3rd October
Now we're in October & the trees are looking so beautiful. It's been lovely to watch both trees & bracken turn from green to amber,gold and red, each stage a marvel, and there have been some amazingly sunny days last month. A friend has been taking fungi photos & again what incredible colour & variety this year!
We were invited to the Press preview of the Enchanted Forest last night. It's amazing how they find something different to do every year. This year the title was absorb (hoping you'd be absorbed in the experience of course) and there was an orb theme going on - you could buy your own glowing, colour changing orb as you went in -  with a variety of mini shows to entertain and entrance and lots of different viewing points, some enhanced with orb - shaped frames. In my opinion it was more child friendly than before. There was even a story telling yurt with local scenes in felt on the wall where a clarsach & a lot of imagination supported the telling of a new to me fairytale. And you could take as long as you liked (as long as you made it back for the last bus) so we wandered about at a leisurely pace. We're open for B&B all month (only £25) , so you can come & see the Enchanted forest too (4th - 27th Oct) as well as the stag rut (just started), the salmon leaping and the trees in all their glory. Just don't eat the mushrooms unless you are very, very sure!
Perthshire Amber, the Dougie Maclean traditional & modern Scottish music festival is on from 25th Oct - 3rd Nov with evening & daytime performances, open mike sessions , song bus tours and country walks, so another great opportunity to enjoy Highland Perthshire in the autumn. Come & visit. We'd love to see you. 
There's one weekend left in November (15-17th) available for group bookings, so grab it while you can. We also have late availability on mid weeks in November. Maybe this is your chance to get a last minute break for your family or group. Phone us to find out more. In fact the flat is available for November and December now (We've just had a cancellation for our Christmas & New Year booking), so there's plenty of choice.

Last month was extra busy with back to back residential groups almost all month. After the African children's choir we had the ME week. As usual with people who are chronically ill, some had to cancel at the last minute because of their health, but those who did manage had a whale of a time. Iain had great fun giving the ME group an illustrated talk about Pitlochry through the ages (So that old Roman nail & rusty cavalry sword came in useful after all and the stone with a hole in it was confirmed as probably made with a stone age bow drill ) and Mary (in the kitchen)was thanked profusely for being a “kitchen magician” by the group as they have so many special diets to manage, which she did with aplomb. This group is open to new members so get in touch if you'd like to join them next year. The 6 Circles (disadvantaged group) stay was overshadowed by one of their elderly ladies breaking her leg. Thank you to everyone who saw that on facebook & prayed. She’s recovering well & in good spirits. Ruchill inner city church had a great church weekend & Crieff Tuesday Club (adults with learning disabilities) have just left after a fun weekend. They did pony trekking, target shooting & archery as well as enjoying the Pitlochry shops & cafes. They said," We loved your warm welcome, the freedom to use all areas of the Centre, the food & it was very comfortable. It was all fab - Keep it up!" they said. We're glad you had such a great time guys:) 

It's been a great harvest this year & we've received lots of kind gifts of fruit for jam making. Thanks for all those plums and gooseberries. Anne has been busy! We've a thrift shop coming up next week and some of that jam will be for sale to help us raise money for improvements to our disabled facilities. Again people have been fantastic in bringing bric a brac & books for the shop. So thanks indeed guys. That means there will be a lot to choose from. Come and have a browse. You never know what you might find:)

The WA lunch club has started up again for the winter months and is taking place every week this year. Open to elderly men & women in Pitlochry it's great way to meet people, find old friends and make new friends, so come along & give it a try. Art class has started again as well and is popular as ever. Pam, who's been our ESOL teacher for years, is going to retire. We'll really miss you:( Shhh! There's a party for her next Tuesday at 4, so if she's taught you, come along to say goodbye.

Chris, our general assistant, ( the one who smiles all the time) will be away for 2 weeks at the end of next week. He's going to Uganda with 9 other people from Pitlochry Baptist (the church next door) to help out at the Kitega Centre for disabled and disadvantaged children. They're taking out lots of equipment, toys & clothes etc, so if want to help them take more stuff & you're quick you might just squeeze in a donation before they go. It will be a great adventure for all of them, so please keep them in your prayers. Iain has the Baptist Assembly in Motherwell at the very end of this month. He'd appreciate your prayers too as we look for more visibility & support among the churches.