TIME moves in one direction, memory in another.

That is a quote from Johnny Mnemonic author and science fiction writer William Ford Gibson.

He’s the man credited with coining the term ‘cyberspace’ in the early 1980’s and by all accounts predicted the rise of reality television and the rapid growth of the virtual worlds of video games and the world wide web.

It is a quote that made me think how quickly the past becomes a memory but how too often what seems like only yesterday actually happened many weeks, months or even years ago.

I couldn’t believe it when I realised this time last year Inverclyde – like the rest of Scotland and indeed most of the world – were celebrating the successes of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

What an incredible couple of weeks they were and an amazing opportunity to showcase Inverclyde and spread the word internationally how fortunate and lucky we are to live where we do. We were privileged to host the Queen’s baton relay a week or so before the Games began where, despite the damp weather, people turned out in their droves to cheer on nearly 100 local baton bearers. I can still remember the smiling faces and loud cheers as they made their way through the streets, making the whole event a tremendous success.

I had the honour of welcoming three Commonwealth teams to Scotland as part of the ‘support a second team’ initiative the day before the opening ceremony.

It was a huge pleasure visiting the athletes’ village to meet competitors from Inverclyde’s second teams of Mauritius, Niue and Dominica and there was a real sense of excitement and anticipation ahead of the competition getting underway.

And of course Inverclyde hosted the largest gathering of boats the River Clyde has ever seen as more than 250 vessels set sail from James Watt Dock in Greenock to make the trip along the Clyde to Glasgow.

The Commonwealth Flotilla saw over 10,000 people gather at Custom House Quay and Glasgow’s Riverside Museum with around 100,000 people lining the banks of the Clyde as the boats sailed past.

These are memories that will stay with me for a great many years – and understandably will seem like only yesterday for a very long time.