HIS first week in office could not have been more varied for new Inverness Provost Jimmy Gray.

CHRIS Morris can see a bright future in the past. As chair of archaeology at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) Millennium Institute, the Lancashire-raised Viking expert is looking forward to establishing his passion for history in an area where he has spent much of his professional life.

JANE Frere's artistic journey has taken her from the shores of Loch Ness to the West Bank of Jordan.

SITTING in the staff room of a Glasgow secondary school, Carolynne Sinclair Kidd had an epiphany.

PAUL Easto can pinpoint the exact moment when he and his friends started to make the move away from their white-collar careers and make a living from their passion for the Highlands.

IN our interconnected world, small decisions made here in the Highlands can make a big difference to the lives of people living thousands of miles away on another continent.

THINKING of starting a voluntary organisation in Inverness? You need "The A-Team". Not for the TV crime fighters' uncanny ability to manufacture an assault vehicle out of the contents of the average barn, but because they could be the perfect organising committee.

IF the new chairman of Inverness Civic Trust takes particular interest in one type of building, there should be no surprise.

IF it had not been for a local tragedy, long-serving driving instructor Donnie Ross's career would have involved a different kind of transport.

DAVID Mowatt was already used to hard living long before he put on an army uniform.

MORE than anyone else on Eden Court's board, newly appointed chairman Ian Morrison was ideally placed to see how history was repeating itself with the theatre's multi-million pound re-building programme.

ASK Barrie Haycock why he decided to move to Inverness, he will tell you it is because he thought the Highland Capital was a good place to come to.

EVEN as a boy growing up in the village of Ardersier, where he still lives, Billy Milne knew more than most about buses.

KAREN Darke is a great believer in making the most of life. Despite being paralysed in a rock climbing accident 15 years ago and being confined to a wheelchair, she has refused to let her physical disability prevent her embarking on a range of arduous adventures from skiing across the Greenland icecap in temperatures of minus 30C to sea kayaking the length of the Canadian-Alaskan coastline.

LIVING just down the hill from Culloden battlefield, Resaurie resident Stuart Brown has a better insight than most to what happened on that April day in 1746.

FOR the last decade Terry Grigg has lived by the shores of the Moray Firth, yet he reckons he has spent as much time away from his Highland base as he has spent there.

WHEN Andres Duany was a student, one of the places held up as a positive example of modern architecture was the town centre of Cumbernauld.

FEW people could be blamed for regarding our world as increasingly insecure. From terrorist attacks to muggings, many people feel more vulnerable than ever before.

FOR years Andrew Hamilton has wanted to take his company — and himself — to Inverness.

WHEN Eric MacLeod told his boss he was giving up a successful career as an accountant to live on a neglected and remote croft in the West Highlands, he was not believed.

A MAGPIE by heart and a magpie by nature is how Gerry Reynolds could be described.

TOMMIE Mackay is not the only one anxiously waiting for the Christian Youth Centre (CYC) on Bank Street to reopen for business after its £170,000 facelift.

TODAY, just as it has been for over 3000 years, the ancient Persian New Year is celebrated as Naw-Ruz.

IN the media frenzy following the revelation of Prince Harry’s service in Afghanistan, it was almost inevitable that Inverness lawyer Douglas Young would get a call from a national newspaper.

TOP of the priority list for campaigner Bill McAllister is removing the Northern Meeting Park from the sites being studied by Highland Council for a new multi-million pound museum and art gallery for Inverness.

VICKI Fraser has never had any doubts about her career, even if it is one that many people feel uncomfortable about dealing with.

KEEPING Inverness Town House running smoothly should be easy going for council officer Ian Burnett, after a military career that saw him dodging bombs, bullets and a bull elephant.

WHEN the Clark family of Milton of Connage Farm on the outskirts of Ardersier decided they needed to diversify in the face of falling milk returns, they took a careful look at their options.

WITH a number one UK album and a brace of top 10 singles to their credit, present day chart toppers Scouting For Girls do not seem to have much in common with 1970s' Highland local heroes The Kut, other than they are both bands.

ERIC Fairbairn already knew what to expect when he was offered the post of governor of Inverness Prison.

PERHAPS it is Sue Fenton's childhood in the flatlands of East Anglia which is to blame for her enduring interest in the wild places of the world.

FROM flying combat missions over Iraq to the more peaceable world of PR may seem a massive leap in itself, but Colin MacGregor already has plenty of experience when it comes to getting into the public eye.

WHEN Donald J. MacLeod joins first minister Alex Salmond at the official opening of Inverness's first Gaelic medium school, it will be a suitable cap to his two decade career promoting Gaelic education.

SCOUTING chalked up a significant milestone this year as it marked its centenary, but for one Inverness Scout 2007 was also a year of significant individual achievement.

IN a world riven by religious divisions, there is an organisation in Inverness which provides a model example of cross-religious co-operation.

SANTA Claus doesn't go to Malawi, but he will this year," Evelyn Campbell declared as she collected some toys from a colleague.

ASK residents of Glendoe Terrace whether they will still be in their homes to celebrate next Christmas and they say that they cannot be sure.

THERE could hardly be a more appropriate ambassador for Inverness than Duncan Chisholm.

FOREIGN migrants may have brought a new cosmopolitanism to the Highlands, but the influx of workers from Eastern Europe and elsewhere has also brought new challenges for public services.

WHEN Ben Willcock's family traced their ancestors, he was impressed to turn up one particular black sheep who had the dubious distinction of being the last man to be hanged for piracy in the US.

FOR many, the experience of voluntary work in one of the world's poorer nations can be a life changing experience. For Calum Munro, originally from the Drakies area of Inverness, it also proved to be career changing.

IF you find Lesley Henderson avidly watching "EastEnders" or "Coronation Street", do not think she is taking a break from work. It probably is her work.

STEFAN Krause intends to brighten up the dark Inverness winter. Following a successful blueprint he introduced back home in Germany, Stefan will this month oversee the conversion of Falcon Square into an open ice rink.

FOR most of his life, David Broadfoot has been an ambassador for his beloved Highlands.

IF Philomena de Lima has to choose one phrase to describe her work, then she will opt for "social justice."

ABOVE her desk in the former Clachnaharry School, Malina MacDonald has these words of wisdom: "We don't stop playing because we grow up, we grow up because we stop playing."

IF LifeScan Scotland, the Highlands' biggest private employer, represents a transatlantic partnership of a Scottish workforce and a US-based multi-national, then it is a partnership personified by the two men at its helm.

IT was while he was a pupil at Inverness Royal Academy in the late 1960s that Mike Jardine, the man behind last month's mountain bike world championships, got the bug for adventure sports.

HE has had a gun pointed in his face by an armed robber, trained police dogs, listens to dance music and married his childhood sweetheart — now he is arguably the most powerful councillor in the Highlands.

THANKS to the cybernetic era junk shop that is eBay, John Sinclair has just managed to get hold of a copy of the first record he ever played on.

ESCAPING to the greenhouse to care for tomato plants is stark contrast to the reality of having to talk someone out of jumping to almost certain death from the Kessock Bridge.

WHEN Brenda Johnston and her husband Bill relocate to Spain next month, she would not be entirely surprised to get a phone call from local Scouts enlisting her aid.

FROM surviving a near fatal car crash at home in Inverness to finding himself behind bars in an American jail, Steve Lyall's life has experienced ups and downs which have also seen him share the stage with his musical heroes and lead an online campaign to harness New Yorkers' energy to combat war and poverty.

AT the age of just 17, Gillian Slider is making history. As Scotland's first full-time youth convener, over the next year she will provide the area's decision makers with a young person's view.

THERE are plans afoot for a gap year in the Gillespie household when it is time for 15-year-old Cait to leave school for university.

IT is not uncommon for someone to have two jobs to help make ends meet. But to have double that amount — and mostly for pleasure — would be daunting, unless you are Charles Bannerman.

BERT Scorgie has always been a worker. By his calculation, over the course of his working life he has had some 56 jobs, including one he stuck with for 16 years.

ENDING their inaugural season as double cup champions and third in the North Caledonian League exceeded the goals and ambitions of everyone — even the management team at Inverness City.

AS he watches a new Millburn Academy rapidly taking shape next to the existing school, departing rector Graham Spence does not feel sorry about missing out on teaching in the £26 million new facility.

THREE times, Nairn woman Monica Lee-Macpherson has been brought back from the brink of death — pneumonia and a blood clot in her lung seven years ago, during surgery on her back when she was unknowingly injected with an anaesthetic she was allergic to, and finally a car crash.

LIFE is turning full circle for some retired people in the Highlands as, their working days over, they go back to school.

WHEN Bob Wynd first stood for Highland Council at the age of 60, he had modest ambitions. "All I wanted to do was sort out the Culloden Balloch road," he said.

WHEN 100 years of Scouting is celebrated at Holyrood Palace today in the presence of Princess Anne, there will be few more appropriate guests than Nairn resident Arthur Fulton.

ANGUS Dunn says he now has 15 years of experience of writing festivals under his belt as he gets ready for an appearance at the Nairn Book and Arts Festival this afternoon.

INVERNESS College has not been without controversy in recent years.

FROM fixing televisions to hob-nobbing with royalty and representing Inverness in the world's most populous nation, Bill Smith's eight years as provost of Inverness were certainly not without variety.

AS a pupil at Inverness Royal Academy in the 1970s, Sue Black had little idea of what job she would do when she left.

FOR some people, suicide is a taboo subject. However, Angela Fisher does not agree.

BY her own count, Sarah Farquhar is now embarking on her fourth career.

FOR Highland marketing expert Yvonne Crook, marketing her home area, as she does through her many tourism industry clients, is no hard task.

MIDWIFERY is not a skill normally associated with retired regular army colonels, yet it was training as a midwife which led to Lochardil resident Catherine Morrison’s military career.

IT does not take long to realise that Nick Martin likes animals. Visitors to the Drakies home he shares with partner Carol are likely to be greeted by his small white terrier before noticing photographs of his three cats — if not the cats themselves.

AS someone who has spent more than half his life professionally involved in football, Brian Irvine makes it clear that if he had a choice he would still be involved in the game professionally.

THERE is a good reason why Steve Sharpe adopted the name "Happyness Drum Circle" for his drum teaching.

WHEN Margaret Straube, Highland Council's senior registrar left her job this month, it marked the end of 34 years' service recording the most significant milestones of people's lives.

AS he prepares for retirement after over 30 years in local government, Mike Greaves is looking to the future in his usual manner, optimistically.

SCOTT Armstrong feels privileged to have the job he does. As the senior Visit­Scotland representative in the Highlands, it is part of the Kirkhill resident’s duties to promote the area to the world, not something he has great difficulty in doing.

BEHIND the till at Norval’s gift and craft shop on Church Street is an item that is certainly not for sale, nor is it just for decoration.

AN ageing population and the trend for people to move away from their home areas has led to a growing number of elderly people living on their own and feeling vulnerable.

BY his own admission, Jim Alexander has itchy feet. Yet even though those feet have taken him around the world, they always seem to bring him back to his home town of Nairn.

FOR almost 25 years it has been the aim of Gaelic advocate Finlay Macleoid to give children a head start over him in speaking the language.

THOSE who know David Sutherland as the guiding hand behind a successful business with a nine figure turnover, or as two-time chairman of Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC, might get a rather different view of him if they turned up at his farm any weekend.

A DECADE ago, John Burns would have been surprised at the path his life has taken.

BROUGHT up in the Highlands, it is no surprise that landscapes and scenes of country life have always played a major part in photographer Rebecca Marr’s portfolio.

CHRISTINA Stewart learned at at early age the benefits of a bedtime song.

THOUGH latterly much involved with plans to set up a community radio station in Inverness, Mike Gilmour's first professional involvement came in a different guise.

SCOTLAND’S relationship with Italy is a long one, dating back to well before even Hadrian and Antonius decided to do a spot of wall-building.

OFFICIALLY, Billy Nelson has retired, but that does not mean he has not been busy this festive season.

USUALLY Poppy Fraser is more than happy to let her mother Drusilla do the cooking at Christmas.

A CHARITY set up to combat AIDS in big cities and best known for its work with the gay community may not seem to be tailor-made for the wide spaces of northern Scotland, but it still has a vital role to play, according to the man setting up its Inverness office.

WHILE other little boys set their hearts on being train drivers or test pilots, John Ross had another ambition in mind. “From the earliest years, I wanted to be a missionary,” he revealed.

RENEWABLE energy projects? Eastern European workers pouring into the Highlands? They may be aspects of Highland life in the early 21st century, but Archie Chisholm has seen them all before.

THOUGH he is resident in Inverness, Neil Hinchliff must be ready at any time of the day or night and in any conditions to drop what he is doing and head for the west.

IF the law has a long arm, then Andrew Laing is one lawman who needs it to reach the furthermost parts of his patch.

IT was not until Amina Kinani moved to Inverness that she adopted the headscarf that covers her head and immediately identifies her as a Muslim woman.

OVER 30 years in the Highlands have done little to erode Malcolm Dent's mellow Surrey tones, but for the past six years he has been putting that voice to good use in providing a service for the sight-impaired in the area and beyond.

WHEN Bryan McIlwraith opened his practice in Inverness 30 years ago, he would have to explain to patients what an osteopath did.

ERIC Robertson knows what it is like to be either side of a referee's decision, both as the man making the call and the one on the receiving end.

LIKE any student, Sheila Urquhart is proud of her framed educational qualification certificate, which she keeps in her living room.

TOMORROW Kenneth MacKinnon will make a belated, but long anticipated, return to the stage in Inverness.

THERE are, Kay Barron readily admits, a number of negative points about Britain's fashion industry.

IF his neighbours in the little village of Milton by Drumnadrochit ever wondered why congregationalist minister Arthur Fraser decided to rename his cottage Stonington...

SOMETIMES the battle against the burglar is won before he even attempts a break-in.

MOST music teachers hope to inspire their pupils and even colleagues, but few can have been presented with their own theme tune on retirement.

WHEN Bingan Xu returned to China last weekend he took with him a new found taste for shortbread, but a whole lot more.

BY day, Karen Sutherland of Dalneigh works in Highland Council's graphics department, designing and illustrating local authority literature.

IT is a long way from the Wild West to the shores of the Moray Firth, but if you spot Ian Parnham walking through Culbin Forest with his dog, that is where his mind is likely to be wandering.

FIVE years ago this month, chief constable Bill Robertson hung up his uniform for the last time, but despite expectations did not abandon the Highlands.

The Inverness music scene is buzzing with new talent and new music. Calum Macleod meets a man glad to be involved in helping teenagers let their hair down

An ambulance driver with Scottish music in his soul and a drag act called Maggie in his repertoire has retired after 30 years' service. Calum Macleod learned of his musical influences and career.