First Minister Alex Salmond has today, Tuesday 7 September, announced almost £16.3 million investment in Ayrshire to create and safeguard 287 jobs in Irvine and Prestwick.

The news comes as Scottish Ministers bring the final summer cabinet meeting to Kilmarnock. The above video was taken at The Burns Monument Centre in Kilmarnock.

First Minister Alex Salmond in Kilmarnock

Investment of £16 million, including almost £2 million Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) funding, at Ardagh Glass in Irvine will safeguard the jobs of 248 workers at the plant and ensure facilities are upgraded to secure the long term manufacture of glass in Irvine.

Ardagh Glass is one of Irvine’s largest employers, manufacturing glass containers primarily for the spirits industry.

Culzean Medical Devices in Prestwick, a subsidiary of Lombard Medical Technologies PLC, will create 39 new jobs supported by £297,000 of funding, of which £200,000 is RSA investment.

The expansion will allow the site to become Lombard Medical’s main manufacturing centre for stent grafts, a tubular device that is used in medicine to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms. The investment will also secure the jobs of the seven existing staff who work in Prestwick.

See next page for official statement by First Minister Alex Salmond.

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First Minister Alex Salmond and other Scottish Government Ministers willvisit Kilmarnock next week ahead of the final cabinet meeting of the summer.

This is the fourth Cabinet meeting and round of associated events being held outside Edinburgh over the summer. Parliament returns from recess next week.

The Rt. Hon. Alex Salmond

Next week’s engagements follow Cabinet visits to Dornoch, Stirling and Bute this summer. The Kilmarnock leg is expected to take the total number of people who have attended the associated events to over 1000. The visits aim to give local communities a greater opportunity to speak directly to Ministers about important issues of local and national concern.

Other summer Cabinet programmes have been held in the previous two years – involving hundreds of people in Dundee, Melrose, Stornoway, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Dumfries, Inverness, Pitlochry and Skye.

On Monday evening, the First Minister will host a reception at the Burns Monument Centre in Kilmarnock for local producers and businesses to celebrate Scotland’s Year of Food & Drink. The event will recognise the contribution of individuals and organisations in promoting quality Scottish produce.

On Tuesday the First Minister will chair a formal meeting of the Scottish Cabinet at East Ayrshire Council Chambers. A public discussion event with Ministers on the Government’s ‘Vision for Scotland’, hosted by the First Minister, will then take place at the Park Hotel. Members of the public and representatives from local civic organisations are attending that meeting.

Speaking ahead of the Cabinet visit, First Minister Alex Salmond said:

“I am delighted to be bringing the Cabinet to Kilmarnock for the first time and look forward to listening to the views of the local community and answering their questions. The public discussion element of the programme has generated a lot of local interest and promises to be one of the most well-attended since we decided to take the Cabinet on the road.

“It’s clear that we are entering a crucial phase in Scotland’s future and face a huge challenge in dealing with the massive cuts in Scotland’s budget from Westminster. As we look to bring forward a budget in November that protects the services we value most and sustains economic recovery, we want to hear what the people of Kilmarnock have to say about the issues that matter to them.“

URsTV will be attending all events so watch our for later articles with video at all the venues the Cabinet Members will be attending!

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Admission to all buildings on this day is free.

Dean Castle

Doors Open Day is a Council of Europe initiative and in 49 countries it will be celebrated with the opening of some of each country’s most impressive buildings to heighten the public’s awareness of their own heritage.

In Scotland, Doors Open Day is promoted by the Scottish Civic Trust. In Ayrshire it is supported by the Councils of North, South and East Ayrshire. The event is organised by Kyle and Carrick Civic Society with help from other voluntary groups.

Kyle and Carrick Civic Society would like to express its gratitude to all those who have so readily co-operated in opening their buildings. It is only through their generosity and support, together with the help of their guides, that such a day is possible. Please note that visitors enter the buildings at their own risk; neither sponsors nor participants are responsible for any accidents or damages incurred.

The 22^nd annual Doors Open Day – Ayrshire is planned for Sunday 4 September 2011.

Please see the next page for full details which was provided by Kyle and Carrick Civic Society.

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URsTV could not resist popping over to The Foregate to see the last day of the Kilmarnock Farmers Market. Well, the last day at The Foregate. The Market is of course moving back to The Cross after many many negotiations with East Ayrshire Council and various other agencies.

Walter and Annette Young of Afton Glen Meats

Howard Wilkinson of Petrie Fine Foods agreed to give URsTV an exclusive interview so please watch the above video to find out the latest news.

As part of the 10th Anniversary celebrations on 18th September there will be cookery demonstrations by Alisdair Hood, head chef and owner of Merchants Restaurant in Kilmarnock as well as more local food stalls and much much more.

As part of URsTV’s in depth investigations into the Ayrshire Farmers Market we have also sampled only a small amount of the produce available and it is absolutely delicious! The huge range is so extensive it may take a while but don’t worry, URsTV will attempt to taste it ALL in time! It’s a really tough job but someone has to do it!

Keep an eye on the URsTV website for further updates and we will of course cover the 10th Anniversary celebrations on 18th September. Perhaps you could give us an exclusive interview for the URsTV website?

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URsTV returned to Kilwinning Abbey to discover if anything interesting had been uncovered during the archaeological dig and met up with Edward Somerville who is one of the volunteers. Edward gave URsTV this exclusive interview which was fascinating.

Volunteers - Jim, Jess, Edward and Dorothy

The dig and indeed archaeologyitself has various different goals, which range from studying human evolution to cultural evolution and understanding local cultural history. Some coins have been found on the site – but although they were not old enough to cause any kind of excitement they did provide some amusement to the many volunteers!

The Abbey Tower Heritage Centre is full of information as well as access to the many many stairs which lead up to the top of the Tower and offers a spectacular view for miles in every direction. Entry is free and so are the many leaflets and the volunteers are a mine of information as well.

A copy of the leaflet “The Dig” is on the next page which is also full of information.

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A review of “A Summer Medley” by Suze Laing

Performed 21st & 22nd August 2010

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Who Will Buy?

“The Sunday matinee show was the second time playing to a full house, and the informal arrangement of the tables and chairs set just the right ‘night club’ atmosphere for the afternoon ahead; a mixture of music, comedy, drama, and more music!

The show started with “Who Will Buy“, and the audience was treated to three angelic voices, which were then joined by the rest of the cast, as all of them sang the chorus and set the mood for the rest of the show ~ it was clearly going to be a great one!

“Cell Block Tango” was next. Six ‘convicted’ lasses lined up, and one by one, sang the reasons why they were in jail (the song is from ’Chicago‘). The American accents were convincing, the lyrics had the audience chuckling, and the inspired use of handkerchiefs added that little bit of uniqueness to the performance. All ladies sang and danced with enthusiasm and gusto, and the song was very well received.

The St Joseph's Players

A chirpy, energetic, and well choreographed dance set followed (performed to “You Can’t Stop The Beat“). Initially starting with the bubbly pairing of Kate Charlwood and Eileen McGrath (joint choreographers), they were then joined by the rest of the cast. Everyone performed with energy and smiles, and clearly had lots of fun!

The next song was a more sombre piece. “I Dreamed A Dream” is so well known now, that I thought it was a brave move to include it. That being said, Claire Ferguson, Kate Charlwood and Eileen McGrath performed it incredibly well. The emotion simply oozed through their voices, and they had the whole audience entranced.

Flashing lights and the intro to “Phantom Of The Opera” marked the entrance of Moira Fairbairn, as ‘Christine‘. Moiras voice boomed out and was matched perfectly with Ian Stephensons dulcet tones as her troubled captor, ’The Phantom’. As they performed their duet, the curtains closed to allow for the stage to be prepared for the following sketch.

“Mums The Word”, a home-grown comedy written by Eileen Flanagan, takes place in ‘Kathys’ front room. ‘Kathy’, played by Ellen Fairbairn, spends her days watching the neighbourhood from behind her net curtains, and is kept up to date with all the gossip by various visitors. Her main source of gossip is the nosey but totally lovable ‘Nan’, played by Jeanette Diamond. A snap shot of ‘Kathys’ life is revealed to us, and we are introduced to the cheeky but cute ‘Brenda’ (Julie Steele), sassy and sexy ’Jeannie’ (Kate Charlwood), and wide boy ‘Archie’ (Ian Stephenson). As the play draws to an end, ‘Mrs Green’ (Nicola Stewart) sits down to gossip some more with ‘Kathy’ and our glimpse into her life comes to a close. The crowd giggled and laughed in all the right places, and showed that Eileen has a real talent for comedy writing, and the cast who portrayed her characters did her writing justice. Credit must also be given the Moira Fairburn, as this was her directorial debut.

[Please see next page for remainder of review]

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