At random

Not good enough

As we report this week, I have finally received a response to my repeated emails to Scotland’s transport minister, Humza Yousaf, with regard to our continuing campaign for improved road safety on the A85.

Not that the reply came from Mr Yousaf, though. In fact, it came from a road safety manager with Transport Scotland.

She explained that she was emailing me as road safety on the A85 is ‘an operational matter for Transport Scotland’.

She then goes on to talk about how her organisation has engaged with Oban and Dunbeg community councils and that issues raised would be given consideration.

She then lapses into the kind of corporate nonsense that gets my goat, rattling on about ‘feeding back the recommendations to stakeholders’. The manager also trumpets the spending of £340,000 on crash barriers between Oban and Dunbeg earlier this year.

What she fails to address are the three points of our campaign: a 50mph speed limit between Oban and Connel, double white lines along that stretch and a proper layby at Pennyfuir cemetery – all of which are easily and affordably achieved.

Frankly, it’s not good enough.

Cheers to Oban Distillery

I was fortunate to be invited, along with colleagues from The Oban Times, to do a tour of Oban Distillery last week.

What a treat it was. We were part of a group which was guided round the plant by the affable Sam, who was a mine of information and a genial host who plied us with samples of their own product – and delicious it was too.

The distillery is one of the smallest in Scotland, but also one of the oldest having been built back in 1794 by John and Hugh Stevenson and even pre-dates the town.

This was a very enjoyable hour and I’d recommend it to anyone – especially the whisky cocktail. Even if you don’t fancy doing the tour, the distillery’s bar is well worth a visit.