defender Gary Caldwell to take part in their Comic Relief-style trek up Kilimanjaro.

And the bra queen is said to be “definitely interested” after she and fellow guest Gary met the dynamic duo at our awards bash last week.

Mountaineer Allan, who won the Fundraiser of the Year award, plans to lead the trek next summer – and Ryan 14, is determined to join him.

Allan, 41, of Aberdeen said: “Meeting people like Ryan was really inspiring. We want to raise £100,000.”

The salesman, who won our gong for climbing Everest to raise cash for cancer victims, is deciding whether to tackle 19,340ft- tall Kilimanjaro or 15,781ft Mont Blanc in the Alps. He said: “Mont Blanc is technically more difficult, but Kilimanjaro is higher so altitude sickness can be worse.”

Allan has invited Michelle and Gary to train on Scotland’s hills, along with other Bighearted nominees.

He and Ryan aim to raise cash for the six Bighearted charities as well as their own causes.

Ryan, of Drumchapel, Glasgow – who won Child of the Year for his campaign to help multiple sclerosis sufferers like mum Kirsten, 34 – said: “There will be blisters, sweat and tears but I can do it.”

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/scottish/scottish_news/500317/Awards-winners-want-stars-to-climb-Kilimanjaro-to-raise-charity-cash.html