Kincraig smiles better, thanks to 'Sir'
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A Badenoch teacher is showing the way when it comes to keeping Scotland not just tidy but clean and tidy.
While headlines roar about 'dirty camping' and 'litter louts', Ian Ash quietly goes about his voluntary work in and around Kincraig, putting a smile back on the face of its time-served public utilities, especially its dirty old litter-bins which are old enough to remind locals and visitors alike that they were initially installed by the long-gone Badenoch and Strathspey District Council.
"I just felt the bins were looking in a worse state than the stuff that had been put in them and it didn't look good at all for the village," he told the Strathy after finishing the last of what some have now dubbed Kincraig's 'Ash Bins'.
"I had the time on my hands, obviously, and plenty of paint in the garage so one day I just decided to start brightening them up. Nobody else was going to, that I could see."
Because it was on his own bat and he was using his own resources, the bins were not all completed in the same livery, but nobody has minded that as they have seen their street corner and bus stop collection points reborn in a variety of pleasing colours.
"You really couldn't see just what the colours had initially been anyway," said Ian. "They were too old and faded and grime-coated to be absolutely sure what the official municipal design had been.
"Nobody's complained about my colour schemes, though!"
After completing the litter bins Ian moved on to restoring the village's historic milestones.
There are three he's found and all of them were long past being useful as they had virtually lost their markings.
"We're not sure just how old they are but they do go back a bit. They're really lovely talking points and it's good to have them. All they needed was a bit of gardening around them, a clean up and then a wee paint job.
"Sure in these days of Global Positioning Systems it's tough to lose your way between one end of Kincraig and Aviemore or Kingussie, but that's not really the point.
"Like our bins and our lovely old Post box, they're all part of the scene around this lovely village and I'd like to think that now they're being tidied up, others will want to join in, not just here but in all villages and towns.
"It doesn't take long to do and it makes all the difference. It kind of lifts the spirits at a time when, let's be honest, they need lifting."
