As the Teenies draw to a close, Sandra Dick looks back at some of the key events that make it a decade to remember

We’ve had the teenage years – angry, argumentative and just a little bit challenging. Now come the roaring twenties.

With the hours of 2019 ticking away, it’s not just an old year we’re set to wave goodbye to, it’s an entire decade of ups and downs, countless memes and social trends.

Just like any moody teen, the past decade has careered from bad moods and huffy arguments that split the household, to bad romances – try as we might, it’s hard to forget David Cameron and Nick Clegg in the Rose Garden at Number 10.

Yet amid the turbulence and drama of a very divided decade, there have been some spirit-raising bright spots that have brought us together as one, and a few that have changed our lives completely.

As the final hours of the 2010s slip away, there’s just time to reflect on the defining moments that made the past decade one to remember.

Commonwealth Games

There’s usually not much in the world of sport for us Scots to cheer about, but thanks to Sir Andy Murray’s Wimbledon triumphs in 2013 and 2016 and the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Scotland – for a little while, at least – was on top of the world.

Glasgow 2014 didn’t just put us in the international sporting arena with 53 medals – among them, 19 gold – it showcased the city and the entire nation in a fresh light.

Fun, friendly and welcoming. Even the sun came out to make the Games a resounding success.

The Games brought investment to previously run-down parts of Glasgow, dancing Tunnock’s Tea Cakes and then raced to a rain-lashed conclusion with Usain Bolt jigging to the Proclaimers and wearing a tartan tammy.

While the London 2012 Olympic Games inspired a wave of UK patriotism, it is Glasgow 2014 that most Scots will hold dearest.

Brexit’s omnishambles

Omnishambles became the Oxford English Dictionary’s word of the year in 2012 and kept going during a rollercoaster decade of political strife.

If the Cameron-Clegg love-in following the May 2010 General Election was hard to stomach, along came Ukip in 2014 and the decision by Ofcom to hand it “major party status”.

Under threat from its anti-Euro stance and the defection of Tory politicians and voters, David Cameron moved in June 2016 to conclude years of internal Conservative strife by taking the question over the UK’s future to the people.

Enter buses with dodgy NHS slogans, Boris Johnson, and Nigel Farage’s uncomfortable Edinburgh visit that resulted in him being forced out of a pub on the Royal Mile, then turned away by taxi drivers as he tried to escape shouts of “racist” and “homophobe”.

“Leave or Remain” has become one of the most divisive and polarising political and social topics of the past decade – and probably the next one too.

The rise of the meme

There’s just one word that can sum up Scotland’s contribution to meme culture: disgusting.

The explosion of social media platforms and smartphones in the 2010s introduced the world to the meme, short bursts of video that have gone on to be shared millions of times.

Scotland’s big contribution was thanks to two little girls settling down to sing a Cher Lloyd song only to be interrupted by their furious mum and a “Disgusting!” toilet issue.

There have been others: a trampoline rolling along a windswept street; a furious mum deriding her greedy son’s pancake gluttony; a giggling granny reading Wonky Donkey; and poor Harry the petrified roofer who, despite his mates’ encouragement, is probably set to enter 2020 still stuck up a roof somewhere.

Climate change

Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg has propelled the issue to the top of the agenda. However, Scotland entered 2010 with the world’s most ambitious climate change commitment.

The Climate Change (Scotland) Act included a target to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. It has since been overtaken by a new climate change commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045, five years faster than the UK overall.

All eyes will be on Glasgow next year, when the city hosts COP26, a crucial UN climate change summit.

Indyref: Part One

“Should Scotland be an independent country?” More than five years on, the answer is still up for debate.

Scotland voted on Thursday, September 18, 2014, a tense, emotionally-charged day that saw a turnout of 84.6% – the highest recorded in the UK for an election or referendum since 1910.

Whether Scotland should remain part of the union or go it alone split households and workplaces, and engaged the nation in politics and debate in a manner never seen before.

The result shattered Nationalist dreams and saw Nicola Sturgeon become the first woman to lead a national government in the UK since Margaret Thatcher.

This one will roll on and on.

Royal rumbles

The Crown isn’t the only royal drama in town. The past decade brought the 2011 marriage of “Kate and Wills”, followed seven years later by Prince Harry’s marriage to American actor Meghan Markle.

The decade saw the arrival of several more royal mouths to feed, questions over the Duke of York’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and that car crash Newsnight interview.

Stay tuned for a new decade that will surely see the crowning of a new king – but will it be Charles, now in his eighth decade, or William?

Food fads

In a nation of expanding waistlines, it’s perhaps odd that one of the decade’s successes has been cake.

The Great British Bake Off became a television sensation, with millions tuning in to watch soggy bottoms, the joy of a moist sponge and the tears over burned offerings. The programme also inspired the revival of afternoon tea.

At the same time, the nation embraced gluten-free, vegan, no-dairy, low-fat and high-protein options, meatless Monday, the keto diet and tonnes of avocados.

Glasgow, with its reputation for unhealthy eating, is now recognised as one of the UK’s vegan hotspots.

Swipe right

Smartphones and the opportunity to browse thousands of potential matches has fuelled the boom in “dating by app”.

Tinder’s arrival in 2012 kickstarted billions of swipes left or right. Whereas using a dating agency in the past was seen as a bit sad, matching online is now so common that one in 10 marriages are said to be rooted in an online app.

See you Jimmy

Scottish music artists have long tried to shed their Scottish twang.

However, the past decade has seen the rise of the Scottish voice – Twin Atlantic, Gerry Cinnamon, Biffy Clyro and The Twilight Sad all let their Scottish roots shine through.

Conversely, DJ Calvin Harris, recently named as the world’s 34th highest-earning musician with 2019 earnings of $38.5m, shocked many Brit Award viewers when they realised he is actually Scottish.

Outlander boom

Scotland’s tourism industry has soared, thanks in part to Diana Gabaldon’s time travel Outlander books.

Since arriving on the small screen in 2014, fans have stampeded to Scotland to see film locations with their own eyes.

The "Outlander effect" has been felt across the country, in tourism and in increased interest in Scottish produce and culture.

Tourism is now said to contribute around £6bn to the Scottish economy.