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I have lived in Inverness all my life and I am almost 39 now.  It has changed so much since I was young and my 8-year old son laughs when I tell him how different the town was when I was his age – it makes me feel quite old!!

When I was young, there was no shopping centre or big shops such as Marks and Spencers or Debenhams – many people living in Inverness years ago went to Aberdeen (our nearest big city) to do their shopping.  I can remember such trips when I was young, and it was a treat going through to Aberdeen to get shopping in.

I had started school by the time Marks and Spencers and the shopping centre was built as I remember getting a photo taken in the site that it was built in with my school uniform on.  The shopping centre became a novelty for people living in Inverness and shops built up from there.  People were able to stay in Inverness more to shop and people started to come to Inverness to do their shopping.  We now have two shopping centres in Inverness, with one adjoined to the other by way of a bridge between the two centres.  There are a vast range of shops, such as Debenhams, Marks and Spencers, Claires accessories, H&M, Early Learning, etc, so there is no need to travel to other towns or cities for shopping (although it can be a treat to do so now and again).

When I was younger, there wasn’t much in the way of entertainment here either.  There was a small cinema with two screens in it, an ice rink, and a basic swimming pool.  The cinema and swimming pool have since been demolished and we now have a Vue cinema with 8 or so screens (including a 3-D one), and a large leisure complex, which includes 3 pools, gym, etc.  There is also much more in the way of music entertainment – we have an indoor rock venue where bands, including Stiff Little Fingers, New York Dolls and others have been to, and there are music festivals held around Inverness (such as Belladrum, which is near Beauly – 20 minutes drive or so from Inverness and Rock Ness – which is situated at Dores, a fifteen minute drive from Inverness.  Also, Cawdor Castle (20/25 minutes from Inverness) has recently opened up its doors as a music venue - stars of the X Factor (including Jamie Affro and Olly Murs) played there two weeks ago, followed by Westlife the night after.  These festivals are bringing more interest and people visiting Inverness, so with more entertainment there really isn’t so much need to travel to other places. 

Inverness also has it’s own premier division football club, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, which attracts many people to watch the games each week.  A couple of  big stars – Elton John and Rod Stewart – have also held concerts at that venue.

Many people that I was at school with went away to live, which I think is a shame as Inverness has so much to offer now.  Many of those people went away to Universities, and I waited until I was a mature student before  studying for a degree – by which time, yes, you’ve guessed it – Inverness had it’s own university, the UHI (University of the Highlands and Islands).

While Inverness was smaller when I was young and you usually met people that you knew when you went shopping (I rarely meet people I know when I am out), it is full of life and diversity.  People have not only moved here from other towns but from other countries, such as Poland, France, China, etc.  While I only had Invernesians in my class when I was at school, my son’s class is made up of various different nationalities, such as English, Polish, Chinese, Canadian, etc.

It is a very fun and diverse place to live.