INVERNESS city centre will turn pink in a bid to support an annual charity walk which raises thousands of pounds for cancer care in the Highlands.
For Provost of Inverness, councillor Jimmy Gray has stepped up to the challenge and will be lending his support to the walkers who will trek 13 miles across Inverness to take part in the Bra Nicht Walk which goes ahead on Saturday, June 4.
Mr Gray will turn the lights at Inverness Castle pink and the bridges over the River Ness will also blast pink light from beneath them in a bid to get into the spirit of the walk.
The Provost explained he was more than happy to get involved with the Bra Nicht Walk because it's for such an important cause.
He said: "The money which is raised from this event helps cancer care right across the Highlands from Inverness to Caithness, and the event especially helps breast cancer sufferers. It's really great to see people from across the area come to Inverness to take part in the event and raise some money which goes to such an important cause."
Mr Gray explained the late Nancy Hamilton, who unfortunately didn't live to see the Bra Nicht event she had planned come to fruition, was a family friend.
He said: "Nancy was a friend of ours and my wife Liz, who is also on the small committee, got me involved. Although I don't do the walk itself, I'm there on my bike on the night of the event, helping out and cheering all the participants on. I've done that for the last couple of years and I think it's just such a great cause I'm more than happy to help out again this year."
The Bra Nicht walk has already raised in the region of 130,000 in the previous three years.
It is a legacy to the memory of Macmillan breast cancer health professional Mel Rose, who died in a car crash, and Nancy Hamilton, who succumbed to cancer before the inaugural event she helped organise took place. However, her partner Graham Whyte continues to help organise the fund-raiser.
The Provost's wife, Liz, who is part of the small team of volunteers who organise the Bra Nicht Walk, said they are hoping for a surge in entries now the walk is looming.
She said: "It is such a great night and the event raises so much money for cancer care in the Highlands. I would encourage anybody who is thinking about taking part, just to do it. Numbers are okay at the moment, but we're really hoping that there will be a surge in entries in the next few weeks running up to the event itself."
And Highland Council employee Hilary Holmie, who has taken part in the event since it began, said she is looking forward to this year's walk.
She said: "I take part in the walk with my four friends every year, but the night itself is brilliant. It's a real bonding session and everyone is chatting away to each other on the night. It's such good fun and you really don't notice the distance you are walking because it's so much fun. It's for such a good cause, I lost both my parents to cancer, so it's something that I really want to take part in to raise the money."
