Sunset over Bourtie

The sun goes down over Bennachie, behind the Recumbent Stone Circle at Kirkton of Bourtie.

Taken at the end of a long and trying day, on which I learned (to my horror and dismay - and that of several of my closest colleagues) that I am one of a number of people shortlisted for redundancy in an attempt to revive the fortunes of my employer (a Registered Scottish Charity), which is now (we are told) facing serious financial difficulty as a result of merging with two other local charities at the start of December last year.

And all this in a society where our Government tells us that the so-called 'Third Sector' has a bigger role than ever to play in propping up the welfare state as public spending cuts really begin to bite...