One of the most fantastic things about living in a rural location is feeling so close to the changing seasons of the year. For most of us Summer has flown by; we hope you had chance to enjoy at least some of it. Although we are approaching Autumn, the Community Centre is feeling quite Springlike – post lockdown more and more activities are restarting giving a feeling of renewal normally associated with Spring.
One of the key responsibilities of the Directors is to ensure the future sustainability of the centre. It has been good to see the Wee Whistle Stop Café busy, providing us with both rental income and the additional footfall increasing sales in the Centre gallery. Like many, our local artists have had a difficult 18 months with most of their sales outlets closed, so it’s good to see them back in business too.
This latest newsletter hopefully provides you all with an update on what the volunteer Directors have been working on and information about what’s happening at the Centre.
New at the Centre
Movie nights are coming to the new cinema at the Centre. As reported in the last newsletter we have installed a 4m wide electrically operated cinema screen, new projector and surround sound speakers in the main hall. The bar will be open for drinks and socialising before the film starts.
Save the date – first movie night is Saturday 25th September. And for our opening afternoon/night its free entry to everyone. We plan to show 2 films, at 3pm a film suitable for children/families and then at 7pm something for an older audience. We will announce the films shortly via the Torridon mailing list and our Facebook page.
Behind the scenes we have been dealing with building maintenance to ensure we are wind and watertight, as well as fire safety compliance. Plus trying to look ahead as to what needs doing next. Many hours of volunteering/work are required to obtain multiple quotations and ensure best value for the Centre’s limited funds. Special thanks to Wilma for her help with this.
Reopening & Continuing
The Gym reopened on 6th September. All members have been contacted. No need to prebook and the showers are available again. We have new key fobs for out of hours access, so please contact Wilma if you haven’t got yours yet, or if you need more information about membership/how the Gym operates.
Country Dancing is due to restart on 5th October. To join, please contact Marie Macdonald 01445 791264
Badminton has restarted. Please contact Shena 01445 790223
Yoga restarted on 1st September. Alternate Wednesdays at 5.30-7pm. The next session is on 15 Sept. No need to book – just turn up. On the alternate Wednesday Yoga takes place in Kinlochewe Village Hall 6.30-8pm.
Thursday Food & Craft markets will continue until mid-October – more details on the website
Monday Craft workshops are up and running. All welcome. To join please contact Sandra 07900398207
Osteopath Wayne Coleman continues his regular visits. Dates will be circulated via the Visit Torridon mailing list and on our website. Please support these services as much as possible to encourage Wayne to continue using the Centre.
Dolina Munro is again offering Counselling & Psychotherapy appointments. dolinamunro@protonmail.com or 07476356131
Gig nights have been postponed to 2022 but dates are already confirmed.
Any questions please contact Wilma manager@lochtorridoncentre.co.uk
Supporting the Centre
We are a membership organisation. If you are not already a member please consider joining for only £3 a year. A very quick and easy application form is available from Wilma via manager@lochtorridoncentre.co.uk or to pick up at the desk. For those already members, the annual fee is now payable. Either via bank transfer: Sort Code 80-91-26 / Account No: 00900785 or please pop into Reception if paying cash.
Membership includes discounted entry to the cinema nights so is well worth the annual fee.
Can you help? Want to get involved? We are looking for enthusiastic individuals to join our team of Directors. Please contact our Chair Kevin Wood on 07836 750892. Or perhaps you want to avoid meetings but can offer more hands-on help – for example running the bar at events or putting out chairs for movie nights. Perhaps you just have a few hours to spare now and again and could help set the hall up for weddings. Please step forward to help spread the workload. No previous experience of being an usherette required!
Beyond the Centre
Thanks to Torridon & Kinlochewe Community Council for arranging a collection for Seamus & Catherine MacNally on their retirement from National Trust for Scotland (NTS). The collection raised over £800. The MacNallys have moved to Inverness and they used the money for garden furniture, plants and wine - making their new home nice and relaxing.
Retirement is contagious – popular postie Janet Ford retires at the end of October. Jo Harris and the team at Torridon Stores have a collection box if you wish to donate for Janet’s leaving present.
The community recently welcomed Paul and Eve Bolton to the Mains. Paul replaces Seamus as Head Ranger for NTS.
Torridon campsite has now reopened. A small group of volunteers working with the Community Council continue to support the paid member of staff (me!) to clean the public toilets. The toilets are vital to the community and have certainly relieved pressure on the centre in terms of less visitors wanting to use our facilities.
A number of the TDCA team have been working with SCDC (Scottish Community Development Centre) and other organisations/individuals (COW Trust, Community Council) on a Community Survey which is almost ready for launch. This questionnaire is intended to provide direction and focus on how YOU want the community to develop and set YOUR priorities for the short/medium/long term. Hopefully this will lead to a community action plan being drawn up. Please support all the hard work by taking part in the survey.
We hope you are all keeping well and enjoy what’s left of the longer days as the year begins to turn. Looking forward to seeing you at the Community Centre or ‘oot and aboot’ this Autumn.
Mat Webster - On behalf of the Directors & Centre Team
