Ron

Today was Ron Simon's funeral in the Parish Church in Kirn.

Ron was my Campaign Manger when I was elected in Argyll & Bute three years ago and had worked as my Constituency Manager since then.

I was asked to say a few words at the funeral by his wife Gail and sons Stuart, Allan and Ross. It was a packed event as Ron had grown up in Kirn and was a Councillor in the ward until 2012. I mentioned in my contribution that the first time I attended Kirn Gala with Ron it took hours to walk down the street as he knew everyone and indeed seemed to have done something to help everyone.

This little collage includes two of my favourite pictures from the 2011 campaign. The first shows Ron, Ross and Billy King (whose own funeral in the same church took place only a month or so ago) putting up large posters in Strachur. The second , taken at Kilmartin in Mid Argyll, shows Ron leading the car cavalcade through the constituency on the last Saturday of the campaign in his beloved sports car which ended up in Loch Eck on an icy morning later that year. He however managed to climb out of the car when it came to rest and didn't even get his feet wet - a story told by his son Stuart at the funeral too.

We will all miss his humour, his courage, his determination and his passion for the cause.