Coronavirus Emergency - Our Community Responds
Special editions of the Bridge have been published, featuring contact and support information. New - find out what services our essential local businesses are able to offer on our Online High Street
A coordination group made up of the Church, The Community Council, Gien a Haund and The Bridge have come together to coordinate Dunkeld and Birnam's community response to the Corona Virus Emergency.
- Information on shops, restaurants, services and support
- How to shop from Dunkeld and Birnam shops if you are self-isolating or vulnerable
- Download First Emergency Bridge Edition
- Download Second Edition
- Download Third Edition
- Download Fourth Edition
- Download Fifth Edition
- Download Sixth Edition
Are you self-isolating? Do you need help with everyday items such as:
- Getting your shopping delivered
- A letter posted
- The dog walked
- A prescription picked up.
Phone or text one of the numbers across between 10am and 4pm for help with every day items. If there is no answer leave a message or send a text with your name and phone number.
All the people involved with this scheme are local volunteers who are giving their time for free.
Please note volunteers will not take or receive cash from you. Payment for shopping needs to be made directly with the provider.
Volunteers aim to only spread kindness.
- They will be asked to wash their hands before and after helping you.
- They will keep a safe distance from you, 2m.
- They will not enter your house.
Please note these numbers should NOT be used for emergency or medical support. For emergency or medical support contact the Doctors Surgery or dial 111.
Contact Numbers:
- Amulree and Glen Quaich: 07592 031665
- Trochry, and down to the A9 junction: 07752 271608
- Inver: 07592 031946
- Dalguise: 07759 091124
- Little Dunkeld (including Willowbank and Stell Park): 07592 031974
- Birnam (Post office side of the road): 07835 078836
- Birnam (Birnam Arts side of the road): 07395 961218
- Dunkeld (Brae Street, The Cross and High Street): 07592 031940
- Dunkeld (Atholl Gardens & Blairgowrie Road): 07395 962350
- Butterstone: 07759 091139
- The Boat Road out to Dungarthill: 07835 078833
- Dowally, Guay and Kindallachan: 07592 040948
- email: PH8community@gmail.com for general enquiries
Things are starting to feel a bit more 'normal' now here at Davidson's Chemist!
We're back to our regular opening hours with the social distancing and protective measures in place that we're all getting used to.
The Organising Group:
Stuart Paton, Chair of Dunkeld and Birnam Community Council
Rev Fraser Penny, Minister of the Church of Scotland
John Gilruth, Coordinator, Gien a Haund
Sally Robertson, Editor of The Bridge
Annie Le-Roy Lewis, Community Volunteer
Brendy Roddy, Community Volunteer
Dr Philip Rutledge, Retired Public Health Doctor
Dear friends, I feel a bit of a loss at what to write. So many of us are affected by this situation in so many deep and difficult ways. This month is the fourteenth time I will have put together the April Bridge .. usually such an exciting issue with the village coming alive .. so many wonderful events and outings and businesses gearing up for the season. Instead I am going through the April edition which will be out next week with a big red pen. It is heart-breaking to see so many people needing to self-isolate and the businesses desperately looking for ways to diversify and keep going through these dark days.
How are you all doing? I don’t know about everyone else, but I am finding this the most bizarre of times. My favourite response when I’m asked how I am is to say I’m discombobulated. I mean this weekend my diary says I’m supposed to be going to the Niel Gow Festival concert at Birnam Arts. Instead Birnam Arts is shut, and the centre has been put on a care and maintenance basis to reduce running costs.
Easter is my favourite festival of the year. Three things I love most about Easter are the point of the year in which it falls; the opportunity to gather with friends and family and the food - the highlight of which for us is roast lamb .. locally sourced if possible.
I have to say that I am rather partial to rhubarb crumble … there is just something about the sourness of the fruit that works so perfectly with the sweetness of crumble. I realise we could argue long into the night about whether it is better served with custard, cream or ice cream... however my vote goes to a nice thick, creamy custard served hot enough to burn your mouth.
So … gradually most of us are, very slowly, coming out of the lockdown. Both the tennis and golf clubs are re-opening to restricted play with new social distancing practices to meet the Scottish Government guidance. For example I understand that with tennis you have to bring your own tennis balls and can only serve or touch the ones you have brought. Across the pond our friends in Asheville are facing similar challenges and I hope you will enjoy Rick Lutovsky’s piece on how the golf course over there is managing to continue playing ‘golf’ in these most unusual times. It certainly gave me a laugh.
To all the parents who have managed to support any level of home schooling may I say, “well done.” I’m relieved to let you know that I have survived a near death experience as Callum engaged with an Advanced Higher physics experiment.
We are delighted to introduce PH8’s new mascot brought to life by Alice, a five-year-old pupil at the Royal School of Dunkeld.
We asked her what the ‘U’ stood for and she replied it was for ‘Universe’ and added that "the universe is a cool place.” We all agree and have nicknamed our mascot ‘Uby’
Other than the Universe itself what could be cooler that our very own mascot?
Thank you Alice!
Molly Arbuthnott came to us with a brilliant idea! Molly is a children’s author and suggested we write a book of our own about lock-down in Dunkeld. Starting on June 28th. we will be running a competition, inviting children to write, draw or paint something to express their experiences of lock-down and the results will be published in a book which will then be sold for the Parish of Dunkeld funds.
Coronavirus in the community and the importance of social distancing, washing hands and wearing face coverings in shops and on public transport.
The PH8 Community Response Team has teamed up with the Community Coworking Space to offer printing services to households in the PH8 area.
Jaiden Buckett from Dowally has raised over £1,000 for the Royal School of Dunkeld Parent Partnership Group by cycling up to 16 miles in a day in order to reach his target mileage of 63 miles in seven days. In fact he ended up smashing his own target achieving 80 miles over the seven days. Well done him!
Jaiden decided to set out to raise money for the school when he had heard the PPG would not be able to do its usual fundraising this year because of COVID-19. His Mum, Michelle said “Every day he was like ‘let’s go, let’s go’. We’re extremely proud of him.”
Yesterday Jaiden’s JustGiving page showed 74 supporters had donated a total of £1,112 to the school’s PPG.
To view the routes Jaiden took or to make a donation go to: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/michelle-buckett2
Firstly, a massive THANK YOU to you all for your support and patience over the last week while. We are delighted to let you know that Dunkeld Whisky Box has reopened, with Covid-19 mitigation measures in place.
A local Coronavirus Fund has been set up through a combination of crowdfunding, extremely generous donations from individuals and groups (including the Highland Games Committee and the local Lodge), a grant from Tesco’s and money from the SSE Griffin & Calliacher Community Fund.
Following government and our church guidelines we are pleased that St Mary's can open from June 22nd for private prayer.
Churches throughout the country remain closed but thanks to the internet it is possible to find many devotional and worship resources to encourage us when we can’t meet together but if you want something more local, Fraser Penny is doing a short service each weekend which can be found at http://bit.ly/dunkeldcathedral
The Archives are closed at present and are waiting to find out when the Museum sector will be able to open. However, in the interim they are happy to continue to do research requests via email or post though.
As you will be aware, thankfully, the Scottish Government has announced the news that Scottish Dental practices have now been given the go ahead to re-open in a phased approach as of Monday 22nd June 2020.
Land Rover Experience Scotland, based at Butterstone Loch near Dunkeld, has announced that it will be re-opening on 17 July with an exciting new convoy format to enable guests to enjoy a rewarding off-road driving experience while maintaining good social distancing.
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