Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

VIDEO: Hundreds take part in historic Kirking of the Council in Inverness

A parade of 200 marched through Inverness yesterday to mark one of the city’s oldest traditions.

Provost Helen Carmichael led the procession which included several councillors and community council members, local schools and youth groups.

About 25 public servants from the Bavarian city of Augsburg joined in the fun to mark 60 years of the twinning arrangement between the two cities.

The Kirking of the Council is held on the second Sunday of September each year and is rooted in a tradition dating back 400 years.

It involves a message for the council being delivered via a church service.

Mrs Carmichael was joined by several colleagues – most wearing red gowns as they strode down Church Street to the Old High St Stephen’s Church, where the service was led by the Rev Peter Nimmo.

Hundreds of visitors and members of the public lined the streets to witness the colourful spectacle, which was enhanced by a number of the German delegates donning 16th century German costumes.

Inverness South councillor Ken Gowans, who was part of the parade, said: “The Rev Nimmo’s sermon focused on the unification of people, and in a local context about how in the aftermath of Brexit, communities need to work together and value each other individually, particularly by helping the most vulnerable people.

“That was broadened out to include countries and the changing face of Europe post Brexit and how we need to work hard to strengthen our resolve to keep these relationships.

“The kirking is an important occasion from the perspective of councillors to realise that they are there to serve their communities. In terms of the event, it’s been going for over 400 years and every year it seems to get stronger. It’s very colourful and it’s great for the tourists and great way to involve people from across our communities in something that is very special for Inverness”.

Councillor Gowans added that the deputy mayor of Augsburg, Dr Stefan Kiefer, made a speech during yesterday’s service.

Dr Kiefer spoke about the importance of the town twinning, and that friendships would be maintained post Brexit because the history of the twinning has been built through people rather than politics.

Silvia Philip, a member of the visiting delegation from Augsburg, said: “It was a very nice meeting and all of the people from Augsburg are very impressed by the hospitality and warmth from the people in your city.

“It was a very great moment and is good for the existing friendship between our two cities.”