3rd November, 2009

For the last 2 weeks at the Centre we have been open for B& B while we hosted the Atholl Gallery and Craft Fair in our dining room. The Gallery is a display of various works by local artists and also crafts and cards for sale. Over the 2 weeks this artists co-op not only hope to make a little money for themselves but to raise money for charity. During the sale we ran a cafe and between the cafe and money donated by the Gallery we raised about £475 for our subsidy fund which helps disabled and disadvantaged guests come to the Centre at a discount.

This week:
Mon:  Iain went to Arbroath to visit the Windmill Centre. The Windmill Centre is a very large former hotel taken over by local churches and run as a charity to provide accommodation for groups wanting a getaway to study the Bible together. It has been in need of massive refurbishment and recently installed a new heating and hot water system based on a wood pellet boiler and solar panels. We are eager to learn from their experience as we are having to renew our heating system and are actively investigating eco fuels.

Tues: This morning we have the Living Bible fellowship meeting in the TV room. This is a group of ladies from the adjoining Baptist church who meet fortnightly to study the Bible together. Also during the day we have people coming to learn English as their second language and an adult literacy group. These groups are very pleased with the training facilities we have to offer and we are pleased in turn to be serving our local community in this way.

Wed: Today is a quiet day. Iain's taking the opportunity to have a day off but Chris will be around to take phone calls and carry on with daily maintenance.

Thurs: "Four Ways" mental health group meets today at the Centre and the church's "Women in Action" group has a talk about the Bethany Trust's work amongst the homeless.

Fri: It's another quiet day guest-wise, but the office is busy. Time to catch up on admin and look to the future. Anne will do some work on fundraising and marketing today and we'll also be planning the next steps as we look into replacing our heating system. Chris will be preparing rooms for B& B tomorrow.

Sat: Today we welcome a group of singers who'll be performing at the Perthshire Amber festival. The festival seems to be as popular as ever this year in spite of the credit crunch. At the theatre they have a display of beautiful photographs from a new book of scenes from around Scotland inspired by Dougie Mclean's songs. Worth a look. We'll also be open for B& B tonight so if you fancy a trip to Pitlochry for the festival or for any other reason, why not stay here?

Sun: Today is Armistice Day. There will be a procession down the main street to the war memorial and then the Armisitice Day service is at the Baptist Church next door. Their creche, children's work and youth group meet in the Centre. Could be kind of busy with all the uniformed organisations as well!