“O wad some power the giftie gie us, to see oursels as ithers see us,” wrote Robert Burns.
Who knew the giftie would arrive in the form of a 950ft cruise ship – the largest to berth in the Port of Aberdeen in its near 1,000-year history – along with almost 4,000 passengers.
You see, those arriving at the Granite City aboard the Costa Favolosa seemed almost giddy with excitement at the prospect of what awaited them on shore.
Speaking to the P&J as they disembarked, the tourists came across as breathlessly thrilled at the idea of heading into the heart of Aberdeen, of exploring the rich history of Old Aberdeen, taking in the fascinating Fittie, and heading further afield to Dunnottar Castle and up Royal Deeside.
All of these places which those of us who live here take, more or less, for granted filled these visitors with a sense of the exotic and extraordinary. How cool is that?
At this point, special mention must be made of the VisitAberdeenshire volunteers who welcomed the cruisers onshore – along with a pipe band – to give them the warmest of welcomes and a steer of the top things to see and do.
As well as the aforementioned hot spots, they were bigging up the likes of Union Square, the Art Gallery, Aberdeen Maritime Museum and no doubt many more.
It is fantastic that this cheerful band of local folk gave up their time to be ambassadors for the city and region they love and take immense pride in.
Sometimes I feel they should be doing that sterling job not just with those stepping off a gangplank from a colossal boat but among some folk in Aberdeen as well.
And yes, I’m looking at you keyboard warriors who do not have a single good word to say about the place where you live.
Just a pity the Costa Favolosa doesn’t have room to whisk you away to somewhere you might like better – although you’d probably just carry on whining wherever you end up.
It’s in the DNA of your sad lives.
But for the rest of us, we could take a leaf out of the VisitAberdeenshire ambassadors’ book and do our bit to talk up our city when we come across those who are visiting.
We all have special places we love to go back to time and time again and want to share so others can see them with fresh eyes.
My list would take in His Majesty’s, the Brig o’ Balgownie and surrounds, Stonehaven Harbour, Dunnottar Woods, The Grill, the Marine Hotel, Taste of Hong Kong, Duthie Park, Café Noir for galletes in Stoney. And that’s just me rattling off the top of my head.
And I will take great delight in unfurling that list to any mystified tourist I see looking for directions, be it in the heart of Aberdeen, the Market Square in Stonehaven or anywhere else.
Sometimes we do need to help others see our special part of Scotland – and in doing so see it anew for ourselves and be reminded of how lucky we are.
Scott Begbie is a journalist and editor, as well as PR and comms manager for Aberdeen Inspired
Conversation