A BOOK which features the lives of a well known 20th century Cardross family, “The Allan Family: they left the world a better place”, was officially launched in Helensburgh on June 6.

Maureen Borland’s fourth book tells the story of the Allan family of Scotland and Canada, shipowners and founders of the Allan Steamship Line, the world’s largest private steamship company — said to be the inspiration for the Onedin Line 70s TV drama series.

A DRAMATIC newly-commissioned painting commemorating the role of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders in the victory at the Battle of Longstop Hill in North Africa in 1943 was on display in early June on the balcony in Helensburgh Library in West King Street.

It is being taken round the main towns in Argyll and Bute and was in Helensburgh until Saturday June 15, and it then moved on to Inverary. Its final home will be the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum at Stirling Castle.

THE first twelve episodes of the very popular 1960s medical drama Dr Finlay’s Casebook — based on stories by the Cardross-born and Helensburgh and Dumbarton-educated best-selling author A.J.Cronin — have just been released on dvd.

The dvd is available from Simply Home Entertainment, tel 0844-848 2000, website www.simplyhe.co.uk, price £24.99.