menu_open Columnists
Susan Swarbrick

Susan Swarbrick

Herald Scotland

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

How an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus came to be buried in a Scots cemetery

How an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus came to be buried in a Scots cemetery

Throughout history, the eccentricities of the aristocracy have been a source of intrigue and bemusement. There are plenty of stories of this ilk in...

13.01.2025 10

Herald Scotland

Susan Swarbrick

A former psychiatric hospital turned into houses - let's not allow history to be lost

It has been 20 years since the last patients departed Bangour Village Hospital. Once a pioneering facility for psychiatric care, for the past two...

30.11.2024 4

Herald Scotland

Susan Swarbrick

My Midlife Diary: I turn 47 this weekend - when will I feel like an adult?

I have a birthday this weekend. It isn’t one that, in the grand scheme of things, is particularly noteworthy. Not like reaching the giddy heights...

17.11.2024 2

Herald Scotland

Susan Swarbrick

Susan Swarbrick My Midlife Diary: Don't scoff at Christmas creep – it's good for us

And here we are. That odd stage in the calendar where discombobulation abounds. The second week in November always feels like a curious hinterland,...

10.11.2024 1

Herald Scotland

Susan Swarbrick

My Midlife Diary: Forget relaxing of an evening, fireworks morons have taken over

An October night and my dog is shaking in my arms. His entire body trembles with fear. We’re huddled together on the kitchen floor and my heart...

03.11.2024 3

Herald Scotland

Susan Swarbrick

My Midlife Diary: I only RSVP if it’s OK to rock up in a dog hair-covered fleece Get the instant Donald Trump look by slapping on some orange-hued fake tan, style your hair into a fluffy combover, find an ill-fitting, boxy suit with exaggerated shoulder pads and accessorise with an over-long, shiny red tie.

The other day, while I was packing my shopping at breakneck speed at the tills of a well-known budget supermarket, the cashier struck up a...

27.10.2024 5

Herald Scotland

Susan Swarbrick

Susan Swarbrick My Midlife Diary: Is it time I got a dumbphone?

In recent weeks, I have developed a bit of a screen time problem. It tends to be something that creeps up on me around this time of year,...

20.10.2024 20

Herald Scotland

Susan Swarbrick

My Midlife Diary: Gen Z don't want to be middle managers - good on them, I reckon

As regular readers will know, I fancy myself as a bit of an amateur anthropologist. A keen observer when it comes to the subject of generational...

13.10.2024 2

Herald Scotland

Susan Swarbrick

My Midlife Diary: How hummus became a barometer for the mood of the middle classes

If ever you need a barometer for the current mood of the middle classes, simply type a single word into an internet search engine: hummus. This...

06.10.2024 2

Herald Scotland

Susan Swarbrick

My Midlife Diary: How I get my Saturday morning kicks as a parkrun 'high-vis hero'

A Saturday morning and an early autumn chill hangs in the air. I meander the short distance from the car park with a huge smile on my face. It is...

29.09.2024 2

Herald Scotland

Susan Swarbrick

The trouble with getting older? It sneaks up on you by stealth

One of the best gifts I have been given in recent times is a coffee mug from my friend Alison that is inscribed with the words: “What a year this...

22.09.2024 1

Herald Scotland

Susan Swarbrick

Susan Swarbrick: Houseplant sales? Oh dear, student life is so wholesome nowadays

Student life seems a lot more wholesome than I remember. I was struck by this thought the other day when I saw a social media post about an upcoming...

15.09.2024 1

Herald Scotland

Susan Swarbrick

Susan Swarbrick: Oasis reunion proves that the 1990s were the best decade

At what point in life do you find yourself spending equal time gazing back as you do looking forward? This isn’t, as it might appear at first...

07.09.2024 2

Herald Scotland

Susan Swarbrick

Susan Swarbrick: All creatures great and small - my summer of insect-themed drama

I have never been someone who gets the ick from insects. As a child I would collect ladybirds, millipedes and beetles in an old ice cream tub,...

11.08.2024 3

Herald Scotland

Susan Swarbrick

Susan Swarbrick: I got a nosebleed, fell in a bush and ran through a swarm of bees

If you are anything like me, you’ll have likely spent much of the past week glued to coverage of the Olympic Games in Paris. My diary has been...

04.08.2024 3

Herald Scotland

Susan Swarbrick

Susan Swarbrick: The five best gifts you can get a middle-aged person

As I get older, something that I increasingly struggle with is what to buy friends and family as gifts. Many of my nearest and dearest are, like...

28.07.2024 3

Herald Scotland

Susan Swarbrick

Susan Swarbrick: We're told to 'ditch the comfort zone' - but what does that mean?

One of my all-time favourite quotes reads: “Your new life is going to cost you your old one.” It forms part of a longer passage by the US...

14.07.2024 10

Herald Scotland

Susan Swarbrick