THERE was a steady stream of visitors to the Forward shop in Dunoon yesterday where The National made its base for the latest in a nationwide series of roadshows.

Townsfolk, visitors and families were all among the people keen to meet the paper’s team and discuss the news events of the day.

Scottish independence, Brexit, and the latest outburst from Donald Trump were all among the topics for debate.

Local matters, too, were high on the agenda, with people keen to discuss ferry crossings to Gourock (a sore point locally), jobs, health and social care, schools, and the forthcoming council elections in February. There was music with fiddler twins Isla and Shona Macquarrie, aged nine, entertaining visitors with renditions of the Skye Boat Song and Leezie Lindsay.

The shop was opened a month or so after the independence referendum in 2014 after Yes activists decided to continue to have a presence in Dunoon’s main street.

A vote was taken to call the shop Forward after the town’s motto.

“It’s a great place to come, meet friends and chat about politics,”

said one regular at the shop, Graham Roxburgh, 59, a retired electronics engineer, from nearby Kirn.

“It also gives the campaign for Scottish independence a visible presence. We attract people from the SNP, the Greens and Labour for Independence. We also have the occasional visitor who looks in, is interested in what we are doing and wants to know more.

“They may not have voted Yes last time round, but they are now reconsidering.

“Apart from the politics, the shop is also a facility to help people combat loneliness, a place people who may be stuck at home can come to and meet others.”

Jean Anderson, 64, who recently moved to the area from Aberdeenshire, agreed.

“I like to pop in once a week or so,” she said. “It’s a good place to meet like-minded people.”

On Argyll Street, Rebecca Brolly, 33, a care worker, with her sons Rhys Campbell, 11, and Mikey Brolly, seven, said the town is a good place to bring up young children, but she worries about when they get older.

“The schools are good – the boys are in small classes, there are around 25 pupils in a class, and that means they get lots of attention,” she told The National.

“However, I am worried about what they will do when they get older. They will probably have to go away if they want to go to college or university, and there aren’t a lot of jobs here.”

Ross Stewart, 20, is looking forward to leaving. “I had a great time growing up in Dunoon,”

he said. “But there’s not a lot for young people to do and I’m looking forward to moving away.”

The issue is a challenge for the town, but many of those who live there hope, that with a raft of developments on the cards, more locals will be tempted to stay.

Callum Baird, editor of The National, who was part of the roadshow team yesterday, said: “We had a great day in Dunoon, meeting our readers and talking to local activists.

“It was fascinating to see how the Forward Shop operated in practice. People dropped in and out throughout the day, coming in for tea, coffee and political chat, and there was a real shared sense of community. It’s a model Yes groups across the country could emulate.”