20/11/2025
❤️
❤️ A Perth Worth Fighting For ❤️
There is a strange sadness about Perth just now. The Christmas lights are already hanging over the High Street, and on Saturday we will switch them on. They will do their best to bring sparkle to streets that deserve so much more life.
It is easy to point the finger. To sigh and say “the council should do more” or “there is nothing in the town any more.”
But if we are being honest, and I include myself here, just maybe we are the ones who let it slip away.
We shop on Amazon because it is easier.
We drive instead of walk because it is quicker.
We complain about empty shops while our own spending fills the pockets of companies that would struggle to find Perth on a map.
And then we wonder why our streets feel quiet.
The truth is, Perth’s soul is not missing. It is just waiting for its people to show up again.
Every coffee you buy from a local café instead of a big chain, every wee gift you grab from an independent shop instead of Prime, every night you spend at a gig, a panto, or just sharing a meal in town, it all adds up.
Because when you buy local, you do not just buy a thing. You buy someone’s wage. Someone’s dream. Someone’s future.
You keep a teenager in their first job.
You help a family pay their rent.
You give a reason for lights to stay on in a window that would otherwise be dark.
And yes, I am guilty too. I have clicked “next day delivery” more times than I can count. I have moaned about parking and still taken the car. But maybe it is time to admit that our convenience has a cost, and it is being paid right here in our own streets.
With the lights going on this Saturday, what if we made a different kind of promise?
• Walk into town instead of driving past it.
• Buy one gift from a local shop for every one you buy online.
• Post about the cafés, shops and pubs that make you feel proud of where you live.
• Smile at the people serving you, it has been a long year for them too.
Imagine if everyone in Perth did that, even just for one month. The ripple would be enormous. Shops would see life again. Cafés would be full. The city would start to feel like ours again.
We keep waiting for Perth to change.
Maybe Perth is waiting for us.
So as the lights are switched on this weekend, let us give our city a proper Christmas gift, our presence.
Our feet on the pavements.
Our laughter in the bars.
Our pride in our wee city.
If you love Perth, really love it, prove it.
Because if we do not, we will wake up one day and find that the town we miss has gone for good.
And no amount of Amazon deliveries will bring it back.
