21st December, 2009


Sorry it's been a while - a whole month in fact! I do have an excuse. For the last 3 weeks instead of my usual job I've been writing a draft business plan and pursuing quotes for a building conditions survey and a consultant to help us make the business plan properly. This is following advice from a funding clinic at Perth and Kinross Voluntary Services. Hopefully we'll get help with covering these 2 sets of professional fees and will end up with the basic building blocks for assuring funders that we are worth giving money to. When you get caught up in all this background stuff, it's essential to remember that we're doing all this so we can serve better through training, bridge-buiding and refreshment, so it's great to still have our regular groups coming in e.g. adult literacy, English as a second language, four ways mental health etc. as well as having quite a few people using the flat (including a group of Students from Queen  Margaret's in Edinburgh preparing to go to Malawi). Bob has been in the kitchen making Christmas meals and there have been negotiations for the kitchen to be used by a group for training adults with learning difficulties how to cook. 2 local nativities have used the Centre to practice in and both went down a treat Having angel costumes on the coat rack makes you feel really Christmassy. Still having people coming in and needing our help helps us focus on the real goal of making a difference in people's lives even when we have to do the planning and the background work to keep the building going and take the work forward.

 Anyhow have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Anne