Coldplay on tour with Edinburgh puffers

By Kate Smail

A TINY Scots company has been picked by Coldplay to help spice up the band’s world tour.

Edinburgh-based Pufferfish – set up by two entrepreneurial students – specialise in the 3-D spherical TV screen globes called PufferSpheres.

Founders Will Cavendish and Ollie Collier came up with the idea for the inflatable display system while studying at Edinburgh University five years ago.

Since they started up their business – which employs just seven staff – their PufferSphere has been used at functions for Google, Standard Life and London Science Museum.

But they have just been given their biggest gig yet – for Coldplay’s worldwide Viva La Vida tour.

So far the giant TV screen globes have wowed crowds all over America but are set to return to their homeland when the band play a concert in Glasgow’s SECC next month.

Ollie said: “It is an amazing feeling to stand backstage and look out at thousands of people and know they are getting a new experience of a music concert because of us.

“You work so long and so hard on a project like this, to see the end product having such an impact is incredible.”

And the pair, both 28, said they had fun discussing how to make the 150-date tour stand out visually.

Will said: “Despite being such a famous band, the Coldplay boys were really down to earth, nice guys. They had lots of ideas about how they wanted the visual side of the show to look – they’re really creative.”

Pufferfish started out as an art project undertaken while Will and Ollie were studying at the University of Edinburgh.

But the pair soon realised the idea could provide them with an income and set about creating their business.

And after three years of trying to secure funding and make sure they were ready, Pufferfish launched in 2006.

Their gamble paid off because apart from their most recent assignment with Coldplay, they have worked with lots of other big names, including functions for Google and Standard Life.

The company’s innovative ideas have already been recognised by the industry, and were last year awarded the O2 Scottish Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
And it was thanks to these orders that PufferFish landed the lucrative deal with Coldplay.

Will said: “Coldplay approached us because they had seen the PufferSphere and wanted to find a way to try and make their concerts a more interactive experience for their audiences.

“Our units allow them to do that. They project live feed from the stage and are suspended over the crowd in a way that means every member of the 15,000 strong audiences is seeing the concert from a different angle.

“It means the crowd are having a more personal experience, despite the massive size of the arenas Coldplay perform in.”

And after working on their “most demanding job to date” – which included several 18 hour days – they were invited by the band to see their work in action in LA.

At one US gig, the audience even began chanting ‘magic balls’ at the start of the show in anticipation of the spectacle.

Superfan Laura Young, 57, was at the gig in Madison Square Gardens, NY and said: “The balls are really cool. I hope the company keeps working on them to make them even bigger and better! They are great options for stage performers who want to push the envelope in terms of their lighting design.

“It’s nice to see that Coldplay cares enough to make their shows different and eventful to their loyal fans.”

And it’s not just the fans who are impressed by the PufferSphere – Coldplay’s lead singer Chris Martin has showered the balls with praise since the tour kicked off.

He said: “We have got some incredible balls and I mean that in the most technological of senses. In fact, they’re the most magic balls since John Lee Hooker had about 50 kids.

“They’re like a light show you’ve never seen before.”

During gigs the balls have so far been used as monitors for close-ups of the band, turned into pumpkins to celebrate Halloween and used as a lyric prompt so fans can sing along.

Now, Will and Ollie plan to take the rest of their staff to see their hard work come to life when Coldplay visit Glasgow’s SECC at the beginning of December.

Find us a site – win £50,000

By Michael MacLeod

DESPERATE hotel bosses have offered £50,000 to anyone who can find them a site for a new hotel.

Travelodge pitched up their Travelpod – as seen at T in the Park –  in Edinburgh city centre today and locals were invited to drop in and suggest places for a new hotel.

If their nominated location is picked, and the company goes ahead and builds on the land, they will receive £500 for every room in the finished property.

Keen to cash in on the credit crunch, Travelodge are also trying to snap up any city-centre location feasible by talking to existing hoteliers who are on the verge of quitting the hotel business.

They’ve already taken on three properties in the capital and spent £3 million converting each into budget hotels.

Marketing boss Nick Dines, said: “Edinburgh is integral to our future growth plans and there is nothing like local knowledge.

“We are calling on anyone who knows of a site which would make a great location for a hotel to get in touch and potentially earn themselves a bounty of £500 a room.

“I would also encourage anyone who is interested to come down to Castle Street and see the Travelpod for themselves.

“There is an opportunity to win a free night in a Travelodge hotel and have a sneaky catnap”.

The glass-walled mobile hotel room was mooted as an alternative to tents at this summer’s T in the Park festival.

The pod is towed like a trailer on the back of a vehicle, but unlike a caravan, is an exact replica of a plush hotel room.

It also contains a luxury double bed, bedside lights, duvet, pillows, carpeted floors, window blinds, and dressing table with light, mirror and chair.

The pod is sealed in a clear glass box, measuring six metres by 2.4 metres, and is 2.6 metres high.

The chain’s bosses will be hoping for a site slightly bigger for their new capital venture.

Man dies after 4×4 crashes from bridge

By Michael MacLeod

A MAN has been killed after careering his 4×4 off a bridge.

The 32-year-old was found lying dead inside his Toyota Rav 4 in a canal at Drumshoreland, near Broxburn, West Lothian.

Police admit they don’t know what time the tragic accident happened, but believe it was some time before 7.30am on Sunday.

Access to the bridge, which stands between 10 and 15 feet high, was closed for over five hours while accident investigators inspected the scene.

Despite being a remote rural road, officers are hoping a witness may come forward.

A spokesperson for Lothian and Borders Police said: “Initial enquiries have revealed that a blue Rav 4 motor car left the road near the canal basin at Drumshoreland at some time prior to 0740 hours.

“A 32-year-old man tragically suffered fatal injuries as a result.

“We would be keen to speak to anyone who may have witnessed this collision.”

One in five care homes fail to check staff history

By Alexander Lawrie

MORE than one in five of Scotland’s care services are employing staff without carrying out the proper security checks.

Employment checks such as past criminal convictions and previous employment history are being ignored by a number of care service employers.

One in four of the country’s children’s services were found to require at least one improvement to their employment procedure.

And 19 per cent of nursing homes were found to need attention to their employment process.

But the Commission admits the most worrying failure involves Disclosure Scotland checks not being done and employers not verifying their employees’ fitness to do the job.

Disclosure Scotland checks provide information on criminal convictions and investigations

The startling findings are revealed in the new Safer Recruitment for Safer Service report released by the Care Commission.

Marcia Ramsay, Acting Director of Adult’s Services Regulation, said: “Above all, our work is about improving the quality of care in Scotland and keeping people safe. It’s therefore vital that recruitment into care services is done carefully and properly.

“People who use services, their families and carers want to know that the many organisations that provide care take recruitment seriously.

“People using care services can be very vulnerable, so it’s particularly important to be thorough – check references, qualifications and do disclosure checks.

“We found that the large majority were recruiting in a safe and effective manner, but a significant minority, of just over one in five services, need to improve.”

In total, the Care Commission has forced to issue 1600 requirements for improvements to care service employment practices over the past two years.

With more than 600 of those requirements regarding employment references not being properly checked.

The report was carried out after concerns were raised about recruitment practices by both the Care Commission and the Scottish Social Services Council.

And the report’s recommendations include that all care services should have robust recruitment policies and practices and follow national guidelines.
It also suggests involving care service users in the recruitment of staff.

Ms Ramsay said: “Care providers must provide the high quality of care set out in Scotland’s National Care Standards. Their ability to do so relies on recruiting the right staff.

“This report sets a benchmark on recruitment practices which we can use when we conduct another review in the near future.
“We will continue to follow up on those services where improvement was needed and encourage everyone involved to ensure recruitment into this vital sector is done properly.

“Indeed, I’m happy to report that this report ensured a number of care services improved their practices immediately and have ensured best practice is put in place for the future.”

Carole Wilkinson, Chief Executive of the Scottish Social Services Council, said: “The SSSC Code of Practice for Employers of Social Service Workers is clear that employers must use rigorous and thorough recruitment and selection processes, making sure that only people who have the right knowledge and skills and who are suitable to provide social services are allowed to enter the workforce.

“It is reassuring that the majority of service providers are meeting safe recruitment requirements but as the report shows there is still work to be done.

“We will continue to work closely with the Care Commission to make sure employers are aware of their responsibilities.”

Buy my car – it’s “rough by very cheap”

By Alexander Lawrie

AN HONEST car dealer is flogging his forecourt motors in a novel way – by advertising their flaws.

Derek Blair Cars in Dalgety Bay is proving a big hit with customers in the Fife area for placing ads using cheeky comments to slag off his own cars.

The crafty salesman is advertising a Mitsubishi Challenger by declaring it has “done more miles than its NASA namesake”, and describes a five year-old Rover 25 as a “rough wee car but very cheap”.

The motor trader is also selling a seven year-old Jaguar X-Type by claiming it is “a lot of flash for very little cash”, and is trying to sell punters a Subaru Impreza by admitting it “looks the dog’s swingers”.

Owner Derek Blair insists the stunt gets him a lot of attention.

He said: “I first opened up in June last year with only six cars to my name.

“I thought I had to do something a wee bit different to stand out from the crowd, so after I got my hands on an old Mondeo with high mileage I thought it would be fun to be totally truthful about its condition.

“So, the first ad for the car I put a comment saying it was as rough as old boots.

“It got such a good laugh from friends and family I started to do it more regularly.

“And now when I don’t bother, or forget to do it, I actually get complaints.”

The comical businessman is currently moving all his stock to new premises in nearby Dunfermline and puts some of his success down to his funny ads.

The garage is selling off a Mercedes S-Class by asking customers if they “remember JR’s car on Dallas? (the one Sue Ellen crashed)”.

And female drivers are being enticed to buy a BMW Z3 Convertible with the tongue-in-cheek comment of “plenty of room for your straighteners, curlers, dryers and towels”.

Also up for sale is a six year-old Porsche Boxster which is apparently “sexier than a Brazilian”.

Mr Blair said: “Customers seem to really appreciate my honesty about the cars, which is really nice to hear.

“If a car I’m selling is a bit of a state, then I’ll say that. There’s no point in trying to pull the wool over anybody’s eyes.”

Rookie driver stuck in a jam 338

By Kate Smail

A ROOKIE truck driver caused chaos yesterday – when he got his massive Woolworths lorry stuck under a bridge.

The hapless driver was driving the HGV for the first time when he got it wedged under a rail bridge in Edinburgh just before 9am.

Traffic in the Cameron Toll area of the city was backed up for over an hour as police and engineers struggled to work out how to free the jammed vehicle.

Early morning commuters looked on in astonishment at the huge lorry sandwiched under the 14.11ft bridge.

The embarrassed trucker, who didn’t want to be named, admitted: “This is the first time I’ve driven anything this big.”

And the Glasgow man joked: “I’m not from around these parts – and after today I don’t think I’ll be back!”

Angel nurses to the rescue for second time 337

By Alexander Lawrie

A FIVE-STRONG team of Scots medical TV stars are off to a tiny Carribbean island to help save some of the world’s poorest children.

The health team – who are currently appearing on ITV‘s Amazon Hope – are to travel to the poverty-stricken La Gonave Island, off the coast of Haiti.

Representing the Fife-based charity, The Vine Church, the modern day Angels will help to immunize up to 1000 of the island’s children from killer diseases such as typhoid and Hepatitis B during their 14-day visit.

The two doctors, Alison Dunn and Fiona Seaman, and the three nurses, Elaine Stark, Lou Davidson and Carol Hatton, have now started a fund-raising campaign ahead of their mercy trip next May.

The medics, who all work at various surgeries in Fife, starred on last year’s Amazon Hope programme, which followed the exploits of a Scottish charity setting up a health service for over 100,000 people in Peru.

Nurse Elaine Stark has revealed the plight of the poor villagers during that trip convinced her to repeat the life-saving expedition without hesitation.

She said: “Although some of the sights on the Amazon trip were pretty horrible, it has only inspired me to do more.

“The sight of these poor people benefitting from our intervention is quite uplifting, and hopefully we can really do some good when we go out to Lagonave.

“We are not quite sure what to expect interms of safety and hygiene, but whatever hardships we have to face I’m sure it will be nothing like what the islanders have to put up with on a daily basis.”

Considered one of the world’s poorest countries, the Haitian-owned Lagonave Island is rife with typhoid, and is one of the world’s most water scarce locations.

Residents on the western side of the island are known to walk up to ten miles per day to collect clean water.

While there, the Scots will have to contend with a lack of clean drinking water, risk of infection and a lack of basic foods.

To combat the health risks the Scots team is taking their own food and chef with them, and has arranged to have bottled water shipped in from the mainland.

They will undergo an arduous 36 hour journey involving four plane trips and a 2 hour bus jaunt just to reach their destination.

Justin Dowds, from the Vine Church charity, is overjoyed the medical team is willing to travel halfway around the world to help some of the world’s poorest children.

The former pharmacist is also joining the medics on their life-saving trip when they fly out in May.

He said: “Although it is a quite a dangerous place these nurses and doctors deserve all the plaudits for agreeing to the trip.

“We hope to immunise up to 1000 kids and also give them a full health check when we are in Lagonave, and the charity is also involved in the building of roads and water wells for the local population.

“Up to 40 per cent of the island’s children has contracted typhoid, and combined with no sanitation and hardly any clean drinking water it clearly illustrates how bad the situation actually is out there.

“We are also hoping to start building a hospital when we are there, as the current facilities are pretty basic.

And Fife MP Willie Rennie believes the mercy team deserves immense credit for risking their lives in the pursuit of helping others.

He said: “In this country nurses are cherished and saluted for the valuable care and support they provide to their patients. In so many other countries, like Haiti, people can only dream of this.

“In a small but significant way these nurses are helping to make these dreams come true.

“This valuable work will help to improve their lives. Nurses, thank you.”

In total the trip will cost around £40,000 to finance the medical supplies, with the nurses and doctors agreeing to pay for their own flights.

Hoy swaps saddles for sandy beaches

By Michael MacLeod

OLYMPIC cycling hero Chris Hoy is swapping saddles for stunning sandy beaches with a new luxury holiday home in Brazil.

The Edinburgh quadruple gold medallist is treating himself to a beachfront boutique at Laguna Beach in Natal, on the northeastern coast of South America.

The Scots biker, 32, plans to visit his £220,000 one-bedroom place in the sun at least once a year with his lawyer girlfriend Sarra Kemp, 28.

Hoy said: “My life consists of a gruelling daily training schedule and when you couple that with all the travel, the competition and my other engagements, I need somewhere special to go and relax.

“At Laguna Beach I think I will have found that place.

“I heard about Brazil after some of the guys came back from the BMX Championships which were held there last year and they were raving about it.

“I did some research and decided to dip my toe in the water.”

He’ll continue to rent his two-bedroom flat in Scotland’s capital, along with another rented apartment in Manchester where he trains in the city’s velodrome.

Hoy’s intense schedule involves spending five months of the year abroad, so even without the credit crunch he wouldn’t be buying a home in the UK.

He added: “I’m going to sit tight and see what happens. Maybe I’ll be able to pick up a bargain in a few months’ time.

“Brazil’s year-round warm climate means I can go there at any time to fit in with my training schedule.

“The UK market is shaky so it’s appealing to invest somewhere where prices are going up rather than down.

“I’m no expert on property but I think the great thing is that you can see exactly where your money has gone.”

“Dishonesty” box scrapped by Edinburgh City Council 335

By Kate Smail

STINGY councillors who cheated a lunchtime honesty box out of over £900 have forced the scheme to close.

Cash-strapped bosses at Edinburgh City Council set up the voluntary payment system six months ago after suffering criticism for doling out free meals to its members at meetings.

Instead, councillors were asked to contribute a small amount into the box after council business to cover the food they had eaten.

But in the six months the scheme ran, the miserly councillors only coughed up around half of the total money owed.

In fact, the greedy group racked up debts of around £200 for every month the honesty box was in operation.

Yesterday, a council source said: “It’s disgraceful that you can’t trust elected with something as simple as paying for their lunch. How are we meant to then trust them on the bigger issues?

“I hope they are more careful with their sums when they’re calculating the new budget.”

The steps to cut the free lunches were taken last year as a cost-cutting measure to save £45,000 in unnecessary expense.

Councillors were meant to stump up just £1.10 for soup and a roll, and £1.60 for a sandwich.

But even the low prices couldn’t force them to part with their money, and now red-faced council chiefs have had to axe the system.

They will still be entitled to a free tea or coffee, but now instead of helping themselves, councillors will pay for their food at the canteen.

Council leader Jenny Dawe said the failure of the scheme was disappointing.

She said: “An honesty box was trialled and it is disappointing that this did not recoup full costs.

“We have therefore decided to scrap this system with immediate effect.”

£15k ring stolen by “mother and daughter” duo

By Alexander Lawrie

A PENSIONER tricked an exclusive jewelers to steal a £15,000 diamond ring.The middle-eastern woman and her younger accomplice pretended to be genuine buyers asking to see a range of valuable pieces in the Lime Blue Diamond Store in Edinburgh.

But when the assistant turned her back to package the goods they had chosen, they pocketed the valuable gem and calmly walked off.

The Real Hustle-type scam on Thursday has been described as “brazen high-value theft” by baffled cops.

Both suspects entered the George Street store around 12.45pm on Thursday afternoon and asked to see a range of valuable rings, brooches and necklaces from the window display.

After 20 minutes of browsing and speaking to each other in Arabic, the cheeky pair told the assistant they would like to buy one of the pieces from the display.

But as the naïve assistant turned her back and took the goods to the counter for wrapping, the thieves simply lifted the expensive diamond ring before calmly walking out of the shop.

Staff, who told police the couple acted as if they were mother and daughter, immediately became suspicious and checked their stock only to found a ring worth £14, 995 was missing.

The first suspect is described as having dark tanned skin, aged between 60 and 70-years-old, 5ft tall, medium to large build, with wrinkled skin, and frizzy black hair that was tied back.

She had very white teeth and was wearing a black top and black padded jacket, and was carrying a black handbag.

The second woman is also described as having dark tanned skin, early 30s, 5ft 9ins tall, slim build, with black hair. She was well groomed and wore a lot of make-up, and was wearing a black or brown short fur coat and black trousers. She was also carrying a brown leather bag.

A police source has admitted the swindle could have been influenced by the popular TV show The Real Hustle, where professional tricksters show the public how to carry out audacious rip-offs.

A police spokesman said: “This was a brazen high-value theft carried out by two women who are believed to have visited a number of shops in George Street yesterday afternoon.

“We are appealing for any members of the public who may have noticed the suspects in George Street, either before or after the theft took place, to contact us immediately.

“Similarly, anyone with any other information that can help us identify the two women should also get in touch.”

Embarrassed bosses at Lime Blue have refused to comment on the incident.