Switched on - at last

The Scottish Government Cabinet is visiting Oban today and there are a range of events taking place around Argyll which culminate in a public meeting in Oban during the evening. 

My old friend the Deputy First Minister John Swinney was at the top of Glen Fyne this morning to switch on the Merk Hydro Scheme which will provide an underpinning financial  resource for the community based project at Cairndow, Here We Are and the many things it is trying to achieve. 

The  project  has been long in gestation and only the persistence of Christina Noble, seen here with John  outside the very well designed pump house,  has kept it alive during many difficulties and crises.  One of those , in early 2013, resulted in me (as the local MSP)  going to John to seek emergency support for "Here We Are" as the UK Government had frozen decisions on feed in payments just at the crucial  funding moment  for the Merk scheme.   The staff at "Here We Are" had gone without wages for a month whilst  a new package was put in place but John had visited a couple of years earlier and knew how vital this proposal was so he was very helpful indeed. 

Now it is generating and a good crowd turned up to see it started up, at last.