28th March, 2011

Hooray! The boiler and solar panels are finally functioning. Scottish Baptist ministers' wives were the first group to enjoy our new eco heating system and that week the church (which is connected into the heating system) was so warm people were taking their coats and jumpers off - after freezing the previous week because the electric fires had tripped the circuit and gone off and the free standing gas fires had suddenly run out of gas. The contrast certainly was appreciated. When they're on the place is really cosy... just need to get on top of programming the  boiler clock ! (We were nearly caught out by the time change this weekend & Iain had to dash down again on Saturday night having just got home from work at 9.30 pm to set the clock forward an hour so there would be heating & hot water first thing on Sunday). It's quite a job to claim the grants, which are paid out after the contractors have been paid - lots of paperwork, but that's all on target, and while we're waiting for that money to come in, an interest free loan from Perth & Kinross has to be paid back. Fortunately when we told them our circumstances they offered to hold onto our cheque until one of our donors has paid in full.  Isn't that great! There's going to be 2 open days in May: May 5th will be a Friends of the Centre Open Day and all the weekend user groups and Centre supporters are warmly invited to that. May 10th will be a Community Open Day with the emphasis on showcasing the Centre and the new heating system to the locals.

 This weekend we had URC ladies fellowship. They had Bible study & talks while their husbands went out for hillwalks. They enjoyed their stay so much they've booked up for the next 2 years. This week is the last week of the Youth Cafe (run by Perth & Kinross Council) before the holidays. So much work has beeen put into it, but there are still only a few youngsters attending. It would be really good to see it take off properly. Adult education is in full flow and seemed to be able to work around the disruption caused by the boiler installation without any problems, and we've got Madcaps in tonight - a local music and drama society who do a lot of fundraising performances as well as having a good time together.  So it's business as usual in a cosy and greener Centre.