Johnny, familiar to a contemporary audience as Malcolm Hamilton in the BBC Scotland soap River City, was the guest of honour at the official launch of the Discover Bute Landscape Partnership Scheme (LPS), which took place in the field immediately beh
ind the Ettrick Bay Tearoom on Sunday afternoon.
And while the honour of cutting the project's first sod of turf fell to Andrew Lyon of Scot JCB in Glasgow, Johnny couldn't resist having a wee go of his own - no doubt to the considerable envy of many of those watching on.
Sunday marked the official start of a four-year programme of improvements to Bute's rural landscape following the confirmation in June of a £3 million funding package which includes a contribution of £1.78m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
And there was no coincidence in the selection of Ettrick Bay as the venue for Sunday's celebration either, for it's on the bay and its approaches that much of the early Discover Bute work will be concentrated.
A car park will be created at the south end of the beach, while a bird hide will also be built nearby. But the main focus will be on the route once followed by the Rothesay Tramways Company, which brought hundreds of daytrippers from Rothesay and Port Bannatyne to the popular beach in the early part of the 20th century.
The tramway route from Port Bannatyne to Ettrick Bay is to be converted into a route ideal for cyclists, walkers and visitors and locals with restricted mobility, along with some tidying up of the 'one man's grave' opposite Croc-an-Raer Church, giving people the chance to get up close and personal with a particularly beautiful part of Bute's rural landscape.
Said Johnny: "I didn't realise until recently just how much is actually going to be taking place on the island under this project - it really is a fantastic thing for Bute.
"I like to refer to the island as my own personal Shangri-La, and it's going to be so exciting to see it enhanced even further."
Peter Hardy from the Buteshire Natural History Society, one of a wide range of organisations supporting Discover Bute, paid tribute to the work of Argyll and Bute Council's development projects manager, Kevin Williams, and the former Bute development officer Darrell Wood, in setting the project in motion.
Mr Hardy also praised the contributions of the island's major landowners, the Mount Stuart Trust and Lord Attenborough, and of the members of the BNHS to the project and said: "The people of Bute have a tremendous passion for their island, and especially for their own interests, whether those are bird life, animal life or ancient monuments and I want to record my deep appreciation for their contributions."
Island councillor Isobel Strong told Sunday's gathering of invited guests: "This launch event shows the amount of interest there is in this project and in the goal of making this island more attractive to both locals and visitors.
"I've always enjoyed the rural landscape of Bute and I'm looking forward to watching this project allow others to discover the island in future."
Discover Bute project co-ordinator Bridget Paterson, who has jumped through an awful lot of hoops and waded through even more paperwork since taking up the post in April of last year, told us it shouldn't be long before people start to see evidence of Discover Bute landscaping work.
"We still have to finalise some contracts and road opening schedules," Bridget told us, "but I reckon people should expect to see work on the tramway under way in the next two or three weeks.
"The contract for our website has been let, and filming of the project started today, so there's a lot already happening."
The Discover Bute 'vision' is to enable residents, visitors and new audiences to discover the island's hidden delights through direct involvement in conserving and enhancing the island's natural and built rural heritage. It means a lot of work between now and 2012 - remember to keep an eye on The Buteman to find out how it's all going!
