Tuesday 5th November saw the first of a series of monthly events at St Mary’s Dunblane, aimed at maintaining the impetus of the ECO Fest. The first of these events was a Repair Café held in the church hall, which will be followed by an ECO Café in early December. Led by a team from Transition Stirling who generously gave of their time and expertise, members of the congregation with support from the Bridge of Allan and Dunblane Rotary Club provided additional skills.
The numbers seeking repairs and/or advice were such that the resources available were kept busy throughout the evening. Repairs were made to a number of electrical devices including an angle-grinder, a Magimix blender which had never worked from new and a sewing machine; to garden implements, to various garments and a carrying case; and to furniture. Advice was given on restoring a mobile phone, and a potentially dangerous tablet showing signs of the battery being about to catch fire or explode was detected.
All in all, a positive contribution was made to bringing back to life items that might otherwise have been discarded. To add to the evening a team from the church very kindly provided refreshments for those undertaking repairs and those waiting to have their items examined.
St Mary’s Dunblane also engaged in a project during Creationtide, during which they knitted hats for local farmers to raise awareness of the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RSABI). Each carefully-knitted, brightly-colourful hat also features RSABI’s Helpline number on the inside to remind people that support is there, particularly during the winter months when loneliness can be a real issue.
The hats were distributed by Niall Bowser to farmers attending AgriScot, which took place at the Royal Highland Centre at Ingliston on Wednesday 13 November.
Peter Holmes, St Mary’s Dunblane vestry member
