Oh wow! I have just returned from spending 48 hours in Pitlochry with the Masters of Design students from DJCAD. It was the most energetic two days one could imagine.

Pitlochry’s Atholl Centre, which was hub for the students during their stay, quickly turned into the brains of the operation, literally. – Every time a group of students returned from a field visit – be that lunch with a community group, interviews with shoppers in the Co-Op, or a visit to a sheltered housing complex, the air of the conference room filled with thoughts and ideas for how to improve care and support in the local area. All thoughts and observations were documented on post-it notes and organised on the walls. So being there was very much like being inside of a a big collective mind.

I have promised the students not to disclose too much about what they got up to because they will be sharing their experiences on this blog too. I can say, however, that they left town happy and exhausted. Over the next couple of weeks they will be distilling their learning into ideas for the future of care and support in Pitlochry. They will be back to test out ideas with members of the local community before the big public reveal on Friday 8th November at 10.30 in the Atholl Centre. All welcome!

More information coming up on the blog… For now I leave you with the reflections of students Moyra and Keerthana on their experience of working with the people of Pitlochry.

– Rikke