LoveOban vouchers are brilliant presents

I return all refreshed after a much-needed holiday and raring to go for everything that autumn and winter hold.

I’m even thinking ahead to Christmas now with our LoveOban vouchers having 10 per cent off until Saturday.

They are ideal for saving shoe leather and brain power. A quick visit to one of the places selling the vouchers and job done – no buying gifts that will sit in a cupboard for years or straining your brain for weeks to come up with something that will be appreciated and enjoyed.

And 10 per cent off the purchase price also means that, as a reward for not doing very much, I can go and enjoy and cuppa and cake somewhere and congratulate myself on being so organised. I feel positively smug now and I would recommend it to anyone.

In saying that, I do enjoy my wanders round all the great shops we have and every year I do all my Christmas shopping locally. It usually ends up with me having a few wee presents for myself as well as it is very hard to resist lovely things, especially after a few glasses of mulled wine on the late-night openings.

As well as smug, I’m also feeling proud at the moment as we now have two ambassadors in the family. My nephew Blair MacFarlane has become one of two shinty ambassadors at Oban High School, with the other being Daniel Sloss, who has also made the Scotland under-21 squad at only 16. Well done, boys!

I know I go on about it a bit, but with this being the Year of Young People I feel I can. For a small town we have an incredible amount of talented young people whether in sport, music or anything else they try.

We should be very proud of them and their achievements, and support them in any way we can, even if it is attending a fundraising event such as the family quiz for the Oban High School Pipe Band on November 1 in the Royal Hotel.

Every little thing we do helps them in pursuing their dreams and showing them that as a town we’re proud of them.

The last photo was of the plaque on the Municipal Buildings and, to make it a bit easier this week, a clue is that I only walked as far as Argyll Square for this photo.