  Aims: With available Virtual Observatory tools, we looked for new M dwarfs in
the solar neighbourhood and M giants with high tangential velocities. Methods:
From an all-sky cross-match between the optical Tycho-2 and the near-infrared
2MASS catalogues, we selected objects with proper motions >50mas/yr and very
red V-Ks colours. For the most interesting targets, we collected
multi-wavelength photometry, constructed spectral energy distributions,
estimated effective temperatures and surface gravities from fits to atmospheric
models, performed time-series analysis of ASAS V-band light curves, and
assigned spectral types from low-resolution spectroscopy obtained with CAFOS at
the 2.2m Calar Alto telescope. Results: We got a sample of 59 bright red high
proper-motion objects, including fifty red giants, four red dwarfs, and five
objects reported in this work for the first time. The five new stars have
magnitudes V~10.8-11.3mag, reduced proper motions midway between known dwarfs
and giants, near-infrared colours typical of giants, and effective temperatures
Teff~2900-3400K. From our time-series analysis, we discovered a long secondary
period in Ruber 4 and an extremely long primary period in Ruber 6. With the
CAFOS spectra, we confirmed the red giant nature of Ruber 7 and 8, the last of
which seems to be one of the brightest metal-poor M giants ever identified.
