Ooh, 2015, where did you go?

The last, fast 12 months have been a whirlwind of wonder and weirdness.

We saw the refugee crisis hit horrifying proportions and watched numbly as terrorism reared its ugly head in Paris. David Cameron was embarrassed by pig-gate; the FBI got stuck into Fifa; we started calling storms daft names like Desmond and Barney (surely they should be much more dramatic? Storm Rammy! Storm Rocket! Just saying.) and a new Royal princess was born.

As always, the year was full of heroes amid the horribleness and hope springing, against the odds, from the hurt. If it wasn’t for them, where would we all be?

So I’m dedicating my last column of 2015 to some of the mighty men, women, girls and boys who have made a difference here in Glasgow over the last 12 months.

My people of the year for 2015 include:

Nine-year-old Ava-Denise McFall from Mosspark, who is determined to raise awareness of dyslexia as she fights her own battle with the condition; East Kilbride mum Vivien Scotson, who loaded up her caravan with waterproofs, blankets, toys and wellies and headed to Calais as part of a convoy from Glasgow determined to make life better for the refugees gathering at the port; and Lillis Oldham, the 94-year-old poster girl for an older person’s walking initiative who helped refugees in Cambodia and drug addicts in Easterhouse and now inspires all who meet her.

Then there are Grant and Adrienne Currie, the Kilmarnock parents who campaign tirelessly through the pain of their 15-year-old daughter’s death from vasculitis to raise awareness of the condition which killed her. They have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for research, set up support groups and raised issues at international conferences. Recently, they opened their first Twilight Cabin at Loch Awe, a place of respite for families dealing with vasculitis and they have played a part in the establishment of three Scottish vasculitis clinics in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Hats off too, to the Free Cakes for Kids bakers, who bake birthday cakes for children in vulnerable families, who might not otherwise get one; and the wonderful volunteers at Tea in the Pot in Govan, a modern-day Steamie helping people feel less isolated. And a final word for the magnificent Margaret Miller, champion volunteer, former Evening Times Scotswoman of the Year and one of only a handful of people to win two British Empire Medals, who died earlier this month.

Thank goodness for good people – or, as Desmond Tutu put it: “Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

Have a happy new year when it comes.