Scottish Celebrities Support Scots in London in Poverty for Burns Day

Scottish celebrities have come out in support of Scots living in poverty in London to mark Burns Day on the 25th of January.

Actors, Alan Cumming, Billy Boyd and Dawn Steele are supporting ScotsCare, the charity for Scots in London, which is raising money for Scots in Poverty through sales of a limited edition, biodegradable bag which is available for £9.99 through their website www.scotscare.com. Dawn Steele has taken time out of her filming schedule for Wild at Heart in South Africa to be photographed for ScotsCare along with Lord of the Rings star Billy Boyd and Alan Cumming, star of X-Men.

ScotsCare works with 1st and 2nd generation Scots in London who are in need, hardship and distress. All of the money raised through sales of the jute tote bag will go directly towards supporting vulnerable Scots in London.

ScotsCare’s Chief Executive, Willie Docherty said, “At a time when we are celebrating one of our greatest ambassadors in Rabbie Burns, it’s fitting that our current ambassadors for Scotland are willing to take the time to support our less fortunate Scots in London. “

You can join them here!

Hope to have the new website up and running very soon and Soul Swimming - the album available to buy if you so wish.We will keep you posted.

P.S.: The new website's address they're talking about is www.beecake.com, but there's nothing yet.

Beecake were planning stuff today...Shhhh! its a secret!

There was no need for acting on the set of Moby Dick in Malta. When the cast of the $25.5-million TV movie set sail on the ship standing in for the Pequod, the whaling boat on which the hero Ishmael sails, they quickly learned how rough life at sea could be.

“That first day at sea, we ran into the most intense weather you could imagine,” James Gilbert, a 27-year-old Nova Scotia native who joined a cast including Academy Award-winner William Hurt, Ethan Hawke, Gillian Anderson, Donald Sutherland and Billy Boyd, told Andrea Nemetz, entertainment reporter on the Canadian The Chronicle Herald.

“We were pounded by squall after squall. We even saw a waterspout. The nautical co-ordinator, someone who has been a mariner all his life, said it was only the second he had ever seen. 13 people went down with seasickness and had to be helped off the ship.

“You can’t appreciate the emotional and visual energy that acting in that provides... (Cast member) Raoul Trujillo told us it was the best acting partner you’ll ever have. It gives you so much to work with. You’re at the mercy of it and act with it accordingly. It’s amazing.”

Filming began in mid-September in Lunenburg and Shelburne, then moved to Malta in mid-October. Shooting finished up in December at a Burnside soundstage, with a planned broadcast date in autumn.

It is the most expensive film in the 40-year history of Tele Munchen Group of Germany.

Gilbert shot a few exterior scenes on the South Shore, but really got to sink his teeth into the role and bond with his co-stars in Malta.

Work days were long for the core of 12 actors, marine advisors and Maltese extras aboard the “Pequod”, crewed by five Danes and an American. The actors were taken out to the boat before sunrise and home again at night.

Gilbert got to climb to the crow’s nest for one scene some 26 metres above the deck following one of the Danish men up the ropes.

“At first, I was very cautious, and when you look down it’s incredibly high, but I had faith in my own strength and ability to navigate through the rigging. Sometimes I’d go out with the crew and pack sails and strap myself into the line and I’d look forward to doing that...It’s a bit of a rush.”

Filming in the “unbelievably gorgeous” Mediterranean, he marvelled that he was on a job.

“The water was 22 degrees, like soup. People would dive into it at lunch, swing from the bowsprit into the water. We had a great time.”

(thanx to my dear talented sister for making this)