A schoolgirl in Newton Mearns has been assaulted in a reported race hate incident. Columnist Neil Mackay says this is evidence that bigoted violence is now part of everyday life

Place has a powerful hold over the human heart. A familiar street, a once-loved home, an old university quad, the beach where you first swam in the sea: these little patches of the planet shape us.

The mere memory of the riverbank where I fell in love with my wife makes me miss her with an intensity that hasn’t abated over the 30 years we’ve been married.

Memories of place signpost the childhoods of my daughters. There’s a suburban street in Glasgow’s Newton Mearns which vividly brings their schooldays to mind. Harvie Avenue is nothing special. It’s the definition of suburban Scotland: bungalows and trees. The primary school and high school my daughters attended is around the corner. Just as that riverbank represents the first flush of lasting love, Harvie Avenue represents the innocence of childhood, the joys and struggles of young parenthood. On the school run, we’d park in Harvie Avenue. After parents nights and Christmas concerts, we’d walk back to the car, holding our daughters’ hands.

I haven’t really thought about Harvie Avenue in a long time. My daughters are grown up, starting to think about one day having kids themselves. But when it does cross my mind – when I drive past that little street every so often – I think of sunny days, kids running out of the gates at home time, and laughter, lots of laughter.

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