Tuesday 12th March 2013

Welcome to our new blogspot:) We're  in the throes of  improving our website after receiving a grant from Perth & Kinross Social Enterprise Fund to have our website professionally designed. Thanks Perth & Kinross. So now we have a new location for our blog - hope you like it.

Although it's still just the start of the year we have been very busy these past 6 weeks.  Every weekend we have had a residential group which is excellent news. 4 out of the 6 have been student/youth weekends coming on a self-catering basis. They've been glad of the freedom to do their own thing and have appreciated the cheaper rates that self-catering offers. We also had a church family weekend and a deacon's retreat. During the week the flat has come in useful for workmen working on a local build. "We enjoy it so much better than digs." they said as they too talked about the benefits of being free to do their own thing. For the past 2 days we have had  a residential  mountain leadership course. They spend 2 days on the hills but coming back each evening and then another 2 days camping out, returning at the end of the week for showers and debrief.  As our boiler is now too efficient to heat up the boiler room for drying, one of the spare bedrooms was turned into a drying room with extra heaters & it worked a treat!

Community use has been getting busier - the past 2 days we have had 4 different community groups on the same day, so it makes for a bit of juggling, especially with a residential group in at the same time. So the Centre has been busy with conversation classes, adult literacy, an art class, Amnesty International, song & drama club,disability advice drop in, community forum and a prayer meeting just over the past 2 days. It's good to see so many people here.

Behind the scenes we've been busy with development work. There's been a lot of support from the Social Enterprise sector so as well as the grant to make a new website we've been awarded expertise to work on some market research for the Centre. This will help us to know what you want and need from us, so if you get a survey over the next couple of weeks, please fill it in, and if you don't and would like one, please let us know. We've also signed up for a business mentoring  programme through Perth Chamber of Commerce and we hope that will help us to fill in the gaps in our knowledge of how to run a business.   

The trustees have been spending a lot of time trying to take the new staff bedsit forward and a building warrant has been applied for now that the design has been finalised. We managed to get some cheap furniture through a hotel  refurbishment sale and are sewing curtains at the moment. The new office has been functioning for a few weeks now and we are getting used to the set up. It's a huge advantage to be more visible to our guests (instead of hidden away in a back room) and people comment we look like a real office now - not sure how to take that ;).

A few fundraising events are coming up soon. On the 27th March we'll be holding a Co-op bag pack in Pitlochry. Volunteers wanted to pack shopping. On the 30th March local artists will be having an Easter Craft Fair here and we'll be doing teas & coffees to raise money, so please come along and have a browse.

From the 8th - 12th April we'll be having a Thrift shop in the dining room. We also hope to have a plant stall there. Any donations welcome. Richard Underwood is cycling in Etape again this year  so please sponsor him. He has a spot on Justgiving. Go to  http://www.justgiving.com/Richard-Underwood2 to sponsor. Thank you for your support.

21st January, 2013

The first blog of 2013 and hope your new year has got off to a good start. Although the office reopened officially on the 7th Jan Iain popped in to the Centre almost daily during the holidays as we had several small groups of self catering guests over Christmas and New Year. The Centre has proved the ideal place for families who are too big to fit into the family house when they come up to share the festivities and our guests were really happy with the simplicity and comfort of it all.

Reality Scotland also had their last weekend with us in December. We're really sad that due to financial pressure they have had to wind up their charity. They had been doing such a good job and made a huge difference in children's and families lives. As well as trying to make sure all their clients are taken care of by other groups and agencies,all their workers have had to find new jobs and they have had to sell or give away their  assets.

We have benefitted from this by acquiring some of their office furniture & much of the last few  weeks has been spent emptying our reception lounge and office cupboards to move our office in there. (The Baptist ministers used the main reception area instead for  breakout groups this time and it worked well for them.) Yesterday the new furniture arrived and the room looks very smart and spacious. The next step is to move our files and computers in and clear out the old office. Then it will be free for the planned conversion to a staff bedsit. This will allow a member of staff to be in residence in the Centre without using up a guest bedroom and opens up more possibilities for B&B outwith the summer. It's very exciting to see things changing.

At the same time we have been doing a major kitchen clean & reorganisation so for a few days there was stuff everywhere. It worked out well because the snow has stopped  some elderly community groups meeting and also some where people have to travel in from more rural areas. The cooks have been snowed out for a few days as well, allowing us space to do everything we need to do in the kitchen.

January has been a quiet month residentially but we did have a minister coming to the flat for a few days retreat, benefitting from our special Christian workers retreat rates, and we had the probationary Baptist Ministers' training event here from Tuesday to Thursday last week. It was great to hear the Centre echoing with laughter and filled with animated chatter.  They gave us a lovely Thank you card, especially highlighting our "big smiles" as we served them. It was great to have you guys:)

January has also beena month of meetings as we investigate leads to help us grow. Chris and Wilma attended a cultural awareness day for serving guests from Eastern Europe, Southern Asia and China.  Iain & Anne attended a new collaborative business network meeting and had other meetings with experts specialising in social enterprises and business growth, who have both been very helpful. Our Trustees have their first board meeting of the year next week, but already various subgroups have met to keep the Centre on the move, so it's all go. Please pray for Iain and the Trustees as they work to enhance both day to day running and future growth.

12th December, 2012

Wow November went fast! For the first time for a November, every weekend was booked. On top of that we had Baptist Ministers as a mid week group, and as well as our usual community day groups there was a poular Amnesty International talk about a local man who had been a political prisoner in Chile, a Silent Art Auction on behalf of Alzheimers Scotland and a wedding buffet (95 people!) for a couple who were married next door at the Baptist Church. We were up early that Saturday buying flowers and picking foliage to decorate the dining room as the wedding had an autumn theme. Take a look at our facebook to see the photos. Perthshire Youth Brass Band were here for the weekend to get their playing up to scratch before entering the Scottish National Brass Band Competition.
Wholeness Through Christ and Still Point were 2 retreat groups and we also had the Ladies Scottish Hillwalking Club here for the weekend to enjoy an expanded AGM and  local walks.

December has been quieter, but still every weekend where there is no residential group we have community events. During the week we had a Winter Warmer event. It was a joint undertaking between Perth & Kinross Council and the emergency services designed to help people be winter aware.

With tips for keeping warm and keeping safe it was a one stop shop for good advice. This was the first of a few community events to be set up by the two Fionas from P&K Voluntary services, who have been using the Centre as one of their bases as they fulfil their new role as community co-ordinators for the elderly and they're becoming familiar faces at the elderly lunch club held here fortnightly by the Baptist Church. This weekend was a Christmas Craft market designed to tie in with Santa & his reindeer (courtesy of the Cairngorm herd) who came to the main street in the morning. As well as encouraging local artisans it was a chance for us to raise more money for our disabled access improvements. We had our own  thrift stall and tea & cakes & made  £295.

Camille our  newest French intern arrived last weekend. From our twin town of Confolens, Camille is studying accountancy and is on placement with us for 3 weeks to improve her English and get work experience. We're glad she brought thick jumpers and winter boots as we've had quite a bit of snow - but it does make for fantastic winter wonderland photos. It is nice to have her around at Christmas time to introduce her to some of our Christmas customs.  As well as seeing Santa & his reindeer on Saturday, she came with us to the advent  craft fair at Corbenic ( a local residential place for adults with leraning disabilities)the week before, she's been to choral singing in Blair Castle and Pitlochry Baptist Church's children's nativity is taking place this Sunday (they've been practicing hard in the Centre for the past couple of weeks), so we're really looking forward to that. Pitlochry Festival Theatre has just opened "White Christmas", running til the 23rd December. Two of the musicians are in our flat for 6 weeks. People are saying it's really good - so a great reason for coming to visit. 

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. God bless.

29th October, 2012

It's the end of October, the autumn colours are wonderful and we've even had snow (a dusting which was gone the next day). It's been a busy weekend with Crown Terrace Methodist church from Aberdeen in residence for a church family weekend and Iain away to the Scottish Baptist Assembly in Dundee. For Iain the Assembly is a great chance to network and catch up with everyone. Joined by some of our Trustees he manned an Atholl Centre stall, sharing what we've been doing in the last year and what we've managed to achieve, and gave out hundreds of copies of our autumn/winter newsletter. You can read it here.Lots of people were asking how things were going and glad to hear we are making such good progress. The Assembly itself was well attended with over 400 delegates and the talks were thought provoking and informative, the worship inspiring and the chat encouraging.

Pitlochry is an amazing place to be in October. Not only do we have stags rutting & salmon leaping & wonderful autumn colours here with swathes of deciduous trees covering the hillsides, but we also have the Enchanted Forest, a fantastic son et lumiere presentation on every night over most of October at Faskally woods in Pitlochry followed by Perthshire Amber music festival in venues throughout Highland Perthshire just beginning now. East Kilbride Girl's brigade and Fairmilehead Church of Scotland  Youth group both enjoyed a trip to the Enchanted Forest this year as part of their weekend at the Centre. So did quite a few of our mid week B&B guests, especially the families, as we took in B&B again for the October holidays.

We held another Thrift shop in the first week in October making about £600 for our disabled access improvements -  a big thank you to everyone who donated and manned the shop - and then the Atholl Craft fair was on for 2 weeks. With the town so busy with folk for the Enchanted Forest this year they did a roaring trade. We were able to raise a further £230 from teas and coffees during that and the summer craft fair, which is fantastic.

We were sad to say goodbye to Glynnis this month who has been our part time secretary for the last 2 years. Following her husband's retiral they are moving to Fife and hope to set up a small self catering flat as a retreat in part of their new house. We are very grateful for her cheerful presence, bright ideas & businesslike phone manner which have made her a great asset. (She's also a dab hand at the sewing machine!) We’ll miss her, but wish her well in her new venture. Wilma, who came to volunteer with us in the summer and has stayed because she likes Pitlochry so much, will take over from Glynnis for at least the next few months. Just before she came here Wilma completed a course in admin & IT at Dundee college, so we're very lucky to have her.

28th September, 2012

So it's time for another blog. Bravehearts (young adults with heart disorders) arrive today for the weekend.The sun may  not be shining (yet) but we hope they'll have a relaxing and fulfilling stay nevertheless.  It's a chance to get together, share & learn from experiences & have fun together in an atmosphere of acceptance & understanding.  We've just waved goodbye to 6 Circles, a mixed group of disabled & disadvantaged folks rebuilding their lives. Again acceptance & a home from home atmosphere are important to them & it was great to see so many smiling faces. People wonder: what's the point of group holidays - isn't it just a bit of a jolly? What most people don't realise is that group holidays are valuable because they are a focal point for nurture and development of relationships and can be a transforming influence in people's lives. Going solo ( a nurture group for single, divorced & widowed people)and the ME Holiday (self explanatory), who  also came this month,  find great encouragement in their holidays & always look forward to next year.
We  were enriched musically this month by visits from Irish Youth Pipe band taking part in Pitlochry Highland Games - great to hear them practice here - and the African Children's choir ( yes, the same organisation who sang to the Queen for her Jubilee) who came for a rest week after arriving from the States & before going on tour. They sang their thanks and a blessing on us as they left - quite an emotional experience.They wrote," Thank you kindly for all the ways you have cared for us this past week and helped us to get on our feet. Your flexibility, generosity and good pleasure have been a gift! The food was delicious and the rooms were comfortable and warm. It has been a pleasure getting to know you." Check out their tour schedule here.

Superb Choice (an offshoot of SU holidays for adults) came for the day last Saturday. It meant catering for 80, something we haven't done for a while, but it all came together well as our team of young weekend helpers (usually only there in ones or twos) came in numbers and together with Nel's expert cooking  successfully served a wonderful lunch and evening meal.It was great to see them all sporting our new Atholl Centre T-shirts & looking very professional :)

 Achievements - a successful fire inspection, a profitable conference learning about business practices, a post ex-project visit from LEADER who part funded our wood pellet boiler and solar panels - very impressed that we're not only benefiting from the eco heating, but building our eco profile through double glazing as well,  & the figures for the business plan completed at last (following brief crash course in Excel).
Coming soon - another Thrift Shop in the first week of the October holidays (8th - 12th). Please bring your bric-a brac, old clothes and books for sale. We can also recycle mobile phones (with charger & instructions), empty brand name print cartridges (except Epson) and CDs & DVDs (in original boxes with artwork intact). Pitlochry Arts & Crafts sale on at the Centre  from 14th - 26th Oct and we are still available for B&B  - Oct 8th - 11th, 15th, 22nd- 24th, 29th & 30th.   £25.75 pp ( child discounts available).This is during the Pitlochry autumn festival which includes The Enchanted Forest (son et lumiere at Faskally) 5th - 27th Oct and Perthshire Amber (Scottish Traditional & contemporary music festival) 26th Oct - 3rd Nov -  so well worth a visit.
PS The sun just came out - Welcome Bravehearts:D

7th September, 2012

Apologies for writing the August blog in September. How time flies!  August has been a busy month with many day groups starting again after the summer, the summer craft fair, the thrift shop and 2 full weeks (midweek and weekends) of residential bookings. The last week was lighter allowing us some much needed time off and now it's back into the fray for another 2 weeks solid of one booking after another.

The Craft Fair went well (possibly due to people looking for things to do to escape the rain) and there was a huge variety of crafts and paintings to browse and buy. However B&B during that period was slow, so it made a lovely change to have the Waddington Street Centre stay for a week. This was a group of adults with mild learning disabilities from Durham - it was their first time here- and they loved it. Then we had Perthshire Youth Brass Band for a weekend away. What an amazing rich sound they made as they practiced!  Unexpected guests were a Christian performing arts group called Heartbridge from Youth with a Mission. Hosted by Pitlochry Baptist Church they've been staying in the Centre whenever there's been space for the last 3 & a half weeks - they just left this morning. As well as a performance of the Prodigal Son in the Town Hall they spent a lot of time at all the local schools performing and taking workshops in hula, street dance, flamenco and Korean drumming.

The thrift shop was a great success, raising about £1,400 for the Centre. One friend commented "It gives so many people so much pleasure - those who give are motivated to have a good clear out, those who buy get something to brighten their day and those who man the stalls (some of whom were elderly & disabled) get a chance to do something of  real value." So a heartfelt thankyou to everyone who helped. We also raised money for 2 other charities who gave us goods to sell on their behalf, so it was good to share.

We've recently launched publicity for our new residential Creative Holidays due to start this autumn. With watercolour painting, choral music and festive crafts there's a great choice of activities to brighten up your autumn and  3 brilliant opportunities to meet new people and make new friends. Click here to read all about it.

As the thrift shop did so well the fundraising dinner was postponed, but will still happen at some point. The business plan has gone through rigorous checks and just needs some final touches to the financial pages to be ready for use. We hope to begin applying to Trusts in October. Last week we also had a visit from a business adviser who is willing to visit regularly to advise us, which is great news. So the wheels are turning behind the scenes. Thank you for your prayers.

29th July, 2012

As I'm writing the couple in the flat are just going off for the day, the sun is shining & the day is looking promising. They are so enthusiastic about the flat & the Centre - how central it is, how they love to visit the theatre & just walk everywhere instead of having to take the car, how one has fond memories of the centre from visits with Fife youth orchestra when she was young. "We'll definitely be back" they say. The craft fair has had it's first week of a 3 week block and have had a good week with lots of visitors and purchasers (due to the rain?). We're open for B&B but it has been slow this year - all over Pitlochry and especially this week we suspect Pitlochry is feeling the Olympic effect - so there is plenty of space for last minute bookings, reduced today to £25pp. Fancy a visit? Just get in touch.

For the last 2 weeks we had Free church camps at the Centre - the first for primary kids, the 2nd for secondary girls. They come on a self-catering basis and really enjoy their time here, so much so that they have become one of our regular groups.  Having a hands off group has allowed Centre staff to have a summer holiday, so everyone benefits and we've all come back refreshed. Cloe, our French intern, returned to France at the end of June and Wilma, our summer volunteer, will be with us til the end of August.
We were pleased to have a well attended AGM at the end of June and the Council of Management has been busy since then further developing plans for the future. We're planning 2 fundraising events for August - a thrift shop and a fundraising dinner. Follow us on facebook (see the box  at the side) where we'll post details as they are finalised. These are both aimed at raising the architect's planning fees due in over the next couple of months. Please pray too for the appropriate final touches to be applied to our business plan & presentation as we begin the process of applying to major Trusts for the different stages of the build.
We're still looking for a plumber to help us with our office refurb, planned for September but this may end up pushed back. If you can help, please let us know.