SPEAKING to the founder of Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (SBH) Scotland in JANUARY got 2016 off to an inspiring and emotional start as the charity prepared to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Mae Whiteford described the moment she discovered her new baby daughter had spina bifida.

“The doctors told me to go home, let nature take its course and try for a ‘normal’ baby,” recalled Mae, whose daughter Margo is now chairwoman of the SBH, a respected clinical geneticist in Glasgow and, as we report on page 10 today, is to be honoured with a CBE.  In FEBRUARY, Glasgow Women’s Library co-founder Adele Patrick was crowned the 53rd Evening Times Scotswoman of the Year at the end of another uplifting and emotional evening in Glasgow City Chambers.  “Remarkable women is something we in Scotland have an abundance of,” she told the audience.

I was also fortunate enough to get the first interview with the remarkable Stacy Paris, a Glasgow student who had both legs amputated after contracting a flesheating bug and who now campaigns for equal rights for disabled models.

“I’m ready to be the role model I couldn’t find,” she said.

Glasgow Airport celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2016 and in MARCH I got the chance to go behind the scenes to reveal why it has been such a success over the past five decades. Driving along the runway with the Foreign Objects and Debris team was a highlight… APRIL was all about music – I got the chance to interview Jim McLean, a stalwart of South Lanarkshire Orchestra Society for almost 60 years and landed an exclusive interview with Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle, hit songwriters of the 70s reunited for the premiere of their stage musical Caledonia USA in the seaside town of Largs.

In MAY I met Alison McWhirter, one of Glasgow’s new, visionary artists, whose beautiful, colourful works have earned her the label of new Scottish colourist.

I also spent some time at Shettleston Railway Station’s library, a wonderful community initiative dreamt up by station assistant Michael Cochrane who wanted to encourage passengers to read on their daily commute.

The Streets Ahead Awards night at the Winter Gardens in JUNE was a joyful celebration of the fifth successful year of our campaign   In JULY, I caught up with anti-sectarianism charity Nil by Mouth, still going strong and changing attitudes 20 years on. I was honoured to cover the launch of its new Kiss Bigotry Goodbye campaign.

The Evening Times has continued to support the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice’s Brick by Brick Appeal in 2016 and in AUGUST I was lucky enough to have an exclusive interview with chief executive Rhona Baillie as work started on its new home. “We’re nearly there, Glasgow – thanks so much for all your support,” she told Evening Times readers.  In SEPTEMBER I returned to Glasgow Women’s Library to write about their 25th anniversary celebrations, and we launched the sixth, exciting year of our Streets Ahead campaign.

We also launched a fascinating new Times Past series called Thanks for the Memories, which has prompted readers from all over the city to share their recollections and photos of growing up in Glasgow over the decades.

Sadly, I also wrote about the death of Francesca Mancini, a truly inspirational young woman who raised thousands of pounds for the Beatson while battling her own rare form of cancer.

My exclusive interview with her devastated mother May revealed just how selfless Francesca was, right up until the end, as she left instructions on treats and gifts for her little sister.  In OCTOBER I wrote about the 20th anniversary of Mackintosh’s lost masterpiece the House for an Art Lover and interviewed one of the few female masterblenders in the whisky industry, Kirsteen Campbell.

I caught up with Strictly Come Dancing’s live tour judge Karen Hardy – who may or may not be about to replace Len Goodman on the telly show – for some sparkling chat in NOVEMBER; and celebrated with the Evening Times Community Champions finalists at a glittering finale in the City Chambers in December.

Last month I also exclusively revealed the launch of a new resource to help the police and victims deal more effectively with stalking cases, pioneered by former Evening Times Scotswoman of the Year Ann Moulds; and had my faith in people restored after spending an afternoon with the hardworking Friends of Langlands Moss volunteers, rebuilding their beautiful nature reserve after a devastating act of vandalism.