Today we attended the funeral of a long-time friend, Willie Matheson. He died aged 83 on 29 March in Perth, his home for the past few years.

Willie, who came from Ross-shire, was to my mind a Highland gentleman. It was he who introduced me to the world of politics and took me canvassing for the first time – door knocking in the Redmoss area of Aberdeen.

He shared digs with David Steel while at Edinburgh University. A long career took him to Dounreay, to the Macaulay Institute in Aberdeen in 1969, and later to Tayside.

At the service he was described as “a good man”. No doubt about that.