The Edinburgh Reporter December 2021

14 NEWS
High fives for zoo
Fibre company stick their neck out supporting Giraffe About Town trail
CITYFIBRE, the UK’s largest independent full
fibre platform, has partnered with the Royal
Zoological Society of Scotland’s (RZSS)
Edinburgh Zoo as community outreach partner
for the charity’s Giraffe About Town trail.
The public art event will include more than
40 eight-foot-tall giraffe sculptures go on display
across Edinburgh next summer, with each
model designed and decorated by local artists
and community groups. After the trail, the
sculptures will be auctioned off to raise funds to
support RZSS wildlife conservation projects in
Scotland and across the world.
Activities with the community groups will
include an inclusive creativity workshop with the
zoo’s outreach team. The groups will also receive
free access to the Giraffe About Town activity
portal, an inclusive digital resource supporting
the trail. Meanwhile, CityFibre and Edinburgh
Zoo will work together in spring 2022 to identify
the potential community groups.
The wildlife conservation charity partnered
with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation
(GCF) and Glenmorangie Single Malt Scotch
Whisky to bring giraffes back to the capital in
May for the first time in over 15 years and
support vital work to protect the species in
the wild.
The five giraffes at Edinburgh Zoo, Ronnie,
Arrow, Gerald, Fennessy and Gilbert are all
Nubian giraffes (also known as Rothschild) and
live at the top of the hill in a newly built £2. 8
million giraffe house with high level walkways.
CityFibre’s support of the trail comes as it is
investing £100 million to roll out a full fibre
network within reach of almost every home and
business across the city. As community outreach
partner, CityFibre will have its very own giraffe
sculpture as part of the herd, and its vital
support will allow RZSS to work with seven
community groups across the city to decorate
their own small giraffe sculptures as part of the
CityFibre CEO, Paul Wakefield and
Darren McGarry of Edinburgh Zoo
with a giraffe sculpture
schools and communities trail.
Paul Wakefield, CityFibre’s City Manager for
Edinburgh, said: “We are working across the city
to deliver our Full Fibre network to homes and
businesses, ensuring that communities across
Edinburgh can access the fastest, most reliable
broadband available. As part of this, we are
getting the chance to meet so many of
Edinburgh’s fantastic community groups – a
number of which we will be able to support
through this fantastic partnership.
“Improving social inclusion is something we
are passionate about, and this theme is at the
heart of the Giraffe About Town trail.
“Technology is a key enabler here, so we are
really excited to be working with an artist on our
own giraffe and being a key part of this trail,
which I’m sure will capture the hearts and minds
of both locals and visitors to our capital. You
could even say that, through this project, our
Full Fibre rollout programme will reach new
heights.”
David Field, Chief Executive at RZSS, added:
“We are thrilled to have CityFibre on board as
community outreach partner for Giraffe About
Town, giving us an opportunity to support vital
community work across the capital.
“It is particularly exciting to partner
with an organisation working to connect
communities. Fast, reliable full fibre broadband
will open up a whole new world for many of
Edinburgh’s residents.
“The past 18 months have been incredibly
challenging but they have shown us what can be
achieved when we pull together.
“Our tall trail is set to transform our city and
encourage our communities to get out and about
and fall in love with Edinburgh all over again.”
Paper Tiger
earns stripes
WEST END BASED business, Paper
Tiger, has won the RETAS award for
Best Independent Greeting Card Retailer
in Scotland.
Now in their 17th year, the RETAS are
the industry awards dedicated to greeting
card retailers of all shapes and sizes. With
one in six shops in the UK selling cards, to
win an award is a notable achievement.
The awards are decided following a poll
of greeting card suppliers, sales reps and
agents, which is then verified by a panel
of experts.
Paper Tiger owner, Michael Apter,
attended the awards lunch at the
Grosvenor House Hotel in London where
the ceremony was hosted by actor and
comedian Stuart Goldsmith. Michael said:
“I am absolutely delighted to be
recognised as the Best Independent
Greeting Card Retailer in Scotland. Being
nominated amongst so many great
independents is an honour, and
winning is heartwarming recognition of
the efforts that the whole Paper Tiger
team has made to ensure we have
maintained our standards throughout the
last difficult year.”
Progressive Greeting Magazine’s
co-owner, Jakki Brown, paid tribute to The
RETAS finalists and winners, highlighting
that in one of the most torrid times for
retailers ever, “so many showed their true
grit and determination, learning new
skills and instigating initiatives to enable
them to nurture their customers’ loyalty.”
Hidden stories behind The George
INTERCONTINENTAL
Edinburgh The George has
commissioned historians from
the University of Edinburgh to
explore the hidden stories
behind the building and
local area.
The tour is part of
InterContinental Hotels &
Resorts 75th anniversary
celebrations, in which the
world’s largest luxury hotel
brand marks special moments
that have taken place within
the walls of its hotels across
the world and looks forward
to continuing its journey of
innovation in the luxury
travel space.
To share these stories,
Take a picnic on the trail
InterContinental Edinburgh
The George has partnered
with VoiceMap to develop an
exclusive audio walking tour
guide for guests and visitors
to the city. Developed and
17 Heriot Row
narrated by Dr Esther Mijers
and Professor Ewen Cameron,
historians from the University
of Edinburgh, the tour
unlocks Edinburgh’s hidden
history, showcasing the
lesser-known stories of city.
Starting at The George, the
audio tour tells the lesser
known stories behind the
renowned hotel. During the
19th Century the hotel was a
collection of five prestigious
townhouses and home to the
well-known Ferrier family,
who boast a historical
connection to Scotland’s
literature scene
Sir Walter Scott and Robert
Burns were frequent guests,
while their daughter and
novelist, Susan Ferrier -
commonly referred to as
“Scotland’s Jane Austen”- was
somewhat of an unsung hero
in Scottish literature.