³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

You can't miss an eight metre tall puppet striding round the streets of various Scottish towns, particularly when he's painted a vivid shade of blue.

But somehow I missed the Big Man Walking around Bute, Buckie, Kirkcaldy, and Invergordon over the last month.

I did, however, make it to Inverclyde at the weekend and took a stroll round Gourock with Big Man (and hundreds of locals).

The whole point of the project, created by The Puppet Lab and Puppet Animation Scotland, was to literally allow the Big Man to walk through communities and let them show the best of their area.

Thus in Bute, the locals made lanterns while in Buckie, they made a big blanket and tucked him up in bed.

Despite the rain on Saturday morning, there were little mini performances about the history of the area (one centred on sugar manufacturers Tate and Lyle) and cheerleaders running through a routine in the playground.

Hundreds of people - myself included - walked with him around the park.

He's such an amazingly elaborate puppet - including joined limbs and blinking eyes - that you can't tire of watching him.

Many more watched from their windows - a rare opportunity to look a giant in the eye.

The 12 puppeteers may have been pulling his strings but the community was well and truly in charge of their event, making it a properly local arts event.

And from what I hear, the events across the rest of Scotland were equally impressive.

The big question for the Big Man is what happens to him next?

I'm told he has one date in his diary - December 31st - as he's been signed up to appear as part of Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations.