Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 22 December 2021
I thank Emma Harper for lodging her motion. It is nice to hear someone from the Cleyhole backing us Doonhamers—I apologise to those in the official report who, not for the first time, will be wondering what I am talking about.
Dumfries is my home—it is where I was born, where I have always lived and where I am bringing up my family. Frankly, I would not have it any other way. It is a town with a proud and rich history, which includes, as we have heard, the three Bs.
Burns, our national bard, had his last family home in Dumfries, where he wrote many of his finest works, including “Auld Lang Syne”. He frequented a few of the same howfs as I do, such as the Globe Inn, as well as Scotland’s oldest working theatre, the Dumfries theatre royal. Dumfries is where he was ultimately laid to rest, in St Michael’s kirk cemetery. We also have Bruce, whose slaying of the Red Comyn in Dumfries’s Greyfriars kirk led to him claiming the crown as king of Scots. Finally, we have Barrie, the author who studied at Dumfries academy, where my kids will go in a few years, and who was inspired to write “Peter Pan” in the magical Neverland garden of Moat Brae in Dumfries, which is now home to the national centre for children’s literature and storytelling.
Those are examples of how our town’s proud past is cultivating a positive future. Many other examples exist, such as, on the edge of town, the jewel-in-the-crown 85-acre Crichton estate—originally Europe’s biggest psychiatric hospital—which is now home to the south’s largest conference and events venue, a major business park and a vibrant college and university campus with more than 6,000 students.
It is little wonder that the Royal Burgh of Dumfries is known as the “Queen of the South”. That, of course, is also the name of our local football team, which has a proud past too. As a season ticket holder, I hope that we will have an even more positive future soon.