A singer-songwriter from Balloch has released her second song after being inspired from a family trip to Oban.

Iona James, a practice nurse at her local GP practice in Balloch, decided to escape the harsh realities of the world with songwriting.

Last year she went on a staycation to Oban when the restrictions allowed as she was left unable to see her family down in Shropshire.

Her latest song “Journey” was created using her son’s ukelele as her guitar couldn’t fit in the car.

She told the Reporter: “We decided our little family holiday was going to be a week in Oban, but I told my husband that I had to have something to play on, while away.

“It started on my wee boy’s ukelele and it actually sounded very different. I had the idea and wrote all the lyrics for it to a completely different tune.

“It was only when my son, Josh started playing a loop on his guitar that I changed things about. It is him playing the guitar on the single. This song was much quicker than the last. I was aiming to be more modern, but after I sent it to my sister, she told me it was ‘well 80s’.

The art behind the single was created by her sister Casi Worrall who is a tattoo artist in Shrewsbury.

Iona added: “I am so happy to have that family element in the song. It just makes it more personal and I have had lots of positive comments so far.”

She released her first song last month, “To the Moon”, to reflect on the emotions that the pandemic has evoked in many which has since had over 1,000 streams on Spotify.

The practice nurse said: “It was the achievement I wanted to get. I don’t mind what happens after that, but it made me really proud of myself and what I have succeeded in.”

You can listen to her song on all music platforms.