Ruth Davidson – Favourite Things

Ruth Davidson is the former leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. She became party leader in 2011 and stood down in August 2019. Born in Edinburgh, she worked as a BBC journalist and served in the Territorial Army as a signaller. After leaving the BBC in 2009, Davidson joined the Conservative Party. She enjoyed a stratospheric rise to prominence, expressing her firm views on Scottish independence as well as Britain’s departure from the EU. As of this week, Davidson has taken her seat on the red benches in the House of Lords.

These are a few of Ruth Davidson’s favourite things...

The sea

I love the sea and grew up in the East Neuk of Fife, able to hear the waves from my bedroom window. When I was troubled by something as a child or couldn’t sleep, I would sit up on my bed, with my duvet wrapped around me and watch the flashing of the Bass Rock lighthouse – three short flashes, pause, one long flash. It made me feel calm and safe and as if all would be right in the world. My partner, Jen, grew up on the water in County Wexford in Ireland, and we’ve recently sold our house in Edinburgh and are moving down the coast to be by the sea again. We want our toddler son to experience the same promise of adventure that the sea provided to us growing up. Whether it is messing around building dams, collecting driftwood for campfires or just looking at the horizon excited about far-off places, we want him to come home and shake the sand from his feet. Another bonus is we will be able to see the same Bass Rock Lighthouse from our new home – just from the other side of the light.

Wilson

My working cocker spaniel is as daft as a brush. Affectionate, inquisitive and soft as butter, he would never make a guard dog. Having had three different variants of collies through the years – who are incredibly intelligent – it has taken a bit of getting used to as Wilson is never likely to be admitted to the canine version of MENSA. Despite being hit by a car when he was one and needing months of operations and rehab, he still doesn’t understand traffic. However, what he doesn’t have in smarts, he more than makes up for in charm. After years of living in city centre apartments and working the sorts of hours which are simply unfair to animals, getting him suddenly made our house feel like a proper home. I don’t think I ever want to be without a dog again. Some days I could swing for him, but our family life – particularly during lockdown – is geared around his walks, and we wouldn’t be the same domestic unit without him.

Cherries

Oranges are not the only fruit, but cherries might as well be. I am currently obsessed with them and eat between 4-6 punnets a week. There is something so inviting about the shiny purple/black flesh and the certain knowledge of a rush of sweet liquor that makes them irresistible. In truth, I like most fruits – I think it’s my slightly sweet tooth – and I make a mean 12-fruit salad as a healthy alternative to dessert. But when summer hits and cherries are back on the supermarket shelves, plump and juicy, it’s the first item into the trolley.

Police procedurals

I don’t have the patience to watch shakey-camera true crime programmes, nor will I choose to scare myself with a slasher horror movie. But I am a sucker every time for a good detective story. Whether it’s the novels of Ian Rankin or Val McDermid, TV shows such as Bosch, the Unforgotten or Wallander, or films like Zodiac or 21 Bridges, I get sucked in. I’m not sure why I like them so much – I think perhaps there’s something elemental in the ordinary man or woman doggedly pursuing evil and delivering justice, even as they (inevitably) put themself in danger. We all want the light to overcome darkness and equilibrium to be restored. Either that or it just makes for great telly.

Musical theatre

I can’t sing a note, but I do love a musical. I was raised on my mum’s VHS copies of Howard Keel classics like Calamity Jane and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers plus festive favourite White Christmas, 60s cool West Side Story and extravagantly wardrobed My Fair Lady, so my tastes are pretty eclectic. The last show I saw properly on stage was Hamilton, having already learned all the words to all the songs in advance. It’s so sad to think of every theatre dark for so long. There is something magical and powerful about the energy of live theatre – the anticipation as the curtain goes up, the transportation to another world. Whether it’s the last helicopter out of Saigon, a cabaret club in Nazi Germany or manning the barricades in revolutionary France, musicals paint in primary colours and allow your imagination to soar with the string section. I can’t wait to get back to the theatre.

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