Council is now at the end of the Summer Recess and the cycle of Committee meetings will begin all over again.
As I stated in last month's Column Perth & Kinross Council's capital spending plans are heavily reliant on the Tay Cities Deal settlement, Unfortunately, I believe that the UK Treasury is taking longer than expected to sign off their part of the deal which has left many of Perth and Kinross Councils Capital spending projects in limbo.
Unfortunately at the Perth & Kinross Capital Budget setting meeting in June, the Conservative Administration voted to remove funding that had already been allocated to upgrade the Stewart Tower road to the A9 and the link road between Stanley and the A9. These vital links would have been able to take more traffic directly to the newly dualled A9 without going through the villages of Stanley and Luncarty. Local communities are not at all happy with this decision.
One local small scale project which I delighted to have delivered is the road sign denoting that Inchmagrannachan exists and that there is now a 30 MPH speed limit in place. Some debate took place as to how the name sign should look as Inchmagrannachan on one line would have made the sign too long and it would in itself become a hazard. After discussion we now have a sign with Inchmagrannachan split over 2 lines.
I have been very happy to support the local community in Strathtay Ward which has had its Expression of Interest in the purchase of both Taymount Wood and Five Mile Wood near Stanley accepted and registered by Forest Enterprise Scotland.
A steering group comprising of people from various villages and hamlets in Strathtay and who have a diverse range of interests and skills is now embarking on the challenging process of developing a viable and sustainable project which will lead to Community ownership of some 700 acres of woodland under the Community Asset Transfer Scheme (CATS). A key part of this process will be a programme of community engagement over the coming months. This will take place at a variety of venues in the area and aims to put local people at the heart of shaping an imaginative and inspiring future for these important local woodlands.
If you would like to express your support for this initiative or get involved at this stage, please get in touch at glaing@pkc.gov.uk and I will be happy to put you in touch with the Steering Group.
At the most recent Dunkeld & Birnam Community Council meeting I jokingly noted that for the first time in over six years of attending these meetings where there were five members of the Community council present, none of them actually live in Dunkeld or Birnam. I must point out that the two members who do live in Dunkeld & Birnam are almost always present and it was just coincidence that this situation arose. This did however get me thinking of the other Community Councils in the Strathtay ward, almost all are struggling to get their full complement of members. I hope that other individuals can come forward to fill these vacancies in their area or we could see the demise of some of our most local representative bodies.
During Recess and at other times of the year I like to go out and knock a few doors in the Ward just to let people know that as an SNP Councillor I am not only around when I want something i.e. a vote at an Election time but am there for Constituents of all Political persuasions when they require assistance.
During this exercise there was one conversation that struck home with me. The thought provoking conversation came with Colin Algie in Birnam.
Colin has had a deteriorating and debilitating lung condition for several years now and has been on the Transplant waiting list for some time. The great news is that a match was found for Colin and he has now had a double lung transplant. Colin wishes to thank the fabulous team at the Freeman Hospital, the courageous Donor and their family for giving the gift of life to someone else at such a time of personal tragedy. Colin praises the staff and Doctors at Craigvinean Surgery and staff at Davidson's chemists in Dunkeld. Finally and most importantly Colin wishes to thank his wife Barbara for everything she has done for him and the support given as they have endured his illness together.
I tell this story of one conversation because it made my family talk about Organ and Blood Donation. I hope it enables readers of this article to feel that they can speak about this difficult topic openly with their own families so that surviving family members are fully aware of their deceased relatives wishes. I hope that there are many, many more stories with such a positive outcome as Colin's.
I will speak to some of you over the coming months but if you wish to contact me about any matter please do by email glaing@pkc.gov.uk or tel. 07881 500501
Enjoy the rest of the Summer.

Councillor Grant Laing
Local SNP Councillor, Strathtay Ward 5
glaing@pkc.gov.uk or Tel: 07881 500501 or 01738 475023

Steve Runholt, the minister from North Carolina I swapped with in July, was thrilled with his time in Dunkeld. He had unusually hot weather of course and a lot of kind hospitality. At one point in the trip he e-mailed me to say that we should make this an annual thing, but not two weeks, just for four!
Dunkeld was a good place for him. also, to indulge his love of kayaking and mountain biking – I’m afraid I didn’t reciprocate. Asheville is a good place for that sort of outdoor activity too, but it is not really my cup of tea! Our visit there, however, coincided with an event called the Swannanoa gathering, much more up my street! This gathering lasts a total of five weeks over the summer ad each week has a focus on a different type of music. We arrived during singing week and were invited to attend any sessions, workshops or concerts we liked.
There was shapenote singing (if you have seen the film ‘Cold Mountain’ you can hear a snatch of this style early on), old meeting house songs, Irish and Scottish music, African American Gospel music and a workshop on Jamaican music and the origins of Reggae. Around the grounds of the Warren Wilson College where it is held, there were gazebos where people could gather and share songs after the workshops were over. Wandering around, you would hear a snatch of a tune and think ‘I know that’ and then it would go off in a slightly different direction from the tune you knew. It just demonstrated how melodies have crossed and re-crossed the Atlantic, been adapted and adopted from different cultures on both sides and thus enriched the music and worship of diverse communities. It shows what a melting pot America is, and it is the richer for that when every voice is heard and respected.
On our last Sunday we attended worship at the Washington National Cathedral (that’s the seat of Bishop Michael Curry of Royal Wedding fame.) It belongs to the Anglican tradition but in the congregation and amongst the clergy there was a great diversity of ethnicity and it was made clear throughout that there was a welcome to everyone and anyone in the name of Christ. As we shared communion it was a wonderful glimpse of the Kingdom of Heaven where, in Jesus’ words ‘from east and west, from north and south, people will come and take their places at the banquet in the kingdom of God’ (Luke 13:29)
Sadly, the overall impression is that America seems to be a divided place at the moment and it is cause for concern to many people we met. We all have our different accent, a different slant on things, but in the end of the day we are all God’s children and have much to give to each other.

Fraser Penny

I was a bit shocked to receive the article on the front page from Katharine about the Orchard celebrating it’s first decade. I can’t quite believe it is ten years since we were planting the orchard.
I seem remember it was the tattie holidays and Mel Nicol and I had taken the kids on a short break to the Isle of Arran to see ‘Scotland in miniature’. What I remember was sitting on a bus in the rain unable to see out of the window because it was all fogged up – but we had great fun nevertheless. On our return we went to the orchard and the children painted signs to go around the trees. Is that ten years ago? Really? Mind you, Scott is now driving the ‘red rocket’ around the village rather than needing my help to paint signs, so maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised. The Orchard Group has asked us to look out memorabilia to bring to Big Apple Day on the 9th September so I’m going on a photo hunt to see if I can find anything.
While on the theme of anniversaries many congratulations to Corbenic on their 40th Birthday. I hope you enjoy reading the articles including the perspective of parents Graham and Barbara Tinto and what it means to them to know that their son Mark, who has Downs Syndrome, can live ‘a fulfilling life in a safe, caring and supportive context.’ Corbenic is a truly wonderful place and we are privileged to have the community as part of our wider one.
There are also two significant retirements this month. Firstly, Dr Wright, who, by the time you will be reading this, will have retired from Craigvinean surgery. Many thanks to him from all of us and special thanks from those of us who have traipsed in with children flapping broken limbs in his general direction only to be met with kindness and professionalism. We wish him a very happy retirement. Secondly, Michael Anderson who retires as organist at the Cathedral after eighteen years. We greatly appreciate all the wonderful music he has given us over those years and we send him our very best wishes for the future.
We are delighted to host an extra four-page section this month to highlight ‘Unplugged,’ a week of events encouraging us to think about how we can make our lives and community more sustainable. Well done to Jess Pepper and Climate Change Café on providing this inspirational week, encouraging us to make changes to the way we live. As the Orchard proves, from small apple pips grow great apple trees – in less time that one would imagine possible!

Sally Robertson