Blairgowrie & Rattray Hub Magazine Summer 2023

I also welcome the opportunity to meet in
person at my office in Blairgowrie.
If you feel there’s an issue I can assist with,
or if you wish to discuss a matter that is
important to you, please do not hesitate to
get in touch.
You can reach my office at
01250 876 576 to discuss any issue or arrange
an appointment.
Alternatively, you can contact me directly
via john.swinney.msp@parliament.scot
Pete Wishart MP
Scottish National Party
Perth and North Perthshire
I have had several fantastic visits to
Blairgowrie since I last wrote for the Hub
magazine. One such outing was to NEST
Creative Space. NEST is an innovative social
enterprise providing affordable studio,
workshop and teaching space for artists,
crafters and makers within the Blairgowrie
area to work from, run classes and hone
their craft.
I was shown the many weird and wonderful
things that they manage to recycle
and repurpose. It is great to see a local
organisation lead the way in showing what
Scotland’s circular economy can really look
like, and it is always a pleasure to catch up
with the dedicated staff.
I then headed over to SCYD at Wellmeadow
House where I was hearing about their latest
youth work projects. SCYD truly provides a
transformative experience for local young
people, offering a range of activities and
events, as well as giving access to services
for the wider community. Their service has
been especially vital over the past several
months since they opened up their venue as
a warm space for locals struggling with the
cost-of-living crisis.
I am always inspired by the enthusiasm of
the entire team whenever I visit SCYD, and I
look forward to seeing their next initiatives
in the months and years ahead.
To mark the one-year anniversary of
the war in Ukraine, John Swinney and I
attended Blairgowrie’s memorial service. It
was an emotional event, with many of the
Ukrainians who have settled here gathering
together with locals to pay tribute. Perth
and Kinross was recently found to have the
highest number per capita of Ukrainians
refugees out of all local authorities in
Scotland. This is a testament to the
generosity of the people of Perthshire who
have gone above and beyond to welcome
the people of Ukraine with open arms since
the very start of Putin’s barbaric war.
Later, I joined one of Mantalk’s weekly
sessions at Wellmeadow. Mantalk is a men’s
community support group which aims to
tackle the stigma surrounding men’s mental
health and address male suicide. They do
an amazing job at offering local men a place
to talk through their issues and find mutual
support in one another.
Society has taken great strides in recent
years when it comes to the stigma
surrounding men’s mental health, but there
is still much more to be done. I look forward
to continuing this dialogue with Mantalk to
find ways in which my office may be able
to assist with the excellent work they are
doing.
The common theme across all these visits
was the thriving sense of community spirit
in Blairgowrie and Rattray. There is no doubt
the area is home to some of the warmest
people out there who are helping to make
life that bit easier for those around them.
This is always important, but particularly
during these challenging times, and was
heartening to see in action during these
visits.
And on the theme of helping, if you have
any issues that you think my office can
assist you with then please don’t hesitate to
get in touch by emailing pete.wishart.mp@
parliament.uk or calling 01738 639 598.
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