I have often mentioned my family in reference to Dundee Culture but there is one person who can never get enough credit. And that is my mum, Gillian Batchelor.
I’ve been thinking about everything she’s done for me as we approach International Women’s Day next month.
And since it’s her birthday on Thursday, this felt like a good time to pay tribute to her.
I was very young when I started Dundee Culture, so my mum went with me to many events in the city during and after the UK City of Culture bid.
It was Mum who nominated me to be a baton bearer for the Commonwealth Games.
And when I went on to win the youth award at the Evening Telegraph Community Spirit Awards in 2015, she made the front page of the Tele when she kissed me on the cheek.
She still gives me solid advice on what to post on Dundee Culture.
As a health and safety manager – responsible for overseeing her work’s response to Covid-19 – it was Mum who inspired me to create the ‘Stay Safe Dundee’ campaign.
That, in turn, led to the largest increase in visits and follows in Dundee Culture’s 10-year history.
And when the Dundee Culture Instagram account was suspended and I made 15 unsuccessful attempts to get it back, it was Mum’s suggestion that cracked it at the 16th go.
Mum is typical of great Dundee women
Of course, her strength of character comes from a long line of remarkable Dundonian women.
You just have to look back to the days of the jute mills when the industry was powered by the feisty and strong-willed women of Dundee.
They took part in more than a hundred strikes for equal pay and better working conditions.
And it’s no wonder there are so many popular songs and poems about their experiences of working in the mills.
It didn’t stop when the jute industry died, either.
Dundee women were at the forefront of the Timex strike. They never stopped fighting for their rights and they made sure their voices were heard when their pay was cut and workers were laid off.
And Dundee women have achieved greatness through the centuries too.
One of my Dundonian heroines is Williamina Fleming, who was an astronomer at Harvard College Observatory.
She discovered the Horsehead Nebula and white dwarf stars, but she was also notable for campaigning for equal pay for women in science.
Let’s hear it for my mum and all the woman who make Dundee what it is
Today, there are Dundonian women doing amazing things every single day, even if they don’t get recognised for it.
I’m talking about all the women who continue to make an impact on the city while balancing work, family and caring responsibilities, all with that trademark Dundee humor and determination.
I’m talking about women like my mum.
She has had to work that extra bit harder all through my life, because of my disabilities.
But if it weren’t for my mum, I wouldn’t be where I am.
Dundee Culture would not be where it is now.
And although there are times when I annoy her, I can’t stress how much I appreciate everything she has done for me.
That’s why I’m forever thankful for Dundee’s incredible women, and for my mum, the greatest of them all.
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