Local learner Malcolm Campbell is on his way towards achieving a top national honour. He is in the final for the Scottish ‘Adult Learner of the Year’ award. This prestigious accolade will be decided at the Scottish Adult Learning Partnership Awards Evening to be held at the Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh on 17th May.

Malcolm, a single father, has brought up each one of his six children on his own for some time in their lives. His achievements within education previously were limited and some time had elapsed since he had taken part in learning. He came to Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Community Learning and Development Service seeking help with basic ICT in early 2011 to enable him to support his children with their future school work. He joined a First Steps into Computer Literacies class at the North West Resource Centre successfully gaining a SQA Level 2 in ICT before progressing to achieve a Level 3 SQA award. He has managed the busy demands of single parenthood and attended classes regularly. Throughout his learning tutors were consistently impressed with his commitment and dedication. In January 2012 an opportunity arose for Malcolm to work towards an ECDL qualification with Dumfries and Galloway College which he has taken up with his customary enthusiasm.

Malcolm has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to learning over the past year, quietly persevering, building on his skills and progressing through appropriate learning opportunities. He has grown in confidence and ability becoming a positive role model to other learners within the centre and of course to his children.

Each year the achievements of outstanding adult learners are celebrated through the Adult Learners’ Week Awards organised by the Scottish Learning Partnership. There are two categories of award – the individual award and the group award.

Mark Robertson one of the Queen of the South Directors will be chatting to Annette Richards about the plans for next season with the new manager, new league and new chairman. questions can be emailled FAO Annette to hello@aliveradio.net

Alive 107.3fm have secured exclusive interviews with the 2 major blues acts appearing at Darvel Music Festival

tune into the Rock Show in the next few weeks to hear these exclusive interviews and tracks from these two great blues performers

more details from http://www.darvelmusicfestival.org/

Over Last two years, Mud Morganfield eldest son of the undisputed king of the Blues Muddy Waters
has been delivering his charismatic Chicago blues of the highest order to audiences around the world.

This son and proud heir of the King of Chicago blues is blessed with a big and powerful voice that can
manage to convey deep emotional resonance on the slow numbers and good old fashioned
testosterone laden strut on those classic shuffles He mixes up the sets with
his dad’s classic songs and his own original material. As Mud puts it “I started to sing to show the world
that dad left me here. I love and am proud to sing his songs just like I love and and will always be proud
of him. I’m not Muddy Waters and I’m certainly not trying to be Muddy Waters. I’m Mud Morganfield but
when I’m up on stage I always feel pops is there with me and it means so much that I can get on stage
and keep his music alive around the world.”

Hamilton Loomis  brings  his soulful, tight, and energetic “all American band“ to the UK which now  includes 2-time Grammy award winner Saxophonist, Fabian  Hernandez

Hamilton  and his band come to the UK fresh  off a brand new DVD release “ Live at the Hub “ which features brand new songs that are slated for Hamilton’s upcoming new  album release later in 2012.

In  addition to multiple festival appearances, UK audiences will get a chance  to see this exciting musician perform up front & close as the majority of  the tour features rare club shows.

Western  Europe and Scandinavian fans are also included in this tour as  Hamilton also performs throughout Denmark,  Holland, Belgium, and Germany.

Queen of the South have parted company with manager Gus MacPherson

Saturday’s loss to Raith Rovers consigned the Dumfries club to the drop after a disappointing season.

With one match of the campaign remaining, assistant manager Andy Millen has also left the Doonhamers.

Moniaive’s internationally famous Folk Festival is back and as big and bold as ever.

Enjoy Cairn Chorus, Siobhan Miller, Michelangelo the stilt walker,

Tony Bonning storyteller, Cape Breton Step Dance

Fiddle, harp, accordion, guitar, flute/whistle, slow sessions

Plus the awesome Andy Irvine and the splendid sound of Galloways own “Dangleberries”

Click on the Folk festival icon on the right hand side and find out more

Sessions in the Craigdarroch and the George all weekend, and probably elsewhere.

Weekend pass covering all events and camping £40/ £25.  All tickets available online www.moniaivefolkfestival.co.uk or from Wendy Stewart on 01387 820 241.

People’s Project Chairman – Mark Jardine will be in the studio talking to Annette Richards about the forthcoming “Britain in Bloom Competition, the Queens Jubilee sculpture,  the wall at Palmerston with the proposed paintings,and other proposals in planning at the moment.

Tune in to find out more.

If can email questions for Annette’s attention to hello@aliveradio.net

Maxwelltown High Sport Hub is the first sportscotland funded Community Sport Hub in the region and is celebrating its launch this Sunday, Sunday 29th April at Maxwelltown High School.

The Community Sport Hub is a partnership between sports clubs and the school community and is making best use of the school sports facilities in the evenings and at weekends.

The programme of events runs from 11am – 3pm this Sunday. There will be a chance to have a go at a variety of sports including netball, tennis, hockey, baton twirling, cricket, gymnastics, trampolining, table tennis, boccia, football and rugby as well as the opportunity to try out the climbing wall and soccerena. It’s all free but the parent council is also putting on a table top sale, so bring your pennies.

If you’re more of a spectator there will be demonstrations in tai chi, baton twirling, dance and boxercise as well as information on what’s going on locally and how to get more involved in the Sport Hub.

Don’t miss the 7 Stanes stunt cycle display or the chance to get close to a police traffic car, fire engine and the My Pod.

If you like what you see and want to get more involved, contact Sue Brodie sue.brodie@dumgal.gov.uk

Police are again reminding local residents to be aware of the dangers associated with bogus callers. The warning comes after a particularly high number of bogus calls reports throughout the region yesterday (Wednesday 11 April). The calls varied in approach however thankfully no one was duped by the scams.

An elderly woman in Garlieston received five calls in a 15 minute period from an Indian sounding man. The man claimed he would get bank charges back for her. A relative of the elderly woman took over the call at which point the caller became threatening and abusive.

A woman in Stranraer also received a call from a male with an Indian accent yesterday afternoon. He went on to state that his company owed the woman money and requested her bank details to return it. She refused and hung up. A second woman in Stranraer received a call from a different male claiming he knew her and asked if he could borrow a three figure sum of cash. When she questioned him he put the phone down on her. A third Stranraer woman received a call from an Indian sounding male who said she was owed money but was not clear how or why. He requested her to verify her bank details so money could be paid into her account. No details were passed and the woman alerted her bank.

A woman in Thornhill received a call from an American sounding female who stated she had a virus on her computer and if she did not allow the caller access to the computer it would crash in two hours. The woman’s partner took over the call and questioned the female before hanging up. When the local couple redialled the number an Indian sounding voice answered the call.

Chief Inspector Irvine Watson, Operational Commander for Galloway said: “We are pleased that no one fell for these scam calls, but sadly acknowledge that in the past some people have.”

“I congratulate all these people who handled these calls in the right manner – by simply not entertaining them. It was also useful that some people had family members nearby to assist.

“We are aware that many people have received these calls and recognise that those responsible will try all methods to catch you off guard, however when they use high pressure techniques or worse still, threats, then it becomes even more concerning. I would suggest to anyone who receives a call that starts to become that way to just hang up.”

“Threatening or abusive calls are a crime and if we can trace the people responsible they will be reported. To do this we need as much information about the callers as possible, so if you receive any suspicious call take down as much detail about the caller as you can, such as name, company they claim to work for and their telephone number, terminate the call and then contact the police.

“I would urge people under no circumstances give any personal or banking details to someone you do not know whether that be as a result of a phone call, or indeed email enquiries which purport to be from legitimate sources. Remember if something sounds too good to be true then it will in most cases be a scam of some description which will undoubtedly not be to your benefit regardless of the initial claims. Only deal with people and companies you fully know and trust and through an established contact method. If anyone has any concerns regarding these scam calls or their content please contact us on 0845 6005701 and we will be happy to offer advice and guidance regarding same.

Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Employability and Skills Team work with partners to help young people to get into employment, training or education.

Did you know that young people leaving school are guaranteed an offer of learning or employment? Through the team you can find out about getting a place in any of the following:
• Continuing education in school, college or university
• A national training programme such as a Modern Apprenticeship
• Informal learning or volunteering
• Employment and self-employment
• A tailored plan of activity called an ‘Activity Agreement’

If you’ve already left school, and need a job or want to get to College or do some training then get in touch with the office. The Employability and Skills Service, in partnership with Dumfries and Galloway College, Skills Development Scotland Jobcentre Plus, the third Sector and local businesses provide free training for employability, confidence building, numeracy and literacy, application forms, interview skills and other employability skills.

Dumfries and Galloway’s Employability and Skills Team are working with partners to support you to into work, training or education. We will help you to choose the best option for you from all the opportunities available across our region. The Employability and Skills Team is the central enquiry point so give us a call on 030 33 33 30 00 to talk through all the options

Back by popular demand Alistair Bretrum from Gardenwise.

Now that Spring has sprung again our thoughts and attention move into our gardens. Alistair will be in the breakfast studio with Annette Richards to help us make the most of our gardens and windowboxes

please email your questions for Annette’s attention to hello@aliveradio.net or leave your comments on the website ahead of the programme. alternatively you can text or call the station on the day