It was hard not to feel a little like Arthur Dent in 2016.
For those not familiar with The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Arthur Dent was the hapless soul in a dressing gown totally unprepared for the calamities befalling him.
2016 delivered jolt after jolt of bad news that left all of us equally bewildered.
We were only just getting our heads around the death of one icon when someone else shuffled off this mortal coil, leaving a much greyer world behind them.
Then there was the double whammy of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump that have shaken up the political order.
The uncertainty and steady drip of misery – let’s not even dwell on the horrors in Syria – turned 2016 into one long tension headache.
It’s ironic then, that amid all the misery, 2016 was actually a pretty good year for the city of Dundee.
The Bucket Trail, Design Festival and the People’s Arch created a genuine buzz in the city.
Slessor Gardens, officially opened by The Queen, has opened up the Waterfront while, of course, construction of the V&A continues apace.
It’s worth remembering just how far Dundee has come since the V&A was first proposed in 2007.
Then, the waterfront belonged to the Hilton and the Olympia: fondly remembered perhaps but not buildings that could ever be considered inspirational.
In 12 months the V&A structure will be finished and Dundee will have an attraction that will be the envy of every other city in Scotland.
But if Dundee’s physical metamorphosis is nearly complete, it is set to undergo a fairly radical political change over the next 12 months too.
While it will be a surprise if the SNP do not control the council after May’s elections, a host of experienced councillors, including leader Ken Guild and Lord Provost Bob Duncan, are standing down, as are several opposition members.
Overseeing yet more brutal budget cuts and steering progress on the waterfront will fall to less experienced hands.
It will be their responsibility to ensure Dundee’s progress continues and that the ambition that has brought the city this far continues to drive it forward – for the benefit of all its residents.
