Well, the answer is four ceilidhs and quite a lot of willow!
We were delighted with the success of our four summer ceilidhs. They brought people together for some great nights of music, dancing and fun, and we hope to build on this next year and make the ceilidhs a regular fixture in the Dufftown events calendar for both our community and visitors to enjoy.
We were particularly grateful for the support of our local Highland dancers and pipe band, who helped make the evenings extra special.
And, of course, a huge thank you to everyone who came along and supported the raffles. They were very well supported each night, and all of the groups who ran a raffle were delighted with the funds they were able to raise to support their work.
We are delighted to share that the Community Development Officer role is now funded full-time for the next four years.
This is a fantastic outcome for the DDCA and the wider community. Having the role in place on a full-time basis gives us the capacity to plan ahead, develop our projects and priorities, and, importantly, know that there is dedicated support available to help move things forward over the coming years.
There is lots we want to achieve, and we’re looking forward to getting stuck in!
We have been successful in securing funding from HiTrans for six new e-bikes. We hope to place the order for the bikes in the next week or so, with the new bikes expected to arrive towards the end of October.
Some of the new bikes will replace older bikes within the fleet, while others will be additional bikes, helping us to increase the availability of this popular community service.
Funded e-bike hire is still available for local residents. Whether you are looking for a bike for a short-term or longer-term hire, just give us a call or send us an email to find out more.
The new bike lockers have also been a great addition to the project. They make the scheme much easier for us to manage and allow us to be more flexible with customers when arranging collections and returns.
We have been absolutely delighted with the response to our Clock Tower Fundraising Club and the fantastic support from the community.
Our next draw will be in December, and we have set ourselves a target of reaching 100 members by Christmas Eve.
If you haven’t joined yet, or you would like to take an additional entry, now is the perfect time to get involved and help us keep moving towards our goal of restoring the Clock Tower.
Join the Clock Tower Fundraising Club here:
Clock Tower Fundraising Club – Dufftown CommunityEvery membership makes a difference.
We have now set the dates for our Community Social Afternoons and Warm Spaces lunches for the next six months, and we’re looking forward to seeing lots of familiar faces, as well as welcoming some new ones.
Our Make Do and Mend classes also restart on Monday, so there are plenty of opportunities to get involved over the coming months.
For dates and more information, keep an eye on our Facebook page, visit the Events section of our website or get in touch with us by email.
A reminder that our consultation for the Dufftown & District Community Action Plan closes tomorrow.
If you haven’t had your say yet, there is still time to complete the online form and help shape the priorities for our community over the coming years.
Complete the consultation here:
https://forms.gle/rnDkYi61sjS8ojABA The feedback received will then be discussed at the next Community Forum on 23 September, after which a draft plan will be shared with the wider community for further feedback.
The DDCA exists to support our community, and your ideas, feedback and suggestions help us understand what matters to the people who live here.
If there is something you think we should be doing, a project you would like to see developed, or an idea you think could benefit Dufftown and the surrounding area, please get in touch.
We’d love to hear from you!
