Dumfries and Galloway Public Protection Partnership is delighted to announce that Dumfries and Galloway Public Protection Week is taking place from 13–17 February 2023.

There are a number of training sessions being delivered as part of the programme, where you can learn more about the key issues facing public protection in Dumfries and Galloway.

Topics on the programme include:

• Raising your awareness of common scams and tips on how to protect yourself and others from being scammed.
• Providing information on the Being There Service – a free family support service in Dumfries and Galloway for over 18's who are struggling with alcohol, substances or both. 
• Exploring Whole Family Support and the impact on Child Protection where families have help and support when they need it.
• Discussions on self-neglect – what it is, what causes it, and the issues associated with self-neglect.
• Fire safety in the home, and what some of the newer trends affecting safety in the home are.

The events are varied, informative, and inclusive – suitable for staff teams and members of the public.

Public Protection activity in Dumfries and Galloway is overseen by the multi-agency Dumfries and Galloway Public Protection Partnership. The partnership oversees Child Protection, Adult Support and Protection, and Violence Against Women and Girls.

Tuesday 31 January 2023 marks the 70th anniversary of the loss of the MV Princess Victoria, the worst peacetime maritime disaster to occur in British coastal waters.

The Royal Antediluvian Order of the Buffaloes has arranged a Memorial Service that will be held at 11am at the Princess Victoria Monument, Agnew Park, Stranraer. The service will include speakers, a minute's silence and the laying of wreaths.

As part of commemorations marking the 70th anniversary of the disaster, Dumfries and Galloway Council will plant a commemorative tree in Agnew Park – followed by a Civic Reception at Stranraer Millennium Centre, George Street, Stranraer, at 12 noon.

A new MV Princess Victoria Community Exhibition will be unveiled, including a visual display, spoken word and music. There will also be a prize giving for local schoolchildren who have been asked to submit a written piece inspired by the MV Princess Victoria Disaster and based on the theme of bravery.

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day, which marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. It is a national commemoration of those who suffered in The Holocaust and subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.  

At 4pm on 27 January, people across the nation will light candles and put them safely in their windows to remember those who were murdered for who they were, and to stand against prejudice and hatred today.

Dumfries and Galloway Council headquarters in Dumfries will join other iconic buildings and landmarks today by lighting up in purple during this powerful national moment of commemoration and solidarity.

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are subject that have an impact on so many parts of our life and work.

The Dumfries and Galloway Regional STEM Strategy sets out a vision for Dumfries and Galloway as a region where everyone is encouraged and supported to develop their STEM skills throughout their lives, enabling them to be inquiring, productive and innovative.

To support this vision STEM Ambassadors Scotland would like to increase the number of STEM Ambassadors in Dumfries and Galloway who can support requests from schools or other settings where children and young people learn and develop STEM skills.

If you live or work in Dumfries and Galloway and work or study in a STEM field, you could 
become a STEM Ambassador and inspire the next generation of STEM professionals.

Find out more at the online introductory session on 15 February 7–8pm.

In celebration of Burns Night, the team at Dumfries Museum has taken the opportunity to create a new display of Burnsiana. This means objects inspired by Robert Burns or featuring his image. 

The display was mainly created by Emilia Reid, Visitor Services Assistant at Dumfries Museum. Objects on display include Mauchline Ware, pocket poetry books, and some glass and China-ware. A recent donation, a wood carving of a scene from Tam O’Shanter, also features. This carving was donated by a Kirkcowan family who can remember it being displayed in their farmhouse since at least the 1960s. 

You can see the display at Dumfries Museum, which is open weekly Tuesday to Saturday, 10am–4pm.

Burns House and the Robert Burns Centre are open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am and 1pm, and 2pm and 5pm.

All are free to visit. A free Burns Trail leaflet can also be collected from these venues to explore sites in Dumfries connected with Robert Burns.

Thanks to £1700 of generous donations from the Burns Howff Club and £100 from Masonic Lodge Dumfries Kilwinning No 53, every Ukrainian Guest staying in the 6 Welcome Hub Accommodations in Dumfries and Galloway over Christmas received a stocking on Christmas Day.

Two-hundred-and-twenty Christmas stockings were kindly prepared by MOOL (Massive Outpouring of Love – Dumfries and Galloway Refugee Action) and delivered in time for Christmas. The Stockings were packed full of gift-wrapped personal items tailored to each guest’s age and gender accompanied by a hand-written note from one of MOOL’s volunteers.  

On Christmas Eve, night porters in each of the Welcome Hubs, spent time carefully hanging each stocking on guests' doors as a surprise for Christmas morning – for many the first away from home.

To raise the money, the Howff Club held a fundraising event where 80 members and friends enjoyed an evening of fish suppers and entertainment provided by community members including local piper Callum Watson and accordionist Lee McQueen.

Partners from across Dumfries and Galloway continue to run programmes and initiatives to support Ukrainian Guests resettle in Scotland. To get in touch with MOOL or find out more about its work, visit its Facebook Page or email hello@mool.scot 

Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Youth Work Service is currently consulting with young people to find out how they feel about the communities where they live, and the issues that affect them most. The consultation is named 10,000 Voices and is aimed at young people aged 10–25 years.   

The findings from the survey, which will be available from March 2023, will provide professionals working with young people a better understanding of the issues for young people in a post-pandemic world, and help them to shape services and opportunities that are relevant to young people’s current needs.

Members of the public are being asked to use their smartphones to contribute to national wildlife records. The iNaturalist app is a free way to upload what you see out and about, benefitting national databases and improving the wildlife records for local area.

The Galloway & Southern Ayrshire Biosphere team is leading the charge locally, and six species have been selected for initial focus – Wych Elm, Grayling Butterfly, Red Squirrel, Nursehound, Adder, and Swift. They have been selected for their ease of identification and to showcase the value that communities and individuals can have in improving local distribution knowledge. The records and knowledge will then drive future conservation action.

To find out how you can contribute, you can attend at a short and fun event on 4 February in Dalry Town Hall.

The RBCFT
Film of the Week

The Film of the Week is Devotion, an aerial war film from 2022 based on the bestselling book Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice by Adam Makos, which retells the comradeship between naval officers Jesse Brown and Tom Hudner during the Korean War. Their heroic sacrifices would ultimately make them the Navy's most celebrated wingmen.

Jonathan Majors plays Brown, a ground-breaking black naval pilot while Glenn Powell, in his second aerial action film of 2022 – following his appearance as Hangman in Top Gun: Maverick – plays Lieutenant Hudner. Surprisingly, the film was not a big hit when released in the US (it didn’t even get a UK release). The aerial dogfights in Devotion are simply thrilling, not too dissimilar to those in Top Gun: Maverick, but Devotion stands on its own. The film doesn’t forego drama on the ground either. The stretches where it doesn’t seem like much is happening is one of the film’s key strengths – it provides us the opportunity to find out more about Brown and his relationships with his family, and with Hudner. The film is elevated by standout performances from a talented cast, Majors gives a powerful, frequently moving performance as Brown, who keeps all the slurs ever cast against him written down in a little black book. Christina Jackson is excellent too as Brown’s loving wife Daisy.

Devotion is well-made and comes highly recommended for its war heroics and understated social dynamic. It’s the type of film that rarely gets made these days, but we’re glad it was. It’s a fine way to spend two hours plus.

Devotion can be found on Amazon Prime.