That was 2012

West Ardnamurchan had its fair share of disasters in 2012, including a serious house fire at Sanna, an event which could have been far more costly had not our local fire team reacted swiftly and effectively to the emergency call.  The fire team also attended more than one moor fire.  This one, in April, was the worst, burning land from Portuairk to Lochan na Crannaig.

Gales are an occupational hazard here, as we've seen over the last few days - yesterday's stroms brought with them some 24mm of Kilchoan sunshine, a whole metric inch.  But February's was particularly cruel, destroying the new polytunnel at the Community Garden.  Nothing daunted, the group which runs the garden rebuilt it, though the damage limited their year's production.

This was the year that the community gained a whisky distillery which, after a hard-fought planning enquiry, was finally given the green light by Highland Council.  It promises to bring new jobs to the area and a sense of pride - that we, as a community, will be part-owners of the uisge beatha that comes from these buildings.

The long dispute with NHS Highland and the Scottish Ambulance Service over nursing provision and 999 medical cover came to a climax in February, when a delegation was invited to meet the then-minister of Health, Nicola Sturgeon, at Holyrood.  Many people, both on and off the peninsula, contributed to the success of the campaign.  One outcome was the development of an innovative Emergency Response team, one member of which, Jessie Colquhoun, was honoured in the Queen's 2013 New Year Honours list for her nursing services to the community of West Ardnamurchan.

Not all campaigns were as successful.  There are fears that the battle to keep pigs from over-running Ormsaigbeg will be lost by its residents.  Like fleas, pigs never seem to go away but just keep multiplying.

The community celebrated the Queen's Diamond Jubilee with a beacon and distress flares, though the local Coastguard Station Officer did have the foresight to warn Clyde Coastguard Station in advance, thus preventing the impression that the whole of West Ardnamurchan was sinking beneath the waves.

The community suffered some losses with stout hearts.  So the annual soccer derby against Coll saw the men's team lose, but our ladies' side more than made up for it with a stunning win.

 Some losses were much harder to bear.

The peninsula's wildlife continued to thrive, giving immense pleasure to the many visitors who come to the area.  Sometimes it's the small things that give the greatest pleasure - like this common lizard, spotted out for a stroll on Christmas Eve.

But playing host to predators such as sea eagles and pine martens is often at some cost to the local crofters in lambs and poultry.

This was a year in which the almost unthinkable happened: we had better summer weather than all other parts of the UK, with day after day of wall-to-wall sunshine.  As a result, our wildflowers thrived, with the wild orchid display particularly impressive.

The fine weather brought much pleasure to those lucky enough to be able to spend time wandering in the freedom of Ardnamurchan's hills.  One of the features of this place is the clarity of the air, offering wonderful opportunities to those who enjoy photography.

Our clear skies have turned our attention heavenwards this year.  As we work towards the maximum of the 11-year sunspot cycle, some of us have been out looking for the aurora, the northern lights, with mixed success.  But other pictures have been spectacular, like this one of Jupiter with three of its moons.

Even when the year moved into autumn and winter, the weather continued to provide us with spectacular events.  We had the usual mass of rainbows in October and November, and we've recently been enjoying a run of winter gales.

Many thanks to Stewart Pote for the moor fire picture, Trevor Potts for the Holyrood lobby picture, Anna Wright for the polytunnel picture, Kilchoan Early Bird for the Christmas lizard, The Raptor for planet Jupiter's moons, and Donald Houston for the distillery picture.

The Diary sincerely thanks those who have provided articles and photographs during 2012, and wishes both readers and contributors a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.