Specsavers East Kilbride bring Easter cheer in support of hospice charity

All funds raised will support St Andrew's Hospice and its work providing care and support to those who need it the most in community.
Staff at Specsavers in East Kilbride gave St Andrew's Hospice a funding boost through a series of Easter-themed fundraising events.
The town centre store brought some Easter cheer through their egg-colouring competition, which saw over 25 entries from budding young artists from across the town - all to win some chocolatey treats.
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Team members also hosted an in-store raffle offering customers to the chance to win a series of prizes, raising £70 for the charity.
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All funds raised will support St Andrew's Hospice and its work providing care and support to those who need it the most in community.
Marianne Keys, store director at Specsavers East Kilbride, said: "I'd like to thank all of our customers, both young and old, who joined us in our Easter celebrations to raise money for such a good cause.
"I'd like to extend that thanks to the Specsavers East Kilbride team who went above and beyond to put the fun in fundraising. We hope that this funding goes on to help provide vital support for such a crucial charity."

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Scottish Sun

12 hours ago

• Scottish Sun

Homes Under The Hammer's Martin Roberts gives shock update on hotel project, admitting ‘I have failed on every level'

Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WITH total honesty, Homes Under The Hammer presenter Martin Roberts admits: 'For a man who spends all his time telling people to make sure they stick to their budgets and timescales, I have failed on every single level.' Two years ago, the property expert showed The Sun around his own DIY project to turn a run-down Welsh village pub into a top tourist attraction. 8 Homes Under The Hammer presenter Martin Roberts admits his project to renovate a Welsh pub has been a failure Credit: Dan Jones Images 8 The back of the hotel shows a building in dire need of urgent renovation Credit: Huw Evans And just like he does on the hit property show, I asked: 'What is your timescale?' Back then, in spring 2023, Martin was convinced it would take just two years and around half a million pounds to rebuild the Hendrewen Hotel in the Rhondda Valley. So here we are, two years later, and on the outside, the eight-bedroom boozer looks . . . exactly the same. Martin, 61, who has witnessed more than 3,000 property renovations on his BBC daytime show, says: 'I'm still smiling but, oh my word, what a challenge it's been. 'I'll be honest, it's the first commercial property I've ever done. 'There have been lots of residential houses and flats, but commercial properties have a lot more complications. 'I'd say we are 60 per cent of the way there.' But when I ask how soon we can expect the pub to be open, Martin hedges his bets and shrugs: 'I think it's going to come together really quickly in the final few months. 'I'm hopeful for Halloween but Christmas would be good. If not, in time for Easter.' One of the many hold-ups, according to Martin, has been dealing with planners who insist he makes preparations in case the pub in the former mining village of Blaencwm is hit by a once-in-a-century flood. Homes Under the Hammer's Martin Roberts announces new series that's world's away from beloved BBC show He says: 'We've got to do it right, and we will do it right, but unfortunately that means there's lots of hoops to jump through.' It is only three years since Martin was minutes from death and needed an emergency heart op. Doctors who carried out the surgery to drain fluid from the sac surrounding his heart told him in future to choose the easy life and avoid unnecessary stress. That is advice he does not seem to have followed. He could have spent his spare time living at his Rhondda Valley farmhouse — which he bought after falling in love with the area — and enjoying the stunning scenery which is popular with mountain bikers. Instead he decided to seize life and bought the pub lock, stock and barrel — without telling his wife Kirsty. My head is going, 'What the absolute bleep have you done here?' Every single wall was cock-eyed, every single window was falling down. 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Fashion United

a day ago

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The Sun

2 days ago

• The Sun

Nostalgic 60s shopping centre set to be DEMOLISHED to make way for new retail complex and car park for over 150 motors

AN ICONIC 60s shopping centre is to be demolished to make way for a new retail centre and car park for more than 150 vehicles. It comes as Pendle Borough Council aims to revitalise the Lancashire town of Nelson after receiving £25 million of government funding. 1 One of the council's projects is the demolition and rebuilding of nostalgic shopping centre Pendle Rise in the town. But a row is brewing after reports several retailers are still trading in in the centre, which is due to for demolition later this year. Demolition work is due to be completed by March 2026, with building work on the new centre due to start shortly after. Richard Savory, a consultant from the RAISE Partnership, which is overseeing the project, sought to reassure the Nelson Town Deal board at its latest meeting. The town board includes property-linked businesses involved commercially with the projects, a small number of elected councillors, private businesses and voluntary sector representatives. This is required under town deal rules. Mr Savory said some key phases of the compulsory purchase order process to buy it had been completed. Issues were raised by Specsavers, regarding finding an alternative shop, and Lancashire County Council, he said, but these had been resolved. Birmingham give update on new £3billion stadium as they announce major development Specsavers was accused of "lacking vision" but is now due to move to a shop on Manchester Road, Lancs Live reported. Mr Savory said: "We still expect to be on-site at Pendle Rise in October, with five months to demolish. "Once the strip-out including asbestos is done, it will be about six weeks to bring the shell down. It's a tight deadline but achievable." 'We can turf them out if we need to' He added: "Before we can demolish, we have to vacate it. But that won't be problem because all the powers will rest with Pendle Council. All people will have to leave. "We anticipate that all businesses there will be gone by then. But if need be, we can turf them out on November 3. "We will write to the five remaining retailers who have not yet reached a relocation deal. But we are running out of time to do walk-away offers." At the meeting, David Rothwell, deputy principal of Nelson and Colne College, asked what the implications were if the deadline was not met. Mr Savory replied: "We're in regular talks with the government ministry. "I think it accepts some projects may finish between 2026 and 2027. "We send monitoring updates and there will be one in September. We'll have a much clearer view by then." Lib-Dem Councillor David Whipp, the new leader of Pendle Council, said: "Can I thank everybody involved with resolving these things. "It was quite bizarre that Lancashire County Council was objecting. And Specsavers seemed to lack vision and be very short-sighted with this. But the objections have been withdrawn. "Vacating Pendle Rise and getting it demolished is a key project. It cannot be delayed. " Conservative Coun Nadeem Ahmed added: "The public want to see action. I know there's a of work involved but I think people are asking when is this going to happen? They want to see work. " Independent Coun Asjad Mahmood, the deputy council leader, said: "The legal requirement to give notice to shops is three months. But we are giving them four months. "We've made good progress with the CPO and this scheme will have lasting benefits for the community." Demolition day Pendle Rise is just one nostalgic shopping centre in the UK that is past its sell-by date. The Grafton Centre in Cambridge is also set to be demolished after years of decline. As we reported recently, it housed just 11 retailers after years of neglect. Built in 1983, the shopping hub has undergone significant changes in the 40 years since it was built. An expansion took place in the 1990s, in addition to a recent refurbishment in 2017. Despite attempts to revive the struggling centre, Cambridge City Council approved plans to partially demolish the building in February 2024. Led by the Pioneer Group, the demolished site will be replaced by science laboratories, plus a hotel and a gym. It hopes to be a more productive use of the space, as the shopping centre had become run down with lots of empty units. Over the last few years retailers like Debenhams, River Island and New Look all closed down their Grafton-Centre sites, leaving it feeling increasingly empty.