A privilege

I was thrilled to get this - unexpectedly- in the post this morning.

Some years ago I contributed to an exhibition at the Festival of Politics in the Scottish Parliament which featured three photographers with a connection to Islay.

There were two amateurs : myself as the local MSP ( and as I now know with distant family tree roots there ) & former Labour politician George Robertson who was brought up there ( and who takes his title from the village of Port Ellen in the island) plus Mark Unsworth , a very talented professional  photographer who founded and runs Islay Studios.

The amazing photographs in this magnificent new book ( available from the  Islay Studios website)  are all by Mark but there is an introduction by George and an afterward by me  with both of us thanking Mark for working with us and inspiring us, and for  the vision of the island he has brought to a wide audience through his work .