I HAVE just had my summer holiday and while many people are jetting off to warmer climes, I have stayed within Argyll and Bute.

On the hottest day of the year, it was raining on Bute.

Well, at least it was warm rain and it was during the Glasgow Fair, so what else should I have expected.

Sadly, this year, there was no Highland Gathering in Rosneath during the Fair weekend, and I suspect that I am not the only person to miss the occasion.

As I have written in this column before, the ten member committee work hard all year round to ensure we have a great day out.

Sadly this year, with rising costs, the sums just didn’t add up and the difficult decision to defer was taken.

Hopefully the games will be back next year and the sun will shine for them.

Everywhere we turn we see and hear the results of high inflation and rising costs.

I am quite sure that I am not the only person who is dreading the energy price rises in October.

However, I wonder if anyone has the answer to why renewable energy costs seem to be rising as quickly as oil and gas? If you know the answer, please do let me know.

I suspect that over the winter, our habits will be changing back to those of my childhood, when only one room in the house would be heated, and that’s only if you were still cold after putting on an extra layer of clothes.

Perhaps we have become too used to just nudging up the thermostat rather than wearing appropriate clothing.

Sadly, it is a sign of the times we are living in at the moment.

In an attempt to help families with rising energy bills, during school term time, our Family Worker and I will be running a home work club and café in St Modan’s Church Hall from 3pm on a Thursday afternoon.

This will be open to pupils in P7 and to secondary school pupils.

We will provide internet access and a warm and quiet space to do homework.

We may even be able to link up with the supported study groups in Hermitage, allowing pupils to travel home on the school bus and still access the extra support that teachers provide.

The Halls in St Modan’s have recently been refurbished and the space is available for community groups to hire at very reasonable rates.

We will even have our first wedding reception there, later in August.

We are also considering other ways in which we can offer support to the community, such as through hosting Citizen’s Advice or other such bodies.

If you have any ideas, please do get in touch. It would be lovely to hear from you: cmurdoch@churchofscotland.or.uk.