ANDREW BATCHELOR: 2025 has changed everything and I’m so grateful for it
- Andrew Batchelor
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
Near the end of every year, I always find myself feeling nostalgic about the months just gone. I usually hold back from declaring any single year as the year.
Partly because life has a habit of keeping score, and partly because reflection often brings perspective later on.
But 2025 feels different. Without hesitation, it has changed everything and I’m so grateful for it.
Mills Observatory changed everything
Much of that is tied to Mills Observatory. After facing the very real threat of closure in 2024, the observatory surged back to life in 2025.
One moment will always stay with me.
On a freezing February night during the planet parade, I received a message from a follower telling me there was a huge queue stretching all the way up Balgay Hill. People standing patiently in the cold, just to get in, because they cared.
And there was that picture of the queue sent in that just made me just stop in a way that was very reminiscent to the iconic “Humana Humana” moment from SpongeBob.
Looking back now, that moment summed up everything that followed.
Mills Observatory did not just survive, it reconnected with the city, drawing in first-time visitors and welcoming people back who had not been up the hill in 20, 30, even 50 years.
It became one of the most successful periods in its near 90-year history.
Meanwhile, 2025 carried extra weight as Mills Observatory marked its 90th anniversary. Being part of those celebrations felt genuinely special.
The Scottish Astronomer Royal Catherine Heymans presented an amazing talk at the Steps Theatre and then what followed was a night of pure celebration at the observatory itself.
As part of the 90th anniversary celebrations, I got in touch with the Royal Greenwich Observatory, and what followed became a quietly meaningful exchange.
I exchanged gifts with Hannah Hughes, the general manager of the observatory, on the Prime Meridian line itself, a moment that felt symbolic in more ways than one.
On behalf of Mills, I gifted a card to mark Greenwich’s 350th anniversary. In return, they presented a card and a book on the observatory’s history, complete with a personal message written by the author.
It felt like a fitting tribute, particularly knowing that Royal Greenwich had helped consult on Mills’ development in the 1930s and had recommended Balgay Hill as the best site. It was one of those moments where the past and present briefly met.
At the end of 2024, my regular column with The Courier and the Evening Telegraph came to an end.
It was a period that helped shape my writing voice and gave me the confidence to explore longer-form storytelling.
Since then, I gone on to write for online and print publications focused on the resurgence of Mills Observatory, including Orbital Today and BBC Sky at Night.
Being able to tell a Dundee story on a bigger stage felt like a fitting continuation of that journey.
But that work with Mills did not happen in isolation. It made me reflect on how much of what I was doing had been shaped by my time with Dundee Heritage Trust.
Since 2021, I had worked there as the Social Media Assistant and later as Digital Content Officer, learning how to tell the stories of cultural institutions with care, consistency and openness.
Those lessons quietly informed everything that happened at Mills, even if I did not fully realise it at the time.
Around that same period, I had applied for roles with the Dundee Science Centre and the Dundee Tourism Leadership Group.
I was not successful, which was disappointing, but it helped me understand that not every opportunity arrives through formal pathways. Sometimes the work itself creates the next step.
While those two opportunities did not come my way, the success of the Mills Observatory partnership proved far more influential than I could have anticipated.
The visibility, trust and community engagement that grew from that work became the strongest evidence of what Dundee Culture could do in practice.
It was that experience, more than any application or interview, that led to my appointment as Marketing Manager and to the partnership with the Dundee Museum of Transport.
Dundee Museum of Transport is the city’s next biggest project
Since joining the Dundee Museum of Transport as Marketing Manager, the experience has felt both grounding and energising.
It is a role that sits naturally alongside everything I have learned over the past few years, and one that carries a real sense of responsibility.
This year marked the museum’s strongest social media performance on record, with thousands of new followers discovering it for the first time.
For me, that growth is not about numbers, but about visibility, making sure more people know the museum exists and understand why it matters.
Right now, the focus is firmly on Market Mews. While much of the conversation understandably looks ahead to the future move to Maryfield, I am keen that people do not overlook what is already here.
The current site holds stories that deserve to be seen, and every person who walks through the door helps keep the museum active, supported and part of the city’s everyday cultural life.
Encouraging visits now feels just as important as building anticipation for what comes next.
Looking ahead, there are already moments on the horizon that feel deeply meaningful.
2026 marks the 60th anniversary of the Tay Road Bridge, alongside the 70th anniversary of the trams leaving the streets of Dundee.
The latter will be explored through a dedicated exhibition at the Dundee Museum of Transport, and it is something I am genuinely looking forward to working on.
These anniversaries are not just dates on a calendar, but opportunities to reconnect people with the stories that shaped how the city moved, grew and evolved.
One thing that I would argue is that the Dundee Museum of Transport’s move to Maryfield is the next biggest thing to happen in Dundee - and to get onboard in 2025, just as we’re reaching the last few stops to Maryfield - has just been exciting to be part of!
New partnerships and collaborations build great relationships
Visiting Toronto for the second time was another highlight of the year. The city felt more familiar, more navigable, and more connected to Dundee than it had on my first visit.
While there, I launched a collaboration between Dundee Culture and Mackenzie House, rooted in the shared history between the two cities.
Dundee played a vital role in Toronto’s early development, and being able to help reconnect those threads, even in a small way, felt genuinely meaningful.
It left me hopeful that this could be the beginning of stronger cultural links between Dundee and Toronto in the years ahead.
Helping LIVEHOUSE Dundee launch was another standout moment of the year. Being trusted with the promotion of something so significant for the city felt like a real privilege.
LIVEHOUSE has already made its mark, and that is down to the vision and leadership behind it. Gus Robb has done a terrific job, and it has been brilliant to play a part in supporting a venue that is set to shape Dundee’s live music and events scene for years to come.
Working with Dundee Rep Theatre was another highlight of 2025. It is one of the city’s most important cultural institutions and one that is incredibly close to my heart.
Some institutions do not just host culture, they help shape the city’s identity, and the Rep continues to do that with confidence and care.
Looking at the bright side
Not everything that defined 2025 was serious or strategic. Some of the most memorable moments came from humour and shared surprise.
One of the funniest was Dundee Culture’s April Fools’ joke, a completely fictional soap opera called The Tay’s Edge. What started as a playful idea took on a life of its own, to the point where it even fooled national radio presenters.
I still feel slightly guilty about that one, but not guilty enough to deny how funny it was.
Another moment that captured the city’s collective sense of humour was the mysterious “Deborah and Donut” sign that appeared on Kingsway walkway near Old Glamis Road. Watching something so simple go viral was hilarious and oddly brilliant.
A year shaped by people
2025 was also a year shaped by people. I made new friends, strengthened existing relationships and found myself part of conversations I never expected to be having.
A major highlight was Doof in the Park, spearheaded by fellow Dundonian, Hannah Laing. The event itself was huge for the city, but what followed meant just as much.
The fact that an international DJ, who oversees one of the world’s biggest hard dance labels, ended up sitting in my garden office for an interview is something I still find quietly surreal.
I am genuinely excited to see what 2026 holds for Hannah and hope to continue being part of that journey.
Another standout part of the year was working with Kacey Thomson.
Bringing a student on board was something I had never done before, and it turned out to be one of the most rewarding things I have taken on.
Watching Kacey grow in confidence, develop her voice and explore her professional ambitions has been nothing short of inspiring.
She played a significant role in helping Dundee Culture grow throughout 2025, and seeing her work recognised with an A grade from the University of Strathclyde for her Dundee Culture work experience felt incredibly special. That moment alone made the experience even more amazing.
Kacey has been brilliant, and I feel incredibly fortunate not only to have supported her, but to know her and see just how talented she is.
Another moment that stopped me in my tracks came from something quite personal. Finding out that Dundee Culture had played a part, even a small one, in persuading a couple of people to move to Dundee left me genuinely in awe.
It is one thing to promote a city, its stories and its institutions, but another entirely to realise that what you are doing has helped someone choose to build a life here.
That realisation stayed with me, and it quietly reframed what Dundee Culture means, not just as a platform, but as something that can influence how people see Dundee and where they choose to belong.
A hopeful 2026
As the year draws to a close and thoughts turn to 2026, I find myself hopeful, but also quietly cautious. I have always carried a strange feeling that once I experience a truly great year, the next one is bound to be a difficult one.
I hope that is not the case.
My aim is simple: to carry forward the momentum, creativity and connection that defined 2025 and see where it leads next.
The growth of Dundee Culture this year has been beyond anything I imagined when I started it over a decade ago.
At the beginning of 2025, the platform sat at around 70,000 followers across social media. As the year ends and 2026 approaches, that figure now exceeds 100,000. What has been especially rewarding is how that growth has shifted and broadened.
Instagram and TikTok have welcomed thousands of new followers and a noticeably younger audience. There was even a period during 2025 when 18 to 24-year-olds became the largest demographic engaging with Dundee Culture, something I would never have believed possible when the platform began.
Ultimately, everything that happened this year comes back to the people who have supported Dundee Culture not just in 2025, but over the past 12 years. The messages, encouragement, shares and belief never go unnoticed.
Thank you 2025!
I always say thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has supported me, and I mean it every single time. None of this is ever taken for granted, because you never quite know what comes next.
So thank you, 2025. You were funny, emotional, surprising and deeply rewarding. I would relive almost every moment again, even the difficult ones, because they shaped what followed.
Sometimes the years that change your life most are the ones you never planned for at all.
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