25 days to go

I went to Lochgilphead first thing to help launch, as the local MSP, the "Little Voices" Gaidhlig Play Group which has got going very quickly , with local parents very keen to develop Gaidhlig medium education in the area for the long term, and to build on this first foundation.

Then I drove back to Cowal and caught the ferry to Bute, where it was Games Day. The sun shone and the enthusiasm of the YES volunteers was amazing. This is only a part of the team who were leafleting, talking to voters and handing out an incredible number of badges , posters and car stickers. I couldn't even get a clear shot of the stall as people kept stopping to ask questions or take things away.

In contrast - and I am not exaggerating or spinning - the NO stall had at most a couple of individuals behind it and when I walked past it (on three occasions) there was hardly anybody visiting. Someone who had been there described those involved as "not really seeming to have their heart in it". The opposite was true of the YES Bute team - heart and soul were being invested and they were getting a reciprocal response.

I got a similar report from the Islay Show last week . Labour's Jim Murphy MP was visiting with his soapbox but he seemed to spend most of his time , flanked by the Argyll & Bute Liberal MP and the Argyll & Bute Tory candidate , talking in a tent with some local landowners , a Labour peer and a few Conservative supporters. By contrast the YES Islay stall was packed out with islanders and visitors.

Don''t know what it all means, but it is encouraging for everyone involved.