Monday 5th August

Michal leaves tomorrow. We'll really miss him:(  Michal came from Poland for the month of July on a tourism internship and has fitted in so well. We've just loved having him. As well as being helpful, polite & hard working he's also very sweet: when he set up Pam's room (the ESOL teacher) he wrote "have a nice day" with a smiley face on her whiteboard. Then he painted a sparrow on Wilma's new wall to give her a nice surprise when she comes back from holiday. But people must move on and he's now going to be working on a cruise ship between Poland and Sweden for a month. Meanwhile Amaia has arrived from Spain. She came 2 years ago and enjoyed it so much she's back - and already roped into the holiday club on at the Baptist church next door this week. 

B & B finally started for the summer at the end of the first week in July and we've had a steady flow of customers both from the UK and from overseas. Some people pass through Pitlochry on their way up to Inverness and find themselves looking for a bed for the night, while for others Pitlochry is their destination. We've had people doing the Rob Roy way, cyclists, theatre goers, birdwatchers, people coming for respite and even people who've found work here and need temporary accommodation. We've had some groups too - a church family weekend 2 weeks ago, a retreat group last weekend and an elderly lunch club holiday this week.  Fortunately we can have them at the same time as the Atholl Craft fair which is on for 3 weeks and there is some great stuff for sale - from bug hotels, which have been very popular (and no-that's not a reflection on the Atholl Centre!) to  fabulously leafy screen prints and delightfully tactile wood turning.They also have an art competition and one of our supporters won for the first time with his painting of Bruar Falls. Congratulations Nev.

Work finally started on the staff bedsit in July. It's taking shape nicely and we're really lucky to have 2 great workmen who've been proactive about problems encountered, helping us find solutions and going the extra mile So thanks guys:) So,the bathroom floor had to be raised to allow room for the pipework rather than digging into solid concrete, then that had to be cleared with building control with all the incumbent sketches - time consuming, but the best solution. In the end we bought a compact kitchen unit housing the fridge, sink and hob in one for the kitchen to make best use of space & time, but were able to reuse an old set of drawers and a spare bit of worktop for the rest - talk about mix & match! Then there were trips to Perth to choose carpet & lino & paint - actually a bit of a balancing act to choose something Wilma will like (she'll be the first to live there) and keep to budget rather than just going for generic colours. Nearly there  though & the boys have been painting in between preparing rooms for the guests (B&B means a lot of cleaning & sheet changing).

We've also spent a lot of time populating the new website ready for launch any day now. I hadn't realised it had so much content, but I suppose that's what happens when you're trying to cover so many bases at the Centre. The new site should be a lot easier to navigate and to find what you're looking for. There are a lot more photos on it too - and a new colour scheme. We hope you like it.  Pretty please;)

 28th June 2013

So, last time I wrote Camille had just arrived and now she's leaving tomorrow. Has it really been two months? And there seem to be so many going away parties - she's off to coffee with the English class just now to say goodbye, and was invited to coffee this morning with the Arbroath Town mission group who were staying here this week. Last Saturday she had a farewell coffee morning, which was her idea so she could help raise money for the Centre as a thank you for us having her and also so she could say she had organised an event for her course work. A big thank you to everyone who helped - and to those who came along - we raised £210 for the Centre. The baking was fantastic and so was the ambiance as we were surrounded by the wonderful artwork of kids from local schools as it was the last day of the Young Artist of the Year exhibition - they had their prizegiving later on in the day. Take a look at our facebook to see some of their pictures and models. Brilliant stuff! 

As for the fundraising events we mentioned last month the WA donated £450 after their coffee morning  in May and Madcaps £250. Richard completed his 81 mile cycle ride in Etape but we don't know the final total from that yet. Another big event this month was Alan Berry's (our chairman's) significant birthday party - How old??? Friends and family spent the whole weekend at the Centre and instead of giving Alan a present they donated to the Centre. So we're really making progress on our growth fund. The electrician comes on Monday to start the conversion of the old office into a staff bedsit, so we're very excited to see that plan become reality at last... And we had word of a pledge of £5,000 from Perth & Kinross Council towards our new accessible conference room. Excellent news:)

 Iain had a claim to fame as he had a story about his early years in the Centre (when he was here in the 70s) published in a booklet called "Life as we know it". A collaboration of writers from the adult literacy and English as a foreign language classes (who both meet every week at the Centre) as well as some other locals formed the content for this book and it was launched with great celebration at the end of May. The Hive was also a community first. Having its first meeting at the Centre, it is a hobbies club for younger Pitlochry adults founded as a result of the Big plan where a gap was identified. We wish it great success.

Over her 2 months Camille saw a wide variety of groups come and go. She made friends with Graham & Aggie, who come regularly for respite as Aggie is ill and in a wheelchair. Aggie and Camille both love to talk so they were often up to the wee small hours. Kids with heart disorders had their family holiday & although Camille found them quite hard to understand, since it was her first weekend here, they loved meeting her and as usual it was jelly every day (to get some protein into kids with small appetites) which is very unusual food for French people. The Fergusson vintage tractors came for an overnight stop on their way from Oban to Montrose, raising money for charity through this annual tractor drive. Unlike last year it was quite dull & rainy when they came, but we've just heard a fan has some good photos from this year, so we'll put them up on facebook as soon as we get a hold of them so you can see the tractors in all their glory - it's quite a display:). L'Arche (charity for adults with learning disabilites) also came for a staff meeting, Pitlochry being a good central venue for folk coming from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness and are planning to bring a group for a respite break later in the summer. Camille said, "I can see this isn't just an ordinary guest house. You welcome people with difficulties or who are looking for a special rest. The Atholl Centre really has an "Esprit particulier" - a very special atmosphere."
So safe journey home Camille. We wish you well for the future. On Sunday Michal studying tourism is coming for the month from Poland. Welcome Michal. Hope you have a great stay here:)

Thursday 9th May 2013

It's an exciting time to be working at the Centre. Last month we were privileged to be the venue and take an active part in Enable's Big Plan  which took place every Tuesday afternoon over 3 weeks.  The Big Plan is a tool to help people take their lives forward. We had 8  participants and their supporters from Pitlochry and Aberfeldy, some of them young adults with learning disabilities and some with chronic illness, came each week to make their own Big Plan. It was a real blessing that there was such a lovely atmosphere of security, welcome & trust, helping people to open themselves up to dare to do new things.  Last week was the culmination when each participant made an action plan to make their dreams reality. 2 brothers hoped to attend Enable's Friends United Network in Perth to make friends and have fun independently. Sounds easy but the real challenge is learning and having the confidence to use the bus to get there - a challenge for their parents too to let them go unaccompanied. One supporter at the Big Plan was able to offer to meet them off the bus and another offered to drive them home as there would be no buses running by the time they were finished in Perth. Small steps, big solutions. Please pray for the whole group, participants and supporters- the hard work begins now- putting that and all the other plans into action. Starting later this month as a result we'll be holding a monthly community circle to come back together as a group and encourage and help each other.

At the Centre we have our own Big Plan  to improve our facilities, bringing them up to date and particularly improving our disabled facilities so we can be amongst the best providers once more. Over the past couple of months we have received a building warrant to change our former office to a staff bedsit with en-suite and kitchenette. This will allow someone to live on site without using up a guest bedroom, giving us the overnight supervision capacity to make us more available for individual and family breaks as well as groups. We're really pleased to have received a grant for £2,000 from Perth & Kinross Business Growth Fund towards the costs and hope to begin the building alterations soon.  We have also received a pledge for £12,000 from the Hugh Fraser Foundation towards the chalet being converted into a disabled friendly self catering apartment and towards converting our other downstairs bedrooms to disabled en-suite. Although we still have a lot more money to raise before we can start these projects, it's so exciting to have such a big name show confidence in us and what we are doing.

The last 2 months have been full of community fundraising. Just before Easter we did a bag pack at the local Co-op, then we had an Easter craft fair on Easter Saturday and a Thrift shop in the second week of April. Between them we  raised over £900. Brilliant:) Since then local performing arts group Madcaps have had a concert ( with a star turn from an elderly fairy singing " Nobody likes a fairy when she's old.") and the ladies of Pitlochry Baptist church had a coffee morning. Both are giving part of their proceeds to us and part to other charities, so we're looking forward to hearing how much they have raised. Thank you so much folks.

 It's not too late to sponsor Richard Underwood riding in Etape Caledonia this weekend (81 miles). Go to  http://www.justgiving.com/Richard-Underwood2 to sponsor him on-line, drop off your donation here in person or send it in to Atholl Centre, Atholl Road, Pitlochry PH16 5BX. 

A couple of weeks ago we had Olivia (primary 6) for the day in Take a Child to Work Day. She had great fun as you'll see from her blog below: 

   My Day at Take Your Child to work Day

On take your child to work day Iain Walker had me as his child and the first thing I did was the logo for my question sheet which is for school. I thought that the logo was awesome. Then I counted Iain’s money. After that Iain and I took the money to the bank. Then we had tea break and we had the cakes that I made and brought in and they said that they were wonderfulJ.    

Then we went back to the Atholl centre I helped Anne Walker cut up and laminate things that were important for a display on Friday. Then I had lunch with my mum and then I came back and I made crispy cakes in the kitchen with Mary. Then I sorted out the book stall then one of my favourite things was to write this day up. Anne is going to put this up on the Centre’s blog.

                    By OliviaJ   

Our other new arrival is Camille our newest intern from France who just arrived on Saturday. She's here for 2 months and beginning to get used to speaking English and understanding our accent:) She studying a BTS  in management ( a bit like an HND) and comes from Nimes. In July we have another intern, this time a young man from Poland, who's studying tourism, and in August Amaia from Spain is coming back to volunteer, so we're having an international summer. 

Must go. Retired Baptist Ministers are in the middle of their reunion & there's lots going on.  

 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.