Calum's Cabin

I was on Bute for most of the day , holding a surgery in the morning and in the afternoon meeting the parents of Calum Spiers who was the idea and the inspiration behind their charity Calum's Cabin.

The Cabin - and now the Cottage - provide opportunities for children with cancer to spend time on the lovely Island of Bute and it was Calum's idea to try and offer that opportunity to those in the same situation as himself.

Two years after his funeral - to the day - the beautifully designed house facing the Island of Inchmarnock that is the original cabin welcomed its first guests. Three years later the cottage in Rothesay started to do the same.

Last week Calum's Cabin got a welcome financial boost from the "Cash for Kids" appeal but it's bedrock is the commitment and enthusiasm of Calum's mum and dad and the small army of volunteers who meet, greet, clean, work in the shop and fundraise. Calum's twin sister Jenna is also central to what has been achieved and a couple of years ago I presented her with one of the Argyll Volunteer Awards in tribute to what she has done.

They have all created something remarkable and wonderful, encapsulated for me in the stained glass window by Alec Galloway upstairs in the cabin which has at its heart his parent's perpetual star - Calum - and around it all the things that excited and inspired him. What he imagined and they delivered now excites , supports and inspires others.

The last and very moving word must go to Caroline, Calum's Mum. Sitting on the sofa in the cottage this afternoon she said "We had a choice. We could have pulled the duvets over our heads or we could have thrown ourselves into working as hard as we could . That is what we did for Calum , for ourselves and for the families and children like us. "