https://www.facebook.com/111204998491788/

The Human Collective, Leven (2026)

15/05/2026

Today, my cat Missy left the earth.

For 19 years she was family. It started with a car journey to take her home in 2007 and today it was a car journey to Cupar in my arms to the end. She just ran out of time. I'd known her since I was 21, chosen for her beautiful coloured fur and named after Missy Elliot.

I comforted her as best as I could, I thanked her and told her we loved her and were glad she was our cat. She was a comfort to me in recent years as grief became part of my life and now the house feels a little less like home without her.

When I leave here, I'll carve their names into the fence outside, hopefully it can stay there as a reminder that they lived here, that they were a blessing to us and that they were loved.

The page will go quiet for a bit.

Thanks

15/05/2026

"I've faced my own mental health struggles and this is why it's important to me to get a discussion going. People come to my work just so they can be listened to and see and they'll open up, there's also others dealing with addiction feeling like it's not worth going on.

To be able to help them by offering the right support, same with the football group on a Thursday, it means the world to me. Now that I'm quite far in my recovery journey, I just want to give back to the community in Dundee, this is a great place to live and it's home to me now.

The group has a wide range of ages which is a testament to its success, our youngest member is 17 and some of the guys are in their 50s, it's a reminder that no matter your age, people will always struggle and it's good to have a mix of these age groups I think. Everyone is welcome and it's free of course thanks to the Dundee West Community Trust and they've been incredibly helpful in every aspect.

Because of this, we're able to make a difference to people and helping them realise that they're not alone. Sadly there's still a stigma around mental health and many people can be hesitant to open up, but through this environment that we've created, this safe space, I've seen changes in them that make it all worthwhile.

I'm also studying at Gardyne College, where I run a separate football session along the same kind of vibe and atmosphere which has been a success too. This is my first time back in education in nearly 10 years, I'm studying Social Sciences and my goal is to do a community learning development degree and work in the education sector that'll tie in with the mental health side of things. I have to mention someone who's helped me massively with my confidence and giving me the push to talk about my journey and Jonathan Liddell and I'm so glad I met him because I wouldn't be where I am now without his guidance"

Thank you to Kieran for his time and his story. If you'd like to get involved with Carry On Kicking, please reach out and share this post if Kierans journey has resonated with you. Thank you 🫶🏻

14/05/2026

"My name is Kieran and I'm a mental health worker based in the centre of Dundee.

I've always been incredibly passionate about helping people and despite not coming from here, I want to be able to give back to the wider community here. Living here has done wonders for me, I was able to get back on my feet after struggling with my mental health and depression.

Football has always been a massive part of my life but I'd fell out of love with it when I was part of the grass roots level, it was the aggressiveness of it, win at all costs. It never felt like bonds were formed so when I initially came to Dundee, my mission was to set up a safe space based around football. To get get back to those memories of a kid, having a kick about with your pals, to make it a fun and inclusive thing, to talk about whatever you want to talk about with no judgement at all.

To just have fun and remove that anxiety of someone having a go at you if you put a foot wrong, you don't need to worry about getting two footed or that. It's literally just a laugh. I initially went to Dundee FC who were quite interested but couldn't facilitate it at that time, I then went to Dundee West Community Trust and spoke to Tam McCabe there and from the word go they were unbelievably supportive of it and it was April last year that we put it out there, asking people to come along and have a kick about, football first and maybe a wee blether to see how they were doing.

For the first few sessions, there was 11 people there and from then it's just grown in the most amazing way and now there's 80 people in our WhatsApp. There's around 25/30 guys every Thursday, just kicking the ball about and having a conversation. I've lost track of the amount of messages I've had or guys coming up to me to say how much they enjoy it and what it means to them.

To many it's the highlight of their week, it's a welcome distraction from the pressures of life and for me personally, from an emotional standpoint, is people who came initially to the sessions, they would be very reserved and very shy, which is completely understandable and now those same guys are always the first to approach the new faces who come along without being prompted because they know exactly what it was like.

It's such an inclusive environment and in this day and age with everything going on, it's what the world needs, it's what every wee town and city needs because the mental health crisis is real and the su***de rate is heartbreaking. I'm not saying this is the answer for everyone, but we have to try"

If you're in Dundee and reading this and know someone who'd benefit from being involved, give the first part of Kierans story a share. Please tag any similar groups where you are if you can that try to combat the mental health issues out there.

Carry On Kicking

Thank you 🫶🏻

13/05/2026

We are Ben & Jane Grieve and we're here at Crail Pottery.

Bens father began doing this in 1965 and it's been our lives for about 30 years. Jane and I met in Kirkcaldy actually, I was working as a carpenter at the time. My sister, Sarah, was already here and so we've been here now since the early 90s. Our son, Timothy, works here as well and Emily, our daughter, is here now and again.

It's nice being able to live and work in the same place, it's a nice way of life. We've been here for 36 years and we get visitors from all over because St. Andrews is just up the road so the golfing crowd will always pop their head in, there's plenty of lovely places to visit up and down the East Neuk. This is a nice place to work, it's great for your mental health. Working with your hands, especially creating things can be therapeutic in many ways. People will come in to escape the world and it's troubles and put their mind to creating. It was 1996 that we set up Crail Ceramics and Crail Earthenware, each business has its own studio space too.

Crail Pottery produces a diverse range of stoneware, terracotta planters, raku and bright hand painted earthenware. Every piece is hand thrown on the wheel, decorated, glazed and fired here in our workshops. As each pot is individually hand crafted, each has it’s own unique character.

Bens father passed on 2 years ago, you would have loved to have met him. He was a character and lots of fun. Just a nice man and he built this place up from nothing. Initially he didn't like us tinkering with it but it was his baby, everything you see here was built my him. My Mum, Carol and Dad, Stephen lived in a caravan and so we'd get bathed outside. Mum passed in 2019 and it's been about 2 years since Dad passed on.

Crail is a lovely place, we see people from all walks of life from all over the world and we love meeting new people, there's plenty things to and do too. We've weathered our own storms in recent years and we get by as we've always done as a family"

Have you been by, it's a magical place with lots of beautiful things on show. Give this post a wee share if you can, thank you 🫶🏻

12/05/2026

An Update

I'm taking The Human Collective to Dundee to see how I can help celebrate the good going on and to promote positivity.

I'll be back in Fife to tell more stories soon

Thank you for all of your support.

It means everything to me ❤️

12/05/2026

"My name is Kelly and I run Kelly & Nellie Pet Supplies here in Methil

I actually just live down the road at Dubbieside. I've been in Methil all my life, I was in Methilhill for a bit and now I'm down the road. I started this exclusively online selling treats and stuff, when we got our first dog, Nelly, because she has lots of allergies. I'd go to buy her treats, read the ingredients and despite it being salmon flavour, it had chicken in it and Nelly is allergic to chicken. She ended up with sores on her skins and it gives her a dodgy belly and nobody enjoys cleaning that up!

It was more than enough motivation to start this and Nelly was also prone to getting UTIs so I looked into the nutritional side of things learning all I could about certain reactions so I could help her. I started ordering from wholesalers and delivering them locally for free so other dogs didn't need to suffer or miss out on nice treats.

It's been relatively busy since I opened up here, I didn't advertise much and I've been lucky to have people come in who I've sold to before all, as well as new faces who wanted to see what it was all about. If I'm honest I was a bit nervous as it's my first time in retail. Before I did this, I was a support worker for adults with disabilities, before that I was in residential primary school, I also spent time at Methilhill Primary as well as the care home around the corner.

I like meeting everybody though, I love the social aspect of it and meeting new dogs, my last job was so rewarding, I just felt like the time was right to make a go of this and see when folk come in saying their dog or cats been doing better after I recommended something, that makes it all worthwhile.

I love living here, all the small businesses are great. Rebecca from KHEE was a big help. It's a great wee town we have and there's lots going on. Elaine from Watt Wellness down the road gave me a voucher for a massage because she knows how stressful it can be running a small business, everybody is just so supportive and it's one of the reasons why I love living here. I've grown up here so I know a lot of people and it gets a bad reputation but it's the same people who make it what it is"

Please support my new pal Kelly, give this post a wee share if you can too. Thank you 🫶🏻

Bonus pic of Nelly in the comments!

10/05/2026

Hello

Whenever I'm out and about, I'll have my camera with me and I always hear "aw I only have my phone, it takes rubbish photos"

The best camera is always the one you have on you. With that you can capture unrepeatable moments in time, whether it's photos or videos.

I took this one at 7.30 this morning with my phone today, a rusty old S22 and ran it through my editing suite.

My go to now on The Human Collective is an 11 year old Olympus EM5, it doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to do what you need it to 📷

If you fancy it, share your favourite photo in the comments below, I'd love to see them!

10/05/2026

"My name is Liz and today is my last day as an Operations Manager at EH9 on Perth Road.

I actually came here to study at university at DJCaD or as it's commonly know, the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art. I graduated 3 years ago with a masters in Fine Art and then I spent some time in France before returning to Dundee and got the job here. So with today being my last day, it seems like good timing that we're speaking.

I'm following my dream where I'll be an interning as an Artistic Assistant to a Director of Art residency, it's exciting. I've always been artistic, throughout school then I left early to attend Art college, then 4 years here and here I am on the verge of a new chapter. In the shop at the minute, there's an art exposure program on our wall for local artists to use which opened last week.

I've been a barista for a long time now but this last year, experiencing it on the managerial side of things has been really rewarding and getting to know the inner workings of the cafe itself. I love taking to people, can I say that's my favourite thing? It's the social aspect, getting to know people, it's a really great place to work.

The name EH9 comes from my boss who studied in Edinburgh and was intrigued by the coffee scene over there, he wanted to bring speciality coffee to this part of the Dundee, I remember when it opened, there was a lot of excitement.

Perth Road is a unique place, I prefer it here to the city centre, it's a great community. The shop owners know one another, we have our regular faces and the kids come over too from the school. We're definitely very welcoming, it's a fun atmosphere and we don't take life too seriously in the best way possible.
Come and visit, hang out. Dundee is a great place to be"

I'll be in Dundee this week coming to share more stories, supporting small independent businesses, give this post a share if you want to support places like EH9. Thank you 🫶🏻

09/05/2026

Hello

I'm sharing this photo to give you an insight into my life away from the camera. I dedicate my weekends to family time, Human Collective stuff gets done for a few days a week and that's all I give to it at the minute.

Yesterday the page took a giant leap forward as I met with good people who believe in the page and want to see it succeed. Last night I slept well because I've been doing this for so long and only asking for a coffee in return, with the odd commission now and then but it's not sustainable in that format so with the support of these 3 brilliant minds, there'll be a way to make this page go on for as long as possible and spread to all corners of Scotland.

If you're new here, have a scroll down and meet the 300+ people who've told me their story.

You can also read the story of how this page began here - https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1bk9zL5Fgt/

08/05/2026

Part 2

"I've always had a thing against weapons and the people who feel the need to carry them. Something that was explained to me years ago, kind of like a code in a way. It's that you don't grass, you don't hit or mistreat women, same with elderly people, you leaves kids alone and you never carry a weapon. That was the rules, the lines you never crossed. So when I got stabbed, I was so fu***ng angry man.

I've also seen the drug problem in Dundee, I've had a front row seat to it. I've seen so many drug deaths, heard the real bad stories and it's constant. The levels of knife violence is creeping up, so many instances, you see it on the news alot. Where my gran lives, she's been there 50 years and she's seen it all.

I put out a massive, rage filled post on my social media about the levels of knife crime, people losing their lives or being seriously injured and I'm just me but I had to say something as this is something I'd lived with, I was one of the lucky ones. I had folk coming into the shop, quite a few elderly people who never come in by the way, they were telling me how scared they were, how this shouldn't be happening this day and age. It's always gone on but it feels different

People had reached out and wanted me to get a petition going, when you've got people coming to you directly and saying how fearful they were to walk the streets where they call home, what do you do? There was an organised knife fight at Camperdown Park recently and I went along to put a stop to it but there was comments saying I set that up to sell more clothes, I'm no entirely sure why folk would think that cause if you knew me and what I'd seen in life and experienced, you wouldn't think that. You always get that negativity unfortunately.

It's hard now for young kids, it starts in the schools and maybe more focus needs to be put on it at that level, it's absolute fu***ng warfare out there and it's scary. We have to address all the issues, its easy to focus on the youth but it's finding the root of it. The classes we do, we're no trying to tell them that they shouldn't do that, you shouldn't do this, it's to try and make them think. I talk about what happened to me and how it affected everyone then and how it still affected me later in life. It's the consequences you will face, whether it's jail time and living with what you've done. How do you prevent yourself from going down that path, just think man, is it worth it? Absolutely not.

Dundee has plenty of potential, good people, creatives, people really trying to make changes, to educate and inform but it needs a platform and hopefully we can do that"

That day outside Caird Hall, I pledged to help Kris with whatever I can. Yesterday, so many of you shared his story, today I need you to do the same. I've received lots of messages so far and I'll be back in the city soon. Thank you 🫶🏻

Thank you to Kris for his time that day, he's been inundated after yesterday so please be mindful that he also runs his shop. You can also message me and I'll pass it on when I'm in town. Thanks

07/05/2026

"My name is Kris and I run Dundee Sole, it used to be a vintage trainer shop, now it's also 80s and 90s casual attire shop.

It started at a young age, there wasn't a lot happening here at the time, for me it was kicking about the streets, it was the trends. I just wanted to look good man, looking at older folk and trying to copy it. Ned culture as well, you were either a Ned or a target for the Neds. The whole football casual movement always appealed to me and it's never left as you can see.

I was heavy into my music then, have you heard of California Scheming, it's a film that tells the story of Scotland at that time, you were told you couldn't do anything. Just when I left school, it was The View who were blowing up at that time, that was a big thing. It was a spark that ignited the creativity in Dundee, they paved the way for a lot of bands now. It changed everything, Ian Brown played behind us, Arctic Monkeys too at The Caird Hall. I went on tour with my own band, I played drums even though everybody thinks I look like a guitarist!

I did a lot of jobs I hated, the fashion side came from peacocking, I wanted to look good but I never had a lot of money but I was always able to get my hands on good stuff and people would ask how I got it, so I started vintage clothes but the profit margins weren't great. I've always liked my trainers and that scene started to grow. I quit my job in 2017 and worked in the back of a barber shop in Polepark and I was there 11 months before saving for my first shop in the Hilltown which is one of Dundees most deprived areas, you'd see it all there but I was proud of that wee place, that was home for 5 years before moving into the Wellgate. I had to expand, especially after Covid, the trainer game went downhill so I started selling clothes and it's been great thing, the people of Dundee supported me, I love this city so much, this is why I want to do more and that's why I've been talking about it a lot after what happened to that young lad here.

So when I was 18, I got stabbed in the face and in the shoulder and it sounds daft because I've never seen myself as a victim, it was the damage it done to my mum, seeing me lying there in hospital watching me get stitched up. This is why I do a lot of the anti knife crime stuff now because it still haunts me that she seen all that s**t. That was wake up call and that's why I'm trying to use my platform to try and make changes"

I'm back in Dundee next week and I'm looking to tell more stories of what's going on. I'll share Part 2 of Kris' story tomorrow as well as a few others from Perth Road. Please reach out if you'd like me to come to you. Help spread the word by sharing this for me. Thank you 🫶🏻

Part 2 -

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DXP3bGYnY/

The Human Collective

15/05/2026

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