Getting to Know You: Johanna Baxter

What’s your earliest memory? 

The Halloween festival at Culzean Castle. It’s only memorable because my cousin hadn’t long been born. I remember being very curious about what this baby was and how it just appeared. It was strange how everyone was dressed up. I’ve still got a picture of that day that my parents had.

What were you like at school?  

I was a bit of a bookworm. I certainly wasn’t in the cool kids’ gang, I was very often in the library and I worked in the local vets from an early age. I’ve always had a love for animals. My abiding memory from that time is bringing home strays that would’ve otherwise been put down. I acquired quite a menagerie of animals by the time I left for university and I tried to take some of them with me. I’d acquired five rabbits, five guinea pigs, two cats, two rats and a lamb. I wanted to be a veterinarian but my physics let me down. 

What was your best holiday ever?  

The Serengeti; I’d go back tomorrow in a heartbeat. It was the best holiday we’ve ever had. We saved for a very long time to go there and it was incredible.  

Who would be your dream dinner date? 

It would be with Sir David Attenborough, in the middle of the Serengeti. He’s a hero of mine and he has led the most fascinating life. I’d love for him to teach me about all the animals we’d see there. It’s my favourite place in the world. 

What’s your greatest fear?  

I don’t think I really have one. Some things make me nervous; I’m not afraid of spiders or anything like that. I think you need to roll with things in life, and I’m okay with that. 

What’s the worst thing that anyone’s ever said to you?  

I have had a lot of abuse online. The worst was the type of abuse that women get. I won’t repeat it; it was gutter politics that had nothing to do with me as an individual. Somebody decided to make a horrid sexual innuendo about me. It had no bearing or association on who I am at all. It comes from people who are very sad, who don’t know you, care to know you or care at all.

When you remember that, you give it the very little weight it deserves. We need to have a political discourse that is based on a debate of ideas and not abuse. You can only treat people how you would expect to be treated yourself. 

What’s your most treasured possession?  

I don’t own them, but my cats. They bring me peace and joy, I love them. They are called Clement Cattlee and Mo Meowlam. 

If you could go back in time, where would you go?  

I don’t think it’s one era. David Attenborough said ‘I wish the world was twice as big and half of it unexplored’, and that seems like a good place to be to me. I’d like to see the world before mass tourism and technology. The adventure of seeing something for the first time, where you’re not going to be bumping into tourists trying to take a photo. Being able to take a breath and appreciate what you’re seeing would be easier in times gone by.  

What’s your guiltiest pleasure?  

David Attenborough documentaries. I think your reader will come to expect this by now. It reminds us that the world is so much bigger than anything we’re dealing with at any point in time and that we need to look after it.  

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever had?  

‘What’s for ye won’t gae by ye.’ My gran always said that. It’s a good approach – if something is meant to be, it’ll happen. It’s not so much about fate, its more that if you’ve done the work and you’re in the right place at the right time, it’ll happen. If you’re in the wrong place in your life, things might not happen and that’s okay.  

What skill should every person have?  

I think we need to invest in interpersonal skills a lot more. If people engaged in more active listening, I think the world would be a lot happier. It gives us an insight into why people hold the views that they do. It’s about understanding where people are coming from. When you’re trying to help somebody, the thing they come to you with isn’t always the root cause of what they need help with. You need to unpick that so you address their actual concerns. You’ve got to be careful not to project your own views onto other people.  

What’s the worst pain you’ve ever experienced?  

Slipping on my own drive and breaking my ankle whilst carrying a box of my own Scottish Parliament campaign leaflets, and then spending the rest of the election campaign on crutches and in a stookie boot. It was both painful and embarrassing. I didn’t skip campaigning because I had a dodgy ankle though. When people asked how I’d done it, having to explain how it happened was not great.  

What’s your top film or TV programme of all time?  

The West Wing. I have watched it several times and know many of the lines. The Thick of It was more satirical, but I’m a big fan of The West Wing. 

What was the last book you read?  

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak. I finished it this morning. She’s an incredible writer who writes about countries that we don’t know as well here and might be unfamiliar with. It takes you to a completely different place. It was a beautiful book. I’ve read a lot of her work.