Moving around

It has been a bit of a silly travelling week, especially for someone who is meant to be retired.

I had to be in Inverness on Wednesday and Thursday as I was on the panel interviewing candidates for a new Scottish Land Commission post.   

On Friday I went with the SLC CEO Hamish Trench, to talk to the Cairngorms National Park Board about Land Reform and our current "Scotland Futures" initiative.  

I then drove home, but had to leave early this morning to drive to New Galloway in order to take part in their first "Land Festival" which was being held in the excellent CatStrand Community Arts Centre in the village.  I had agreed some time ago to preset a session about Werner Kissling and it was well attended and fun.

It is ages since I was in New Galloway - in fact  I think it was when I was Environment Minister and facing the challenge of the marauding American Signal Crayfish in Loch Ken which means it was at least 17 years ago.

The community is lively and determined and they not only have a community shop - keeping that facility alive in the type of small place whcih has lost many such facilities - but they also own and operate a community AirBNB and of course Catstrand (in the old primary school as shown in my extra photo )  is an engaging and enterprising place with a good little cafe.