Hot off the press! Why not have a read of the February newsletter and see how you can get involved in local community action this coming month.
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Join us for the quarterly Dufftown & District community forum on March 1st 2023 6-8pm at the Royal British Legion Hall.
At the last Community Forum in November 2022, we discussed priorities that groups and individuals would like to work on for 2023. For participants to learn more about current projects taking place, this upcoming meeting is intended for groups to share information about their existing activities and how to get involved. We aspire for the community forum to be a useful platform for each group as they continue to develop their activities. The outcome from the community forum will also help our Community Development Leader to understand how to best support collective plans and projects.
Representatives from all community groups, organisations and individuals in Dufftown & District are encouraged to attend.
An agenda will be sent out to participants before the meeting. Please let us know you’re coming by filling out our online registration form.
Are you passionate about making a difference in our community? Want to support the work that DDCA does? We are looking for new Trustees to join our Board!
The DDCA is a Scottish Charity, comprising of members and trustees. The charity was founded in 1995 and has grown to encompass a variety of responsibilities within the area. We seek to advance community development, improve recreational facilities, and relieve poverty in Dufftown & District.
The Board of Trustees is key to the continued functioning of the charity. Without trustees, we cannot operate. We usually meet monthly to discuss our various projects and activities. Since the pandemic, we have become more flexible and often have hybrid meetings so that trustees can join either online or in-person depending on individual needs and preferences.
In return for volunteering as a trustee with us, we offer the opportunity to give something back to the community, personal growth, and having a role in shaping our many exciting projects.
Criteria for a Trustee of DDCA:
Responsibilities of a DDCA trustee:
Does this sound like you? Get in touch today!
Want some more information? Read our recruitment pack.
Dufftown & District Community Association would like to invite all members our Annual General Meeting!
The meeting will be held on Monday 20th February 7-7.30pm at The Royal British Legion Meeting Room. You can also attend the meeting online. See details at the bottom of this post.
The Board will present the annual report, outlining the past year’s activities. This will include the opportunity to have a look at Clocktower basement drawings, which we have managed to find in the Moray Council archives! Moreover, the AGM is an opportunity for members to have an input into the future direction of the charity.
As a charity, the DDCA relies on the support of our members. We are grateful for you taking the time to attend the AGM so that we can continue delivering on our various projects aiming to promote Dufftown & District and enhance the quality of life for our residents.
Not a member yet? It’s easy, you can become one today by applying online.
Details for joining the AGM online:
Dufftown Community is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Dufftown Community’s AGM
Time: Feb 20, 2023 07:00 PM London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us05web.zoom.us/j/89857195195?pwd=TXYza2NSbFMxQ0pSN3hJZXpRaWNMUT09
Meeting ID: 898 5719 5195
Passcode: 3M2zK0
Hot off the press! Why not have a read of the December newsletter and see how you can get involved in local community action this coming month.
Want to make sure you don’t miss our newsletters? Go to the very bottom of our website to sign up and receive them straight to your inbox!
In November 2022, we organised the second Dufftown & District Community Forum. The aim of the forum was to identify community priorities and discuss next steps. 32 individuals attended the meeting and a diverse range of community groups and other organisations were represented.
Two members from the youth committee at Speyside Youth took photos and videos of the meeting and made a video about it. It is a fabulous piece of work and it was great to see local youth get involved with the forum. You can watch the video on our Facebook page.
During the first half of the meeting, participants were asked to write down their top priority for Dufftown & District they would like to see people and groups work together on. Below is a word cloud created with all the participants’ priorities. The larger the word, the more frequent it had been written down as a priority.
In the second part of the meeting, the priorities were divided into 5 themes as outlined in the Dufftown & District Community Action Plan 2021-2026:
Everyone was invited to select a topic they were most interested in. Working in groups, participants were asked to discuss the priorities and make a time-line between now and two years from now.
The Community Forum in November 2022 showed that there is a wealth of ideas among the community on community development in Dufftown and District, as well as an impressive list of projects and services already taking place. This meeting further identified the top priorities and highlighted the collaborative spirit among community groups and residents.
If you want to read a more in-depth summary of the meeting, you can download the Meeting notes.
Did you know that individuals and groups in the community can apply for a Dufftown & District microgrant of up to £1000 for charitable activities?
The microgrant fund is part of the EDF Dorenell Community Benefit Fund as is distributed through Dufftown and District Community Association. Between April 2020 and November 2022, £10,156.15 was awarded through the Dufftown & District microgrant fund to local groups and initiatives.
Awards made since the beginning of the fund are already having a positive impact through community events, new equipment and sports activities. For example, the Royal British Legion in Dufftown used the microgrant towards the cost of the Queen’s Jubilee Weekend, with live music, food, children’s party and cinema screening all free of charge for the community. Furthermore, Dufftown FC applied for a microgrant to run a children’s football camp in 2022. 20 kids participated over the course of one week. In five days they achieved a combined total of 7080 minutes of activity in glorious weather! Dufftown’s outdoor environment has also benefited from the microgrant fund. Keith and Dufftown Railway Association used the fund to purchase bike stands for their railway station, while Dufftown in Bloom purchased planting materials to keep Dufftown looking bonny in the summer.
You can read more about the Dufftown & District microgrant fund 2020-2022 in our report.
Do you have an initiative that you would like to make happen? Individuals and groups can apply to the fund by submitting an application form, stating the details and benefit of proposed activity. The application form can be downloaded on our website.
Decisions on grant awards are made by the Dufftown and District Community Association Board of Trustees. There is no set application deadline. Grant applications are reviewed at monthly Board meetings. Get in touch if you have any questions!
As 2022 is coming to its end, Dufftown and District Community Association would like to wish all residents and friends a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
We would also like to take this opportunity to send out a big thank you to all the wonderful people who have supported and worked with us over the past year.
First of all, we are grateful for all our members, old and new, who make up our charity. It is thanks to your support that we can keep going. Secondly, we would like to send warm wishes to partner organisations that have worked with us to deliver valuable and exciting activities this year. Third, a big thank you to our donors and funders who have supported us to make things happen, such as the community food larder, Dufftown wellbeing week, eCar hire, community forums and much more.
Having started my post as Community Development Leader for Dufftown and District Community Association in February 2022, I would like to especially thank all the representatives from local community groups, the DDCA board and the Moray third sector for giving me such a warm welcome over the past year. Getting to know you all has really been the highlight of my job so far.
Warm wishes to all,
Viktoria
Did you know that Dufftown is surrounded by lovely trails that are great for cycling? Have you heard that you can hire an eBike for £15 per day, and get interest free loans towards buying your own eBike? We are passionate about promoting active travel and during November we joined both national and local cycling organisations to provide free cycle activities here in Dufftown!
On Sunday 20th November, we brought our wide range of eBikes down to the Royal British Legion car park for people to come along and give them a try. 14 people from Dufftown and the surrounding communities tried our hybrids, mountain bikes, kids bikes and recumbent bikes. Perhaps the most exciting one was our eTrike. It takes a while to get used to the steering when on three rather than two wheels but once you get the hang of it, the trike is great fun. People of all ages came along on the day – some cycle regularly and others had not been on a bike for 50 years. Majority had not cycled on an electric bike before and it was lovely to see people’s faces when they experienced how easy it is to use an eBike.
On the day, we were joined by the local social enterprise Tyred n Cranky, who provide mobile bike servicing and various cycle activities. We are very grateful that Tim and Darren have come along to Dufftown several weekends in November to do free bike servicing of people’s bikes and taught them basic roadside repairs for bikes. In case you still have a bike sitting in the shed and needs some TLC, Tyred n Cranky are hoping to come back to the Dufftown Royal British Legion car park in 2023.
As if we weren’t spoiled enough with bike activities in Dufftown, Cycling UK also came along to the RBL car park with a variety of different eCargo bikes for people to try out. These are a perfect alternative to small delivery businesses using cars. They are also great for individuals and families that wish to reduce the use of their car. With the electric assistance, it is easy to take your shopping or kids on the cargo bikes.
Last but not least, Outfit Moray visited Mortlach Primary School in November to provide Bikeability training for the P4s!
If you missed the bike activities in November, you can hire our eBikes here in Dufftown on our website. We hope to organise more led rides in 2023 – make sure to watch this space for more information.
Despite social media and constant access to news through our mobile phones, it can be tricky to weed through all the information to stay up-to-date with what’s going on at your own doorstep. Recently, a really useful leaflet was distributed through Costcutter with things that are on in Dufftown & District. Well done to those involved in pulling it together. Another useful place to find local information is the local Facebook Page The Speirins.
As we are approaching the Christmas season, lots of fun activities and events will take place in Dufftown and District. We have compiled a list of some of the activities that will be on for the remainder of the year:
Sunday 20th November, Saturday 26th November
At Royal British Legion car park
Come along to lots of free bike activities here in Dufftown! On 20th November, DDCA is bringing our eBikes for free trial sessions, Tyred n Cranky will be providing lots of free bike activities, and Cycling UK Moray will be there with cargo bikes to try out. We look forward to seeing you at the Royal British Legion Scotland, Dufftown from 10am.
Thursday 24th November 7.30
At Royal British Legion
Star prize £100, £1 admission
Saturday 26th Nov 12pm – 4pm
Keith and Dufftown Railway
Exclusive preview of KDRAs latest jewel. The Dram Tram will be open for inspection. Refreshments will be provided
Saturday 26th November 9pm
At the Royal British Legion Lounge
Scott Ramsay
Saturday 26th November 7.30-11pm
Glass Hall
Dancing to Broma Ceilidh Band, £10 per person, BYOB
https://fixr.co/event/st-andrews-night-ceilidh-tickets-855577611
Thursday December 1st 2-4pm
Glass Hall
Glass SWI invite you along to our Christmas Wreath making.Tea and mince pies provided. For for SWI members, all others £5 , We will provide greenery and metal wreath rings. There will be some ribbon but please bring your own other embellishments. Please bring your own scissors/secateurs and wire to hold greenery in place. If you wish to bring your own Oasis to make a wreath please do, we will help as best we can but there is no guided instructions, however we do all help each other.
Saturday 3rd December 7.30pm
Glass Hall
Get set for Christmas! Make the most of the wine offers ahead of the festive season. Showcasing 10 brilliant festive wine ideas. Cash Bar – Free Nibbles – Raffle. Hosted by Tom Macpherson and Marc Day
https://fixr.co/event/wine-tasting-night-tickets-861356563
Saturday 3rd December 6.30pm for 7pm meal
Royal British Legion
£35 per person, includes a wee bottle of fizz each upon arrival. Pre-order bookings with deposit of £25 per person by November 18th
Saturday 3rd December 2022 at 7.30PM
DANCING TO SCOTT BAND. dancers £10.00, spectators £5.00
https://www.facebook.com/DufftownSCDC
December 7th, 7.30-8.45pm
Mortlach Memorial Hall
More details to be confirmed.
https://dufftownhorticulturalsociety.uk/
Saturday 10th December 10.30am-1.30pm
Acorn Centre, Cabrach
Join the Cabrach Trust to make a beautiful festive door wreath with the award-winning Wild Blossom Floristry. During this workshop, you will learn the basic principles of floristry, make and take away your very own door wreath, just in time for the festive period!
Saturday 10th December 9-11am
Commercial Hotel. Adult £10, Child £5. Booking essential, call 01340 820313
Saturday 10th December 3-6pm
Royal British Legion
The Dufftown Christmas Market returns to host a wonderful array of stalls, right in time for you to get into the festive mood. There will be both an indoor and outdoor market, entertainment for kids including a kids Santa run and grotto, hot food and drinks. The Dufftown Christmas Market will come with a big raffle with tickets being on sale as from the November farmers market. Main prize will be a brand-new Apple iPad, with various other prizes also to be drawn.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1135430004033818
Saturday 10th December 9pm
Diane Barber
Sunday 11th December, 9-4pm
Royal British Legion
Organised by DDCA and RBl, exchange for all ages from tots to teens. We can only accept clean, unmarked, neatly folded clothing, good condition footwear and school uniforms. Donation drop off at the Dufftown Royal British Legion 09:00 until noon. Take your pick 1-4pm.
16th December 2-4pm
Mortlach & Cabrach Parish Church
Saturday 17th December
Royal British Legion
Saturday 31st December 7.30pm
The Commercial Hotel
David Hood and Dufftown Pipe Band. Stovies & Dram served. Adults £15, children £8
Saturday 31st December
Louise Low and Hogmanay Raffle. Raffle tickets available from the Legion Lounge Bar & Rustic and Roses flower shop. £1 per strip
Every Wednesday until 19th April, 10am-3pm
At Royal British Legion
Join us for a free weekly get-together during the cold winter months for all who want to share company, coffee, entertainment and snacks. Hosted by various associations and organisations in the Dufftown community.
We have done our best to find as many of the upcoming events as possible. If you know of an event that is not yet on the list, get in touch and we’ll make sure to add it!
