Peter Hadden, Partner, Baillie GiffordBack to Dundee Ambassadors

Peter was born in Dundee and lived the first 20 years of his life in the city. Now settled in Edinburgh and a Partner at private investment company, Baillie Gifford, he travels to the city regularly to visit his family and to follow Dundee United.

Dundee has always felt like home. I live in Edinburgh now, mainly for my work, but I visit Dundee most weeks and it still feels like I'm heading home. Lots of my family are still there. My overall impression of the city is that it's a ‘down to earth' place.

I can clearly remember the jute mills from my childhood. Dundee will always be famous for its textiles and I can recall memories from my younger days (which is not that long ago!) of the workers clearing all the jute out of the mills whenever there was a fire warning. They'd lay it out on Riverside Drive - where the airport is now - like bales of hay.  It appeared to be a regular occurrence and the task of moving those quantities of jute was a full time job!

The quality of the academic work going on in the city is just phenomenal. Dundee is home to one of the top universities in Europe and renowned for its life sciences but I don't think people fully realise that. Both my kids studied life sciences at Dundee; one is still there doing dentistry and I'm really proud of them. They absolutely love the city and the lifestyle that goes with it!

The football scene in Dundee is quite unique. It's not unusual for members from the same family to one or the other Dundee teams. I'm a Dundee United fan and my  Dad and older brother supported Dundee. It's not like other cities where there are very clear divisions - your family is either Celtic or Rangers, Hibs or Hearts, Manchester United or City. I think it's actually quite unique because there's no geographic (both stadiums are in the same street), religious or class divide between who supports which team. It might be more to do with age: the older folk remember the Dundee glory days of the sixties and the younger people tend to remember the United glory days of the eighties.  The point is that the fans of both sides socialise together before and after games - I don't think that happens in many other cities.

Dundee has no real frictions or divisions. I think it's a very accepting city. There have always been lots of different races and cultures in the city and it all seems very integrated. I think lots of other cities have very clearly defined areas where different communities live or socialise but in Dundee it's very mixed. Perhaps it's to do with the fact that it is a small city but it has always been a welcoming place and a city with few airs and graces.

There's certainly no shortage of places to socialise in Dundee. It's a sociable city. Broughty Ferry is lovely and great for a day out. The west end has a very relaxed fee about it almost like an extended university campus. There are lots of old fashioned pubs, with older locals calling them by their original names, if only to confuse younger taxi drivers! There's a real character about them.

I've always loved the music scene - it's so eclectic and incredibly vibrant, typified by the View. They've got loads of energy and a really wide range of styles. Back in the 70s there was also a thriving folk scene - I remember a number of great venues attracting the likes of Billy Connolly in his singing days. The Sleaze Band weer a local band and while they played larger venues throughout the country you could hear their albums on old eight track in the Scout Bar every weekend. I also remember seeing the Average White Band playing at their local pub (the Ambassador in Clepington Rd and probably called something else now!) when they were selling huge arenas throughout the US. All the big names came to the city - I remembering seeing Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, David Bowie, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Deep Purple, Slade and The Who play The Caird Hall. The Bay City Rollers were regulars at the JM Ballroom before they became famous!

Dundee's plans for the future are ambitious. The city turned water into land when regenerating the waterfront area. It's transformed down there and I think the plans for further development are fantastic. The location of the city is amazing and I think some kind of leisure attraction down there would really draw people to the city. 

Cities that make the most of their waterfronts have got it right. I've travelled to destinations all over the world and everywhere you go you notice that people are drawn to the water whether it's the seafront or riverside. Dundee's waterfront is stunning and has the potential to be a fantastic leisure location. When I was growing up, we were not encouraged to go near the docklands, but that's all changed with riverside developments offering an opportunity to open it up to the public and enjoy it properly.