The Light House Blog

Happy birthday Stuart Farmes....40!!!

2011-05-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

Stuart turned 40 today and we wish him many blessings!

New members to the team

2011-05-04T08:04:00.001-07:00

Barry has now joined the Lighthouse team....so watch this space...!!

Tom will be here over the next 13 weeks on a work palcement and we are delighted to have him in the cafe.

At the end of day 1 of planting

2011-04-14T23:43:00.000-07:00

Here is how the garden looked at the end of day 1, more flowers will arrive today!

Planting

2011-04-14T23:38:00.000-07:00

At first it looked like only Emma would be planting, however the troops soon turned up! The garden looks fab now.

Easter cakes...

2011-04-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

Sarah and i have been making Easter cup cakes for the last two days, they really don't last very long on the counter!!

Happy helpers

2011-04-12T07:58:00.000-07:00

Pat and Alan have been here for the last two days helping! the guys enjoyed it so much they had a chance to relax and pose!

Garden update

2011-04-07T03:01:00.000-07:00

The garden is looking good.

2011-03-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

The garden is really taking shape now, each day something new is going on!

Oops....... dont tell Brian Gunn!!!

2011-03-23T08:48:00.000-07:00

i had a little accident...!

Garden

2011-03-22T04:10:00.000-07:00

We can now see lots of things happening in the garden.

Happy workers

2011-03-18T04:18:00.000-07:00

Happy gardeners

2011-03-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

Colin and Ben are loving working next to the cafe!

Santa visits

2010-12-17T12:00:00.000-08:00

Santa was visiting the toddler group and found the time to come and see Stuart.

Look at our christmas tree!

2010-12-10T11:03:00.000-08:00

Ok so today Sarah put up the tree and it looks fab! Lucy was very happy to help while her mummy enjoyed a chat with friends.

Winter is here

2010-12-02T09:33:00.000-08:00

Just a couple of photo's from the Lighthouse which is making the inside of the building very slippy!!

It Christmas.......!!!!!!!!!!

2010-11-23T03:33:00.000-08:00

So everyone today has told me its to early but like it or not we are in the festive season!! so we have started this week off with a new panini and some wonderful Christmas music......ohh yes that's right and it wont be long before the decorations go up!!!

Some of our new cake!

2010-11-23T03:28:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of photos of our new cake made by Laura Robertson and Laura McCheyne to see the rest you will need to come in...!!!!!! yum yum

Update!

2010-11-12T00:27:00.001-08:00

So a quick update on the cafe, we now have employed Sarah Geddes on a part time basis as the cafe is so busy now. It's really fantastic to see the cafe and meeting rooms grow so quickly.

We are coming up to that festive time of year and the snow is on its way!! The cafe will close over christmas and new year and re-open on Monday the 10th of January.

Food Hygiene Certificate

2010-09-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone, the food hygiene certificates are now ready for collection. I hope you will all bring along your diary's to collect them so we can use your new found skill within the Lighthouse!!.
The October holidays are coming up and we need lots of extra help, also we currently have a big need for evening help so if your available either Tuesday Wednesday or Thursday pm please see myself or Eilidh MacPherson. Thanks.

Acoustic night

2010-07-21T07:34:00.001-07:00

Andrea is hosting an acoustic night tonight at the lighthouse, i hope you can all come and enjoy!

Games night tonight @ the Light House...!!!!!

2010-07-15T04:12:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone will come along and enjoy the evening!

The crew!!

2010-07-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

Morag Wallace came to help today and did so well! Along with the rest of the team we had a great day. Lets hope we see more of Morag and the crew.

Selling like hot cakes!!!

2010-07-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

Marea couldn't make her custard creams quick enough today, the cafe was busy and her famous delights were selling out!!

2010-06-12T01:42:00.000-07:00

Hilton Light House

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Facebook.....!!!!

2010-06-09T13:48:00.000-07:00

The Lighthouse has now reached the world of Facebook, so hopefully we will be able to keep you better updated!!

Evening help

2010-05-29T07:25:00.002-07:00

Hello everyone, from next week our new opening hours will begin, 9am-3pm + 6.30pm-9.30pm tues to fri and 11am-3pm sat, serving coffee and cakes in the evening.

If you are interested in helping in the evening please contact myself on 224477 or michelle@hiltonlighthouse.org, the lovely Andrea will be delighted!

Garden!!

2010-05-14T11:19:00.000-07:00

Last night the Light house hosted the Gardening meeting, with a good few ideas, watch that space!!

Calman Trust

2010-05-11T08:41:00.000-07:00

We now have a new cake supplier the Calman trust so come in and try the lovely treats!

Can you help?

2010-04-29T04:14:00.000-07:00

Dawn is having a weeks holiday next week and we are in need of some extra help with the cleaning. If you think you can help please contact me 224477 or michelle@hiltonlighthouse.org thanks!

Look whats happening in Islay...!!

2010-04-16T11:03:00.001-07:00

Ha i couldn't wait untill i was back at work to share this with you!! Rob is doing an amazing job and we had such a wonderful time with both him and Gwen xx

Stuarts early birthday surprise......

2010-03-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

Today we surprised Stuart with an early birthday party and i'm delighted to say it was a blast!

We decided to have his celebration this week for a number of reasons, but as you can see he was happy to be with all his ladies...!!

Welcome!!!

2010-03-25T11:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Sharon who has joined us all the way from Canada, Sharon will be working with us for 12 months and we are very happy and excited to see what she will bring to the light house!
Please pray for Sharon and all she does. Thanks xx

Busy busy busy.....

2010-03-09T13:23:00.000-08:00

Wow we have been busy the last few weeks!! Between the cafe and the rooms its all be amazing.

Thanks to gwen and her amazing web site we have had so many bookings, and word of mouth has been the best!! Please if you feel you want to get involved contact me michelle@hiltonlighthouse.org, there is more than cafe and kitchen work to be done, how does sitting down with a coffee and chatting with someone sound?

Bookmarks!!!

2010-02-25T10:34:00.000-08:00

The lighthouse is supporting hilton primary 4/5 by selling their very lovely bookmarks, please help by coming in and buying one, which can be yours for as little as 10p!!

Saturday 20th Feb

2010-02-17T12:43:00.000-08:00

There is an MSM course on Saturday 20th Feb and we need help!! there is two sessions we need help with either early am (09:15) to serve tea and coffee or 13:15pm to serve lunch, each session will be about an hour and if you are able to help with either please contact me michelle@hiltonlighthouse.org thank you so much x x

The saturday crew...

2010-02-07T00:24:00.000-08:00

Where would i be without them!!

Baptism

2010-01-31T12:08:00.000-08:00

Today Joseph Robertson was baptised and the lighthouse hosted the after party.

Margaret and her amazing pancakes...mmm!

2010-01-31T12:00:00.000-08:00

Margaret Lammond makes the most amazing pancakes and the ligththouse is blessed to have her skills. Here she is on Friday making a lovely batch! Jonnie and i had the pleasure of taste testing!!

New pot...A happy brian!

2010-01-31T11:52:00.000-08:00

WELCOME to new new addition of the kitchen, our lovely new soup pan has made Brian very happy.

I think Andrea was getting into the spirit too!

Thank you Stuart

2010-01-27T09:37:00.000-08:00

I was very nervous choosing the new hard brush and shovel for the lighthouse as the amazing Stuart was going to be using them, and for those of you that don't know hes a man that knows his tools and is a dab hand at the gardening.

However by the look on his face he was impressed (or just being kind to me), off he went and made the front of the building sparkle!!

Stuart has been an absolute asset to us and i would like to thank him for all his hard work.

He is with us as often as 4 days a week and he is a big part of our team, so thank you Stuart x

This boy gets spoiled.....

2010-01-27T09:28:00.000-08:00

Well we have needed a new blender for a while and today Brian was given the enjoyment of using our brand new one for the first time!

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Brian for all his hard work, the lighthouse is very blessed to have him and the amazing Marea.

The end of the soup pan!!

2010-01-27T09:21:00.000-08:00

Here is Brian saying good bye to the soup pan and although he looks sad this is not the case!! haha we will miss the old thing but it won't be forgotten!!

Pray for small groups.

2010-01-26T12:14:00.000-08:00

Pray for our group that began for the first time tonight, it was great to be able to meet up and chat about different stories and how we feel about god.
All groups that meet up and talk about god are important and we are thankful to have them.
Blessings to all x x

Volunteers!!

2010-01-21T11:27:00.000-08:00

A big thank you to everyone who gives up free time to help with the lighthouse cafe and now cardboard collection.
We still have a great need for help especially on wed, fri and sat and would welcome any amount of time you could give, however if you feel the cafe isn't for you but you would still like to help we do have functions coming up that require some extra help.
Please drop in to see me or e-mail me at michelle@hiltonlighthouse.org if you can help, many thanks .

Farewell friends...

2010-01-21T11:20:00.000-08:00

We have now said farewell to Gwen and Rob and we are sad to see them go, here is the amazing cake given to them by the talented Laura Robertson.

Day one..

2009-12-16T08:28:00.000-08:00

.. of the Journey to Bethlehem. Preparations started early in the morning..

By mid-day the journey was in full swing! Click here for full details of the day's events

The hay arrives..

2009-12-15T07:08:00.001-08:00

The hay arrives in anticipation for the opening of the "Journey to Bethlehem" tomorrow at Hilton Church and the Light House!

Guild Christmas Celebration

2009-12-15T06:48:00.000-08:00

The Light House was delighted to host Hilton Parish Church Guild Christmas Celebration last Thursday evening. 21 ladies attended an evening of food and fellowship and all enjoyed the occasion very much. God Bless you ladies!

Volunteer's night out

2009-12-09T01:25:00.000-08:00

A fantastic night out was had by the Light House volunteers last Saturday... IN the Light House!! An evening of pizza and party games to show our appreciation for our volunteers funded by the generosity of our cafe customers - thank you!

The video below gives a wee taste of the fun and games.. albeit the lighting is a bit dim... Watch out for the "after eight" champions as well as those crazy participants of the coin game!!

Painting the Light House

2009-11-20T06:19:00.001-08:00

Our thanks to Craig who is doing a fabulous job of painting the outside walls of the Light House. Here's a view from inside the kitchen of the man hard at work!

Advent at the Light House

2009-11-20T06:19:00.000-08:00

Advent begins next week and the Light House will start to take on a definite Christmas feel as the expectation of Christmas builds..
Today Marea treated us to her mouthwateringly light mince pies - hot from the oven! Next week we'll start to see more Christmas fayre as well as the opportunity to purchase Fair Trade Christmas cards, wrapping paper, gifts and sweets.

Welcome Alison!

2009-11-20T05:34:00.000-08:00

Introducing Alison Waite as our new member of staff at the Light House. Alison started on 1 November as Cafe Assistant and we're very pleased to have her on board!

Michelle Hamill has also been appointed as Cafe Supervisor, but she won't let me take her photo yet so I'll blog that later :)

Next Alpha course coming up at the Light House

2009-10-27T12:50:00.001-07:00

Just to let you know that the next Hilton Church alpha course is starting next Monday morning in the Light House cafe. For more details on alpha and this next course at the Light House click here

Part Time Cafe Assistant post at the Light House

2009-10-27T05:48:00.000-07:00

We are still seeking applicants for the part-time post of Café Assistant at the Light House.
This post is for a 6 month period with a salary of £6 per hour.
You can view the job description in full by clicking here
If you are interested or know of anyone interested in applying for this posts please come and speak to me or Iain Ross or contact me on the following details: tel: 01463 224477 or email: gwen@hiltonlighthouse.org

Delicious!

2009-10-22T01:12:00.000-07:00

That's what Amy Geddes thinks of the new Light House chips. Amy was our first customer to try the new addition to the menu. Her smiling face says it all!!!

Chips can also be purchased to take out as well as the rest of the items on the Light House menu.

... and our special brand of fairly traded coffee beans can also be bought for use at home or we can grind them for you first!

CHIPS!

2009-10-21T02:32:00.000-07:00

Announcing, by popular demand, the arrival of the new chip fryer at the Light House. You can now purchase chips with your lunch at 75p a carton or why not share a bowl with a friend at £1 a time!

Light House Web Site

2009-10-21T01:50:00.000-07:00

The Light House web site is now LIVE!

You can visit it by clicking on the picture above and you will see that there is a link on the site back to this blog. There is also a link at the top right hand corner of this blog taking you to the web-site home page. The web site is intended to be dynamic and so do please pay a visit from time to time to check on any updates.

HAPPY BROWSING!

Jobs at the Light House

2009-10-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

Hello, Gwen Barlow here to announce that as the Light House moves into the next stage of its development two new job opportunities have arisen.

Café Supervisor and

Café Assistant

Both posts will be for a 6 month period with possibility of a job-share.Salary for the café supervisor is £6.50 per hour and for the café assistant £6 per hour.Working hours are 7 hours a day, 5 days a week. You can view descriptions of the posts in more detail by clicking on the links above.

If you are interested in applying for these posts please come and speak to me or Iain Ross or contact me on the following details: tel: 01463 224477 or email: gwen@hiltonlighthouse.org

Room Lets

2009-08-29T01:43:00.000-07:00

The Light House is not just a vibrant cafe but has 3 bookable meeting rooms. If you are ever interested in booking a room for your meeting/function at the Light House or know anyone else who would be interested please don't hesitate to contact me, Gwen, on 01463 224477 or gwen@hiltonlighthouse.org
You can download our latest brochure here which briefly describes the facilities at the Light House.

Below are some of the activities that have been or are still currently going on in the Light House meeting rooms:

· Sunday morning church service in the cafe
· 3 different Sunday school groups
· CrossReach Counselling
· Free Debt management course for the community
· Cairn Housing Association tenant’s forum
· Workers Educational Association (WEA) IT course
· WEA Deaf History training course
· New Craigs Hospital Occupational Health meeting
· SANDS charity meeting for bereaved parents
· Inverness Solicitor’s lunch-time meetings
· Birthday parties
· Birchwood Highland mental health staff and client meetings
· Dunedin Surgery’s joint patient participation group
· Children’s summer-time morning club for the community
· Highland Clarsach Society workshops
· Kirk session “elders time together”
· Alpha course
· Hilton Church Golf Challenge Barbecue

Summer 2009 at the Light House

2009-08-28T05:57:00.000-07:00

What with all the various activities going on at the Light House over the summer, blogging has been sparce! So I'm just going to post a few photos taken over the summer period to give you a flavour of what's been going on...

Visitors from Canada

2009-08-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

Brian had some help tasting the soup this week! You can see him pictured above with Skylar and Taylor from canada. They are part of a group of folk visiting from Canada as part of the Street Invaders team. You can read about them on the web-site http://www.streetinvaders.ca/2009/ Thanks to all our Canadian friends who came to help us in the Light House... it was really great working with you!

Light House Daily Specials

2009-06-20T04:43:00.001-07:00

Announcing a new product at the Light house cafe - the bacon and fried egg roll! Here's a photo of Michelle the chef and Martin the happy customer :)

The soup of the day today was Jock's Brocc! Broccoli soup made by our resident soup master Brian Gunn

Thank you.. thank you.. thank you..

2009-06-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

..to the caterers, bakers, cleaners, shoppers and servers.. speech-makers, photographers, musicians and bouncy-castle minders... cinema ushers and computer operators... donators of time or money... face-painters and child-minders... encouragers and pray-ers... everyone who helped and everyone who came to celebrate the official opening of the Light House performed yesterday afternoon by David Sutherland. May the glory be God's!

The video below tells the story of the weekend's events..

Environmental Health Inspection

2009-05-09T04:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the Light House Cafe had it's first environmental health inspection (without warning!) since opening it's doors to the public.... and passed with flying colours, I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear, especially if you eat here!! Well done to everyone involved in keeping us straight in these matters at the Light House.

To read more about the Food Standards to which the Light House is required to comply Click here

Staff Profiles

2009-05-09T04:01:00.000-07:00

The Light House continues to move on in leaps and bounds! We now have two full time paid members of staff (other than myself!)

Many reading this will already know but just to formally introduce them on this blog....

Susie on the left above is the Cafe Manager. Susie began working at the Light House at the beginning of the year as a volunteer and mid-February took on the full time post of Cafe Manager.

Our newest recruit is Michelle pictured above on the right. Michelle also began working at the cafe as a volunteer and on Friday 1 May started the post of Catering Supervisor.

It's fantastic to have both Susie and Michelle on board and I thank God for them. Permanent staff provide a solid base of continuity and direction for the centre operations. But I need to point out that volunteer staff are also invaluable and we thank God for all our volunteer staff too! If there's anyone out there who would like to volunteer to help at the Light House and hasn't yet done so, please don't hesitate to contact Susie or myself, Gwen.
Blessings!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-11T02:08:00.000-07:00

Brian put on his apron again today to produce a new creation... Brian's Breakfasts! A special all day breakfast at the Light House to celebrate Easter. He was joined by Maria baking ducklings and bunnies.. shaped cookies that is!! Also on our hard working and superb staff today were 2 Matts and Eilidh. All wonderfully organised and orchestrated by our Cafe Manager Susie.
Thanks to everyone involved for making this such a special day at the Light House.
Take a look at the video below for some highlights of the day..

Soup of the day!

2009-03-08T01:37:00.000-08:00

If you haven't been along to the Light House to try the "Soup of the Day" then I recommend that you do..

Yesterday's was the famous "Brian's Broth"...

...and here's Brian making it...

and Fiona tasting it!!

Then there's Maria's mouthwatering custard creams

..a firm favourite with folk here at the Light House!

We're in the Courier!

2009-02-27T08:17:00.000-08:00

Shining a light for the community
By Calum Macleod
Published: 27 February, 2009
HILTON may not be on the coast but it can now boast a Light House of its own — one which it is hoped will provide a beacon for the Inverness community.

For the full article check out this link

Light House Garden Party!

2009-02-25T11:49:00.000-08:00

Iain, Lewis, Steve and Ailsa spent much of the day today beginning the landscaping of the Light House garden. Photos below.. shame I didn't get one of Iain driving the digger. Maybe some other time?

Pancake Party

2009-02-25T11:45:00.000-08:00

What a fantastic time was had by all at the Light House yesterday evening! About 150 children and their parents attended the Pancake Party, another Susie Fraser Initiative! Thanks to all who helped to organise and make it such a special occasion.

Maria and Christine, our hard working and much appreciated pancake makers,

churning out the pancakes

The famous pancakes themselves

There were children...

and grown-ups...

...and the proof was in the pudding.. or more accurately, the pancake!!

First week of lunches!

2009-02-17T06:03:00.000-08:00

Wow what an amazing week at the Light House, its first week of serving lunches!

All was quiet at the start of a new week...

...then Tuesday kicked off with the new menu which you can view by clicking here (then click on your browser's back button to return to the blog) including Susie's Special Soup! The Panini maker also made it's debut...Wednesday morning saw Brian making the soup (Brian's Broth!) and Maria baking mouthwatering scones... our first "Home Baking"! ...and by Thursday we had the new soup kettle on the go!Friday was a particularly busy day and here are some of our dynamic staff preparing the lunches, left to right: Sarah, Fiona, Michelle and Susie..
Then Saturday was Valentine's Day with Love Heart biscuits, heart shaped marshmallows on the Hot chocolate and a special valentine's day atmosphere!! Our deep gratitude to all staff both paid and volunteers who give of their time, energy and sometimes stress levels to this wonderful venture!

Here's leaving you today with a view of a couple of the "Specials" boards..

Time Out Party

2009-01-31T07:15:00.001-08:00

Yesterday evening, Time Out, the fortnightly Wednesday morning arts and crafts group from Hilton Church held their Christmas/New Year's party at the Light House. It was a lovely evening with relaxed conversation over a superbly home cooked sit-down meal for about 35 folk! Many thanks to those who helped out in the kitchen!
Here are some moments captured on camera...

Happy New Year...

2009-01-24T08:02:00.001-08:00

... although it's almost February!! It's been very busy here since we re-opened the centre after the Christmas break on 6 January.
Last Sunday we hosted a baptismal party for baby Erica, some photos below:

Then today the Kirk Session from Crown Church hosted their annual conference in the cafe area.

They are planning on opening a cafe of their own click here for more details and so welcomed Duncan, Iain and myself to share some of the journey of the Light House by way of a presentation. The Light House staff and volunteers also provided a soup and sandwich lunch our first lunch and for such a large number of people...

One of the main tasks at the Light House since we re-opened in January is to recruit more volunteers to help out in the cafe and we are about to recruit our second member of staff as cafe manager to oversee the daily running of the cafe allowing us to move forward to develop the centre on a wider scale... extending the opening hours and the cafe menu, booking of the rooms, arranging ice breaker events to encourage folk to come to the light house, promotion etc. etc.

Keep watching for more news..

Blessings!
Gwen

The First Term

2008-12-23T15:37:00.000-08:00

Just before the Light House closes over the Christmas Holidays for some essential maintenance, I just wanted to share a few wonderful memories with you of the first term by way of a few photos. The Light House will be opening again in the New Year. For more news on that watch this space!

The second week!

2008-12-15T06:43:00.001-08:00

Well, we were so busy serving coffee last week that I didn't even get time to blog and say how we were getting on!

Well, it's going really well. We opened our cafe doors to the public on Wednesday 10 December and haven't looked back since! Trade is steady so far which is great because it gives time for the staff and volunteers to learn the ropes and have a practice, but everyone is doing so well that we're all ready for the next stage in the New year i.e. LUNCHES!! :)

We also hosted the p6/p7 Christmas party last Friday evening which went really well. I have got a photo of that below..

Comment on First Event from Wednesday 3 December, 2008

2008-12-13T06:28:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to say a huge thanks to the Lighthouse staff and volunteers for the work they did in hosting Nitelife and Inshes on sunday night. It was a great night, and the Lighthouse as a venue for an event like that was great. We look forward to using it more and more.
Chris Youth Worker

The first event from Monday 1 December, 2008

2008-12-13T06:16:00.000-08:00

The first event was held at the Light House on Sunday evening. NiteLife invited Inches Church Youth Fellowship over for a Christmas social evening! The cafe area was suitably decorated with Christmas decorations and candles, then the young folk filtered in from the Impact Cafe next door in the Church Sanctuary at around 8 o'clock.
The evening kicked off with games upstairs in the "Purple Room" then downstairs to the cafe area for a presentation on mission work in South America for young folk to consider perhaps during a gap year.

Then a pizza buffet provided by NiteLife

and prepared and cooked by Light House staff and volunteers

A fantastic evening of fun and laughter with a serious message

as well as some... well, more pensive moments...

What a great way for the Light House to start on its journey!

The First Posting from Thursday 27 November, 2008

2008-12-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the first posting of The Light House Blog! As time is drawing near for the cafe to open for business, it seems prudent to start this blog where regular news can be posted on the comings and goings at The Light House.

And on the first posting is Peter Mackenzie who has been busy this week putting up the new fencing round The Light House. Many thanks to Peter for giving his time and hard work

Helping him yesterday was Steve Wetherell, when he wasn't practicing his coffee making that is....!

Another expert at the lattes and cappuccinos is Hilton Church's resident Associate Minister, Jonathan.

So watch this space for more news over the coming weeks.
Blessings! Gwen