At Random
Ambitious initiative is to be welcomed
AS WE report elsewhere in this week’s paper, Argyll and Bute Council has drawn up a new set of guidelines which aim to encourage pavement cafe culture.
The guidelines hope to make it easier for the hospitality sector to get tables and chairs onto our pavements in towns and villages across the region.
The estimable councillor Roddy McCuish said: ‘As a council, we are committed to encouraging a pavement café culture throughout Argyll and Bute as the trend for an alfresco eating and drinking is on the increase.
‘It is our aim to make it as easy as possible to provide these facilities as without doubt it adds vibrancy to our town centres and helps to boost the local economy by making our town centres attractive places to visit and enjoy our hospitality.’
It’s an admirable ambition but made me smile ruefully because the announcement arrived when hailstones were thumping off the windows of our office as Storm Caroline gusted in last week.
But on a serious note, our tourism industry has been booming in Argyll lately with huge numbers of visitors arriving during the high season.
Anything that makes their stay among us more memorable is to be applauded and welcomed.
We have, for the most part, a cracking hospitality sector. Removing some of the bureaucratic red tape that restricts our ability to entertain visitors is an excellent first step.
And remember: we might just get a bit of summer weather eventually that will allow us to sit outdoors enjoying some of the finest views anywhere as we enjoy a cold drink.
Christmas message is being rapidly lost
I NEVER cease to be surprised by what arrives in my email inbox these days.
There are countless press releases every week touting the latest frivolous research project that has, presumably, been carried out at some considerable expense to whomever commissioned it.
But I was struck by one such email a few days ago that summed up for me how the current festive season has changed utterly in recent years.
According to a study carried out for TV channel HISTORY®, the meaning of Christmas is well on the way to being lost completely – if it hasn’t been already.
The research shows, evidently, that one fifth of Brits (20 per cent) do not believe Jesus was born on Christmas Day and nearly one in 10 (eight per cent) are unaware that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
Sadly, I cannot see this as a trend that is likely be reversed any time soon.
Spare a thought for emergency workers
SO WINTER arrived at the weekend with the aforementioned Storm Caroline and an icy blast.
We reported at the tail end of last week that thousands of homes, many of them in the Western Isles and north-west Highlands, lost their power as a result of the gale-force winds, and transport and other services were badly disrupted, with ferries and trains cancelled.
As ever, though, I was left in awe of the many emergency workers who went out in the freezing, blustery conditions to restore power and keep our roads open, among other things.
The majority of homes were reconnected pretty quickly and our main roads were all kept open by the hard-working teams who were out and about to ensure the rest of us had as little disruption as possible.
Keep up the good work.
What do you think?
WRITE to me at mlaing@obantimes.co.uk or The Oban Times, Crannog Lane, Oban, PA34 4 HB.