THERE was a time when word of mouth was the only method of promotion available for holiday resorts and, while personal recommendation still remains one of the most powerful selling tools, the business has moved on.

WHAT a complete turn-around for the people of Grantown and the surrounding area.

THE operators of the Lecht ski area near Tomintoul have announced that they are to create two mountain bike trails that could be open by the end of summer.

CROSSING double white lines – as Grantown lorry driver Robert Wilson pleaded guilty to in the local district court earlier this week – can not be condoned but we have some sympathy in general for those caught up in such circumstances.

IT has certainly been a very interesting weekend at the Scottish Labour Party Spring conference held in Aviemore - the second time in just three years that the high-profile gathering has been staged in the village.

HIGHLAND Council should be given a pat on the back for ensuring that locals will get their say, albeit belatedly, on controversial plans which could ruin some of Scotland's most stunning scenery.

THE decision to move the main gateway for the Cairngorms National Park south from Drumochter to as some yet to be determined location in Highland Perthshire comes as no real surprise.

THE on-going row over the go-ahead for the £80 million second phase of the Aviemore Highland Resort shows politics in its worst light. The brouhaha is nothing more than Holyrood navel-gazing.

TURKEY twizlers and Tesco home-brand lemonade could be on the menu when Prime Minister Gordon Brown comes to Aviemore next month for the Scottish Labour Party's annual conference.

THE gas and electricity watchdog Ofgem has launched an investigation into recent energy price hikes, which will heap even more costs onto residential and business customers.

THE CAIRNGORMS and the British Army have a long-standing association when it comes to preparing for operations, both at home and overseas.

THIS week's story detailing the extent of under-age drinking in Badenoch may come in for criticism from some quarters.

WE would firmly back calls that are being made by some local MSPs for more Community Service Orders to be handed out by the bench in our local courts – but it will need more money than has been available in the past.

SOME would have us believe that Scotland's First Minister personally intervened to help SNP donor Donald Macdonald gain planning permission for his second phase plans for the Aviemore Highland Resort Ltd.

THE HISTORY of the Rothiemurchus Lodge, the Army and the strath is intimately associated dating back to 1948 when the late Colonel John Grant laid the foundations for the adventure training centre and retreat for soldiers.

THE past weekend has proved what many living locally have long suspected; reports of the death of Scottish skiing have been greatly exaggerated.

NOT only in Badenoch and Strathspey but in the Highlands and Islands as a whole, the authorities have been slow on the uptake when it comes to community gain.

THE Cairngorms National Park has published the responses to the consultation on their deposit local plan.

THE closure of any popular and well-used community facility comes at a shock at any time of the year.

CONSTERNATION has been expressed by some over the dash to the line to secure planning permission for the second phase of development at Aviemore Highland Resort.

THE APPLICATIONS for the second phase of the redevelopment of the Aviemore Highland Resort have reached an important juncture.

THE findings from the business barometer published today by Aviemore and the Cairngorms Destination Management Ltd make for interesting reading for those plying their trade in the tourism industry locally.

IT CAME as no surprise earlier this week when the Scottish Court Service announced that they intended to close the district court in Kingussie as part of their overhaul of the summary justice system in the Highlands and Islands.

PRIME Minister Gordon Brown – recently backing the English FA's bid to host the World Cup in 2018 – announced that the nation stood on the threshold of a golden era of sport.

WE SINCERELY hope that a compromise has been struck that will appease campaigners in Advie over the location of the village's war memorial.

AVIEMORE snowboard star Lesley McKenna is currently ranked within the top ten in the world in the FIS World Cup ladies' half-pipe - and has been amongst the competition's elite for a long time now.

SOMETIMES the law can be an ass. No doubt the ruling by the Scottish Executive's Directorate of Planning and Environment Appeal unit on the fence at the top of Laurel Bank brae in Aviemore is correct on technical grounds but does it make common sense?

NOT for the first time the Scottish Ambulance Service has been found sadly lacking when it comes to keeping the public in Badenoch informed.

THE story of the public interchange in the centre of Aviemore is one that will just not go away. In fact like the newly associated roundabout at the former junction of the Cairngorm ski road it is one that is going round and round and round...

Finally - and fingers crossed - there could be an end in sight to the misery that livestock farmers across Badenoch and Strathspey and the rest of Scotland have had to ensure in recent months.

IT IS a sorry state of affairs when one of the most prominent buildings on Grantown's High Street may have to be shuttered off at night to protect it from vandals.

FOR THE first time in a while, there is a possibility of a new smell lingering over a small part of Newtonmore – one of success.

AFTER four weeks of hearings, reports, evidence and cross-examination, the local session of the public inquiry into the Beauly-Denny power line upgrade draws to a close on Friday.

THERE are ominous signs that the Scottish Court Service will thrust its wishes upon a reluctant community and condemn Kingussie District Court to the history books.

THE debacle which led to the demolition of the old ice rink at the Aviemore Centre covered no-one involved in a good light.

THE cumulative impact of five proposed wind farms on Dava Moor – an area of stark beauty – will be devastating, according to the protestors. We agree.

IT'S that time of year again already. More than 1,000 Harley Davidson riders will be making a welcome return when they roar into the strath this weekend for 'Thunder in the Glens'.

SCOTTISH Water has this week announced massive investment plans that will guarantee the supply of drinking water for Badenoch and Strathspey for the long term.

IF plans for a new dental surgery in Grantown – which will solve in one fell swoop the long-running problems concerning access to NHS treatment – falter, then it will not be NHS Highland bosses in the firing line.

THE first meeting of the Badenoch and Strathspey ward forum held earlier this week can be hailed as a partial success. A turn-out of around 70 members of the public was more than could be anticipated even by the most optimistic of Highland councillors.

A DRAWBACK of living in one of the most beautiful parts of Britain is the amount of consultation we constantly face.

WHETHER it’s speeding motorists, petty vandalism or a minor assault, for more than 30 years, offenders have all had their cases heard at the Highland District Court in Kingussie.

THERE is no hiding from the fact that Newtonmore as a village is short of community facilities, especially when compared to some towns and villages elsewhere in the strath.

IF EVER a man was hoisted by his own petard then it is Mr Gregor Rimell.

THERE is a clear lack of transparency at the Scottish General Teaching Council, which has its headquarters in Edinburgh.

THE care homes U-turn is not a huge surprise but it will leave many longer-serving Highland councillors with egg on their faces.

MR Alan Rankin has arrived in Badenoch and Strathspey as both the public face and the mover-and-shaker behind Aviemore and Cairngorms Destination Management Ltd.

RESIDENTS in self-styled Brigadoon toon Dulnain Bridge have been enveloped by a fog of confusion.

NHS Highland chiefs have made the right decision on the future of the out-of-hours GP service in Badenoch and Strathspey.

IT is unfortunate that Councillor Gregor Rimell has chosen to join the Scottish Lib-Dems just a week after being elected as an Independent candidate.

TEA-DRINKING; the great British pint (and warm ale); miles, yards, feet and inches; orderly queues; Morris dancing; the tabloid press; 'Coronation Street'; Tandoori Chicken Masala; barbecuing in the rain; the WRI; a preoccupation with the weather and Princess Diana; builders losing their clothes and modesty at the first glimpse of sunshine; sunburn.

MANY thousands of voters went to the polls on Thursday to play their part in democracy, only to find that their votes counted for nothing.

THE national and local government elections finally take place tomorrow (Thursday) after months of hard campaigning and their outcome may well shape the political landscape like no other before.

THE high tops of the Cairngorms along with low lying coastal areas of Britain probably have the most to lose if the globe continues to warm because of man's carbon emissions.

IT IS good to see that a trade show is returning to Aviemore and the new-look centre this weekend. The loss of the Highland Trade Fair now over six years ago to Glasgow was a blow to the village and also a bitter pill to swallow.

LIKE any new piece of equipment, the revolutionary electronic vote counting system that is to be used at next month's Scottish Parliament and Highland Council elections is bound to have its teething problems.

IT has emerged that sweeping changes have taken place this week in the way in which ambulance transportation for hospital and clinics is booked in the Highlands and Islands.

EVEN BY transport project standards, it has not been the most speedy of schemes. Seven years ago, the then Scottish Executive Transport Minister, Sarah Boyack, announced major funding for a new public transport hub in the centre of Aviemore – and this week, work finally started.

HARDLY a week goes by without a new warning being delivered in the media about the threat of global warming.

THE CAIRNGORMS National Park authority was right to reprimand another public body in Scottish Water for the "cavalier" manner in which they have constructed their new water treatment plant at Laggan.

HIGHLAND Council's education authority has been busy sending out correspondence to families detailing a new system for monitoring absenteeism and putting procedure on a formal footing.

SILENCE has not been golden in the case of the Wade Centre.

THE move to bring in single surveys should be welcomed by house hunters as well as vendors across Scotland, especially in property hot-spots such as Badenoch and Strathspey.

NO-ONE is questioning Forestry Commission Scotland's expertise and experience when it comes to land management.

WHEN a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, it can often leave the sufferer, their family and friends feeling helpless and alone.

AS ever, it's a mixed bag as Highland Council sets out its stall in delivering public services and balancing the books for the new financial year.

IT'S certainly a strange logic where three minus one equals more; in this case, greater ambulance provision in Badenoch and Strathspey.

AS national park authority convener, David Green states in today's 'Strathy' that much has been reported on the planning determinations for over 100 houses in one of Aviemore's last remaining areas of woodland. The reality is that the park was caught between a rock and a hard place.

NORTHERN Constabulary Chief Constable Ian Latimer, who himself was an officer with Merseyside Police, recently identified "heavy" drug dealers in Liverpool and Manchester as deliberately targetting the Highlands because they see the area as a soft touch.

AS THE seasonal festivites come to an end, and we roll into 2007, it is time to reflect on the achievements made over the past 12 months and ponder the new developments we can look forward to in the year ahead.