INVERCLYDE'S portfolio of top-quality schools was topped off with the completion of a two-year refurbishment programme of St Mary's Primary School in Greenock. I got a chance to photograph the 111-year-old building after an upgrade to a state-of-the-art house of learning, boasting top quality design and bright, airy classrooms. The roof has been re-slated, windows replaced and stonework refurbished, bringing the school in the 21st century. I took this picture of Provost Martin Brenna and Councillor Jim Clocherty below the new St Mary's sign now mounted above entrance.

THE Inverclyde climate has taken its toll on a much-loved Port Glasgow landmark that pays tribute to maritime heritage. The Comet replica, which stands opposite the Town Hall, has now fallen into such a state of decay that it is not difficult to photograph the extent of the damage it has sustained after being exposed to many Scottish winters. Sadly, the exhibit has been reduced to a mast-less, rotting hulk."

GOUROCK Pier had an unusual visitor in the shape of a massive lifting barge, brought in to lift the steel deck from the ferry terminal link span undergoing repair. Lara 1 made an impressive sight, dwarfing the nearby ferry Argyll Flyer, as she sat at her berth in preparation for the lift.

IT is easy to take the things we see in everyday life for granted and one, for me at least, is the stone monolith that stands over Gourock's Kempock Street. Tele reporter Claire Amber Young and I met up with local paranormal investigator Nik Kyle at the site of the spooky 'Granny Kempock Stone' where he put Halloween and its meaning into context, and in doing so prompted me to look at this piece of history with a fresh eye. Maybe, after shopping, or a night in the pub, one has walked past the stone without a thought, but its history links us with a dark past, when so-called witches were persecuted on a scale that compares to and possibly exceeds the infamous and horrific Salem witchcraft trials that took place in 17th century Massachusetts. The markings on the granite column bare closer investigation and conjure up thoughts of a gruesome chapter in our local history.