‘Very positive feedback’ after Sinclair’s Bay Trust serves up more than 400 lunches

A Social Spaces project involving three village halls in the east of Caithness served up more than 400 lunches to residents of Sinclair’s Bay over a 10-week period – leading to many requests for it to be run again.

Sinclair’s Bay Trust hosted the sessions for the third year as a way of meeting an important social need during the “long and lonely” months from January to March.

The three halls – Keiss, Staxigoe and Reiss/Killimster – opened their doors to provide a place for the community to meet and to share a hot drink and lunch.

Sinclair’s Bay Social Spaces served up a total of 413 lunches.

The project began in 2023 as a response to the cost-of-living crisis and was rebranded in 2024 in response to community feedback to reflect the social benefits.

Sinclair’s Bay Social Spaces 2025 was supported by session facilitators June Frame, Kerry O’Keefe and Jack Binnie, with catering provided by Nadine Stewart, and was supported financially by Thistle Wind Partners and the National Lottery Community Fund.

Kerry, session facilitator and community development officer, said: “It has been a pleasure facilitating Social Spaces, meeting so many lovely people and hearing they are enjoying the sessions.

“The feedback has been very positive. Attendees have enjoyed the social interactions, quizzes and lunches and we have had multiple requests for it to return again.”

One person who attended said: “I have enjoyed the company and chat. Everyone is so friendly…it brings the community together.”

Another commented: “Great social event – soup and sandwiches were excellent.” A further resident added: “Going to miss it now.”

Sinclair’s Bay Trust chairperson Maysie Calder said: “We are thrilled to see this project go from strength to strength and that it has continued to be well supported by our community.

“The project is close to our hearts. The winter months can feel long and lonely and Social Spaces meets an important social need.”

Sinclair’s Bay Trust aims to make the Sinclair’s Bay area a better place to live, work and visit.

The trust is now shifting its focus to the rest of the year and has a number of plans in place. These include its community photography project, A Year in Sinclair’s Bay, publication of its next newsletter and artist-led workshops, in addition to monthly informal creative sessions held under the Sinclair’s Bay Creatives subgroup.

Maysie said: “Having been in operation now for a few years, successfully delivering and concluding our biggest project to date, Caithness At War, and having some successful projects under our belt, including Sinclair’s Bay Social Spaces, we’re now at a stage where we’re starting to look at larger, sustainable projects.

“We’re liaising with Development Trusts Association Scotland and the Plunkett Foundation to explore our options.”

Part of this process involves gaining the views and opinions of the community.

The trust is holding a number of in-person community engagement and consultation events in the halls around Sinclair’s Bay over the next couple of weeks, as well as providing opportunities for those who can’t attend to take part in the consultation via electronic and paper-based surveys.

Maysie added: “It is an exciting time for our trust and our consultation events will be a great opportunity for us to engage more with our community and understand if the projects we are exploring fit what the community want and need.”

Community consultation events:

Tuesday, April 22, 7pm-8pm, Ackergill hall.

Sunday, April 27, 11am to noon, Keiss hall.

Monday, April 28, 7pm-8pm, Reiss and Killimster hall.

Thursday, May 1, 4pm-5pm, Staxigoe hall.

An electronic survey link will be live on the trust’s social media on Friday.

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