Check out the above podcast hosted by Eddy Gemmell from The Careers Show. This was broadcast on 3TFM as Eddy interviews students Stephen Byres and Jade Sinclair from Kilmarnock College.

Here is the Careers Show Newsletter – thanks Eddy, very informative about what’s been happening and upcoming events. Keep us posted.

[See post to view document(s)]

About 11 o’clock this morning above Morrisons Supermarket in Kilmarnock a strange noise could be heard. Getting louder and louder we checked out the skies with our cameras and sure enough, there they were. Hundreds of geese heading for their next pit stop and being very vocal about it too! As we were a little too far away to identify which particular breed these geese were we are simply guessing by suggesting they may be Graylag geese or Canadian geese. If there are any budding Ornithologists out there please enlighten us.

Image Courtesy of Alan D Wilson naturespicsonline.com

Visitors with disabilities are also made very welcome as wheelchairs are available on-site but wheelchair users should note that the door width is 74cm. The journey lasts approximately 12 minutes and each wheel has the option of a commentary pointing out local landmarks. A VIP capsule with DVD, glass floor and leather interior is also available.

Amazingly enough, the majority of these huge wheels are largely pre-assembled and easily transported in standard shipping containers. This means they can be set up and fully operational in as little as ten days, once relevant land permissions are secured, and can be removed in as little as seven. This flexibility allows the wheels to be made accessible to sites with a wide range of logistical considerations for short term or multi-year contracts.

“At the cutting-edge of a new generation of world-class wheels, these accessible and affordable stand-alone visitor attractions, offer serene aerial tours of well-loved skylines in comfortable, fully enclosed climate-controlled capsules. Virtually silent in operation, the wheels run on electricity, having no long-term impact on the environment.”

Well that’s what the Great City Attractions website states – but go and see for yourself. Take some pictures and send them in to URsTV and tell us what you think of the experience.

URsTV headed up to Glasgow recently to check on how the clean up operation was progressing at the site of the former Co-op Funeral Service building in Morrison Street. The sudden blaze which started in the early afternoon and caught everyone off-guard last November required more than 100 firefighters at its peak with flames reaching just over 100 feet. Investigations are still ongoing.

This building, originally named the Gusset Building because it sits in the wedge formed by the intersection of Morrison Street and Paisley Road, was built in 1876. It was also the very first purpose built warehouse of its type in Scotland.

As you can see from the above video there is not much left of this historical building which was built for the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society but no doubt this prime site in the centre of Glasgow will be developed in the not too distant future.

Madeleine McCann disappeared on the evening of Thursday, 3 May 2007. She was on holiday with her parents and twin siblings in the Algarve region of Portugal. This beautiful little girl went missing from an apartment in the resort of Praia da Luz a few days before her fourth birthday and has still not been found. Madeleine would now be 9 years old.

The Find Madeleine website has all the contact details if you have any information, however unimportant you think it might be.

URsTV received a copy of this poster from the Samaritans in Kilmarnock today. Please forward a copy on to all your friends and family and/or the link for this article and for the Find Madeleine website which is the Official Website run by Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann.

[See post to view document(s)]

We have also attached another poster to this article which gives contact details.

[See post to view document(s)]

We have had a short break over the Christmas and New Year but do not worry new articles are being created right now. We shall be out visiting old friends, making new friends and of course reporting on what is happening locally.

We had been hoping to run some competitions last year but due to unforeseen technical difficulties this had to be delayed. Now, due to the pure hard work of our excellent I.T. department all the gremlins seem to have been caught so keep checking out URsTV for competition updates.

It’s the beginning of a brand new year so let’s see what’s out there…..

A detailed report by Kevin Murray Associates has now been published which explores various possible improvement works to the town centre over the next 10 to 15 years. A copy of the full report is at the end of this article. Let URsTV know what you think of these proposals.

“The Integrated Urban Development Plan (IUDP) for Kilmarnock was commissioned by the Make It Kilmarnock Board in the Autumn of 2010, and funded by East Ayrshire Council and Diageo. Its focus was on the central area of the town, in and around the town centre and including the Diageo site. The aim is to address the immediate and forthcoming needs of the town, both for residents, but also for business and visitors, by generating a forward-looking, yet deliverable vision. It replaces the Kilmarnock Town Centre Strategy produced in 2005.”

It summary, this report hopes to tackle and improve anti-social behaviour in the Town Centre to encourage shoppers and visitors; remove/improve derelict/uncared for buildings and spaces which need to be fixed; replace the one-way system with a more accessible normal two-way system; embrace the Kilmarnock Water and incorporate comfortable pedestrian spaces to encourage a good relationship with our own rivers; enliven the town centre with activities, events and visitors from near and far during the day and in the evening; take advantage of the improved road networks to Glasgow and thus encourage families and people who work in Glasgow to live in Kilmarnock as well as providing Kilmarnock residents with the skills to access jobs in the city.

Although funding has still to be found to commence these ambitious plans East Ayrshire Council is optimistic about the future. Our local authority is determined to help Kilmarnock and surrounding areas out of the current economic and financial instability and back to a thriving community.

[See post to view document(s)]

If you know of anyone who had bought tickets at Stewarton Library for Thursday night, please let them know that we hope they can bring their Thursday tickets along tomorrow morning. Likewise for anyone who had reserved tickets by email for Thursday - we really hope you can come along to the 10.30am performance tomorrow instead.

Stewarton Drama Group anticipate having some seats available at the performance tomorrow, so if you don’t have tickets for ‘Cinderella’ but would like to see the show at 10.30am tomorrow, please email us and let us know how many full price and how many concession tickets you would like to reserve to pay on the door tomorrow morning.

E-mail: stewartondramagroup@hotmail.co.uk.

After storms hit Kilmarnock, St Marnock’s Street and some surrounding roads were shut to traffic and pedestrians yesterday just after 1.30pm. East Ayrshire Council became worried about severe high winds continually pounding the steeple of St Marnock’s Parish Church in Kilmarnock making it unsafe. Local police officers were at the scene to keep pedestrians away from the danger and to advise all travellers of diversionary routes.

Today, two lanes are still closed off but the outside lane remains open to allow traffic through. If you are travelling down Fowlds Street wishing to follow the one way system around Kilmarnock keep to the right hand lane. Shops and local businesses are open as usual although the weather has turned a little chilly and the snow is falling thick and fast.

Still plenty of time to finish off the Christmas shopping….