The countdown to the 2017 Royal National Mòd in Lochaber has begun after organisers of this year’s event in the Western Isles officially handed over the organiers’ scroll. Over the next year, events and fundraisers will take place in Lochaber before the curtain rises on the 2017 festival which will bring more than 3,000 people to the area and potentially inject more than £3 million into the local economy. Left to right: John MacLeod, An Comunn president; Thomas MacLennan, chairman of Lochaber Mod Committee; Jackie Cotter, conductor of Lothian Gaelic Choir and Norman MacDonald, chairman of the Western Isles Mod Committee.