Hope 2 Oban
Blog

Tuesday 28 February 2012

Xplore Xtra 2.0 - Glencoe here we come!!

Following on from our first gathering in December 2011, the H2O trailer was packed up and set off north to Glencoe for Xplore Xtra 2.0.
Our aim was simple - Make new friends! And that we did through the fun and frolics of daft games, pizza and cake. By the end of the evening you'd think we'd all known each other for yonks!
Our hope is that many of our new friends will join us with others from Luing and Ardrishaig as we venture south to Dunoon for Xplore Xtra 3.0 towards the end of March. Part of our time together will be to dig a wee bitty deeper into Christian belief, particularly as the Easter season will be well and truly upon us!
Watch this space for updates.

H2O Friendship Club recall Old Oban

Thursday 23rd February
February can be a tough month for older people as the winter seems to have gone on and on. We were a smaller group than usual today because of illness, but there was still lots of laughter, questions and discussion as we looked at Bob and Charlie’s amazing slides of Old Oban. Seeing our familiar streets filled with ponies and traps, gents in their top hats and ladies in crinolines was quite strange, and the Bay filled with a vast fishing fleet of steam Drifters reminded us of how much the town changes through the years.
We were very pleased to welcome Jessie and Jill from Hope Kitchen (the former Salvations Army hall) where they and their volunteers do a great job producing hot soup and food for local folks who are going through hard times. The girls are going to join the Club on Thursdays, and because extra helpers mean we can bring in more members, we’re delighted to have their help.
Next week we look forward to our speakers from ALI-energy, a local organisation which is running an Affordable Warmth programme. They provide advice and support to households who experience fuel poverty and advise individuals and organizations about using sources of renewable heat.

Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes with GFG

Pancake Tuesday means 'yum, yum!' at GFG. With all manner of toppings, the recent 'Food' input provided the ideal forum to start the chat about Easter approaching and significant Christian times around lent, leading up to this foundational festival. The group are also working on their version of a Gospel story mime, with music by Lifehouse.

Monday 20 February 2012

Tobermory with the SSC - What's the story?

It's February, it must be time for the SSC Argyll weekend to Tobermory! And such fun was had by all those who took place - from Oban, Lochgilphead and areas of Mull.
Not only did we experience every type of weather the west coast could throw at us, we experienced crafts, sports, beach bounding, sing-song and simple times to chill and chat.
Of the 24 young folk who took part, we welomed 8 new 'campers' to enjoy their first SSC experience with lots of talk about coming along to Struan this summer for the SSC camping extravaganza!
Roll on July!

Friday 17 February 2012

Spring in the Air !

The weather forecast isn’t great, and there might still be some snow showers ahead, but for the H2O Friendship Club the season is turning ! On 16th Feb Carol and Fiona hosted a “Green Shoots” afternoon looking at Spring flowers and the famous early bulb-fields of the Isles of Scilly. The slide show transported us to these warm islands off the south west coast of Cornwall with their fields of daffodils and narcissi, and Carol’s talk also featured the poetry of Scot Kenneth Steven. Ken lives in Dunkeld but makes regular visits to Iona, and his Iona Collection is particularly evocative of island life.
After a welcome cuppa, members got their hands ‘down and dirty’ to pot up their own daffodil bulbs as part of the annual Marie-Curie Daffodil appeal – ‘Mini pots of care’ which raises money for cancer-suffers and their carers.
Looking forward to next week, the slide projector will be humming again as we have a visit from Bob McCulloch and Charlie Drummond to take us ‘Down Memory Lane’ with their slides of Old Oban. These popular shows always get everyone talking and sharing memories – so the crack will be good on 23rd Feb at The Well.
On 1st March we have a visit from ALIenergy, who are currently running their Affordable Warmth in Argyll Campaign. Local reps Lynda and Tara will be coming to the Club, so we’re looking forward to good advice on keeping warm while also keeping the bills down.

Fire Safety Feedback ! A couple of weeks ago we enjoyed our visit from Dave Millburn – Fire Safety Advocate for Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, in this part of Argyll. Dave obviously enjoyed our afternoon tea because he came back last week and even enjoyed singing at the Elisabeth’s Ceilidh ! However there was a more serious purpose, as he has followed up his talk with safety visits to our members’ homes, to ensure that we all have smoke alarms and are switching off everything at night. No more adaptors with dozens of plugs – we now know how to be safe at home !

Zoooom! make themselves more presentable!

Half-term! What do you do?
Well if you're a member of Zoooom!, you pack yourself in a minibus at 8am in the morning with Cameron and Ewen, and you head off to take photographs on the way to the central belt and then you visit one of the finest photographic printers in the country. Why? Because you want to see how the professionals present their pictures to the world.
From wee books to big albums, from simple prints to massive canvases. The visit demonstrated to our Zoooomers!just what can be done with inspiration, splendid images and a bit of imagination.
As ever, a big thank you for the opportunity to Cameron Harris and a super-big thank you to Emma and the staff at Loxleys for the tour. (not something they do for groups of young folk every day!)