Just the other day I was walking into the Village and thinking how lovely everything was looking. The Orchard was laden with ripening fruit and boxes filled with apples for people to enjoy were placed on the roadside. The planters were looking beautiful. Crossing the Bridge there were more planters to enjoy and the hanging baskets on Atholl Street provided a riot of colour. No wonder then that Dunkeld and Birnam in Bloom have received a Gold Award for their entry in ‘Take a Pride in Perthshire’. Many congratulations to the team on all their efforts – appreciated by us and now recognised by the experts. Thanks also to the Balsam Pullers for their excellent behind the scenes work in halting the invasion of Balsam. Here it’s a case of noticing what you can’t see rather than what you can.
As detailed in September’s Bridge Scottish Water have identified us as one of their ‘exemplar towns for water efficiency.’ As part of this they have set us the challenge of saving 1,000,000 litres of water – saving not just water but part of the 2.9 tonnes of the 88 tonnes of CO2 emissions that comes from treating and delivering the fresh water that is used in the village every year. Every month they will offer us a top water saving tip and from next month will give us a barometer reading of how well we are doing saving water.
So, the pressure’s on! This month’s tip is to keep a jug of cold water in the fridge rather than running the tap till it runs cold. This could start a whole new trend in the village of cheap, fancy water. I know about adding slices of lemon or cucumber to the water... what else might work? Mint maybe? All suggestions welcome.
Anyway, it’s much cheaper and more environmentally efficient than buying plastic bottles filled with water and flavourings – so let’s get filling those jugs and start our water saving barometer rising.
After a break in 2017 it’s great to have Perthshire Amber back in the village this year. We look forward to all the excitement and enjoyment that these three days of great music will bring from Friday 2nd – Sunday 4th November. Enjoy!

Sally Robertson

The New Community Investment Fund Has Been Launched.
I reported on this previously when the Community Investment Fund was announced I am pleased to say it has now been launched and is open for business. Each ward will have £50,000 to spend on projects that really matter to them.
Organisations from this area will be able to make applications in the second tranche from Friday 12 November 2018 to the closing date of Friday 15 February 2019. Completed forms can be emailed to communityplanningpartnership@pkc.gov.uk or posted to Community Planning Team, 2 High Street, Perth PH1 5PH.
The Community Investment Fund (CIF) is a new council fund and makes 1% of Council expenditure available for community led projects over 2018/19 and 2019/20. This allows local people to make an impact on the issues that matter to them and grants of £3,000-50,000 can be applied for. This can be to fund, or part fund, projects to tackle inequality in your area that fit the Local Action Plan current priorities and are:
1. Community led
2. Benefit as many people as possible from across the community
3. Can be delivered within a set time period, and/or can continue in other ways after CIF funding is used
Applications will be accepted from a wide range of organisations including constituted community organisations, Community  Councils, Development Trusts, Parent Teacher groups, registered charities, and social enterprises. You can apply if you are already involved with your Local Action Partnership, but you will not be able to take part in the decision making process for your grant application or others in the relevant ward.
Further information on the Local Action Partnerships and their individual Local Action Plans is available from www.pkc.gov.uk/communityplanning. Application forms and more details of the CIF can be found online at www.pkc.gov.uk/cif. Support for prospective applicants is also available through the Council's local Community Planning staff who can be contacted via the email address above or by calling 03456 052000. Businesses and individuals cannot apply.
This is important work and can make a big difference to your community. The Action Partnership is looking for additional people to represent their own area and raise awareness of the communities need. If you would like to do it call me on 01738 457030 or email me AnneJarvis@pkc.gov.uk.
We had such a glorious summer and it is a bit of a shock to realise winter is on its way. This week Autumn has bitten and leaves are dropping. Time to get that garden tidied, the old plants removed and maybe, unlike me, start preparations for next spring.
I drove up the A9 today to Dunkeld and noted that the harvest is in and there are bales in the fields waiting to be collected for storage. I hope the yields of our farmers have not suffered too much with the very hot dry summer we had.
All the co-creative work is done for the A9 and the final choices have gone to Transport Scotland to be costed and considered for suitability. It shouldn’t be too long before the design comes back to the A9 group. Once the design is finalised we will get this badly needed road at last. Everyone who was involved is to be congratulated for their hard work in bringing this to a conclusion.

Anne Jarvis

“What is the Church for?”
I recently came across a poem (by Leigh Hunt 1784-1859) in which a man experiences a vision of an angel writing in a book of gold the names of those who love the Lord. He asks the angel if his name is there and the answer is No. So he asks the angel to write him in as one who loves his fellow men, which the angel does. The next day the angel appears again and shows the man his name is now among those who have been blessed with the love of God. -- And Jesus tells us to love each other as he has loved us!
Which moves me to ask: “What is the Church? Or rather what should it be like? What do churches do? How can we show love to others?” and would like to suggest the following as food for thought…
A church may be …..
A fellowship of believers in God, Father, Son and holy Spirit, who worship together and seek to support each other both materially and spiritually, but which also …
… seeks to serve and support others in the local community whether or not they are themselves believers or regular worshippers. Such support may be spiritual, especially in time of need or crisis, but also practical in terms of voluntary service of various kinds, for example work with children or young people, the elderly, or those disadvantaged in some way. Nor should we neglect those further afield or overseas who can be supported through missionary charities or practical aid projects dependent on people’s generosity.
Such service is part of the way that churches can fulfil the Bible’s command to “make disciples of all peoples” (Matthew 28). But this is only part of the way we can fulfil this command; we must surely also be…
… a community whose worship and activities are geared not only to serve the preferences of our present congregations but also of others who might be drawn into faith and share in the Church’s work. We need at least sometimes to do new things, different from those many current members are familiar with.
It is also important that churches work together with each other ecumenically. None of us have a monopoly of the truth and we can learn from each other and so better serve others.
I have noticed that thriving and growing churches are those which mostly meet these criteria, and that those which meet very few of them are largely ignored by other local people and often tend to be worried about their viability for the future.
I think all our churches in Dunkeld and Birnam offer elements of the above in various ways. We have much to offer (see the various details on these pages), but I hope the above will give food for thought both to church members, and to others who might feel more encouraged to join in if we sometimes did things a little differently. What would you like to see the churches doing for you and for the community? How can we serve and support you? Please tell us.

Revd William Hogg
(retired Church of England minister now working as a locum with the Scottish Episcopal Church and sharing in the life of St Mary’s Birnam and Dunkeld Cathedral)