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Rebecca BairdThe Courier |
If I could ban any phrase from the mouths of councillors in Dundee, it would be: ‘blue-sky thinking’. We heard it again this week, this time from...
When is bad news actually good news? No, this isn’t a philosophical riddle constructed by an overthinking journalist. It was my response to the...
Remember that famous photo of the nine-year-old girl smoking in an inflatable paddling pool? It was taken in 1990 by American photographer Mary Ellen...
“You’re having your birthday night out in… Anstruther? Seriously?” This was the incredulous reaction of the woman propping up the pool table...
On a sunny day in Dundee, the city has an unmistakable soundtrack. Wheels. Whether it’s the rattle of skateboards scraping along the benches outside...
“Stop picking at it, you’ll make it worse.” I must have heard this at least once a week throughout my childhood. Whether it was a sore loose...
The first time I asked my mum her age, she was 25. I was four, and I vividly remember standing in our blue lino kitchen in my frilled ankle socks,...
Well it’s March and spring has sprung, so I’m obviously banging on about Balgay again. It’s well documented by now that the volcanic hill is one...
When you work in a newsroom, you can get a bit nose blind to Bad Stuff. Murder, crime, and corruption becomes your bread and butter, broken up by the...
“You’re crazy.” The text, mixing equal parts ‘right on’ and ‘why would you do that?’, comes from my mate Maria, in response to a photo...
Haggises, both traditional and veggie, will be flying off supermarket shelves this weekend as folk across Tayside and Fife stock up to celebrate the...
Walking home last night in the sub-zero chill, my fingertips were melded to my phone. Fingerless gloves are no good for cold snaps – noted. But as I...
Picture the scene: A rangy, leather-clad, wild-haired man with a frantic look in his eye jumps on to your train, throws a bag into the luggage stand...
Are dogs born dangerous? To me, that’s the real question at the heart of the debate over XL Bullies, and whether or not Scotland should follow the...
“Church is the worst bit of Christmas.” As an adult, I realise the irony of that statement, given the whole Jesus’ birthday aspect of Christmas....
Since Glenrothes Labour candidate Altany Craik was forced to back out of his candidacy after his “sexy and satanic” novels spooked party vetters,...
“Is this too short?” Was the refrain of my flat last night, as my flatmate paraded out into the living room sporting different outfit options....
When it comes to festive markets, Winterfests and city centre Christmas celebrations, Tayside tells a tale of two cities. In one corner we have...
If Aberdeen’s got the granite, Glasgow’s got the people and Edinburgh’s got the castle, then what’s Dundee got? No, it’s not a riddle –...
Cars go on the road; people go on the pavement. Clear. Simple. It’s a concept that even a toddler can understand, and in a world where everything...
They say when you take a bad knock, the best thing to do is get right back on the horse. Turns out that horsey people actually mean that literally....
When decided whether or not to move to Dundee, there were a lot of factors I should have been considering. Factors like – do I think the university...
Let’s be real – life is pretty bleak right now. As the long, dark night of winter stretches out ahead, many of us have face-melting heating bills,...
Dundee never fails to surprise me. Some days, it can feel like the city never changes. Reliable fixtures like Fast Eddie fastened to the Overgate...
It’s first thing on a brisk October morning as I hurry into the office sleepy, foggy-headed and late. I decide to take the lift. But just as the...
Looking around my desk in the newsroom this past week, I realised two things: It was surprising, heartening and a little bittersweet to realise that...
There’s something that happens in the brains of Scots when they reach their late 20s. Scientists should study it, honestly. Because I want to know...
There’s a Regina Spektor lyric that, in my angsty adolescence, I held close as my own personal mantra: ‘You spend half of your life trying to...