Warmest Christmas greetings to all our readers
On behalf of everyone at BID4Oban – Andrew, Joe and myself – I’d like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
This year has certainly been an eventful and busy one with the highlights for me being our Oban walking tours which I thoroughly enjoy, Oban Live which gets better every year, and meeting all our lovely cruise ship passengers, who I go to welcome each time a ship arrives in Oban. It really is a joy to see how happy they all are to be here and to be able to come ashore into the heart of the town.
Then, of course, we had the fabulous reindeer parade and to cap everything off two lots of fireworks with our display at Hogmanay still to come. These are only a very few of the events I’ve been fortunate enough to attend and be part of because I’m in the very lucky position of having a job I love and which allows me to take part in so many things.
The New Year promises more of the same and I’m really looking forward to finding out what it holds but for now I’m going to relax and enjoy the holidays with some chocolate, a pile of books and a few visits to the cinema.
I hope everyone gets the chance to relax and do what you love with whom you love over the festive season. Living as we are through the most difficult and disturbing of times, it is important for all of us – and especially politicians – to realise that there are more important things than partisan headlines, parliamentary debates and public disagreements.
Family, health, the company of friends, our homes and the wonderful environment of Argyll and Bute that we are lucky enough to live in are all things which we should treasure and celebrate. Those who lack them or who, through illness or loneliness or despair, cannot, for a time, appreciate them need our special thoughts particularly during the festive season.
As your local MSP, working alongside my constituency staff, I have tried to help all of those who have contacted me during the year for whatever reason. That is my first duty and I am glad to do it. We won’t always agree on everything but we can agree, I am sure, that by showing solidarity, mutual support and kindness, we can find the best way to live together here in Argyll and Bute, in Scotland, across these islands, in Europe and globally.
We cannot know what lies ahead and the uncertainty of Brexit casts a long shadow locally and nationally at present. But this is a time to be hopeful, so with hope in my heart for Argyll and Bute and our country, I am delighted to wish everyone in Argyll and Bute and beyond a great and very merry Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year. My deputies, spread throughout Argyll and Bute, have continued to carry out, in 2018, their duties, supporting charitable and youth organisations, attending citizenship ceremonies, assisting in the preparation of proposals and nominations for royal visits, honours, the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, and the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, forwarding suggestions for invitations to the Holyrood garden party and generally taking a close interest in their communities, including presenting the Queen’s congratulations on 100th birthdays and diamond wedding anniversaries.
All this takes a considerable amount of voluntary time, which, in the case of my deputies, I think, goes very much unnoticed, so I take the opportunity of thanking them for their selfless and unremitting service.
This year was principally taken up with events marking the last year of the First World War.
The focus was on Islay, where at an impressive and moving ceremony in Port Ellen on May 4, graced by the presence of the Princess Royal and her husband Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, a service was held to mark the centenary of the losses of the troopships SS Tuscania and HMS Otranto. The event represented the contribution of Scotland to the UK’s 1918 First World War commemoration.
The organisation of this and other WW100 events was far-reaching and complicated. It could not have been achieved without the assistance of Argyll and Bute Council, with which a close partnership exists.
In concluding, I wish all in the Lieutenancy, particularly those who contributed so much to the success of our events and projects, a happy Christmas and a good New Year. Christmas means many things to different people. For myself, it has two principle components.
The first is light. Most societies had and have a celebration of light at the darkest time of the year. It is a pattern followed by most of the world’s great religions.
In truth, many religions, including my own Christian faith which adopted a previously pagan ritual and Christianised it, but essentially there is still the element of light shining in darkness.
The religious reference is not only to the physical darkness of the sun being below the Equator, heading to the Tropic of Capricorn, but also the psychological darkness caused by uncertainty, loss, suffering of the body or the mind, broken relationships and the brokenness of many lives.
By allowing the light of Christ to shine into our lives and bring comfort, guidance, courage, strength, we can change direction, start again, cause for celebration.
The second aspect is of birth. It really does not matter where or when Jesus was born.
As Paul writes: ‘Jesus was born of a woman’, as we all were. The birth of a child, the gift of life, with all the potential each child has to become fully themselves.
Jesus’s birth was no more or no less important to Mary and to Joseph than the birth of our own children is to us.
Christmas gives us the opportunity to celebrate life and perhaps as the years pass and we look back, to reflect on how we have used our gifts and talents.
Is the world a better place because I/we have walked this way? Is the world a better place because the Christ has walked this way?
If you are together as family, be happy together. Life is too valuable to spoil a celebration. If you are alone, I trust there are folk around you who will share with you.
Whoever you are, may the light and the love of Christ’s coming bless you as you journey. I would like to wish everyone in Oban, Lorn and the Isles a merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
It’s always lovely to feel and see things changing as Christmas gets closer – even if some might say the whole festive season starts a little too early these days.
Of course, it is inescapable once television and radio adverts switch to their Christmas focus, and shops roll out their festive decorations. It’s a lovely time of year, though, and we are very fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of the world where even the winter weather doesn’t take away from the scenery and feeling of community.
Argyll and Bute looks festive and colourful, and a lot of credit must go to the community groups which take such great pride in putting on festive events and leading the charge when it comes to Christmas lights and decorations in their towns. It all helps to add to the feeling that Christmas is a joyous time that should be filled with family, friends, fun and festivities.
Christmas means a lot of different things to different people, and I hope that whatever is most important to you this festive season plays a big part in your celebrations.
And once Christmas has come and gone, the New Year allows us all the chance to look forward to the next 12 months.
I would encourage everyone to take a moment to think about those in our communities who may not find this time of year as much fun as others, for whatever reason.
A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. The party season is well under way and, thus far, our communities across Argyll and Bute are largely engaging in good-natured festive activities and seasonal cheer.
As divisional commander, I sincerely hope this continues and this very special time of year is one that is fun-filled, enjoyed by all, and everyone is kept safe.
It’s also a time for reflection . For my own part, I’m amazed at how quickly the year has passed. 2018 has been a satisfying year as our strong local partnerships with our local authorities and other service providers have been built on to ensure close collaboration as problems arose.
This approach delivered on our shared priorities to enhance the lives of individuals in need of our support, and continued to nurture a safe and thriving environment for individual and community wellbeing.
We have faced several significant challenges, not least the ‘Beast from the East’ extreme winter that caused such disruption across the country.
During this Year of Young People, I am proud that the division has continued to lead the way in Police Scotland in our innovative deployment of Youth Engagement Officers. Their interactions with young people make many positive interventions in their lives. We’ve also continued to grow the number of our teams of active and enthusiastic Police Scotland Youth Volunteers.
Police Scotland’s festive campaign provides useful advice regarding protecting you, your home and property, and safety advice for shopping and using ATMs. Please check this on our social media pages. Many of my officers are now out and about providing extra patrols at events, in shopping centres and visiting pubs and clubs, engaging with our communities and enhancing your safety. They are your officers – if you see them, please say hello and have a chat with them!
I hope you all enjoy Christmas and the New Year and I encourage all to take care throughout the festive period. We, at Police Scotland Argyll and West Dunbartonshire Division, wish each and every one of you a safe and enjoyable time. Wishing everyone in Oban Lorn and the Isles a happy and peaceful Christmas, and with very best wishes for 2019.