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.
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.
26th June, 2012
Well it's Tuesday & English as a Second Language (ESOL) & Adult learning are here as usual. In the dining room we have the Rotary Club Young Artist of the Year Exhibition featuring pictures and 3D work from the local primary and secondary schools (5 - 18 years). They had their prizegiving on Saturday, although I felt it was a shame more people couldn't get prizes as there are such a variety of styles - how can you compare? Some of the Higher and advanced Higher work was stunning and there were works of real promise & creativity in all the age groups. Cloe's favourite is the hat from Alice in wonderland - a second year creation made of playing cards and sprouting white rabbit's ears. Both this one and the previous exhibition are on our facebook so why don't you take a look for yourself. The exhibition was on display all last week and so the elderly lunch club holiday from Arbroath Town Mission had some of their meals in the midst of it. They felt it was like being in the middle of an art gallery and wanted to know if any items were for sale. They enjoyed a restful holiday with lots of daytrips and managed to get away with a few sunny days in this rather disappointing summer.
Wholeness Through Christ ( a retreat organisation) is a group who have just rediscovered us after many years of absence & were delighted with their weekend. One person wrote "Dear Atholl Centre Humans, Thank you so much for a brilliant stay. You could not have done more from making sure I had a right room for my needs to the last morning. May the Lord bless you and all you do, as a centre and as people." Kalhan. It was a small group of 12 but they made their presence known with good singing voices.
The previous weekend we had another small group called Friends International who are students from different countries all over the world & come every year for a get together. It's nice to meet old friends as well as welcome new faces when groups come year after year.
We've also been open for B&B but haven't had many takers so far. Most hotels and guest houses are experiencing the same slow start to the season as people are put off with the poor weather and attracted south to the Olympics. Although, lets not malign the weather too much because actually in Pitlochry we haven't done too badly compared with the general forecasts, as being in a valley we seem to get the best of both East and West coast weather and are often dry and even sometimes sunny when others are grey and wet.
You'll be pleased to hear that on Friday the automatic door opener for disabled users was finally installed. We'd hoped it would go in when Graham and Aggie were still here (they stayed for 2 weeks), so they could do a grand opening. Unfortunately Aggie was ill throughout their stay, so get well soon Aggie & we're looking forward to seeing you back in September.
Cloe's blog
It is my last week at the Atholl Centre and in Scotland and I've learnt more in 6 weeks here than in 8 years of English classes in France. The Atholl Centre has given me the opportunity to do work and to gain experience in every type of work from administrative tasks to setting the tables or cleaning rooms. I would like to thank them for all the experience they have given me and to everything they have done for me. It is thanks to them that I can do my second year of college.
6th June, 2012
It's the day after the jubilee weekend and everything is back to normal - no more parties, fireworks & concerts, well not to celebrate the jubilee anyway. After a glorious weekend we now have London's cold & rain :( However lots of summer events are starting up. The Highland games circuit has begun - Blair Atholl was 2 weekends ago, Kenmore is in July, Birnam & Aberfeldy are in August & Pitlochry is near the end in September. The Festival Theatre has begun its programme of plays & is having good reviews and as well as all the usual holiday pursuits which are all open now, there are garden tours, art exhibitions, golf competitions & lots of musical events.We are just about to start our B&B season with Wilma from Dundee arriving today as our summer volunteer.We also have a French intern called Cloe from our twin town Confolens, who's training to be a PA. We're trying to give her as broad an experience as possible, so it's good she's come while there's so much going on. She's already been to the Blair Atholl Highland Games and helped build the beacon bonfire on top of Ben Y Vrackie. We've been busy - 2 families are with us at the moment, one in the flat and a couple with disabled needs using a couple of the downstairs rooms. Over the long weekend we had an art exhibition as well - posters by local schoolchildren to celebrate the 150 years of the railway in Pitlochry.They'd painted a wonderful frieze too which is on permanent display at the station. Definitely worth a look. Last week was hectic with a group of 44 Germans (including a Brazilian just so Iain could practice his Portuguese again) staying midweek and then a group of international students at the weekend. Scottish Children with Heart Disorders had a great family weekend with us. It was lovely to see the kids running about & having fun & to see how they had come on from the previous year. They inaugurated their new holiday caravan at Faskally while they were here & had a whale of a time. L'Arche foundation, working with adults with learning disablilities, had a annual get together with people from 3 Centres in Scotland coming to Pitlochry for the day. It was very busy with 68 disabled adults & their helpers to feed & water, with a full programme of worship & workshops & lots of wandering about & requests for help with this or that - but very rewarding.
Etape Caledonia was bigger than ever this year with 5,250 people booked, although due to predicted bad weather, only just over 4,000 turned up. Fortunately the weather was better than predicted, mostly dry but with a strong wind until lunch time. Then the heavens opened. But by then most people had completed the challenge,having set off at 6.30 am. The race was closed early at about 2pm & those still riding in the rain were picked up by truck before hypothermia set in. Etape set up their control & emergency teams in the Centre again & race martials stayed here overnight. The massage team worked hard at their tables in the dining room both before & after the race and cold cyclists were able to benefit from hot showers here too. This annual event raises huge sums for Marie Curie Cancer Care and cyclists can be sponsored for other charities too. Richard & Rulzion riding for the Centre raised over £1,300 (including gift aid) - amazing. Thanks guys!
It's been brilliant! This month we've really benefitted from community fundraising. As well as funds raised by Richard & Rulzion we received a grant of £300 from the Enchanted Forest Community fund and donations from Madcaps fundraising concert, raising £200 and the WA coffee morning, raising £500. All of these have enabled us to start the process of getting the disabled friendly push button entry system installed in our main entrance. We're just waiting for the workmen to set a date.
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