FIVE THINGS FOR A FRIDAY | 07 May 2021 | Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust

FIVE THINGS FOR A FRIDAY

Friday, 07 May 2021

It’s Friday. It is May. It is snowing!

KNITTING TOGETHER

The Great British Sewing Bee is on the telly and it struck me how we are knitting together connections within the community. We are having conversations with individuals, established groups, steering groups, external stakeholders and funders trying to find a way to bring all this together into a coherent pattern and support where we can. However sometimes we must work on designs closer to home. Our own Board of Directors work on projects or deal with day-to-day issues with no sight of what the others may be doing. The same is true for our staff who work on specific projects but not on others. The Board Meeting is a good place to bring all that together. Staff, too, now have a monthly meeting and a Newsletter to keep them informed. There are lots of changes happening so fast as we develop and adapt our working approach and we are all trying our best to work through that.

PUT YOUR CAP ON

The first Community Action Plan Action Group on Better Connections happened this week. The Trust Directors have had a very hands-off role as Nick Wright manages the CAP. They have been conscious to let the community speak freely via the Community Survey and recent Community Assembly. This week I was asked by a Director if they could fully participate now. The answer was yes, as they are community members first. Also, because the process is going from the ‘opinion’ and ‘ideas’ stage to encouraging active involvement of everyone to come to solutions. The only input we have shared with Nick is being aware this process is not in its own bubble. Community members have been doing things for years and continue to do so. There are external factors which can impact on an idea that may make them easier or challenging. There are, indeed, differences of opinion within the community that seem equally balanced. Again, it is about making the connections so people are informed as best they can be. Feedback from the first Action Group has been very positive and I hope you can participate in what is coming up over the next two weeks. If you want to get your hands ‘slightly’ dirty, do it here Calling all practical types! | Future Ideas (communityfuture.net)

LINE OF DUTY

For several weeks (some may say years) we have been walking down dark underpasses and investigating, well, largely mole holes than rabbit ones but we are finally starting to see some big reveals. Applications for Project Co-ordinator have closed, and we hope to get our very own Chloe Bishop (I know this narrative is completely lost on you if you did not watch the Line of Duty TV series!) who can help us solve getting major projects to completion in one series rather than sitting through another six!

The tenders for benches and notes of interest for gardening maintenance have come to an end so we can all get outside (once the snow ends) and enjoy some natural Vitamin D. Following the recent Steering Group an instruction to put planning in for the slipway at Foyers Bay has been actioned. The Errogie Church project is moving apace. Most of this was covered at this weeks Board of Directors and we manged to keep it far shorter than a Line of Duty interrogation scene with items covered within two hours. Which meant everyone could go and watch Sewing Bee (as well as talk about Bee Keeping courses too!)

You will be able to read all about this in great depth in the next Trust Magazine, out soon.

WALK ON THE WILDSIDE

Our new Caretaker Mark Henderson has been rolling up his sleeves and making the Wildside Centre fit for users, come full access from May 17^th. It was lovely to hear great feedback about Mark this week from those who met him and how good Wildside is starting to look as we gradually open following the lifting of restrictions. Wildside is such an adaptable space, and we hope will become a great facility for the local community to use. We are gradually working through initial requests now so please be patient with us as we find our feet – details of how to book can be found here The Wildside Centre | Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust (stratherrickcommunity.org.uk)

LISTEN – DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET

Snow willing, I will finally be hitting the ground and be at Wildside and taking a tour of the local area on the 12^th & 13^th May. I cannot wait. See some of you then!

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Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust,
The Wildside Centre, Whitebridge,
Inverness IV2 6UN
admin@sfctrust.org.uk
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