District News

Abernethy

Coffee morning Thanks were expressed to all who supported last Saturday’s coffee morning in any way, including bakers, coffee makers, dish washers and all those who donated so generously. A total amount of £552 was donated. Horticultural Society The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 11, at 7.30pm in Masons’ Hall, Main Street. The guest speaker will be Lyndsey Milne of PKAVS, a gardener who is based at the Walled Garden, Perth, part of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub based in the grounds of Murray Royal Hospital. Entry to the talk is £2.50, including refreshments. Free to members. Senior Citizens’ Trust The Abernethy and District Senior Citizens’ Trust AGM is on Tuesday, October 10, at 7.30pm in Abernethy Church Session House. All welcome. SWI President E Taylor welcomed members old and new to September meeting. Isobel Adams gave interesting hints and ideas for nutritious meals and members enjoyed a quiz. Competitions: plum jam - 1 P Miller, 2 B Baird, 3 E Taylor; flower of the month - 1 C Pye, 2 L Farmer, 3 B Cruickshanks.

Aberuthven

Church A joint service will be held in Dunning Church on Sunday. There will be a celebration of communion and harvest thanksgiving in Aberuthven Church on Sunday, October 15. All donations of food or toiletries will be collected for the Perth and Kinross Foodbank. All items for the winter edition of the A&D News should be submitted by October 18.

Almondbank

St Serf’s Church Michael Archibald conducted the service on Sunday on the theme of ‘Ruler of the world’. Jenny Norrie read from Isaiah ch 14, v 12-17 and 1 Corinthians ch 15, v 5057. On display was the latest sewing project by the craft group depicting the fruits of the harvest. The harvest thanksgiving service takes place this Sunday at 11.30am when the Rev Iain Paton will preach. If desired, nonperishable food items will be gratefully accepted at the church or people can contribute to a retiring collection. All proceeds will go to the Perth and Kinross Foodbank. Bingo tea Almond Valley social committee recently held a bingo tea and raffle. The sum of £889 was raised. Thanks were expressed to all who came along to the event on the day or donated raffle prizes.

Alyth

Parish Church Communion was celebrated twice, followed by an evening service of thanksgiving, on Sunday. All services were conducted by Rev Mike Erskine. This Sunday morning worship will take place at 11am. The Guild meets this Thursday in the lower hall. During term-time the Sunday school welcomes children in the front pews of the church. A creche for under-threes is available during Sunday morning services. The prayer group meets on Thursdays in Burnside Court lounge at 10.30am. Choir rehearsal is every Friday at 6.45pm. New members are welcome. The church website at www.alythparishchurch.org.uk is updated weekly and contains details of the family history project, kirk news and lots of photos. Family history Alyth Family History Project is open at Alyth Parish Church on Sundays, from 2pm to 4pm, until Remembrance Day. The archive includes thousands of photographs of people, events, schools, businesses, weddings, children, views, etc. Admission is free. Genealogy enquiries are welcome via fhp@alythparish- ‘Bears Bend’ on the A9, created by members of Bankfoot JAC

church.org.uk or Facebook. Pipe band Alyth and District Pipe Band practise on Wednesdays, from 6pm, in Alyth town hall. For more information, contact Elaine Sturrock on 01828 640312 or email elaine@ alythpipeband.org. The band is on the look-out for a lead tip, drummers and pipers of all abilities with the intention of re-entering competitions for 2018 season. The lead tip will be expected to teach the learners in the band at weekly practise. For more information, contact Pipe Major Gordon Bardon, on 07971 485893 or gordonbarton@mac.com.

Auchterarder

SWI The September meeting was opened by Diane Holme, president, who welcomed all to the first meeting of the 2017-18 session. The group looks forward to celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Members have enjoyed a number of activities including an afternoon tea, evening walk in Perth followed by high tea, and the Federation afternoon tea held at Perth Racecourse. Business and correspondence were dealt with before speaker John Blackie of Heritage Gardens spoke about his work in horticulture. This covered Victorian plant collectors who discovered how to transport plants successfully around the world. After the introduction John gave an interesting slide show of gardening, showing the members what would be blooming and what jobs they should be doing each month. It was interesting and informative talk and was followed by a lively question and answer session. The raffle was drawn and a delicious supper was served by the committee. Competitions: two chocolate eclairs - 1 Noreen Homewood, 2 Diane Holme; floral arrangement in a wine glass - 1 Noreen Homewood, 2 Pauline Parr; flower of the month Fiona Robertson. The next meeting is the club’s centenary dinner.

Balbeggie Bendochy

Church The harvest thanksgiving service on Sunday was conducted by Rev Dr Iain Bentley and the readings, Matthew ch 13, v 1-9 and 18-23, were given by Margaret Davidson. The Sunday service at Bendochy Church will take place from 10am to 10.45am. See Coupar Angus for details of the service and intimations. Dunbarney and Forgandenny Church will hold a joint harvest thanksgiving in Dunbarney Church this Sunday at 10.30am. All welcome. There will be no service at Forgandenny Church on that day. Dance Old Tyme dance will be held on Friday, October 13, in the Institute from 8-11pm. Music will be provided by Gavin Piper. Tickets cost £5, includes tea and biscuits, and are available at the door on the night. Proceeds to charity. SWI The group will hold its next meeting in the Institute on Wednesday, October 11, at 7.30pm. The speaker will be from the community policing team and will talk about security in the home. All ladies welcome.

Burrelton

Church Harvest thanksgiving will be celebrated on Sunday, October 29, followed by a soup lunch and cake stall from 11am to 1pm. Proceeds will go to Mary’s Meals. Guild The harvest supper is on Friday, October 27, at 7.30pm. For more information, contact Mavis Anton on

Caputh

Bowling Club All are invited to take part in the Rings and Strings competition on Sunday afternoon to end the season, with play beginning at 2pm. Church Rev Peggy Ewart Roberts was assisted by husband Rev Bill Ewart in Clunie Church on Sunday morning with Janet Coyle, organist and Ken Blackhall, reader. Communion will be celebrated in Caputh Church this Sunday at 11.15am. Harvest thanksgiving will be included in this service. Donations of dried foods for use in CATH’s kitchen will be very welcome. Open to all. Lunch will be available in Caputh session room on Tuesday, October 10 at 12.30pm, and regular diners who will be unable to attend that day should contact the church. Guild The opening meeting of the winter session will be held in Caputh session room on Wednesday, October 11, at 7pm when M Tooth will speak about the Blythswood Shoe Box appeal. The meeting is open to all.

Clunie

Hall Association The season of whist drives gets under way on Friday at 7.30pm at Clunie Hall. Knit and Natter The group meets in Clunie Hall on the third Wednesday of every month from 2-4pm.

Coupar Angus

Abbey Church Harvest thanksgiving service on Sunday was conducted by the Rev Dr Iain Bentley and readings from Matthew ch 13, v 1-9 and 18-23 were given by Abigail MacDonald, Ellie Turnbull and James Wilson, members of the children’s ministry group Crossover. Additional readings were by Heather and Meredith Cluff, of the younger Compass group. Rev Bentley conducted the service and referred to sowing, growing and harvesting, each time involving the children and illustrating his message with props from his garden. He drew parallels between the development of crops from seedlings and the development of children and the cycle of life. In the right environment a seedling such as an acorn will grow into a mighty oak. Similarly, with the right circumstances and spiritual guidance a child can be nurtured and grow into a fully developed, rounded individual. Irene Henderson, leader of the children’s ministry, stated that a child can be taught to count but it is just as important to teach a child what counts. Rev Bentley’s comments were also relevant to adults but, from Jesus’ explanation of the parable from Matthew’s Gospel people must first learn to listen, digest and understand the message. Only then will they reap the spiritual harvest envisaged by Jesus. Musical offerings by the organist Austin Wilkie included ‘Prelude in G Minor’ by JS Bach, ‘Andante Religioso’ by Herbert Morris and ‘Trumpet Voluntary’ by J Clarke. The prayer group meets every Wednesday in the church at 2pm. The next Friendly Friday is held in Abbey Church today between 1.30pm and 3pm for refreshments, tasty bites and fellowship. EPACTS are planning to print a 2018 calendar to feature Bible verses and photographs taken by local photographers. To order a copy at a cost of £3, speak to Helen Pithie. The St Anne’s lunch club meets on Tuesdays for toasties, soup, cheese and biscuits served with tea or coffee. The club is looking for help. Anyone who wants to help out can speak to Anne Richards or Helen Pithie. A new boiler will be installed at the Abbey Church during the week beginning Monday, October 16. The work should take four to five days. The Sunday service at the Abbey Church is from 11.15am to 12.15pm. Intimations for next Sunday should be emailed to Ellen at emcgibbon@ sky.com or telephone 07541 009398 by Thursday. Autumn fair The fair takes place on Saturday, October 14, from 10am to 2pm. Entry is £2 for adults, which includes refreshments. Children go free when accompanied by an adult. Soup will be on sale from noon. There will be craft and community stalls, home baking, raffle, tombola and craft activities for children and adults, including printing. Charity stalls cost £5, commercial and craft stalls £10. Enquiries to Anne Easson, by telephoning 01828 628001 or emailing a.easson@btinternet.com. Help with teas, soup, home baking, raffle and tombola prizes would be welcomed. Heritage Association After the summer break Coupar Angus and District Heritage Association resume their monthly meetings tonight. The association meets on the first Friday of each month at 7.30pm. Due to the closure of the bowling club their new venue is St Anne’s Church hall on Forfar Road. The group’s first speaker is Murray Nicol, who will talk about the victims of the Tay Bridge disaster. The committee thanked the bowling club for all their help and support over the years. Thursday Friends The next party is on October 12. New faces are always welcome. The annual general meeting is on Wednesday, October 25, at 7pm in the Heritage Centre. Remembrance A Remembrance service will be held at Abbey Church on November 12, at 10.45am. Followed at noon by a parade led by Coupar Angus Pipe Band, from the Cross to the war memorial at Coupar Angus Primary School for a short service by Rev Andy Gray. Coupar Angus and Bendochy community council and local councillors will lay wreaths with local groups and veterans welcome.