Glasgow "The Day"

St Martin's in the Square or St. Andrew's in the Field?

2010-10-26T22:53:00.007+01:00

No this photo is not George Square. And that is not Sir Walter Scott on top of that column.
And yes that is Big Ben in the background.

It is of course Trafalgar Square in London and that is Lord Neslon up there in the sunshine.
(The sunshine may also give away that it not Glasgow!)

I was lucky enough last week to get a weekend down in London to visit some family and got to do the whole tourist thing. This time in another city at least!!

I love to visit London and I love Trafalgar Square. Makes me think we should get fountains in George Square in Glasgow. Although can imagine the problems it may cause on a typical Saturday night!! :-)

But apart from that what has this to do with Glasgow...

Well the goal of my search was at the end of the rainbow. The white church in the corner of Trafalgar Square behind the fountains...

This is St. Martin's in the Field. The particular building was designed by James Gibbs and was built between 1721 and 1726. It really is a most striking building. This beautiful design is much admired and has been copied many times around the world. Does it look familiar?

Here is a previous photo I took of St. Andrew's in the Square in Glasgow. It was built between 1739 and 1757 and yes it was indeed inspired by St. Martin's in London. You can see some slight differences on the spire and decorations but there is no mistaking the similarity.

So there you have it, our own little bit of London right here in the heart of Glasgow.

Well they do say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! And I reckon James Gibbs would be very proud to see this version of his design so beautifully preserved in another city.

Be well, be happy!!

You took something perfect and painted it red?

2010-10-25T22:12:00.006+01:00

I've mentioned before that I work close to the "Three Heids" statues at the side of the M8 motorway. I love these sculptures. I've come to like their "moods" as they look different on grey rainy days or bright sunny days and their playful covering of snow in winter.
They even got Red Noses put on them for Comic Relief!!

But since the very first time I met them I have wondered about the rust on the rear of the containers that they are mounted on.

Is this what the sculptor David Mach intended? I've pondered if they were actually meant to rust over time? Was it part of the art? Some kind of statement about industrial decay?

Well found out the answer this week. They have just been needing a coat of paint all these years.

Don't get me wrong they do look better all spruced up. But somehow I'm disappointed that it was something more symbolic than bad maintenance.

Anyway, now used to seeing them with their new coats on. But hope you like this wee photo of them being sorted. I just liked the image of only the first one painted and the workman having a wee break with his paper.

Be well, be happy!!

That's another fine mess you got me into Stanley...

2010-09-18T22:38:00.019+01:00

Had a disappointment this week in that the Pope actually drove right past my place of work and I was so busy never even got a photo of him to post up.

Major event in Glasgow and nothing to say for it here. :(

Reminded me of the time I missed getting a photo of Prince Charles by 5 minutes. I'm never going to make it in the Paparazzi.

But this weekend help make up somewhat for that disappointment....

It was Doors Open Day in the city. This started back in 1990 when Glasgow was the European City of Culture. Many of the city's buildings that you don't normally have public access throw down those barriers and welcome you in for a sneak peek. There are now about 100 venues involved so can't possibly do them all but I chose a few I really wanted to see "The Day" and headed out...

A number of you may recognise this ship and it is on top of the first building I went to visit today. This ship has fascinated me since I was a child. Always wondered what it was for. Then I found out it was the symbol of the Merchants House of Glasgow. Now I was curious to see inside. And today I did...

The building on the north west corner of George Square is the third building to be the merchants house. The first was built around 1600 in the Bridgegate and then rebuilt about 1659. This is the steeple you see to this day in the Bridgegate. In 1843 a new hall was opened in Hutcheson Street. The Merchants Guild moved to the building in George Square in 1877.

As you ascend the marble staircase to the 1st floor offices you see these wonderful stained glass windows. They depict the granting of the "Letter of Guildry" to the Merchants Guild in1605. I particularly liked the lower corner with the boy and the dog.

My photos can not do justice to the splendour of the rooms and halls of this building. The main hall is beautifully pannelled.

Some beautiful detail up at the ceiling. This is the symbol of the Merchants House. The ship on top of the world which is the same as the one on the roof. There in the middle is the familiar St. Mungo with his usual tree, fish, bird and bell. And the motto of the house "TOTTIES REDUNTIS EODEM" ("SO OFTEN RETURNING TO THE SAME PLACE").

Merchants House of Glasgow symbology refelcted in every detail on the roof.

And in the Ante room another stunning stained glass window. This time showing the Dean of Guild Court in 1605.

From the Merchants House I headed across George Square. Passed the City Chambers which was also open. But I've already done a tour of these.

And onto another building I have included in another tour but never been inside. The Ramshorn Theatre in Ingram Street.

I love this building. It is a beautifully framed as you look up Candelriggs. There is something strong and elegant about the tower. Another building I never tire of seeing. This was of course once St. David's church as was built in 1824. It was sold to Strathclyde University in 1982 for a fiver and became the theatre for the University. John Anderson, the founder of Strathclyde University (formely Anderson College) is actually burried in the crypt.

If you want to know more go here:
http://www.strath.ac.uk/culture/ramshorn/info/kirk_history.htm

And today got my first chance to go inside...

And was not disappointed when I got there. Absolutely stunning stained glass windows. I didn't count but there are seemingly 32 windows all as beautiful as this. You could spend ages just looking at all the detail in every window. The sun was shining when I got there and made the colours simply come to life.

Glad I took the opportunity to see these hidden gems.

And now on to my final visit of the day. And something special hiding in plain view...

This building in the Trongate is in fact the old Britannia Panoptican theatre. The oldest surviving music hall in the world.

Above the amusement arcade that now occupies the ground floor you can see some lovely detail on the building. Cherubs holding a shield which once again has St. Mungo and his attending fish, bird, bell and tree.

And at the top of the building A.D. MDCCCLVII (1857).

The story of the Britannia is amazing. It opened in 1857 as Campbell's Music Saloon and changed to the Britannia music hall in 1859. Over the next decades many of the big names of the time appeared here including Sir Harry Lauder. The audience were known to be hard to please and often pelted the performers with eggs or rotten fruit. "No turn left unstoned" was the saying. It was bought by Albert Pickard in 1906 and became the Panopticon. "A place to see everything". Pickard added a "zoo" in the basement, a freak show, an American museum...
But life had moved on. In 1920 it was converted into a cinema. The Tron Cinema. And in 1938 it finally closed.

Only to be rediscovered 60 years later. But will get to that bit...

First we will cross the road to the wynd that leads to the entrance door. And here on the wall it the proud sign of the Brits most famous "son". Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy fame.
Stan's father was the manager of the nearby Metropole theatre and Stan had his debut here as an amateur act in 1906. And the rest is history...

Now up the stairs and into the old music hall. And what an amazing place. This picture doesn't really capture the feel of the palce but the gallery and stage areas are still all there. Although you can see the chipped paint and the bad condition of some of the roof you can really strip that away in your mind and imagine that original music hall audience still sitting in the gallery. There is a genuine magical atmosphere about the place. In all the place I have visited doing this blog this is the one that I felt most connected with the past.

For Doors Open Day there was a great exhibition of clothing, posters, movies etc from 1800's and early 1900's.

And this poster made me smile. Reminded me of anytime when I was a kid and couldn't lift something becuase I wasn't strong enough my dad would kid me on that there was "mare strength in a Woodbine". Woodbine's are known for being strong cigarettes.

You can probably tell how taken I was with the Britannia Panopticon. It is a unique place. They are trying to raise funds to save this theatre. And the enthusiasm of the people who look after it is infectious. How amazing would it be for this old music hall to be back to it's original glory?

I had said that if I won the lottery I would get the Odeon in Renfield Street brought back. But think I've actually found a more deserving cause.

To read more about it go here:

http://www.britanniapanopticon.org/

Hope you enjoyed this wee tour and look out for door's open day next year.

Be well, be happy.

Sitting on the dock of the Brae...

2010-09-11T23:15:00.005+01:00

Ok... Glasgow doesn't really have a bay. But was down at Braehead today and went out to the Clydeside to see what was currently parked up at the shipyards across the water.

Bit of the wee boy in me there. Still love seeing the ships. Do guys ever really grow up? :-)

A note on Braehead is that they never real made the fact it was right on the Clyde much of a feature. Shame so much more could have been made of this site.

Anyway...

Here is the view down the Clyde today. It was one of those Glasgow days that was sunny, cloudy and rainy all at the same time. Think Rainshine was how I described it in a previous post.

Was happy to see some of those menacing grey shapes of warships on the Clyde. This is of course the Scotstoun yards on the north side of the Clyde.

First up with this patrol boat. CG51. Scarborough it said on her stern.

Quick look up of the mighty internet told me that she is a patrol vessel for the Trindad and Tobago navy. She was built in Glasgow and is just completing her sea trials.

Next down the river we have 2 Type 45 destroyers. If you follow this blog you will remember me going to see Defender being launched last year. Was one of these my ship?

These are actually her sisters, Diamond and Dragon. Fanstastic and dangerous looking machines.

And then a wee surprise. While we were standing this ship headed past on it's way to the sea. The "AASLI". A Norwegian ship. And is that a digger on it's deck?

As she sailed past a small crowd of people gathered. Some like myself taking photos. Funny to think that a boat on the Clyde should be such a novelty but it is. Actually makes you realise that this river is not very wide and must have been amazing in days past to see so many ships sail right up into the city.

Anyway just though would share these pictures with you.

Be well, be happy!!!

I'm on my way from misery to happiness today...

2010-09-08T00:00:00.022+01:00

Wow.

Simply wow.

This post is a bit different as it is about the Scotland vs Liechtenstein match at Hampden.
Quite simply that is the most bonkers match I have ever been at.

Has the agony and ectasy of supporting Scotland ever been more accutely demonstrated?

Anyway here is the story...

Decided to take my son to the game. It was his first ever match and thought he would enjoy the experience. We were playing Liechtenstein. A country with a population less than the capacity of Hampden. The "minnows" of the group. So set off with my Jimmy wig, Scotland scard and flag hoping for a few goals.

Love the walk down to the game. Down Battlefield Road. The tartan army in full colour.

The pipers playing. The gathering of the clans.
Can't help but feel patriotic.

This is Scotland!!!

Inside Hampden and the boys are out warming up. Here is Miller, Boyd and Weir going through their paces. Weir is a particular hero for me as he gives me hope that there is still an outside chance I can get a call up for Scotland. After this match my chances may have improved ... but we will get to that bit...

Fire drill??

Before the team had actually left the field the spinklers came on. Now it had been lashing earlier in the day so doubt the grass was that thirsty. And interesting to hear Roughy on the radio tonight mentioning this as well. Later in the match when a few Scotland players landed on their arses and every ball knocked forward skidded off the surface I pondered whether all this water was a good idea. But makes a good photo!! :-)

Then it was time to announce the teams. Every Scotland player got the usual huge Hampden cheer. If you know me then you will know why this one get an extra wee cheer from me :-)

The lineup sounded fine. Faddie was back, Boyd was up front, Hutton would be flying down the wing. This was going to be good.

The fireworks blasted off and as the smoke cleared the crowd was in full voice. Flags unfurled. Cmon Scotland!!!

Time for the national anthems and then a bit of a surprise for the assembled Tartan Army.
The anthem for Liechenstein is "God save the Queen"?
No but it does have the same tune. And this produced a few boos from the crowd.

Very wrong thing to do and hope the people of Liechtenstein were not offended. Wee bit of cross cultural confusion there.

Then up stepped our very own Amy Macdonald to lead the crowd in "Flower of Scotland".

I'm a big fan of Amy's music. And she did the team proud getting the crowd going.
As it was to turn out it may have been better if she had been given a place in the starting 11 and one of the team had done the singing... but as I said we will get to that bit...

Then a very emotional moment when there was a minute of applause to mark the anniversary of the death of Jock Stein. I remember vividly that night in Cardiff when he died. Was such a shock.

A true Scottish legend. And the volume of noise from the Hampden crowd showed that he is very much not forgotten.

And then the game kicked off. Now I'm not going to give a kick by kick account. I'll leave that to Graham Speirs. And not going to criticise the players here. I am a big fan of all of the Scotland players. And I know that they are proud to play for their country. But this was not a good day at the office...

As the minutes ticked away and very few passes hit there mark. As players collided or fell on their arses the crowd got restless. A few boos rang out here and there.

And this was played out until half time when still at 0-0 the team walked off, none too happy, with the sound of a booing Hampden crowd.

But what is this...? a Scotland striker through 1 on 1 with the keeper. No... this was part of the half time entertainment. Score against the keeper in 10 seconds and win a trip to see Scotland play in Liechtenstein. After the first half performance a guy near me enquired what was the 2nd prize?

As it turned out only 1 of the contestants scored and he gambled to take the kick again. Winner takes all. If he scored all the contestants got to go. He missed. Looked like it was going to be one of those nights.

And then the teams reappeared. The crowd that had booed the team off got right behind them with a deafening roar as the game began.

The all of a sudden a ball down the left, a cross not blocked, a Liechtenstein striker in the box. Why is no one stopping him?

Almost in slow motion the ball leaves his foot and curves around the diving Alan McGregor. The net bulges. NOOOOOOOOOO!!! The crowd groans. Head in hands.

This was bad.

Yet when Scotland kicked off again the crowd roared again. Cmon Scotland!!

But the minutes ticked by. The crowd became subdued. You could hear indivdual shouts.

Every Liechtenstein attack viewed with dread. Surely not 2-0?

Then Scotland began to press more. Fletcher got a cracking shot on target that the keeper parried away. The crowd felt hope. The volume started to crank up again. Cmon Scotland!!

And then it happened. A break down the wing. Robson put in the cross. It came back out. Kenny Miller came to meet it. A blur. The ball bouncing down into the net.

And all hell broke lose in the stadium!!!

What a goal!!

We were right back in it!!

SCOTLAND!! SCOTLAND!! SCOTLAND!!!

But the time drew on. Scotland pressing more and more. Liechtenstein tackles getting more cynical and the time wasting more ridiculous. Which is a shame as they had played well. Had played some of the best passing moves of the game and their goal was a cracker.

The referees decisions became more and more frustrating for the fans.

A chorus indicating the overall opinion of the ref echoing around the stadium. I covered my sons ears!! :-)

Craig Levein, the Scotland manager, was out in the technical area instructing the team. Time was running out. It still said 1-1 on the board.

90 minutes was over. Injury time. Minimum of 5 minutes said the board. But there had been loads partly with Wallace having his bad injury. We still had time.

A few fans started to drift away but the vast majority stayed.

A corner kick won.

Last chance...

Cmon Scotland!!

The ball sweeps in. A scrum of players. The net bulges!!

HAMPDEN ERUPTS!!!!

WE'VE DONE IT!!!

The players run into the crowd.
Every is screaming and cheering and bouncing.

McManus has scored with a brilliant header!!

The players get herded back to kick off the game again. One kick and the whistle blows. Game over. No one had sat down, we were all still dancing. I don't even have a photo of the final score on the board as was too busy jumping up and down!!

As players and managers left the field, Craig Levein must at this moment have felt the most relieved man in Scotland!!

We expected to leave Hampden on a low. Our qualification chances in tatters. Yet we had won!!
Maybe this is why it is the beautiful game?

On the radio in the car as we made our way out of the traffic jam that is the south side after a game, Ewen and Roughy were telling us that Lithuania had won in the Czech Republic!!

We were top of the group!!

The Proclaimers started singing "I'm on my way from misery to happiness today..."

Never has a more appropriate song been chosen.

Like I said at the start... Bonkers!!!

I do wish Craig and the boys all the best for the campaign ahead. Bad day at the office. We all have them. This one ended well though. Now go on and do us proud!!

Scotland is right behind you!!

Though it did produce a night in Glasgow that will be remembered for a very long time!!

Be well, be happy!!

P.S. Anyone have a spare ticket for the Scotland vs Spain game? :-)

Glasgow "The Night"

2010-09-01T23:47:00.000+01:00

Glasgow is a fantastic city during the day. But at night when so many of the buildings are all lit up it becomes a little bit more magical.

Like all cities it does also have a bit of an edge. I have witnessed a few drunken fights over the years. The "combatants" being dragged apart to the cries of "just leave it, he's no worth it".

However on the whole the beautifully lit up buildings give a backdrop to an exciting, energetic, fun city.
I had the chance over the last few months to take a few photos of Glasgow at night and thought I would share them here.

Firstly we start down at the Clyde. This shot is looking across from the SECC towards the new BBC building reflecting in the water. There is something hypnotic about lights dancing on water.
The 2 red lights in the sky behind are the lights on the Glasgow tower at the Science Centre.

Almost the same point but looking up the Clyde now towards the "Squinty" bridge. What a great addition this bridge is to the river. An elegence to the design that probably has to been seen both at night and day to appreciate all it's aspects.

I liked this slightly abstract shot of the "Armadillo" all lit up. Once again this is a fantastic building, like a futuristic silver version of the Sydney opera house during the day. But this strange blue lighting makes it more like a visiting alien spacecraft at night.

Now back into the city centre and a building featured many times during the day on this blog. The Gallery of Modern Art in Royal Exhange Square. It is beautifully and subtley lit up at night and makes an amazing centre piece to the square especially when framed down the length of Ingram street.

A quirky one here but very familiar to all Glasgow night dwellers. The torches burning outside Waxy O'Connor's bar. Been a cool feature in West George Street for many years. This bar we used to jokingly call the "Ewok village" as inside it was like a series of tree houses. A good fun bar but tricky to find anyone in there!!

Another quirky one and something I have looked out ever since I found it these were here. This is Tontine Lane which runs from Bell Street through to the Trongate. It is where the Tontine Building used to stand hence the name. But the lane now houses these two fantastic neon signs. The Mitre bar sign is actually from the old Mitre Bar that was in Brunswick Street. The Empire sign is not an old sign but acutally a work of art from 1997 by Douglas Gordon. Didn't quite capture it here but it is mounted on a mirror which of course then show it the right way round.

If you are down near Glasgow Cross or in Bell Street at night make a point of looking these out.

Further along Bell Street now and the old Fruitmarket building at the corner with Candelrigg. Not a fruitmarket now of course but full of trendy bars and restaurants. Worth taking a walk through as the unique centre with the old cobbled floor and fairy light ceiling makes this a cool place for a beer. But wanted to get this shot of the outside. This building is nice but perhaps not the most stunning during the day but at night she certainly shines.

I love neon signs. Doesn't everyone?

And this is a unmistakeable landmark in Glasgow. The Rogano restaurant in Exchange place. Art deco at it's best.

Now this is one of the most stunning and with the ghostly white lights possibly the creepiest lit buildings in Glasgow. The cathedral. It actually had scaffolding on it when came to take this shot so difficult to get a good one but hope you get the idea. Actually feels slightly ethereal, like a ghost building.

Another contestant for most spectacular lit building. The City Chambers. Stunning. This photo was actually taken in June and it is actually after 11pm. As you can see the sky is still not black. And although it was June there is just something about this building all lit up that makes me think of Christmas not matter what time of year.

Another alley, another sign. This time maybe appropriately the Lighthouse all lit up. Considering this is right next to Buchanan Street which is one of the busiest in Glasgow I am amazed how many people still don't know that this is here. Go looking for it!! You won't be disappointed.

Out towards the West End now. This is a wide ranging post this one!!

And wee bit of playing about with the camera for this one. This is of course the magnificent Kelvingrove art galleries. This building always make me smile when I see it. Reminds me of happy times there as a kid. Makes me happy as it is genuinely a place that I am proud to show off to visitors to the city. At night it is even more special. Love they way they have emphasised features with contrasing red lights.

Art Deco again. And this time in Sauchiehall Street. What was the Beresford Hotel all lit up to show off it's Art Deco grandeur. Reminds me of some of the buildings you see in Miami.

And as it over looks the party and bar area of Sauchie it possibly sees similarities to Miami Beach. Only colder and with less bikinis!! :-)

Another slightly quirky one and again in the West End. Ashton Lane at kicking out time.

I liked how this contrasted with previous photos I have taken here during the day and the fact the lights are on but nobody home.

And finally... the grandest lit up building in Glasgow?

The Mitchell Library.

As I have said before on this blog a building that simply makes me think I'm home.

Probably even more so at night.

Well hope you enjoyed this little tour round Glasgow "The Night".

There are a few buildings I wanted to get bit never got the chance like the university and the botanic gardens. But will post them up later.

Also put a few photos together with some music for a wee advert for Yorkhill once again on You Tube.

If you enjoy then please help in any way you can.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TvUICk4urg

As always,

Be well, be happy.

Red sky at night... Spanish delight!!

2010-07-11T23:24:00.005+01:00

This time of year you can get the most amazing sunsets over Glasgow.
You see people complain about the clouds but without them these stunning colours would never happen. The other advantage to being this far north is that is stays light so late in the summer. Bad for getting the kids to sleep and also means dark in the winter... but with a display like this that wasn't worrying me tonight.

This photo was taken out of my front window as the World Cup final in South Africa drew to a close. A tussle between Orange and Red for supremacy.

And as if to mirror that other tussle in the other hemisphere the red won out in the end. :-)

Congratulations to Spain on their deserved victory!!

And bit sorry for Holland who have always been a bit of a favourite of mine. Maybe something to do with that Archie Gemmell goal again though?? :-) Holland becoming a bit of a bridesmaid team with that being their 3rd final but fingers crossed they will win it one day.

As a Scot I can only imagine the delight of winning the World Cup. Actually getting out of the habit of even qualifying!! But if we did win I reckon Glasgow and the rest of Scotland would simply close down for a year at least.

But enough day dreaming...

But for now will have to content myself with the simple pleasures of a beautiful late night Glasgow sunset. And that not so bad.

Be well, be happy!!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot...

2010-03-22T22:56:00.000Z

... And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and Auld Lang Syne?

More catch up here. And this post been sitting in draft form for weeks now. Hope you don't mind me posting it up now...

January 25th is of course Burns Night. Celebrating the birth of Robert Burns, Scotland's most famous poet, on 25th January 1759.
I was in Glasgow just a few days after Burns Night and went to visit Burns statue in George Square.

And it was nice to see the row of floral tributes that had been placed at the statue by various Burns societies. I hadn't been aware up till now that people did mark the occassion in this way.

"My love is like a red, red rose..." As one of Burns' famous songs began. And these beautiful red roses show how much love there still is for this amazing man.

I won't go into the story of Burns' life here. If you want to read more then here is as good place to start:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burns

However, when looking at the dates on the plaque at the front of the statue I had forgotten how young he was when he died. Only 37.

On the other 3 sides of the statue are bas-relief scenes of 3 of Burns' most famous poems. At the top is "The Cottars Saturday Night", next is "The Vision"and finally "Tam O'Shanter".

The Tam O'Shanter is of course the most famous and is my favourite of the images. There is Tam and his faithful horse Meg. There are the witches and Nannie dancing with her short shirt (or Cutty Sark, after which the famous ship is named). And in the background is Old Nick, the devil himself playing on the bagpipes. Never knew there was a picture of the devil in George Square did you?

The statue was scuplted by George Edwin Ewing and there on the base is his mark. And there on the side the date 1874. Although the statue was not unveiled until 1877 in front of a crowd of 30,000 people.

The bas-relief images were produced by his younger brother James Alexander Ewing.

Now walking slightly further along the square is a statue of another poet. Thomas Campbell. Before I started writing this post I hadn't heard of Thomas Campbell and have wandered past this statue many times. But there is a connection between the 2 statues...

When the statue of Burns was suggested for George Square there was a bit of outrage as Burns didn't really have much connection with Glasgow while the Glasgow poet Thomas Campbell had no statue.
But in the end statues were raised for both poets in 1877.

Now this got me reading more about Thomas Campbell.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Campbell_(poet)

If you read this then you will find a fascinating life story all of his own. But one thing in particular caught my eye. In 1832 he helped set up and was president of the Literary Association of the Friends of Poland. This was in response to the failure of the November uprising in 1831 of the Poles against the Russians. If you have read early posts here then you will remember me talking about this before as there is a grave in the Necropolis to a soldier, Lieutenant Joseph F. Gomoszynski, who was involved in that very uprising.

http://glasgowtheday.blogspot.com/2009/06/hokey-religions-and-ancient-weapons-are.html

Did Thomas Campbell ever meet Joseph F. Gomoszynski? Seems strange if they didn't. An exile from the uprising in the city of birth of the founder of a society that championed his cause? It has made me even more curious to find out about this mysterious Polish lieutenant.

And there is that Glasgow/Poland connection again. Need to do some more posts here about this special connection that seems to go back so many, many years.

But will finish with a closer shot of the wonderful Burns statue. Happy Birthday Rabbie!! Looking good for 251 years old!!

Be well, be happy!!

The Frost and Cold Canal

2010-02-21T18:40:00.000Z

Happy New Year!!
Where have January and February gone!!
Got some catching up to do...

Well it certainly has been a cold winter!! Had a White Christmas and a white New Year for that matter!! I can't remember the snow lasting that long in my life.
Most of these photos were actually taken on Christmas Eve when the temperature in the afternoon was -8 C. (that's 18 F in old money) Brrrr!!
They are from round about the Forth and Clyde canal. Or the Frost and Cold canal as it has been.

I grew up not far from the Forth and Clyde canal. Simply "The canal" to us. When you grow up next to something it is the only one in the world as far as you are concerned.

One of the tours would love to do on this blog is the full length of this canal, but here is some snowy pictures from round about it for now.

And a wee bit of history...

The Forth and clyde canal is 35 miles long. Construction started in 1768 and was completed 22 years later in 1790. It was designed by John Smeaton. No not "Smeato" of Glasgow Airport fame. This John Smeaton was an English engineer born in 1724. And the point of the canal is in the name, it connects the river Clyde with the River Forth.

For more info here is the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forth_and_Clyde_Canal

Christmas Eve actually started off pretty foggy. Perhaps Santa was going to have to call on Rudolph with his nose so bright one more time. But the fog soon lifted to a sunny, bitterly cold day. Then when you looked at the trees you saw that some of the fog had frosted onto the branches and every one became a unique work of art. These beautiful trees above aren't captured at Loch Lomond or the Cairngorms. This was just outside B&Q at the Strathkelvin Business Park in Bishopbriggs!!

Further along the road now at where the canal passes the Stables bar. The boat waiting for an icebreaker to come along is the Craft Daft on a Raft boat. I just loved this wintery scene. If I could paint then would have a go at this.

And this is the view in the other direction towards Kirkintilloch. The canal totally frozen over and if you look carefully you can see animal tracks running along it. The local wildlife taking advantage of a new through road.

Back the other way now and stopped off to take some shots of Cadder Parish Church. Here through the trees from the canal bank.

And a closer shot now from within the old graveyard. Just felt this was a perfect traditional Christmas card photo.

This beautiful church building dates from 1825 although a church building has been on this site as long ago as 1150.

http://www.cadderchurch.org.uk/

And another shot closer up of the church tower which was completed in 1829.

Really is a beautiful building. And has extra meaning for me as this is actually also where I got married.

This photo above was taken slightly later as the sun was setting over the canal. Love the winter sunsets.

And this above is not the canal but the burn next to Bishopbriggs Sports Centre. Beautiful and still winter scene. Then it was home time to wait for Santa to arrive.

Hope you liked this wee mini tour of the canal. Will hopefully get the chance to have that full tour when it a bit warmer!!

Be well, be happy!!

Circus Christmas Lights...

2009-12-25T00:36:00.000Z

"You want to display, your charms, on this bright night
You want to display, your charms, over these circus christmas lights"

Deacon Blue, Glasgow and Christmas. Perfect combination!!

Glasgow is a fantastic place at Christmas. But it truly comes alive when the sun dips down and the lights come up. Welcome to Glasgow "The Night"...

The sun just going down behind a Buchanan Street full of Christmas shoppers. The Christmas lights on and the Tron Church in Nelson Mandela place all lit up. If you are a regular reader of this blog then you will know how much I love this building. Probably my favourite in all of Glasgow. And all lit up on a Christmas night? Perfect.

And these photos are probably most people's favourite Christmas scene in Glasgow. The curtain of stars hung over Royal Exchange Square. Often wonder why they don't just leave these here all year long as they just make this square so magical.

And couldn't leave our old friend Arthur out of the celebrations!! Merry Christmas Arthur!!

Now back into George Square again. Two things in Glasgow were Christmas for me as a child. The front window in Lewis' in Argyll Street and the Christmas Lights in George Square. Lewis' may be gone but the George Square lights have never been brighter!!

In my first ever tour on this blog I talked about a UFO landing in George Square. Seems it has finally happened!! Actually this is what happens when you play about with buttons on your camera you don't understand!! But I liked this photo anyway!!

The massive Christmas tree in front of the always stunning City Chambers.

Night skating. What REM do in the winter perhaps when the water is frozen?

The helter skelter and carousel really come to life when all lit up!! Circus Christmas lights!!

A finally the very centre of Glasgow. The Sir Walter Scott column in the middle of George Square all lit up. I love Christmas in Glasgow.
Sending a Merry Christmas from Glasgow to wherever in the world you are reading this!!

Be well, be happy!!

Snow Mean City

2009-12-24T00:29:00.008Z

It's Christmas time!!

And we are having a white Christmas!!
And not like the ones I used to know. This one is much better than any snow I remember at Christmas!!
Ok... apart from the transport chaos.
But there is something magical about snow at Christmas so finished up at work yesterday afternoon (23rd) and headed into Glasgow to see what I could see.

First photo I just liked as a contrast to the photo of the "Big Heids" I posted in the summer.
Look at all that snow!!

Into the Buchanan Galleries car park. And looking out from level 9 across the abandoned level 8 covered in snow and across the rooftops of Glasgow.

And then down into George Square. Once again I liked the contrast between this and the summer shots of the City Chambers when this blog began back in May.

I remember watching Planet Earth on tv and seeing them waiting for a shot of the Snow Leopard. Well in Glasgow we have Snow Lions!!

Skating in the square. Now a regular feature of the winter festival in Glasgow is the ice rink in George Square. This time around the Sir Walter Scott column.

More skating with the City Chambers looking stunning in the background as always. Rain, Snow, Sun it is always a beautiful building. And in Glasgow rain, sun and snow can be one afternoon!!

Has been really cold these lasts few days and it seems that a colony of penguins have moved into Glasgow. Was so cold yesterday that this one was actually asking me if he could borrow my scarf!!

Christmas time also means that the fair has come to town. Once again just fantastic to see everyone having fun in the square. I had spent so much time walking through here this year and seen so many aspects of this unique part of Glasgow. It really is the heart of the city.

Heading out of Gerorge Square now and wanted to pay a visit to an old friend. Arthur and Copenhagen in Royal Exchange Square. And there was the cone. And the snow.

Round onto Buchanan Street and was sad to see Borders had finally closed. As I covered in a previous post about Buchanan Street this was on the list of one of the best book shops in the world. Was sad to see it gone. This blog was started when I got notice of redundancy this year so wishing good luck to all the staff affected by this and hope to see something new here in the new year.

But sad thoughts were put aside for a while once I wandered further up Buchanan Street and heard the happy sound of Jiggle Bells being played on the accordian. It was the accordian lady I had taken a photo of in one of my first posts!!
http://glasgowtheday.blogspot.com/2009/06/street-theatre.html

I don't know her name or anything about her yet feels like meeting an old friend whenever I see her in Buchanan Street.

Hope you enjoyed this quick photo tour of Glasgow at Christmas. Especially for any ex-pats out there missing the old town.

Wherever you are in the world this Christmas...

Be well, be happy!!

Yo ho ho ho!! A pirate Christmas tour...

2009-11-22T22:19:00.012Z

Wee flashback blog here cause never got time to post this one...

The weekend of 21st/22nd November was the Christmas Fair at the Tall Ship in Glasgow so went along with the family.
I've been to the Tall Ship before but not had a wee tour as part of this blog so welcome aboard.

The Tall Ship's real name is the Glenlee. She was built in Port Glasgow in 1896. For the next 23 years she circumnavigated the globe 4 times as she transported cargo all over the world (although she was renamed the Islamount in 1898). She then changed hands several times until be purchased by the Royal Spanish Navy in 1921 and renamed the Galatea.

She remained as a training ship with the Spanish Navy until 1981 when she was decomissioned and tied up with the intention to scrap her.
However in 1990 she was spotted by a group of ship enthusiasts and in 1992 was brought home to Glasgow where she now serves as a floating museum.

That is her incredible story.
But even if you knew none of that it doesn't change the fact that she is a beautiful ship which as you board her just feels like you are stepping back in time.

As you pass the front of the ship you will see the Glenlee's figurehead. This was a sailing superstition that she would look over the waters and hopefully calm the seas.
Her nickname today is actually "Marydoll" :-)

At the rear of the ship you will see a Jolly Roger flying. Now the Glenlee was never a pirate ship nor did she even sail during the "Golden Age" of piracy during the 1700's.
However she does host pirate based kid's parties and no matter what age you are you can't help but imagine being Captain Jack Sparrow for a wee while when onboard this ship.

As a wee note if you notice the black squares on the side of the ship these are not actually cannon hatches as the Glenlee is unarmed. However this was a traditional paint pattern on cargo ships to make them look armed to deter pirates.

As you first cross onto the front of the ship you will see the ship's bell over the forecastle. This served as the ship's clock as it was rung every half hour to signal the changing of the watch. The kids love ringing this now and you got to love a museum that has real hands on exhibits that bring the place to life.

Up on the forecastle you look across the prow of the ship back towers the entrance building which I believe used to be an old pump house.

Also from the forecastle you get a fantastic view across to the Glasgow Science Centre and Glasgow Tower. The Waverley paddle steamer was tied up there on the day we visited.

The Glasgow Heliport is also situated directly next to the Glenlee and is a great contrast between the transport of the 19th Century and the 21st Century.

A wee exploration around the ship soon lets you see just how hard a life on the ocean waves truly was. This is a picture of the main deckhouse where the crew would live, eat and sleep. Very small and cramped.

The galley is just to the rear of the main deckhouse. This was seemingly one of the most popular places on this ship as it was the only place that was always warm.

Below decks now and looking out through the portholes at the Glasgow Tower.

And as this was the Christmas festival below decks was also full of lovely craft stalls selling Christmas gifts. The room smelling of cinammon and other Christmassy smells. And in the Captain's cabin was the main man himself. No not the captain but Santa!!

Really is something a bit special for the kids to meet Santa on this beautiful old ship. A very Scottish Tartan Santa as well!!

Didn't want to leave this special wee Christmas tour without showing you a couple of shots of Glenlee's new home. Or it will be in 2011. The shiney silver building in the background in the new transport museum. The museum in Kelvin Hall will be moving here and the Glenlee will also be moving to be moored there.

Is it sad to actually be excited about the opening of a new muesum?

Probably but I am genuinely looking forward to visiting the new transport museum and seeing the tall ship proudly sitting outside.

The Christmas fair at the tall ship is something a bit special but they have all different events during the year so go along if you have the chance.

Be well, be happy!!

God bless her and all who sail in her...

2009-10-24T23:45:00.008+01:00

Hello again!!
Sorry for the big gap between posts but been a busy time.
But I'm back... and Christmas is coming!! Hopefully be able to post up some photos of Glasgow's run up to Christmas.
But if you will forgive me I will take a wee jump back to 21st October because it was a special day in Glasgow's calendar. The launch of a new ship on the Clyde.

Thanks to my amazing friend Alexis, I was lucky enough to go along to see the launch of the new Type 45 destroyer, Defender.

Really was buzzing with excitement to see this as I had never been to see a launch before.

The launch took place from the BVT surface fleet yard in Govan. This was the old Fairfield yard founded in 1864 and named after the farm that used to sit of this site. Elder Park opposite the yard is named after John Elder, one of the founders of the yard and famous for his development of the compound marine engine.
See below for more:
http://www.clydewaterfrontheritage.com/fairfieldshipyards.aspx

Shipbuilding maybe not as big on the Clyde now as it once was but as we headed in through the gates of this historic yard you could get a real sense of what it must have been like when all the shipyards were full and Glasgow was really the world centre of shipbuilding.

Before we could see Defender we first passed her sister ship, Duncan. Or at least the front section of her. That's when you first get the scale of this type on engineering.

As we came round the corner of ths sheds there she was, Defender. D36.

Like a big grey building in her own right. But even without her armaments already looking like a dangerous big grey building.

Defender is the 5th of the Type 45 destroyers to be built.

Her older sisters being Daring, Dauntless, Diamond and Dragon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_45_destroyer

Dragon appeared in a the previous post when I visited the Clydebuilt down at Braehead.

On the stern there was her proud name. When she is commissioned she will be the 8th ship to have borne that name. The oldest being built in 1797.

Behind us was a big grey building. The massive enclosed space where these mighty engineering projects take place. The mid and rear section of Duncan were visible within here, like giant lego pieces waiting to be put together.

For the launch day the sheds also housed exhibits from the navy, marines etc and some beautiful model ships. Though all were overshadowed by the real thing outside.

Launch time was approaching. The Union Jack proudly blew in the windy Glasgow day.

The launch crew front and rear donned lifejackets and made final prepartions.

The launch was made by Lady Massey, wife of Vice Admiral Sir Alan Massey.

And with the traditional blessing of the ship and all who sail in her the bottle was smashed against the hull...

And there was a lull as nothing happened. A nervous laugh from the crowd.
A wee extra push...

And she was off...

Majestically sliding into the Clyde with balloons being launched and fireworks lighting up the overcast Glasgow sky.
An amazing sight and a feeling of real pride as the latest addition to the long line of Clydebuilt ships started on her journey.

But it is not a long first journey. The tugs came to pull her back into dock.

If she had looked like a dangerous big grey building on the ramp then that ugly duckling had just turned into a swan as she entered the water.

A dangerous looking swan with beautiful sleak lines.

Really was a special thing to witness.

And as was said during one of the speaches everyone there that day will now feel a special connection with this ship. If we read about it or hear about it on the news we will remember when she was launched.

Another connection with Defender is that she is to be affiliated with Glasgow and Exeter.

So she as a extra special link back to the city of her birth.

Duncan is estimated to be launched in October 2010. If you get the chance to get tickets then please do go along as it is truly worth seeing and helps you understand the proud heritage this city and this river has.

I'm hoping to come back to Fairfield and this area again soon to do find out more about the yards and the area.

Be well, be happy!!

It was a dark and stormy night....

2009-10-02T23:01:00.014+01:00

Well it is dark and stormy as I'm typing this. The colder weather certainly arriving in Glasgow. Autumn is here. The nights are drawing in.

And as can be seen by this phantom photo of the shop front of Birthdays in Sauchiehall Street...Halloween is approaching .... woooooooo!!

So over the next few weeks going to do some wee posts about Glasgow The Spooky.

I had the chance today to go visit the lovely people at Yorkhill Children's Foundation about opportunities for fund raising. To learn more about this wonderful charity and if you can donate something to this cause then click on the link on the right of this page.
Hopefully more about some Glasgow the Day fundraising soon.

But on the way back to the underground I popped into one of Glasgow's haunted museums.

Yes. The Museum of Transport in the Kelvin Hall. I have already done a tour of here:
http://glasgowtheday.blogspot.com/2009/07/planes-trains-and-automobiles.html

But today was about investigating the haunted parts.

Using a copy of "Haunted Glasgow" by Ron Halliday and "The Guide to Mysterious Glasgow" by Geoff Holder as my guides I bravely set off to see what I could find...

The centre of the spooky activity seems to be mainly around the reconstructed 1930's street. Now this street is a very cool part of the museum but the lighting itself makes it kind of creepy. And I can imagine at night in the museum this being very spooky indeed.

There have been reports of running footsteps, a limping man dragging his foot and children's voices being heard in this street...

By the way the people in the middle of the photo in the background were actually there!! :)

One report has it that a strange energy radiated from the mural at the end of the street...

Many staff and visitors have experienced an unpleasant feeling in the reconstructed underground section. Although have to admit I didn't until I read about it while standing there ... then wasn't so happy.

It was also reporting to seeing a tall dark shadow entering the toy shop at the end of the street.

But the real centre seems to be the Regal cinema. The photo above is of the projector at the rear of the cinema.
There have been reports of the seats flipping down in unison, doors opening and closing and a man sitting in one row that simply disappeared.
It is also reported to always be cold in here and it is noticeably colder in here when you enter.

Has all this spooky activity something to do with the building being used as a mortuary during the Clydebank Blitz?
Or because of the exhibits? Many of them come with a story.
Or just the strange shadows and sounds that get conjured up in old buildings at night?
Suppose it depends how much you believe in such things.
But think you will find like me that next time you visit the museum this street will never quite feel the same way again once you know these stories!!

After leaving the museum I headed for the underground and back into the city centre. Had another appointment to keep with a group of people who were looking to drain some of my blood!!!
Now before you panic and go looking for a nest of vampires in Buchanan Street I was heading for Nelson Mandela Place to donate blood again. Yes it really is that long since my first visit way back when this blog began in June:

http://glasgowtheday.blogspot.com/2009/06/helping-to-save-life-round-at-nelson.html

Once again was a great experience and with this being my second time I got a cool wee badge with my blood group on it to wear with pride.

Hope you found this slightly alternative tour of Glasgow interesting.

Hopefully more Glasgow The Spooky to follow soon!!

Be well, be happy!!

And it was all Yellow...

2009-09-18T00:00:00.007+01:00

Another slightly different post today. But at least this one is actually in Glasgow!!

Coldplay came to town and I decided with 40,000 other Scots to go greet them.
The venue was Hampden which I have covered in a previous post...
http://glasgowtheday.blogspot.com/2009/07/o-flower-of-scotland.html

but was good to go back and see it as a concert venue instead...

Once again despite all the rain we have been having Hampden Park was gleaming in the sunshine.

The stage was bathed in sunlight as the kit was set up for the support acts.

Now I know the Scots have a reputation for drinking but I thought this guy was taking it too extremes coming to the gig with his very own tank of beer. Now that is a serious drinker!!

Turns out this is the people you buy your beer from!!

First support act up was White Lies. And they were really good. Someone to watch out for in the future.

http://www.whitelies.com/

As the sun began to set over the stadium and the crowd started to gather the second support act got going...

Jay-Z. Now Hip hop not really my thing but he certainly got the crowd going.

And showing some appreciation for the Scottish crowd always goes down well... :-)

Night had fallen. The crowd had gathered.

Time for the show... and was a light and sound spectacular as you may have expected...

With big screen effects and laser shows Chris Martin and the gang had the crowd singing along to all the favourites like Clocks, Fix You, In My Place...

And as they played Yellow giant yellow balloons were launched across the crowd. Somewhat reminiscent of the bubbles that would chase Patrick McGoohan in the Prisoner tv series from the 60's!!

A one point the band did come off the main stage to a small stage in amongst the crowd to do some tracks like Trouble and also a cool cover version of Michael Jackson's Billy Jean!!

And in Viva la Vida Coldplay now have a genuine crowd chant on their hands!! A chant the crowd would break into at any moment throughout the night!!

As an encore, (after being brought back on stage by more Viva la Vida chanting) what else could it be but The Scientist.

And finish it all off with a fantastic firework display from the roof of Hampden!!

And with that it was all over. And with the crowd still chanting Viva la Vida all the way home.

I had forgotten just how much fun stadium gigs could be. And Chris Martin mentioned a few times how amazing it was to have 40,000 Scots singing along. Also great fun to be one of those Scots!! :-)

So thank you to Coldplay for coming to Glasgow and making a crowd happy at Hampden Park!! After the recent disappointment of not getting to the World Cup was good to have something to sing about!! :-)

Be well, be happy!!

Come fly with me...

2009-09-17T23:20:00.027+01:00

I had pondered whether to post this trip up as it's not actually Glasgow based. But it is a cool event in the Scottish calendar and a few people said why not. So why not?

As a birthday gift I was lucky enough to get tickets to go to the annual airshow at RAF Leuchars in Fife on September 12th. I used to go to airshows when I was a boy with my dad and have a real love of them. But just with life never gotten round to going back. So was just as excited as a wee boy again to be going this year.

I was not disappointed!!

Maybe also because after all the rain we have had the sun decided to shine down on a perfect flying day. Hope you enjoy seeing a wee selection of this year's show...

We got to the airfield about 9.30 am and this gave us a good chance to walk around and see some of the aircarft on the ground and also some of the aircraft flying in. Above is the mighty Vulcan bomber which is an incredible aircraft. It was to fly later but even on the ground the scale of this thing is impressive. This one is the only flying example and is only there due to the work of the Vulcan to the Sky Trust that got her flying again in October 2007 after 14 years on the ground.

Go here to find out more about this amazing aircraft:
http://www.vulcantothesky.org/

There was also a good turn out from the US airforce for the static display. F-15 and the huge B-52 bomber being the most impressive.
Hard to believe that the B-52 first flew in 1952 only 16 years after the first flight of the Spitfire!!
The F-15 Eagle was one of my favourite aircraft as a kid and I had a cool Airfix model of it. Still looks like a dangerous piece of equipment to this day.

Security obviously has to be tight with so much military hardware around but didn't realise they would call in Imperial troopers to control the crowds!! :-)

The airshow really is a big family event and has lots to do and see apart from just the planes.

But at 11am the main event got underway...

With the thud of the twin rotors of the huge chinook helicopter taking off the show began.

The Chinook circled up and up until it was just about recognoisable as a helicopter dot in the sky...

And then what appeared to be flares shot out of the back.

Very quickly you could see that it was actually the RAF Falcons Parachute team in freefall and trailing smoke.

And in the unusually blue Scottish sky thw red, white and blue chutes opened and the team swirled and danced around in the sky in a huge stack of parachutes. Fantastic.
A big cheer went up when they eventually touched down. A good start ...

Next team that caught my eye were the Blades Aeorbatic team flying the Extra 300 display aircraft. This was a stunning display and everything that an aishow should be about.

Just was fantastic to watch them paint their pictures in a blue, blue sky...

Up next was the Team Guineot wingwalkers. These twin biplanes danced round the sky with people standing on the top wing. Felt very 1920's and was a spectacular display...

And then you realised that they had been giving us a gentle introduction to the airshow as they cranked up the volume with the F-16 taking to the sky.

The sheer power you feel vibrating through you from one of these guys as it does it's routine is awesome. Ear defenders recommended!!!

And then it was the turn of the Eurofighter Typhoon. Just as loud and powerful as the Falcon but I got a special buzz from this one as I have never seen one of these in flight before. As it did it's improbable if not impossible manoeveours in the sky the engineer in me couldn't help but be in awe.

But will move on now to what was really the main part of the airshow which really began with the mighty Vulcan bomber took to the sky with a deafening roar.

As the airshow loadspeaker system painted Enya this massive black bat gracefully swooped down over the crowd.

And then for me it was the highlight of the show. It was always the highlight of every airshow I went to as a boy. And they are still the best...

The Red Arrows.

They started with a fly past in formation with the Eurofighter Typhoon which was a nice touch.
Then the split off to do their fantastic show...

Here they are in their famous diamond formation...

Low fly past streaming red, white and blue smoke...

4 aircraft crossover. Closing speeds of 800 miles per hour.

You know that they know what they are doing but your heart still skips a beat everytime they do this...

And then up and over to draw a heart in the sky...

The completed picture.

We are not worthy!! This is the pilot from Red Arrow 8 talking to the crows after the display with the aircraft in a row behind him.

How do you follow the Red Arrows ?

The only way you can with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight of Hurricane, Lancaster and Spitfire. Each one an icon aircraft in it's own right. And always helps to remind us all of the sacrifices made by others during wartime.

Special mention has to go to the Spitfire. Although it does somewhat unfairly overshadow it's fighting partner the Hurricane it has come to be such a symbolic aircraft. I still love seeing the one hanging from the roof of the art galleries. But to see one flying and actually almost as important to hear one flying is special. The sound of that Rolls Royce Merlin engine is something unique.

After the Battle of Britain memorial flight and actually part of it was the Mig 29 of the Polish Air Force. There were 16 Polish squadrons in the RAF during the Second World War. No 303 had the highest number of enemy kills of any squadron. So it was nice to see this recognised with the Polish taking their place alongside the Spitfires and Hurricanes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._303_Polish_Fighter_Squadron

I can't possibly go through all the displays at this year's show but everyone was impressive. Will give a mention to the Black Cats Royal Navy Lynx helicopter display team. Here they are putting the helicopters on their noses. Very impressive display and puts whole new meaning to the Lynx effect!!!

At 5pm the show was over for another year. We hung about at the end of the runway to see some of the aircraft depart for home. Here are the Red Arrows going home taking off in their usual 3 formation. We gave them a wave as they left...

And ifyou look closely at this close up of the third aircraft you can see that they in turn waved back!!

And lovely end to an amazing day!!

Hope to go back again next year. Can only hope that we get such perfect weather for flying next year!!

Be well, be happy!!

70th Anniversary of Invasion of Poland

2009-09-01T22:03:00.007+01:00

It's 1st September 2009. 70 years ago today Nazi Germany invaded Poland, followed a couple of weeks later by the Soviet Union invading from the East. This is one of the main events that triggered the start of the Second World War. On the 3rd September Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany.
Warsaw capitulated on 28th September but the Polish government never surrendered and kept on fighting in exile throughout the war.
Many Poles in exile ended up here in Glasgow with many Polish soldiers living in barracks at Yorkhill.

I can't do justice here to the sacrifice, bravery and contribution made by Poland and it's people during the Second World War. Reading Norman Davies' "Europe at War: 1939-1945. No Simple Victory" is a great place to start if you want to read more. The Polish pilots in the Battle of Britain, the breaking of the Enigma code, the Warsaw uprising in '44... it is something we should all know about.

But today thought I would mark this anniversary with a few photos of places in Glasgow that are significant to the story of the Polish community in Glasgow.

Firstly this is St. Simon's Roman Catholic Church near Partick Cross. The is known as the Polish Church as between 1940-1943 Polish soldiers marched to the church from the Yorkhill Barracks for Mass every Sunday.

I stood inside here for a while today. It was so very peaceful and special.

Outside the church is this beautiful memorial with a brass plaque and shield carrying the Polish crest.

Here is a close up shot of the plaque so you can read the inscription which commemorates the soldiers coming to Mass here during the war.

"I was a stranger and ye took me in"

I have been near here so many times and never knew this was there. Worth just wandering down here for a few minutes if you are in the area.

Next up is the Sikorski Polish Club at Parkgrove Terrace.

Today it was overlooking a very flooded Kelvingrove Park.

This is a Society that forms a focal point for the Polish community in Glasgow.
I'll just point you to their web site to find out more.
http://www.sikorskipolishclub.org.uk/

The name Sikorski comes from the Poland's great wartime leader Generak Władysław Sikorski. To read more about this amazing man see below. It also covers a lot of the history of Poland during the war as well:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WÅadysÅaw_Sikorski

On the wall of the Sikorski club is this plaque that commemorates the thousands of Polish prisoners of war massacred at Katyn in Russia by Soviet forces in 1940. The estimates of the numbered killed is about 22,000.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katyn_massacre

And finally this building up near St. George's Cross is the SPK Polish Club which is a Polish ex-service men's club.

http://www.sikorskipolishclub.org.uk/SPK.htm

I popped in there today though didn't have much as much time as I would have liked.

Has a fascinating gallery of photos of Polish armed forces photos through the years.

Will go back again one day to find out more when have more time.

I hope that this small tour today is only the beginning of me finding out more about the history of Poland and the Polish community in Glasgow. I will post up more as I find out.

Hope it also got you interested in reading the links and finding out more on this 70th anniversary.

Be well, be happy!!

Stood still on a highway...

2009-08-21T22:57:00.014+01:00

If you don't recognise it then the title is the first line from Chris Rea's "Road to Hell".

And for those of you familiar with Glasgow then you probably guessed by now that this post is all about the mighty M8 motorway.
As I said in a previous post, love it or hate it the M8 is an integral part of Glasgow life so this blog didn't feel complete without a post about it and really about some of the landmarks along it.
Also one of the twitter followers, Lauren, had suggested a wee roadtrip and what better roadtrip to start with than the M8!! Thanks Lauren! Hope you enjoy! Most of these photos were taken last week in between the rain showers.

Now I'm back at work I travel down the M8 every day. I both love and hate this road. It is the road that brings me home from the airport through the city that I love. I love that feeling. It is the road that takes me through to Edinburgh, actually another city that I love. And it is the road that I have sat on like a car park for hours waiting to cross the Kingston Bridge getting back from Braehead!! Grrr!! Love and hate.

ok, few facts about the M8. It is over 60 miles long and connects Edinburgh all the way through to Greenock. The first section built was the Harthill bypass in 1965. And it still isn't finished!!

Below are some of the images I have captured from travelling along the just over 20 mile section from Harthill into Glasgow.

First up is the Kirk O'Shotts transmitter. I used to commute through to work in Edinburgh every day and seeing this and the Harthill services used to tell me that I was half way home. This mast is 183 metres (600 foot) tall and was built in 1952. It used to be the BBC's main central Scotland trasmitter. It is named after the church building just along the road from it. More about that next.

I have admired this church for so many years sitting up on it's hill next to the motorway surrounded by it's graveyard. It is the Kirk o'Shott's Parish Church just outside the village of Salsburgh. It is such a famous landmark is it often just referred to as the M8 church.

It was built in 1450 as St. Catherine's Chapel. In 2005 it was in danger of being closed due to a state of disrepair. After an appeal, including hanging a save our church sign that was seen from the motorway, the church was repaired and rededicated in 2007.
This was the first time I had actually driven up and taken a walk around. It is a beautiful building and the graveyard is very special. Worth taking the time to come off the M8 and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. And it is peaceful even though you can see Scotland's busiest road go past you. Standing up there you feel very detached from all that bustle.

To read more about the church and Salsburgh here is the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salsburgh

Next along the road to Glasgow is something different again. The Big Heid's sculptures at Eurocentral. I work very close to these and love seeing them every morning and lit up at night.

They are the work of artist David Mach and were built in 1999.

Each of the heads is 10 metres tall and made from welded sections of pipe. Each face is actually modelled on a local volunteer from North Lanarkshire.

Just along from Eurocentral is the Showcase Leisure Park. There is something about this park that just reminds me of America when I pass by with the multiplex cinema and bowling. Even the sign feels like something from a 1950's American movie. Just needs a 50ft B-movie monster standing behind it!! :)

And next is probably my favourite landmark on the M8. The Heavy Horse.
This was scuplted by Glasgow artist Andy Scott and was unveiled in 1997.
It stands 4 metres tall at the head and is made from welded steel bars.

Here is what the website about Andy Scott's work says about it:

"...the true inspiration was as a metaphor for the city of Glasgow. Once a proud industrial manufacturing city, the city has now refashioned itself for the 21st century as a show city of culture... the horse was once a beast of burden, but the sculpture stands free of the bridles of work and has its mane and tail in pleats and ribbons for exhibition, yet is magnificently reminiscent of its hard working ancestry. "

When I took these photos it was the first time in all the years of admiring this scuplture that I actually stopped and went to see it up close. It is magnificent. I love it even more now.

I will maybe do a seperate blog on Andy Scott's work but here is the web page for now:
http://www.aqza25.dsl.pipex.com/andy/works.html

Just along from the Heavy Horse is the new Glasgow Fort shopping centre opened in 2004. I think this has been a great addition to the North and East of Glasgow and especially with a Borders bookshop is somewhere you can often find me hanging out. The curved steel structure is a striking landmark on the M8 and has a similar feel to some of Glasgow's other modern architcture like the Science Centre and the Armadillo.

Now onto where the M80 and the M8 connect and some landmarks that are truly gate markers for the city. The giant gasometers at the Provan gas works.

Yes these are called gasometers, I didn't know that until recently, and were built to store gas. The movable cap rises and falls depending upon the amount of gas stored. (You will have seen one of these next to the Oval cricket ground in London if you have been watching England's Ashes victory) The one at Provan are the largest in the UK, though I'm not sure they are actually used anymore to store gas? If you are old enough you will remember that a huge Glasgow's Miles Better with Mr Happy used to hang on these during the 1980's.

And now on into the city. This photo was actually taken a few weeks ago and is of the almost artistic pattern to the concrete structure under the M8 as it passes through Cowcaddens.
The M8 then carries on through Charing Cross which I covered in a previous post:
http://glasgowtheday.blogspot.com/2009/06/im-wanderer-just-wanderer.html

And finally on this roadtrip, the Kingston Bridge that carries the M8 over the Clyde.

This bridge carries approximately 150,000 vehicles a day. Hence one of the reasons why you often end up stuck in a traffic jam on it during the rush hour!!

It is named after the Kingston Dock that used to be on the south side of the river at this point. It was opened in 1970 and designed to take 20,000 vehicles per day. Partly because of the overburden by 1990 it had to begin extensive repairs including lift up the bridge on hydraulic jacks.

Looking at this bridge it's not iconic like the Golden Gate, Sydney Harbour or Brooklyn Bridge but it is Glasgow's bridge and because of that I have a certain affection for it. Also when travelling over it at night gives a great view of the other bridges all lit up over the Clyde.

Well that was my wee M8 roadtrip. A road to hell or a good mate (M8)? Probably a bit of both. But with so many interesting landmarks to look out for along it's length then even when you are stuck in traffic it can be a pleasure.

Best bit? Tie between The Heavy Horse and Kirk o'Shott's Chapel. If you get a chance to get off the motorway and see them up close then do it. If you travel this road then it feels like visiting an old friend.

Be well, be happy!!

There's a shadow on his photograph, on Tinian '45...

2009-08-11T01:15:00.009+01:00

Not had much of a chance to walk about Glasgow or post anything up for last few weeks but thought I would quickly post up these photos I took a couple of weeks back.

Been listening to the Deacon Blue "Raintown" album in the car to work and one of my favourite tracks is "He looks like Spencer Tracy now". Always loved the haunting sound and the imagery of the song. The title of this post is the first line of the song.

This song was inspired by a Times magazine article written in 1985 about Harold Agnew who was one of the people on the the instrument aircraft "Great Artiste" that flew with the "Enola Gay" and took the photos of the mushroom cloud over Hiroshima. Tinian Island is where the aircaft took off from.

It is a fascinating article. The link is below:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1048415-1,00.html

The title of the track comes from a line in the article that describes Harold Agnew... "the paunch of a man of 64 who was an athlete 40 years ago. He looks like Spencer Tracy now."

So what has all that to do with Glasgow "The Day"?

Well it reminded me that it is the anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Hiroshima was August 6th 1945 and Nagasaki was August 9th. 64 years ago last week.
And it reminded me of a photo I took but never got to post.

In front of the cenotaph in George Square there is a memorial to the civilians that died in these attacks. It was placed there in 1985 to mark the 40th anniversary. I had never known that there was a momument to the attacks in Glasgow. I had cut through George Square so many times and never noticed this plaque right underneath my feet.

The cenotaph itself was built between 1921 and 1924 as a memorial to those that died in the First World War. It's most striking feature being the huge twin lions guarding it.

Between the lions is a fern leaf which has one word inscribed next to it. "Pax". Peace. It is not a war monument, it is a peace monument. Though sad to think that 15 years after it was unveiled the Second World War would begin, ending with the nuclear bombings that are commemorated just in front of this monument.

And this is one of the inscriptions on the side. Once again a humbling thing to read when we are moaning about many of the small things that annoy us in the modern world.

In many ways up till now I have treated the cenotaph as almost a piece of "furniture" in George Square. But when had the chance to study and and think about it then realised it is something very special. If you passing through George Square stop and take a look for a while.

Hopefully will get chance to get back into the city soon and take you another tour.

But hope you found this little post a wee thought provoker till then.

Enjoy the Times article and have a wee listen to the song if you never heard it before. You won't be disappointed.

Be well, be happy!!

Gonna see the river man...

2009-07-25T23:22:00.008+01:00

Took the family along to the Glasgow River Festival today. This is an annual event in Glasgow but never managed to make it along before. It takes place round about the Exhibition Centre and the Science Centre over the 2 days of the weekend.

Here are a few photos of something special happening in Glasgow "The Day"...

Jet ski exhibition on the river with the Tall Ship, the Glenlee, in the background. Entry to the tall ship is free during the river festival.

Is it a bird, is it a plane? It's the police helicopter doing a quick fly past over the Clyde.

Lots of events on and off the water. Above is some speedboat racing.

The police keeping a watchful eye and joining in the fun of waving to the crowds.

Drummers on a dredger. Some of the musical entertainment on the river.

Pirate television station ?

Some of the ships docked for the festival in front of the new BBC Scotland building.

Jet skit on the Clyde. The silver building just behind the jet skier is the new transport museum. Really taking shape now and looking fantastic.

A quick shot of the science centre tower. Really is lovely sight in the sunshine. Entry to the science centre only 4 pounds during the festival!

HMS Blythe. A Royal Navy minesweeper docked up for the festival.
http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-support/surface-fleet/mine-countermeasure/sandown-class/hms-blyth/

Pirate reenactement. Cannons and muskets and sword fights. Great highlight of the day!!

The Loch Lomond Seaplane coming in for a splash down in the Clyde. The seaplane service runs from the back of the Science Centre.
http://www.lochlomondseaplanes.com/

Almost touched down!!

I have to do this one day!!!

That is the Glasgow University Tower in the background.

An exhibition of traditional life in Scotland.

Includes traditional skills like carving and woodwork.

Was good just to be down at the river having such a nice day.

Yo ho ho!! Splice me mainbrace is that not a skull and cross bones on the Clyde.

The Vital Spark with the Armadillo in the background.

Some speedboat stunts on the river.

Finnieston Crane from the bus on the way home. Free bus service back to the city centre. Really is a well organised and fun event.

Hope this gave you a wee taste of the fun down at the Clyde today. There are stalls and shows and slides and trampolines and face painting and bands and ....

I have mentioned in this blog in the past how much Glasgow has turned it's back in it's great river. Events like today really make it feel a special place again.

Will be back next year!!

Be happy, be well!!

Back in the saddle again...

2009-07-24T23:48:00.002+01:00

No post of a tour round Glasgow "The Day".

The reason is that I have the good news to announce that I am back at work again. Through some organisational changes the company has found a way to reverse the decision on my redundancy. So I am really happy to be back in a job again!

Would like to take this chance to thank everyone that has supported me, my job hunting and this blog during this difficult time. Redundancy is a painful, stressful experience and this blog has helped me keep going each day. I hope something positive has come out of it either just if it made you smile or learned something new about a wonderful city or if you got the chance to donate some money to Yorkhill because of it.

It has given me the chance to fall in love with Glasgow again and to meet some amazing people. The Carousel Girls, the lemonade girls, Lyndsay and Rosie the dog, Pop ... the list goes on... and can't forget special mention for Papa Joe.

Also have to give special mention to my friends at the outplacement team at Penna in Cadogan Street. The base camp for Glasgow "The Day" where so many tours started or ended. They have been a terrific support and have been my workmates for months now. Although glad to be back in my job I will miss seeing the Penna gang each day.

So is this the end for Glasgow "The Day"?

No.

Obviously can't do a tour each day now but I still intend to post stuff up here when I can about what I have seen in Glasgow on days that I manage to get back into the city. Maybe do some special events. And will have to cover Christmas in the city anyway!! Then Glasgow really is magical!!

Once again thank you for all your support.

Be well and be happy out there!!

O Flower of Scotland...

2009-07-22T22:12:00.010+01:00

Something different again today. But was back very close to were I was yesterday.
But this time a very different "battlefield"....

Went to see Hampden Park. Home of Queen's Park and the National Stadium.

Now I have been here a number of times to see matches from when I was a wee boy in the old stadium. But I had never been on the stadium tour or at the museum so did that today.

The stadium here dates from 1903 although the stadium pictured above was rebuilt and reopened in 1999.

My best memory of this stadium dates back to 1984, going to see Scotland vs Iceland World Cup Qualifier with my dad, and Paul McStay's bullet of a shot. Was a fantastic goal. Scotland won 3-0 that day. Happy times. Favourite memory of Hampden ? Post up a comment.
Below are just some photos around the stadium "The Day".

I first went on the stadium tour whhich takes you behind the scenes of stadium. Above is quick photo of the "Away" dressing room. This is the traditional Celtic dressing room.

This is the indoor warm up area. Not a bad idea for a stadium in Scotland! :)

You can have a go at hitting the ball and it will measure the speed.

I won't embarass myself by telling you how pathetic my shot was but was comparable to some of the kids also on the tour :)

And then out into the stadium itself.
You can't help but get a wee thrill as you walk out the doors into the stadium. Maybe we all have that wee dream inside that it could have been us coming out before a capacity crowd singing Flower of Scotland.

This is the Home "Dugout" area at Hampden. Have a feeling at my age I'm going to have to give up on ever getting to sit here. Even as a sub.

I just liked this wee shot of the empty seats.

And now into the museum. This is a fantastic museum with so much memorabilia from over 100 years of football history in Scotland. Football is such an integral part of life in Scotland. When the Scotland team is playing well the whole country feels better. Some people say that the 1979 referendum on independence was rejected partly because of the bad 1978 World Cup performance!! Not sure if this is true but this museum does give you a flavour for our passion for the game both international and domestic.

Above is the Scottish Cup (or the Scottish Football Association Scottish Challenge Cup to give it it's full name) This competition was originally held in 1873-74 and the trophy is the oldest national trophy in the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Cup

The museum covers the history of the game from it's very beginning in the mid 1800's and the formation of Queen's Park FC in 1867. Queen's Park FC are the oldest club in Scotland and one of the oldest in the world.

Above is a model of one of my defensive tackles from a 5 a side game I was in during the late 1980's. I had a moustache back then :)

A replica of the European Cup. This one actually donated to the museum by Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Scottish football hall of fame. People involved in the Scottish game who have made a major contribution are given this honour. Spent a lot of time here just reading all the life stories. Just in the front of shot here are Bobby Lennox, Henrik Larsson, Denis Law... an amazing list.

I liked this photo. Davie Cooper, Kenny Dalglish and Sir Alex Ferguson. Now there is a list. Davie Cooper and Kenny Dalglish were both heroes of mine when I played as a boy.

Although this is more my game :)

Have always been better at table football than the actual game itself.

Another nice exhibit. The cap given to Kenny Dalglish to mark his 100's cap for Scotland.

An exhibit talking about the history of kids playing football in the street. That is the joy of football. A ball and a couple of jerseys for goalposts and you got yourself a game.

The ball from the first game played at Hampden in 1903. Was between Queen's Park and Celtic.

Really is a cool museum for covering all aspects of the game. Here is one of the original turnstiles from Hampden. Can remember going through one of these many times.

I liked this exhibit. This is reconstruction of Archie Gemmill's goal against Holland in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. We needed to win by 3 goals to get out of the group section. Scotland were winning 2-1 when the ball broke to Gemmill. He jinked past 3 players and chipped the ball into the net. It was 3-1!!

Holland made it 3-2 a few minutes later. But that's Scottish football for you. Best goal ever scored in the World Cup? One of the best definitely and it will always have a special place in the heart of all Scots. Thank you Archie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3FvlWyyAKg

Talking of the 1978 World Cup above it the programme from the sending off party at Hampden. 25,000 fans turned out (including me and my family) to cheer the Scotland team before they went off to the World Cup in Argentina. We honestly believed we were in with a shout of winning it. It didn't turn out that way but I actually still have a copy of this programme above and I treasure it. It truly is a wee piece of Scottish history.

I also have a copy of this!! The 1982 Scotland World Cup Anthem "We have a dream".
Seeing all this stuff made me realise how much I miss Scotland being in one of the big tournaments. They really do get the whole country excited and each one makes it's own new memories. Fingers crossed we will be back in one soon.

The roll of honour of players with more than 50 caps for Scotland.

Now there is a list.

It not to be forgotten that Hampden is also the venue for many great concerts. Springsteen was here last week and Take That couple of weeks before. Above is Robbie William's shirt from one of his gigs here.

The sun was shining as I left Hampden. Was a great experience today. Another great museum to make you think of all your own great memories. This time of the beautiful game that is so much part of our lives in Scotland.

As sun was shining also popped back up onto the hill at Queen's Park on way back to get a brighter shot across the city.

Nice way to end the tour. A day for memories.

Be well, be happy!!

Love is a battlefield...

2009-07-22T00:01:00.019+01:00

After my break for the Glasgow Fair weekend it was back to "work" today. Job hunting and blogging about Glasgow.

Today decided to do something different again. I normally don't follow any guidebook on my tours. I just walk and see what I see and check up on the details later. But I had picked up a wee leaflet on the Langside Heritage Trail from the tourist information office. It's funny being a tourist in your own city! :)

So drove down there today to see how much I could cover in a couple of hours.

It was of course raining as this is the Glasgow Fair Fortnight holiday and therefore it always rains! Wasn't actually too bad for walking about but wasn't great for taking photos and my poor wee camera was getting waterlogged before the end!

But if you forgive the poor photography here is what I saw "The Day".

Suppose as always should start with a few introductions. This area is called Langside. I've been round here lots of times. Know people who stay or stayed here. Parked around here when going to Hampden to see Scotland play. But never pondered the name until today.

The name Langside means Long Hill and is a reference to the two hills in this area. One with it's summit in Queen's Park(Camp Hill) and the other in Mansionhouse Road.

Above is the first building of note I saw after leaving the car. It's the Battlefield Rest building. This used to be a shelter for people waiting on the trams and was built in 1915. The tram service ended here in 1962 and it fell into disrepair. But it has now been restored as a restaurant. Really is a fantastic building.

I'll get back to why it's called Battlefield Rest in a minute...

Next building I went looking for is down Lochleven Road. This is the former Queen's Park Synagogue. It really is a striking building built out of artificial red sandstone that gives it that unusual colour. It was completed in 1927 however it is now being converted into an apartment complex appropriately called the Ark.

Now up the hill.This is Battlefield Road, previously known as Lang Loan before being renamed.

The battle in question is of course the Battle of Langside which took place on 13th May 1568 between the forces of Mary, Queen of Scots and The Regent, Earl of Moray. Mary was defeated here and fled to England where she was imprisoned and eventually executed in 1587.

Above is a photo of the monument to the battle which was built in 1887. I love this monument at the top of the hill where the main part of the battle took place. The lion on the top with his foot resting on a cannon ball. The column is decorated with thistles, roses and fleurs-de-lis. One of my favourite monuments in Glasgow.

The building pictured behind the monument and closer up above is the Langside Hill Church dating from 1896. It is now the Church on the Hill restaurant and bar.

As I was looking at it I was reminded of the work of Alexander "Greek" Thomson and his church in St. Vincent Street. Looking at the guidebook this is not surprising as it was designed by Alexander Skirving who was Thomson's principal assistant. Skirving also designed the battlefield monument.

This other distinctive building next to the monument is the Agenda restaurant / bar. But it was built in 1939 as a control station for the Glasgow Corporation Lighting Department.

Just along from the monument is the Victoria Infirmary. This was opened in 1890. The guide book told me to look out for the puma on the roof. That bit worrying. But here it is here above the Royal coat of arms on the administration block. There doesn't seem to be any explanation for why there is a puma on the building but it has become the symbol for the hospital.

Now round into Queen's Park itself. This is a classic Victorian era park dating from 1857. And being Victorian and being next to the Victoria hospital I had always presumed that the Queen in the name was for Queen Victoria. Makes sense ?

But Queen's Park is actually in honour of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Above is the trees leading up to the Glasshouse.

And here is a closer view of the dome of the glasshouse which dates from 1905. This seems to be having some major rennovation work in progress at the moment but you can still get inside. And today that was good because as I got here the rain came on hard. You could hear it pattering on the roof from inside. Where have those summer days earlier in this blog gone?

There is one wing of the Glasshouse that has a reptile and amphibian house. Not sure what this toad's problem was but he doesn't look like he is having a good day. You think the rain would have cheered him up!!

And actually found these ducks in the pond inside. Now you can tell how bad the rain is when even the ducks come inside for shelter!!

Actually I think these wee guys actually live in here.

Back outside and took a wee walk up to the top of the hill where the flagpole is. And what a view you get from up there. Really will need to come back here on a sunny day when visibility bit better. This photo is from slightly down the hill but even on this rainy day could see the University Tower, the top of the Armadillo, the Finnieston Crane, the Squinty bridge, the Park Circus towers and right through to the dark outline of the Campsies in the distance.

Further down the hill on the other side and you come to two ponds. The first one is a boating pond. No model boats out there today but the seagulls were having a ball.

They say the British do queues better than anyone and it seems even the gulls have got the trick!

The second pond is a nature pond and is a lovely tranquil little water feature with little ducks feeding amongs the reeds. You can see the rain splashing on the surface!

Just along from the nature pond is this grand old house. This is Camphill House and dates from 1798. It was once at the heart of the Camphill estate which dominated the lands west of Langside village.

It was seemingly once a museum with relics relating the the battle but the museum closed in the 1980's and it is now converted into flats. And there seems to be one on the ground floor for sale if you are interested!! What a great place to live!!

On the way out of the park now but cut through the Scottish poetry rose garden. This commemorates many of the great Scottish poets. Above is one of the stone momuments. This one is in the centre and is for Hugh McDiarmid. It praises the "little white rose of Scotland"

And here in fact are some little white roses of Scotland in the poetry garden.
Really is an ideal tribute to these great poets.

And just about readable through the rain soaked pavement is the tribute to Robert Burns. Once again with a rose theme.

At the edge of the park now and this is the impressive Langside Halls. Now if this looks similair to a number of the buildings that I have posted up here over last few weeks then that may not be a surprise when I tell you it's original address.

57 Queen Street.

I didn't know this until today but this building used to be the National Bank of Scotland building in Queen Street dating from 1847. It was purchased and then moved here stone by stone in 1891 by the City of Glasgow to provide a public hall when this area was taken over by the city. Was meant to be cheaper than designing and building one from scratch.

Across the road is another landmark on Pollokshaws road. This is the Corona bar dating from 1913.

And may not have spotted this if not for the guidebook. Above each door of the bar is a hand with a cross in it. Seemingly this comes from a story that the name for the nearby area of Crossmyloof comes from a statement from Queen Mary as she passed here on the way to Dumbarton, "By the cross in my loof (palm), I will be there tonight in spite of yon traitors."

Interesting little detail even if unlikely story.

What's the story in Balamory?

Heading back up the hill again and you pass this lovely row of different coloured terraced houses in Blairhall Avenue.

And then back down onto Sinclair Drive.

Pictured above is Langside Library dating from 1915. This is one of the libraries funded by Andrew Carnegie and was also the first in the city to let your browse for books on shelves instead of having to request boooks from a counter.

There are lots of interesting features about this library but my eye kept coming back to these wee angels on the gate posts. Now that's one for the sketch book.

And then it was time for lunch. Heading back down onto Lochleven Road and into Cafe Ludovic which had been recommended by a friend.

Great home made burger and a latte later and was ready to head back into the city centre and Cadogan Street again.

I actually enjoyed this wee walk in the rain. Once again some old familiar sights and learned some new things. Need to come back another day and see more of what this area has to offer. And will definitely come back for the view from Camphill when the rain stops. If the rain ever stops!! :)

Be well, be happy!!

The church steeple quiz... the answers and a winner...

2009-07-21T15:34:00.002+01:00

Sorry once again for the delay in the answers for last weeks quiz. But here they are.

Now at first I though this might be quite easy. All the steeples are quite distinct. However that's what spending 7 weeks looking at buildings does to you. :)

It really was a tricky one now I look at it. The worthy winner is therefore Anne Watson who got 11 out of 12. This was achieved by trawling through all of the previous posts in the blog. Think I might need to come up with a proper prize for this one to reward all that effort!

Here are the answers:

1. Ramshorn Church (Theatre) in Ingram Street.
2. Tron Church (Theatre) in Trongate.
3. Glasgow Cathedral
4. Saint Aloysius in Garnethill
5. Park Parish Church (the white one you can see on the hill at Park Circus)
6. Saint George's Tron Church (a favourite of mine as you know :) )
7. The top of Charing Cross Mansions. This is not a church steeple at all.
8. Oran Mor at end of Byres Road (formerly Kelvinside Parish church)
9. Trinity Tower (the other towers you can see on the hill at Park Circus)
10. Saint Andrews in the Square
11. Saint Vincent Street Church
12. Saint Columbus Church also in Saint Vincent Street

Hope you enjoyed these photos of the variety of steeples around the city, even if the quiz was a bit hard. Glasgow doesn't have a skyline as such but these buildings give it the closest thing to it.

Be well, be happy!!

The story so far... now also on YouTube...

2009-07-21T15:27:00.004+01:00

Have now also posted the photo slideshow video up onto YouTube.
Had to make it slightly shorter because YouTube videos can't be longer than 10 minutes.
The new you is 9 minutes and 59 seconds :)
Had to chop a few photos and a wee bit of Homesick track but hope you still enjoy it!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDLbXjSkZ24

Be well, be happy!!

The story so far...

2009-07-19T23:59:00.009+01:00

Sorry to regular Glasgow "The Day" readers for no posts these last couple of days. Been spending time with the family over the Glasgow Fair Weekend. And the weather is normal for the Glasgow Fair.... p***** doon!!
This is actually the 60th post to this blog.
So decided to do something a wee bit different and put together a wee video of the story of Glasgow "The Day" so far. It is a self indulgent 11 minutes long but had so many bits I wanted to include. Hope I have included your favourite bit and it not too long to bore you.

Was amazing to just look back at all the places I have seen, fantastic people I have met and things I have learnt these last few weeks. And a big thank you to all the people who have given me so much encouragement and support for the blog and for my job hunt. THANK YOU!!

Anyway, there are three songs on the slideshow.
First one is "All In One Day" by Ultravox. I loved Ultravox in my youth and actually got their greatest hits for my birthday this year from a special friend. Can still song along (badly :) ) to all the tracks.
I used this track because I liked the idea that although it has taken me 7 weeks to compile these photos, all of this goes on in Glasgow in one day, everyday.

The second track is "Homesick" by Deacon Blue. What can I say about Deacon Blue?
Raintown is probably the album I have played most in my life and it still sounds fantastic today.
But have chosen Homesick cause it seemed to fit all the images of Glasgow. And know that's how I feel whenever I'm away from here for too long.

The last track is "Slideshow" by Travis. Another one of my favourite bands.
The title is obvious why I chose it. But have also always loved this track.

There no real connection between any of the lyrics and any particular photo. The photos pretty much in the order in which I saw Glasgow. Hope you enjoy the music and images and this compilation of Glasgow "The Day" so far makes you smile!!

Usual wee plug for the Yorkhill Children's Foundation at the end.

Be well, be happy!!

Hey teacher, leave those kids alone...

2009-07-16T22:08:00.016+01:00

You know how I say that everyday is a school day on Glasgow "The Day"?

Well today really was a school day. Took a trip to see Scotland Street School.
This been recommended to me by a few people. And maybe had school on my mind because met some people from my old school today.

Now I have been to this school before. But that was on a school trip when I was in primary school!! So that was a few years ago now!! :)

Scotland Street School has a number of reasons that make it worth visiting. It is a wonderful building designed by none other than Charles Rennie Mackintosh himself. And it also houses a school museum which takes you through the development of education in Scotland.

The photo above is of the school building. Immediately as you approach it you see that this is somewhat unique from the other big red sandstone buildings you see around Glasgow (like the Washington Street School). The distinctive towers and all that amazing glasswork.

It was designed between 1903 and 1906. Mackintosh has a bit of a stormy relationship with the school board over a number of elements of his design. It served as a school until 1979.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_Street_School_Museum

If you walk around the building you will find a number of examples of distinctive Rennie Mackintosh design.

Once inside this beautiful glasswork becomes even more striking. It fills the stairwells with a flood of natural light.

In within the windows are these signature Rennie Mackintosh stained glass panels.
Simply beautiful.

But as I said the other attraction of this building is that it houses the school museum. This is a photo of the 50's and 60's classroom. Now I started school in 1974 and this still felt very familiar to me!! This museum simply brings so many memories of your school days flooding back. You could hear everyone walking about today saying "When I was at school..."

You boy!! Answer question four:
A wheel of a bicycle measures 1.25 yards around. How often does it turn on a journey of 1 mile?

A sign on the wall explaining "old money". Pounds, shillings and pence.
Decimalisation was a great idea.

And this brought back memories. These wee wooden blocks to help you count. White was 1, red was 2, green was 3 etc.

Any teachers reading this know if they still use these?

And was this the inspiration for Tetris? :)

The dunce cap.

Don't remember this ever being used in my school days. Although corporal punishment, i.e. the belt, did still exist.

I didn't know the background of the dunce cap. Read here is you want to know more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunce_cap

These objects in the cloakrooms are interesting. There is a sign asking you to guess what they are. Sinks? But no taps? Some kond of urinal is seemingly what most people come up with.

But they are in fact just sinks. The water comes from holes in the front of them controlled by a central pipe turned on by the janitor. Maybe to stop the kids playing with the taps?

The museum also covers some of the traditional playground games. Hopscotch anyone?
The museum is really good for kids. Lots of interactive stuff, games, dressing up. And a massive selection of toppings for your ice cream in the cafe!! :)

But it was almost time for me to go. Have expected the school bell to ring to say that was the end of class. Funny how you get this weird flashback feeling when you go into a school.

But want to also mention the exhibition that is on at the school at the moment. It is of these amazing automatons. Little wooden and metal moving mechanical art works. Sounded bit weird at first but they really are endearing works. You can't help but go round them all pushing the button to see the ingenuity of the mechanism. The one above is of the 3 bears eating their porridge.

This one is a cat that drinks it's milk then falls over dead called "Poisoned Milk". Strange but somehow really amusing as well.

Included a wee video of this one to give you and some idea of the cuteness of these things. This one imagines life for a cat in heaven. It's called "The Great Fishtank in the Sky"

Really was a lovely place to visit, the unique building and a unique museum. And once again, as I have found in all the museums, really friendly, helpful staff that make the experience even more fun.
Scotland Street School right across the road from the Shields Road tube station to pop down there if you get the chance.

Be well, be happy!!

P.S. One last lesson in spelling today I noticed just next to the school on way back to the Tube station.

As always please do visit the Yorkhill Children's Foundation site if you get the chance:

http://www.yorkhillchildrensfoundation.org

Clydebuilt

2009-07-15T22:55:00.007+01:00

To be honest I wasn't feeling too well this morning. Just followed up some emails in the house. Was lunchtime before felt well enough to go out so wasn't up for taking you a walk along Great Western Road or anything.

But had some stuff to get for a special birthday on Saturday so headed to Braehead shopping centre. While I was there though quite fancied taking a look around the Clydebuilt museum which is on the Clyde side next to the centre.

Here are just a few photos of a small, gentle Glasgow the Day tour round the Clydeside.

The Clydebuilt museum is all about the shipping and shipbulding industry that was so important to the development of Glasgow. Has some nice exhibits and lots of hands on stuff for kids (and big kids like me :) )

The term Clydebuilt came to be a word simply meaning quality. Some of the world's greatest ships were built on the Clyde. The Cutty Sark, the Lusitania, the Queen Mary, HMS Hood, the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Elizabeth II (QE2) all just examples of Clydebuilt ships.

Above is one of the hands on exhibits where you can try your hand at being a riveter and putting the rivets in using the tongs. How people managed to do this hundreds of times a day becomes a wonder to you after taking 5 minutes fumbling with even one.

There is also a Rivet gun to hold, just like this model above. It is a heavy piece of kit. Makes you once again wonder how somone managed to do this for so many hours a day.

The museum also covers a lot of the history of Glasgow and it's relationship with the Clyde. And that of course inevitably brings you to the Tobacco Lords. Above is a model of John Glassford who I mentioned the other day in the tour around Glassford Street.

Outside the museum are these lovely statues of 2 workers pulling on the chains of a ship. Very dynamic statues which tell the story of the shipbuilders better than any words.

The museum also has it's own Clyde built vessel in the shape of the little Kyles coaster. You can go onboard and have a look around. Was nice to feel right out there on the river today. Just what the doctor ordered.

You also get a great view up the Clyde. Above this is back towards Glasgow. The clouds and fleeting sunshine causing all kind of wierd effects on the water.

And this is downstream towards the BVT Surface Fleet yard on the North Bank. You can see the bank of rain clouds coming across. Would get caught in that before the day was out.

I noticed that there was still a ship in getting fitted out at the yard so thought I would take a wander up and see what ship it was. It is HMS Dragon, D35, the fourth of the new Type 45 destroyers. The others being Daring, Dauntless and Diamond. Defender and Duncan will be the next two.
HMS Dragon was launched from here in November 2008.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dragon_(D35)

Is great to still see ships being built on the Clyde. And even under it's covers you can see the sleek lines of this impressive piece of engineering. From across the river you could here the noise of drilling, hammering, engines. The noise of industry. Made me wonder what it must have been like when all the yards were up and running.

Closer view of the front of HMS Dragon showing the Welsh dragon painted on the prow.

Beauty and the beast?
Wild flowers growing on the bank of the river with a dragon peeking through.

Seem to have been finding lots of dragons in Glasgow lately?

Was just a wee gentle tour today. Was nice to take a walk along the river. People feel better being near water. And was nice to see some sights of Glasgow's great ship building heritage both old and new.

But that rain front came sweeping in and started pouring down so headed back into Glasgow to spend a wee while down at Penna to catch up some more.

Some very different images from Glasgow "The Day" but it all part of the great variety of this great city.

Be well, be happy!!

Born in Rottenrow, I was...

2009-07-14T22:28:00.014+01:00

I followed up on my emails early this morning I because was meeting someone for lunch up at Sauchiehall Street (or the Willow Meadow if you been following this blog :) )
Had nice lunch but after that wasn't sure what to do.
Maybe go along Great Western Road? It had called to me at St. George's Cross on Friday.
Maybe hop the tube down to Scotland Street School? Been recommended to me a few times.

I was looking for a sign ...
And where better to find a sign than outside the Griffon pub in Bath Street!!

Today's sign was a tribute to the great Bruce Springsteen who was playing Hampden tonight. And was also a tribute to Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital on Rottenrow which was Glasgow's main maternity hospital from 1860 until 2001. What percentage of Glasgow babies where born in the Rottenrow?
I realised if I just walked straight along Bath Street it would take me to Cathedral Street and then onto Rottenrow. That was the sign I was looking for...

So started walking up Bath Street. Won't tell you anymore about the Griffon pub or the King's Theatre cause covered those buildings before. But suppose should start as always telling you about the name of the street. Now I always presumed it was after the Earl of Bath or something but no ... it really is the street with the public baths on it.

A Mr William Harley opened up the first public baths in the city in the early 1800's at the corner of what is now Bath Street and Renfield Street. (Suppose must be roughly where BHS is now). The street got named Bath street and it stuck.

As you move east along Bath Street the next building that catches your attention is St. Stephen's Renfield Church with it's stunning steeple. It was built in 1849 and as you stand beneath it it does seem to touch the sky.

Also casts a lovely reflection in the building across the street. Though if you are wondering why you can't see my reflection it's because I am a vampire :)

Now there should be 2 more churches to show you on Bath Street. The vacant lot above was the Elgin Place Congregational Church which was built in 1855. It was built in the Greek Revival style, with its large pillars at the front giving it the appearance of a classical temple. The building ceased to be used as a church in 1962. One of the things that made it unique is that the stone work had not been cleaned and was therefore still black from the industrial fumes of Glasgow's industry. In the 80's it was turned into a night club so a lot of people reading this will know it better as Cardinal Follies, The Temple, The Shack or Trash depending upon how old you are! :) In 2004 it caught fire and was so badly damaged it had to be demolished. A sad loss to Glasgow of a unique building. Anyone know of what it planned for this empty lot?

This is the other church on Bath Street. It is the Adelaide Place Baptist church and dates from 1875. This seems to be more than just a church and when I searched for it later the building now also contains a guest house, a nursery and an auditorium.

Really is an interesting approach of church and community in the middle of the city.
http://www.adelaides.co.uk/

A wee bit further on this statue on the side of a building in Douglas Street caught my eye. There was no plaque on it but looked like there used to be one. Had a look on Google Street view and there is one when the van went by. It says City of Glasgow Friendly Society, Founded by John Stewart 1862.

Really is a lovely memorial. The building itself also seems to have some beautiful stained glass. Maybe see if I can get in here one day to get some photos.

Didn't feel right to walk along Bath Street and not mention McCormack's Musical Instruments. Think anyone who has played a musical instrument in Glasgow must have been in here at some point. Even myself with the musical talent of a stick insect has been in here to buy guitar strings, a harmonica and a penny whistle. (No offence meant to any stick insects reading this blog).

Over through the Buchanan Galleries tunnel and the street name changes to Cathedral Street. No points for guessing where this leads to.

And now heading into the heart of Strathclyde University.
This is the student union. It's ok I won't ask anyone to post up stories of what went on in here!! :) Though I did used to dance badly at the Level 9 disco in here myself during the '80's :)

But since I was passing thought I would pop down and take a quick photo of Martha Street registry office. Since I was heading to Rottenrow thought it would complete the story a bit to show where a fair number of the babies born in Rottenrow would have been registered. Actually as I was taking this photo a couple came out with a beautiful wee baby girl. The proud father gave me a huge smile. The latest wee addition to the history of this building.

And now onto Rottenrow itself. Suppose have 2 stories to tell here. Why is the street called Rottenrow and the story of the hospital itself.

Well there seems to be a lot of debate over this name. But it is actually a common name found in a number of cities around the UK. It either means the "routine route" or "Route di Roi" (route of Kings) or "Ratton row" ( a ratton being a tumbledown cottage).

What is know is that it is one of the oldest in the city and it used to be the main route west. Cathedral Street wasn't built until 1840.

But what Rottenrow is most famous for is the Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital that was here from 1860 until 2001 when it was moved to the new Princess Royal Maternity Hospital next to the Royal Infirmary.

When the building was demolished in 2002 it was turned into a landscaped garden and some of the original facade was left as part of the garden. I've actually posted a photo like this one in one of the little corners quizes. But here is the full thing in all it's glory.

A beautiful wild flower area in the garden today. Was alive with buzzing insects and over the busy Glasgow traffic in the background you could here crickets.

Another view over the gardens with the big nappy bin sculpture in the background. Have also posted this up before. It is called "Maternity" and it is by George Wyllie.
I really do love this garden. I think it is fitting tribute to all the doctors and nurses that worked here all those years and where so may Glaswegians started life.

Another piece of the old hospital looking through with the tower of the city chambers in the background. The dates on the arch say founded in 1835 which is when the hospital was originally founded down at Greyfriars Wynd. And rebuilt 1880 is when these buildings were built in Rottenrow. Although the hospital moved here in 1860.
Where you born in Rottenrow ? Pleasse post up a comment.

Kept going along Rottenrow which takes you right throught the Strathclyde Univeristy campus. Took some photos of some of the sculptures that decorate this campus but was looking for the one above which I had been told was here. It's another one by Shona Kinloch, the artist that did the "Chookie Burdies" and "Thinking of Bella" in the Italian Centre.

This one is called "In Pursuit of..." and dates from 1996. It was to mark 200th anniversary of the University. I hope if Shona Kinloch ever reads this she doesn't think I'm stalking her but really am enjoying her work.

Noticed from the car park just over from this sculpture you get a great view across Glasgow past High Street. And in this case the rain clouds sweeping in over Raintown. Must come back here on a blue sky day.

And then on to the end of Rottenrow. And back to the Barony Church which is now the Barony Hall and is owned by the University. It is used for functions, graduations, weddings etc. This building was completed in 1890 and was designed by Sir J.J. Burnet. Burnet had studied in Paris and that is why the church has the distinctive "fleche" steeple in the middle. Fleche being french for arrow and is common on French churches. (Notre Dame being an example)

And today it was open to the public!! There was a wonderful tour guide that took me around the inside of the building.

And what a fantastic building it is on the inside. The picture doesn't do justice to the beautiful pinky red colour of the stone as the light streams in.

Here is just a small sample of the amazing stain glass windows.

And at the back of the church halls these three modern stain glass windows are a set made to once again mark the 200th anniversary of the University.They are painted by John Clark. Once again these pictures don't do them justice. There is so much detail in each one. You see something new everytime you look. The first one covers the early history of the University. The prism throwing out 5 colours represents the 5 faculties of the University. The second red window covers the University being established and has the University crest as the main item. The third green one has modern advances such as DNA double helix and the QWERTY keyboard.
Very different from most stained glass you see and very beautiful.

Any Strathclyde University people having flash backs on this tour? :)

And that was the end of the tour. Was a nice surprise to end the tour being able to get inside the Barony.

Hope any one who went to see Bruce Springsteen at Hampden tonight had a great time. Thanks you to him for inspiring this tour. (And the staff at the Griffon pub)

Hope you enjoyed it too!!

Be well, be happy!!

Every step you take...

2009-07-13T22:53:00.016+01:00

Another rainy day and Monday in Glasgow "The Day".
Was kind of wandering around like some kind of lonely clown, so decided to take a walk through the Merchant City. Somewhere I probably know pretty well. But wanted to see if I could find out something new.
And I did ... every day a school day...

My route took me down Glassford Street, along Wilson Street then along Bell Street to High Street and back.

First thing as usual was to jump in the old Tardis to get me there. But what went wrong with the colour??!!??

Well here was my first lesson for the day. Glasgow Police boxes were ... red!! Not blue!!
London police boxes were blue.
Glasgow had 323 police boxes. That is more than 10 boxes for every square mile.

Back to the tour of Glassford Street. Now Glassford Street was names after John Glassford, one of Glasgow's great merchants.His town house, Shawfield Mansion, was here. He is actually buried in the graveyard of Ramshorn Church that I visited a couple of weeks ago in Ingram Street.
And the building above is the grandest on Glassford Street. It is the Trades' House which was the meeting place of the Incorporated Trades of Glasgow. It was designed by Robert Adam in 1794. This facade is Adam's only remaining work in Glasgow.

Wee bit further down Glassford Street and the sign for the Blane Valley pub made me chuckle. I had never noticed this wee guy drunk over the barrel before. :)

Just a wee view down Glassford Street looking towards the mighty Marks and Spencers. Everyone in Glasgow has bought underwear at some point from this shop!! :)
Reading a wee bit of the history here and Marks seems to be sitting on the site of the old City of Glasgow Bank. This bank failed in 1878 and brought ruin to many in the city. The directors, manager and secretary were arrested with the charge of having cooked the books.

Any of that sound familiar?? :)

This may seem like a strange photo to post up. But it does somewhat dominate the middle of Glassford Street now. The Glasshouse. Most of which is a car park. Now I'm undecided if I like this building or not. Not really an attempt to fit in the the architecture of the Trades' House is it? But something about the lines of it when the sun was shining through the rain kind of appealed to me today. Maybe not a bad looking building for a car park?

Now on in Wilson Street. Which is dominated by a different building altogether. The Old Sheriff court. This is the other side from the one I posted when walking down Ingram Street. Really is a fantastic building. And now contains the cleverly named Citation bar.

Now along to cross over Candelriggs. This is a wee photo of Candelriggs in the rain today looking up towards the Ramshorn church. Really is such a cool place to hang out these days. Especially in the evening.
Candelriggs seems to have gotten it's name from a candleworks that used to be near the Ramshorn church. It was built on farm land or riggs hence the name.

And here is a photo of Merchant Square which has been transformed into a cool indoor bar, restaurant complex. It used to be the main fruitmarket in Glasgow and you can still see the fruit bowl on the top of the building.

This is the City Halls building at the back of the fruit market. This was built as a entertainment venue and has seemingly hosted Charles Dickins and Oscar Wilde. This is now home to the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. I have actually been here to see Kieran Docherty that I mentioned in the High Street post. Was a fantastic night and a great venue.

Now we get on to why this is one of the best areas to hang out of an evening. So many great bars and restaurants. Can't even hope to post photos of them all. Above is the City Merchant which I have been to many times, particularly from work as they do a good line in traditional Scottish food and it good to take visitors there. They do have a great haggis here!

In Bell Street itself. Blackfriars. Couldn't have done this blog without at some point mentioning Blackfriars. This is the pub to meet in when you going out in the Merchant City. Probably been in this pub more than any other pub in Glasgow.

The Blackfriars part I explained in the High Street post. It is due to there used to be a Dominican monastery near here.

The famous Cafe Gandolfi in Albion Street. I have never actually been in here but it is such a famous landmark in this area felt strange not to include it in the list of great bars and restaurants.
The Merchant City is definitely my favourite area of the city for dining out.

Going to hop back to Blackfriars for a minute. Because it has a new neighbour.
Right next door is the Glasgow Police Museum. It just moved here in the last few months from it's previous location next to St. Andrews church. I had never visited here before and really liked it. Has a great mix of the history of the force, characters that served on the force, famous crimes and a selection of uniforms from police forces around the world.

Did you know that Glasgow had the first actual police force in the UK forming in 1800? The Metropolitan Police were formed 29 years after the Glasgow Police.

Some interesting items from within the museum. Some clappers and rattles that were used before the police were issued with whistles.

A exibit telling the story of the theft of the Stone of Destiny. This is the copy used in the filming of the recent movie.

Reward poster for information on the explosion at the Gasometers at Tradeston in 1883.

The uniform evolving over the years. This is from the 1940's. The gas mask is on the wall behind.

A Mountie always gets his man. Some of the selection of uniforms from around the world. This is of course the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

To find out more about this museum and the collection visit here:
http://www.policemuseum.org.uk/

Almost came to the end of the tour then noticed this sign down an alleyway. It was Tontine Lane. As well as this neon sign there was also a neon sign for the old Mitre Bar.

There disn't seem to be any good reason for these signs to be here.

The strange thing about this Empire sign is that you can only see it correctly in it's reflection in the mirror.

Turns out when I checked later that this is an artwork by Douglas Gordon. It really is quite striking and a bit bonkers in a way. Worth finding Tontine Lane if you are in the area.

I will need to come up here some evening and see if I can get a photo of it lit up.

Well did learn a number of new things today despite it being a familiar part of town.

Was now time to get out of the Glasgow rain again and head for home.

Be well, be happy!!

Here's the church, and here's the steeple...

2009-07-12T10:49:00.006+01:00

This week's quiz is all about the magnificent church buildings you find all around Glasgow. A number of them are no longer churches but they are still beautiful, historic buildings. There are 12 photos below. All you get to see if the steeple of the church and you have to tell me which church it is.
Easy.
In fact it is amazing how distinctive each of these church towers actually is.
One catch. One of these is not a church steeple at all. Which one is the cuckoo in the nest and which building is it?

There you go. Answers to glasgowtheday@gmail.com as usual.

Think it quite easy this week so may not have one winner. Just a roll of honour for all those that get all 12.

Be well, be happy!!

Garnethill revisited...

2009-07-10T23:00:00.013+01:00

Wasn't sure what to do today. Had stuff I needed to get on with in the morning. And wanted to pop out to my old work for a while to catch up with the guys.
So that left lunch time to have a wee walk about in Glasgow.
Finally decided to go looking for a couple of things I missed last time I was up in Garnethill.
The first was the Chookie Burdies on the lamposts and the other was the Tenement House.

Ok here are the Chookie Burdies. They are on top of all the lamposts around Garnethill. How did I miss them last time ? Once someone points them out then they are everywhere!! Took a photo of these two on the lampost next to the Beresford Art Deco building. Hope you can make them out. Liked the red lines of the building in the background. The Chookie Burdies were sculpted by Shona Kinloch who also did the "As Proud As..." statue next to Princes Square and "Thinking of Bella" in the Italian Centre. Becoming a fan of her work. It's quirky and just appeals on so many levels. And once you notice these wee birds really cheers you up to see them up there. There is a couple more pieces of her work in Glasgow that I'm going to seek out.

Happy at finding the burdies I now headed over to Beccleuch Street to see the Tenement House. Found out it didn't open till 1pm so went for a wee walk while waiting around Garnethill and the area around.
Above is the view from Garnethill over to Park Circus. Although not in this shot you can see all the towers including Glasgow University. "Glasgow's skyline".

There really are some interesting little corners all around Garnethill. Suppose this is a good time to get the "Glasgow Street Names" by Carol Foreman out again and explain the origins of Garnethill. This is actually the highest hill in the city and used to be called Summerhill. A Dr. Thomas Garnet purchased part of Summerhill to build his house and from then on the hill got named after him. Simple as that.

As you walk about here on a sunny day though Summerhill does seem to fit it better.

This is just one of the "little corners" above. Seems to be a bit of a random sculpture of a head on a building at the bottom of Renfrew Street.

A collector's item now ? Sign on the back of a building down also at the bottom of Renfrew Street.

Other end of Renfrew Street and here is another St. Andrews Church. This one a lovely little Roman Catholic chapel just tucked away next to the Glasgow School of Art.

And next to it is this striking row of houses which are now all hotels. Many with names relating to Charles Rennie Mackintosh not surprisingly since their proximity to the School of Art.

And another thing hadn't noticed before. This mural at the Glasgow School of Art. "May your dreams be the stuff that your life is made of"

Looks kind of a scary dream actually. But is a lovely piece of street art.

After wandering around up on Garnethill for a while decided to head across Charing Cross and head up to St. George's Cross then loop back round. So why the photo of a ladder ?

This was up against the wall at the Lexus garage and caused a funny moment when myself and 2 people coming in the other direction all stopped to let each other past. Not one of us would walk under the ladder. We looked at each other and laughed then one of the women said, "we are all superstitious aren't we?" :)

It's funny that here we are in the 21st century and 3 adults wouldn't walk under a ladder for fear of bad luck!! :)

Maybe an interesting discussion for a few comments. Would you ?

Anyway, made my way up to St. George's Cross. Wanted to get a photo of this guy. St. George himself slaying the Dragon. Though he was having a bit more trouble with the pigeons today!

I have always liked this statue since I first saw it here (been here since 1988), though never had a photo of it till today. It just such a magical story and this statue really captures the movement of the combatants. Stories of dragons and knights are part of all our childhoods and something about them still appeal to me. As I said the other day we all need a little bit of magic in our lives!

Seemingly this statue dates from 1897 and used to be part of the facade of the St. George's Co-op Society building.

St. George was actually said to be a Christian Roman soldier who was beheaded for protesting against the torture of fellow Christians and refusing to give up his faith. The dragon story was attributed to him in the middle ages.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George

Now this was tempting to me. Standing at St. George's Cross looking down the long straight Great Western Road. Those beautiful church steeples calling to me. But if I started walking that way I would be going for miles and wouldn't make it to the Tenement House. Resist!!

Great Western Road added to list for some other day.

Is this Glasgow's answer to Flatiron building in New York?

I'm sure someone I know used to live in this unusual building. It really is unqiue with it's shape and those columns. But anyone know the history of this building?

Moving back in a loop from St. George's cross you get a great view over towards Speirs Wharf at the Forth and Clyde canal and the chimney of the famous Port Dundas Distillery. That is the distillery that was said to be under threat of closure in the news last week.

Functional art ? Just snapped this shot while crossing under the M8 motorway. The pattern of the concrete and the pillars just appealed to me. Almost like a giant version of the cloisters at the University?

Now after crossing under the M8 you are in Glasgow's own Chinatown. This not as big as Chinatowns in many other cities but it still has it's own distinct feel with many of the signs being in Chinese and English. And of course a Chinese gate pictured above.

Second dragon statue seen today. Though luckily St. George isn't trying to slay this one.

Just next to the Chinese gate is this distinctive building. Perhaps this more Glasgow's answer to the Flatiron in New York? This really is a striking building in the junction between Shamrock Street and New City Road next to Stow College. This used to be a Glasgow Saving Bank building. Round the side you can still make out the letters spelling out Savings Bank. It is covered in sculptures and detail. Seems to be empty now?

And just over from the bank is the equally striking Dundas Court building. I have passed this building so many times in Cowcaddens over the years. But can't seem to find any history for it online or in books? Anyone know what this building for built for? Seems to be for let at the moment?

Heading back onto Garnethill. Found this wee building tucked away in West Graham Street. It says on it "Sick Children's Hospital Dispensary" and dated as 1884.

It really is a lovely little building and has a lovely sculpture of a mother holding a child.

Checked when I got home and there is another building I have missed on Garnethill. The building above is the dispensary for the Sick Children's Hospital which is actually itself up on Scott Street. This is actually the predecessor of Yorkhill hospital which was opened in 1914. And the link for that is in the corner of this page. Go there to find out the great work they do there today.

And finally back round to the Tenement House. Now can only show you photos of the outside as this is a National Trus for Scotland building and they don't allow photos of the inside but will tell you about it anyway because it worth a visit.

A Miss Agnes Toward moved into number 145 Buccleuch Street in 1911 and lived there until 1965 when she was taken into hospital where she lived until her death in 1975. During all this time apart from some decoration and the installation of electric lighting the house has no major changes. It is a four room house, bedroom, parlour, kitchen and bathroom. Each one is beautifully preserved. It now belows to the National Trust and is a little time capsule from the early 20th century. It is a fascinating place to visit and part of the fascination is that Agnes Toward kept a lot of items such as receipts, newspaper cuttings, recipes, tickets and programmes for the theatre etc. She never knew what an amazing gift she has given to the people of Glasgow to be able to see a snapshot of all our history through her life.

Was worth coming back to Garnethill for another walk. Tenement House is something that sticks with you... and wouldn't have been happy until I found those Chookie Burdies!! :)

For a quiet stroll around an interesting area of Glasgow, Garnethill becoming my favourite. But think in my head I will always call it Summerhill now.

Be well, be happy!!

Now, my lads, charge them down the Gallowgate...

2009-07-09T20:18:00.007+01:00

At the end of my walk down High Street yesterday got to Glasgow Cross and had a wee peek up the Gallowgate. Didn't have enough time to investigate but thought I would come back today for another quick look. Still didn't have a lot of time today but really wanted a couple of photos that I felt were still missing from the hundreds of photos I have taken over the last few weeks that it wouldn't be Glasgow without... The Barras and the Barrowlands...

So got on the bus and headed back into Glasgow "The Day"...

First thing I noticed when I got to the Bus Station was all the T in the Park buses heading off up to Balado for the weekend!! Wishing everyone lots of fun up there!!

But got my walking boots on and headed East...

Now the Gallowgate area is where it seems about half the entries in the "Glasgow Street Names" book are listed. Possibly because this is once again a very old part of the city with the Gallowgate being one of the eight original streets. The name Gallowgate itself does indeed come from the fact that this was the way to the gallows that used to be around where Barrack Street is today. (We will get back to Barrack Street later).

The first thing you will notice as you come from Glasgow Cross is this rather strange wee lane on the right hand side very colourfully decorated in Partick Thistle colours with various slogans written on boards mainly relating to football and Partick Thistle. This is the exotically named Schipka Pass.

Now as I have mentioned before Glasgow has a lot of streets named after battles, Waterloo, St. Vincent, West Nile, Corunna etc. but they all involved British forces. Shipka Pass (slightly different spelling) is where a series of battle took place between the Turks and the Russians in Russo-Turkish was on 1877-78. There doesn't seem to be any real explanation for the name being in Glasgow?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shipka_Pass

The best place to find out about the colourful market place is the Hidden Glasgow Forums:

http://www.hiddenglasgow.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=209

Seems to have belonged to a Mr. Barton who died in 2004. He was seemingly a bit of a character and an avid Thistle fan.
Is definitely one of the strangest wee bits of Glasgow I have seen in the weeks I have been doing this blog and it is so unique that I hope they find some way to preserve it. It is as much a piece of art as anything I have seen in the museums.

Now bit further down Gallowgate, if you thought Schipka Pass was a strange name then how about this one?

This comes from the fact that there used to be a common well situated here on the Gallowgate. The well fed from four springs was known as the Four Sisters. The four springs were all directed into one spout that was given the name Spoutmouth. Seemingly this area was also a burial ground for those that died of the plague. Told you this was a very old part of Glasgow.

There is nothing to indicate any of that today. All that is left is this rather strange road sign.

Just on from Spoutmouth is Little Dovehill. Another interesting street name and also the location of Glasgow's Oldest Chippie established in 1884. And yes they do sell deep fried Mars Bars!!

Now the name Little Dovehill, and the next street along Great Dovehill, was originally called Dow Hill. Seems to be a few explanations of where this comes from. But it says there is a legend that the Dow Hill was created by St. Mungo in order that people could see him when he was preaching on a plain here one day.

Now just on a wee bit further and one of the photos I came here for. The Barras. There can be no more distinctive an image of Glasgow than this sign.

The Barras market originates from the early 1920's when the McIvers bought the ground here where a few old tenement buildings had been demolished. They build stalls and by 1928 the market was roofed and enclosed.

Now everyone knows that the name "Barras" comes from the barrows that were used as stalls?

Maybe not. I have heard other explanations for the name from a few sources. One common one is that it is named after the Eyst Barrasyet which is mentioned in the records for the Burgh of Glasgow. A Barrasyet is a barred gate and one used to be here. Actually seems a more likely explanation so maybe the name isn't such a clear cut thing as it seems.

Now heard a conversation on the radio recently where they were discussing whether a certain film had gone straight to DVD. One of the people on the radio joked that if you go down the Barras then all films go straight to DVD!! :)

This blog can neither confirm or deny such allegations of pirated goods at the Barras. :)

And here is the other photo I wandered up here to get. The famous Barrowland ballroom.

This opened on Christmas Eve 1934 and was one of the leading dance halls in Glasgow. It is of course now a world famous concert hall with which it is easier to list who hasn't played here than who has. Amy Macdonald, a very talented singer/songwriter from Bishopbriggs, recently had a song about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K93FvHxzdlk

Got a favourite Barrowlands gig ? Post up a comment.

Mine was seeing David Gray sing "Shine" live with only himself and a guitar. It is a great song anyway but that was special.

Though did lose a bet with a friend when he played more tracks from her favourite album then mine. Can't win them all. :)

Amy Macdonald says in her song that she wishes she had seen Bowie playing on that stage. But for me the biggest regret is never getting to see James play here. Fingers crossed they will come back here one day.

That was just a quick tour up the Gallowgate. It is more raw Glasgow than the purified form you get in the City Centre or West End. As I walked along Cadogan Street today looking down into the new shiney glass buildings of the financial district I could have been on another planet from the look and feel of the Gallowgate rather than just about a mile down the road.

Yet there is a connection between these two streets.

Told you I would get back to Barrack Street which runs off the Gallowgate. Well this is named because this is where the old Gallowgate Barracks opened in 1795.

Stationed here was the 71st Light Infantry, "The Glasgow Regiment". This is one of the regiments that made up the Royal Highland Fusiliers whose museum I covered up in Sauchiehall Street.

In 1813 they were led by Lieutenant Colonel Cadogan who Cadogan Street is named after.

At the Battle of Vittoria in Northern Spain, the 71st were taking the brunt of the fighting. When the contest seemed to be going against the British, Cadogan waved his hat and cried, "Now, my lads, charge them down the Gallowgate." With a cheer and a skirl of the pipes the 71st rushed on and drove the French out at the point of the bayonet.

Now this was one of the last things Cadogan ever said because the 71st took a lot of casualties in this battle including the death of Cadogan himself at the age of 33. There is a monument to him in Glasgow Cathedral.

Cadogan Street, Buchanan Street, Sauchiehall Street, Byres Road, the Gallowgate... all very different Glasgows but all interconnecting parts of Glasgow's history. Realising while doing this blog that got to see all of them to even start to understand this city.

Be well, be happy!!

P.S. If anyone is at T in the Park and happen to be talking to James then tell them to come back play the Barrowlands one more time!! Please!! :)

Long to rain over us... the answers and winner!

2009-07-09T14:56:00.005+01:00

The competition is hotting up in these quizes.

This week we had 3 contestants get all 10 correct:
Lynsey Watson
Scott Russell
Anne Watson

So congratulations to you all. But who was first?
Will the clean sweep of the Watson clan go on for another week?

I'll tell you at the bottom after the answers :)

If you want to look at the photos again then they are here:
http://glasgowtheday.blogspot.com/2009/07/long-to-rain-over-us.html

1. The Kings Theatre (I love this wee Golden Lion on the corner. What stories could he tell if he could talk?)
2. Queen Margaret Drive. The building was the BBC studios before they moved to Pacific Quay. But more of that below.
3. Princes Square. This is one of the images of famous Scots on the big escalator. They only come into focus as you travel up. Very clever.
4. George V Bridge.
5. Theatre Royal.
6. Kelvingrove Art Galleries.
7. Royal Exchange Square.
8. People's Palace.
9. Royal Infirmary.
10. Prince's Dock. This was a major cargo dock for more than 100 years before closing in the 1970's. Was then turned into the Garden Festival in 1988. Remember that? Then became Pacific Quay with the new STV and BBC studios and the Science Centre.

And the winner is ... drum roll ... opening of gold envelope ...

Scott Russell.
Just got in front by a whisker and gets to nominate a tour. Though think I already know which one it may be.
Thank you to everyone that entered the competition. Hope you found it fun.

Be well, be happy!!

I'll take the high road...

2009-07-09T01:15:00.012+01:00

Decided to head down Glasgow's oldest street today. High Street. Or High Church Street as it used to be called. I've already strolled down here on the way back from the Cathedral visit but hadn't taken photos. Today wanted to take a bit of time to study this old road.

This was the most important street in medieval Glasgow as it ran from the Cathedral down to Glasgow Cross and the Trongate, two areas I've already covered. Starting to stitch all the bits of the city together now.

So jumped back into the trusty Tardis and heading off...

Now as we all know the Tardis is not actually that trusty so it actually landed me too far north in Castle Street not far from the Cathedral. Suppose should just be grateful it was the right year!! :)

(I read in a guidebook that there are only a dozen of these police boxes left in the UK. Found four in Glasgow so far. Buchanan Street, Great Western road, a read one on Wilson Street and this one. There also one in the Transport Museum. Anyone know of any more?)

Anyway thought I would take advantage of landing here to cross the road and visit the Provand's Lordship. The oldest house in Glasgow. This is right across the street from St. Mungo's museum which I visited in one of my first posts but never got time that day to pop in.
The house was built in 1471 as part of St Nicholas's Hospital by the Bishop of Glasgow. It later became the town residence of one of the canons of the cathedral chapter. This clergyman is thought to have drawn his income from the rents and taxes of Balernock, and was known as the 'Lord of the Prebend of Balernock', later corrupted to 'Lord of Provan'. The house takes its name from this title.

The age of the building just makes it something special. A real touchstone with medieval life in this city.

http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/index.cfm?venueid=11

Inside the house is just very atmospheric. Really gives you a good idea of what life would have been like over 500 years ago. Perhaps the Tardis has brought me back in time!! :) One of the first things you notice is how much smaller the doorways are. The mind your head signs are vital and I'm not exactly a giant.

Photo above is of some of the furniture on display. This chair is from 1629. Funny to think that the building was over 150 years old before this chair was made.

There is also some lovely stained glass windows. A very special friend of mine took a photo of this one a few years ago. Posting it up here to remind her. Know it will make her smile.

Really is one of the beautiful little details in this building.

Round the back of the building there is also a lovely walled garden with a fountain in the middle. St. Nicolas Garden. Found a few people just sitting relaxing and eating lunch here today. Really is a lovely little spot.

And around the walls are these fascinating faces. Each one showing a different emotion or expression. Think this is my Monday morning face!! :)
These faces date from 1737 and were originally formed the arch keystones in the Tontine Hotel piazza in the Trongate.

Across from the Provand's Lordship is Cathedral Square. Few features in here. This one really caught my eye. It is a mosaic that plays upon the "Let Glasgow Flourish" motto. Checked up later and found that this area is in fact the Peace Gardens. The mosaic was made by members of Project Ability.

http://www.project-ability.co.uk/

There is a most striking church in the corner of the square. This is the Glasgow Evangelical Church, formerly know as the Barony North Church, dating from 1880. The most striking features of the church are the four stone-carved figures on the roof representing the evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Another building that looks amazing as you walk around and see it from different angles.

Back onto High Street proper now and the first building is the Barony Church dating from 1889. Really is a very grand and impossing building as you walk around it. This belongs to Strathclyde University now. Was being used for graduation today. Took me back to my own graduation seeing all the happy graduates and proud parents. Students get a bad press sometimes but it is hard work and stressful a lot of the time. Know I wouldn't want to go through those final exams again!! So congratulations to all this year's graduates from all the universities around the city!!

Down a wee bit from the Barony are these two blocks of red sandstone tenement buildings on either side of the road with a row of shops on the ground floor. These in themselves are actually lovely buildings with lots of details on them dating from 1901. One of them bears the inscription City Improvement Trust, the name of the body which was charged with the task of cleaning up the squalid living conditions that existed in the city in the second half of the nineteenth century.

I didn't know this until today but this area was actually know as the Bell o' the Brae, signifying it was the highest part of the slope up the hill. It was also seemingly the site of Glasgow's oldest battle in July 1297, though some claim it is a fable. Stories seem to vary but it involved William Wallace, FREEDOM!! :), attacking the English garrison at the Bishop's Castle. The English garrison chased Wallace and ended up in a trap being attacked from both sides. Just a couple of months after this Wallace led the Scottish army to victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

I didn't see any marker or anything in High Street to even mention this fact? Did I miss it or should there be one?

Now High Street is a much under utilised area in Glasgow. The center of Glasgow moving west over the years, Buchanan Street at one point was considered too far west for development!! But High Street been bit forgotten about in my opinion. These row of shops has so much potential. And like I said in my post on Parnie Street I love these wee independent shops. Places where you can browse around and find something different. Can't have every street having a Next store and, much as I love their blueberry swirl cheescake, do we really need another Starbucks?

Featured below a couple of the interesting shops on High Street today...

I am a bit of a footie fan so this shop caught my eye immediately. Went in to have a browse around and ended up having a nice chat with the shop owner Brian. Talked about football, the potential for High Street, bringing up kids and life in general.
And that's one of the great things I love about these shops. You not just another person in the queue for the till.

Here just a small selection of what is on offer at this cool shop. Signed tops from a lot of the top football stars, Larsson's Barcelona top in the window, Muhammad Ali's gloves, Theo Walcott's boots... But suppose for me the highlight was to see one of Davie Cooper's shirts. Davie Cooper was my football hero when I was young.
Pop in here if you have the chance. If you are a sports fan at all then sure there will be something to see.
http://www.thecaptainsarmband.com/

Was great to meet Brian and I wish him good fortune in this business venture!!

Another shop across the street that I popped into for a browse was 23 Enigma. This is Scotland's oldest occult shop. I have a curious mind and find this sort of thing fascinating. Well worth popping in to have a browse if you are looking for a magical gift for someone special. Everyone needs a wee bit of magic in their life!!
http://www.23enigma.com/

Last shop going to mention here is onto the corner with George Street. This is W.Crum and Son. This is an electrical applicance and repair shop. This shop has been here as long as I can remember. I can remember my mum getting spare parts for a hoover from here when the dual cyclone was still just a twinkle in Mr. Dyson's eye!! :)

This just a small selection, there is a cool coffee shop and a lovely florist and a nearly new shop. Go and browse and discover the joy of pottering around in wee shops again!!

Just down for the junction with George / Duke Street is the Old College bar. The signs says it was built in 1515 and the bar was established in 1810. Another oldest bar in Glasgow!! :)

The name of the bar relates to the fact that Glasgow University, or the Old College as it was known, was situated on High Street until 1863 when it moved up to it's current location in the West End.

In doing this blog I have seen old photos of the Old College before it moved and it really was a lovely building dating from the 1600's dominated by the Dutch steeple. It hard to believe now that it was razed to the ground to make way for a railway yard when the University moved. What a stunning addition it would have made to High Street today.

Next to the Old College bar this building stands out on it's own in the middle of the undeveloped part of the middle of High Street. This is number 215 and used to be the British Linen Bank building and dates from 1895. The figure on the top is seemingly Pallas, the Greek goddess of wisdom and weaving. Amazing the things you learn when you walk about!!

As I said this area of High Street pretty much undeveloped at the moment. Waste ground on one side and the High Street car park on the other. But this, it seems, is going to change. Big signs for the development of Collegelands and the Glasgow City Science park promise much for this area. The bulldozers were there today and work seems to have started.

http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?storycode=3104207
http://www.futureglasgow.co.uk/Index_Regeneration_Areas.html

Not sure of the completion dates for these projects but they do look very impressive and will be a great addition to the city.

Now why have I got a photo of a dentist on this post?
Well this used to be my dentist and not only is it a very good dental practice but one of the dentists there is Kieran Docherty who is a very talented local singer/song writer. I have seen him play live a number of times at the Tron Theatre and Oran Mor up at Byres Road and he was brilliant.

Here is a wee bit of his stuff on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6sSFTmniPk

If you like this then his stuff also on iTunes. Enjoy!!

Now down the Blackfriars Street that runs off High Street. The name Blackfriars comes from the fact that the Dominicans, or Black Friars, founded a monastery on the east side of High Street in 1240.

This is the sign I noticed on the Black Bull pub on the corner. "Enter as a stranger, leave as a friend". I like that. Hope that is also true of anyone new coming to visit Glasgow!!

Just a wee bit futher down Blackfriars Street is Babbity Bowster. This is a great pub and was a bit of a regular haunt when I used to work round in George Street. Has a lovely beer garden that was being enjoyed yesterday.

This building dates from 1794 but and was originally built as a house but was rennovated in 1986. The name comes from a late 1700's fertility dance.

Now down onto Bell Street. This is a photo of the massive Bell Street Warehouses built in 1883. They were originally built for the Glasgow and South Western Railway, have been converted into flats. Another part of the regeneration of the Merchant City and High Street.

After that had a wee quick walk up part of the Gallowgate but that for another day. It was getting late and headed back past the Toolbooth steeple at the Trongate again.

Was a really interesting walk through a very historic part of Glasgow, but also part of Glasgow that looks like over next few years will have some of the most exciting new developments.

Take a walk up here if you get the chance and visit some of the shops that are there today. In fact the walk from Trongate to the Cathedral is the best wee tour that you can recommend to anyone wanting to know about old Glasgow.

Be well, be happy!!

The City Chambers - Every Glaswegian should go here...

2009-07-07T20:19:00.015+01:00

Did something "The Day" that have actually wanted to do for a number of years.
Was told that you could actually get a tour around inside Glasgow City Chambers and that they were something worth seeing. I actually used to work around the back of this building in George Street and have always admired it. Was intrigued to see inside. Let's go have a look ...

The City Chambers is the grandest building in Glasgow. The sight of it towering over George Square is the very definition of Glasgow City Centre.

But the town council was not always here. They used to be based around the tollbooth that I featured when I did the Argyle Street post. They moved from there in 1814 and moved around from Glasgow Green to Wilson Street to Ingram Street until it was decided to move to their present location. The foundation stone was laid in 1883. 600,000 spectators watched the procession for the laying of the stone by the Lord Provost.

Queen Victoria performed the inauguration in 1888 with the first council meeting being in October 1889. This was at the height of the Victorian Era and the British Empire. Glasgow was seen as the "Second City" of the Empire and as such needed a grand civic building. And boy have we got one!!

Just walking around the outside you can see the number of sculptures across it's surface.

Here is just some of the detail over the public entrance from George Square.

But before we go inside just wanted to post up this photo of the official measures for feet and yards as defined by the Standards Department Board of Trade 1882.

Well as long as it is 62 degrees Fahrenheit!! Not sure how useful that is in Glasgow with the way the temperature changes. Think it was 62 for about 12 seconds last Tuesday!! :)

This is on the front of the building next to the corner with Cochrane Street.

The first thing you see as you come through the door is a mosaic of the Glasgow coat of arms. I've spoken about this crest and it's relationship to St. Mungo in a previous post. Obviously this crest appears very often within the Glasgow city chambers!

The next thing you will notice is the roof of the entrance hall. It is a series of vaulted domes with splendid granite pillars. Each of the domes covered with beautiful mosaics. It is said that there are 1.5 million tiles in these mosaics, each tile laid be hand.

You have now been in the building about 15 seconds and already know that this place is somewhere very, very special.

Take some time to wander about in the entrance hall as there are so many details such as the beautiful statue pictured above.

One thing that really took my notice was this lamp with a wreath of poppies underneath.

It says on the plaque "Lamp of Remembrance. This was erected by the ex-service nurses of Glasgow in memory of those who died in the wars. 1914-1918. 1939-1945." On the wreath it says "In remembrance of the nurses of the past from nurses of the present"

Very touching memorial.

All that is pictured above is just in the entrance hall. But you can get a tour right inside the building.
There are two tours a day of the City Chambers, one at 10.30am and another at 2.30pm.
They are free.
There were about a dozen people on the tour I was on today. Two of us were from Glasgow. The tour guide said that even that was unusual because they get so few Glaswegians coming on the tour.

The tour guide was excellent!! So welcoming and knowledgeable. You can tell when someone loves what they are talking about and the pride in this amazing building was very clear.

I hope by the end of this post to convince at least a few more of you to go on this tour if you haven't been here before. Here are just a few images from inside...

This is one of the spectacular staircases. This one is made of Carrara marble. I believe it was said that this was the biggest marble staircase in Europe.

I liked this photo as it is so like the Escher picture of the stairs! But hope is also portrays how splendid these stairs are.

The staircase in the other wing is also spectacular. It is made of freestone rather than marble. It also has this fantastic marble lion just below the Lord Provost's office. There to protect the Lord Provost?

The guide said that it was said to be lucky to give his nose a wee rub on the way by. Hey, it can't hurt!! :)

Next room I want to show you is the Council Chamber itself. Ever wondered where the council sits...

Well they sit here. And you can get to sit here as well. Really makes it feel so special to think you are sitting where Glasgow Council has sat since 1889.
And ever fancied yourself as Lord Provost of Glasgow??

Well this is the Lord Provost's chair for Council meetings. You can have a wee seat here yourself on the tour as well.Though don't let the power go to your head!! :)

And once again her is the Glasgow Crest in the window behing the Lord Provost's chair.

From the next rooms you get an new perspective and great view on George Square. Strange to see it from this angle.

But left most of the rest of the posted photos for the best room of all...

It is hard to take a photograph that gives you a sense of scale and beauty of this room. You find yourself saying "wow!!" as you walk in. Really takes your breath away.

This is the Banqueting Room.

It is 33.5 metres long, 14.6 metres wide and 15.8 metres high. (110ft by 47ft by 52ft) But that still doesn't really give you a sense of the scale.

Here is some more detail of the roof in the banqueting hall.

You also get to go up into the Minstrels' Gallery. This is pretty high and gives you a terrific view down across the room.

Also lets you get a close up view of the chandeliers. Though seemingly they are "electroliers" as they are powered by electricity. They were built in 1885 and are still working today.

This is a view from the Minstrels' Gallery looking down across the impressive Venetian glass windows.

It worth going on the tour just to see this room alone.

One last image. There is an impressive gallery of portraits of many of the Lord Provost's on the top floor. A Lord Provost serves in office for four years and then after that traditionally choses an artist to create his portrait. Just looking through these portraits is a history lesson all on it's own. So many distinguished names that have done so much for Glasgow. The one pictured above does stand out and will be recognisable to many reading this blog. It is of Pat Lally who was in local government politics from 1966 till 1999 and was Lord Provost from 1995 to 1999.

Do you recognise the artist?

Is is by famous Glaswegian artist Peter Howson who's Famine work is currently on show at St. Mungo's and I featured in one of the very early posts at the Cathedral.

That was a quick set of images from inside this spectacular building. I didn't go into a long lecture on all the history or post up all the rooms you get to see because best to hear and see them for yourself. If you have been here then please leave a comment below and if you haven't then get yourself there and then leave a comment below. Every Glaswegian should visit this building at least once.

I'm going to go back and drag along anyone I can.

If you wan't to come with me then send me an email. Could make this the first Glasgow "The Day" organised outing!! :)

Be well, be happy!!

Charlotte's Web Log...

2009-07-06T21:54:00.016+01:00

It was wet today. Very wet.
Kind of rain that gets Noah thinking "We're going to need a bigger boat"
So decided to just stick close to the city centre and cut down a street I'm very familiar with. Queen Street. And also took a wee tour (detour?) round Royal Exhange Square on the way.
Nothing new to learn about Queen Street ? There are a few things.
For a start I've never questioned why it called Queen Street before. Named after a queen obviously. But do you know which one? I didn't.

Time to consult "Glasgow Street Names" by Carol Foreman again. Did I mention this is a fab book?

Well it seems Queen Street was just a common roadway called Cow Loan as it was used to drive cattle up to Cowcaddens. (Remember Ingram Street was Back Cow Loan?)
It was along Cow Loan that Cromwell entered Glasgow in 1650.
It was formed up as an actual street in 1777. The owner of this land at the time was a Mr. McColl who had a mansion on what is now the corner with Argyle Street (where Next is today) Mr. McColl was seemingly a bit of a royalist. At this time George III was on the throne and his queen was Queen Charlotte.
That's who it is named after.
If you look at number 78 Queen Street you will see that it is actually called Charlotte House. So now I know.

Thought best place to start would be in Queen Street station.
This station dates back to 1842 when it was built by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway.

I've posted up a few photos of the distinctive arched roof of this station. Like Central station I find these roofs amazing pieces of engineering. And this one must be instantly recognisable because everyone got it right in the quiz!!

Oh!! And Starbucks opened here today. Another one to chalk up if you are trying to do every Starbucks in Glasgow!!

Down into Queen Street proper. And the northern end of this street is very much dominated by the buildings of Royal Exhange Square. And in particular the Gallery of Modern Art.

This is another iconic building in Glasgow and I've featured it a number of times in this blog already.

Although mainly because it has the statue of Arthur (Art for short? :)) and Copenhagen with the cone on his head outside. But didn't know much about it other than that.

This building was actually built as a mansion house for John Cunninghnam, you guessed it, a wealthy tobacco lord, in 1778. It was bought in 1817 by the Royal Bank of Scotland. They then moved to Buchanan Street in 1827 and it became the Royal Exchange. The Exchange served as a meeting place where merchants and other businessmen gathered to deal in commodities such as coal, iron and sugar and in services such as shipping and insurance. It was at this time that the columns at the front and the hall at the rear were added.

The city's first telephone exchange was then located here in 1880.

Glasgow Corporation acquired the Royal Exchange in 1949 and five years later Stirling's Library was relocated there from Miller Street. When Stirling Library returned to Miller Street the building was converted to house the Gallery of Modern Art which opened in 1996.

That a lot of history for one building.

It really is a fantastic looking building, especially the distinctive tower. Here is a view from within a rain soaked Royal Exchange Square. You can see the join between the original mansion building and the new hall added later with the arched windows and columns.

This is the view up throught the balconies within the building capped with a beautiful glass roof.

And here is the roof detail within the "new" hall at the rear. The huge arched windows let so much natural light flood in. An amazing place to exibit art.

So why no photos of the art? Well you aren't allowed to take photos of the exhibits in the main hall as they are not all owned by the museum.

So what are they like ?

Well modern art is a bit of a hit and miss thing for me. I can see the craft in what is being done but doesn't always make me feel the emotion that more traditional art does. Saying that, there are some stunning and very thought provoking pieces in here. Some even just with colours and shapes that do really touch your emotions. If you are in the area just pop in. It's free. Art is a very personal thing, so see for yourself. Then post up a comment here.

This is something I was allowed to take a photo of and made me laugh. A cool Glasgow t-shirt in the shape of the famous Tunnock's Caramel Wafer!! Classic!! :)

As I came out of the Gallery through the colums the black clouds where gathering behind Arthur and Copenhagen. The really heavy rain was still to come. Did I catch a couple of pigeons flying past in this photo or are they storm crows ?

Now out in Royal Exchange Square. This really is one of the coolest places in Glasgow now. I love it at Christmas when they hang fairy lights like a roof of stars across the entire square. The shops, the restaurants and cafes. Very nice indeed. Here is a view of the rear of Borders which I covered in the Buchanan Street post. Top 5 bookshop in the world you know!!

And here is a good view of the archways that were built in the 1830's over Royal Bank Place and Exhange Place which connect through onto Buchanan Street.

Interesting thing was when at the Museum of Transport on Friday they were showing a film of the Queen opening Princes Square in 1988. And she came through one of these arches and into her car sitting in Royal Exhange Square. I had forgotten that this square still had a road that ran around it until relatively recently. Can anyone remember when this road was removed ?

Can't leave the Square without pointing out that this used to be Babaza. This used to be my club of choice in my younger days :)

Now down onto Queen Street again. And the most impressive building here is the Guildhall building at number 45. It is actually huge when you stand back and look at it. It was built as a warehouse between 1899 and 1903 for Hunter Barr. It was converted into offices in 1986 around a central atrium with a glass roof. Worth popping in through the original mahogany and marble entrance to see the contrasting light, modern building inside.

The ground floor of the Guildhall building houses a number of interesting shops including Cult clothing which sells a lot of Superdry branded clothes. Did actually chuckle as I stood there with the rain bouncing off the hood of my jacket that no one in Glasgow would have come up with that as a brand name :)

Now began to remember what I remember about Queen Street. This was pretty much my old drinking haunt. A sort of Ashton Lane for us Northeners. :)

Had a few good nights in Bar Strata.

And went looking for the Skeletons with hard hats that used to climb up the building outside Archaos nightclub. They are all gone except this wee guy still clinging on after all those years!!

The Da Vinci's Fish and Chip shop. Home of the Da Vinci Cod perhaps? :)

This is inevitably where we ended up after Strata or Babaza before going to the taxi rank across the road. And remember you must always share your curry sauce!! :)

And just beside that taxi rank is maybe the most famous building in the street, Tam Shepherd's trick shop. Established in 1886 as it says above the door.

This is another photo of the window of this Alladin's cave of tricks, magic, fancy dress, you name it. I used to buy tricks from this shop when I was a kid. Long may Tam Shepherd's be here bringing it's own special magic to Glasgow city centre. Got a memory of Tam Shepherd's? Then post it up here!

By now was soaked through. Came down from Queen Street onto Argyle Street. Here is what it looked like. When you ever see Argyle Street that quiet at lunchtime? Even Glaswegians have to give up when rain this heavy!!

So headed to grab some lunch before heading down to Cadogan Street.

Not a day for walking about. Found out that my right boot is definitely letting in water.

But also got to learn a few things I didn't know before, got to see some cool art and had a quiet smile on my face remembering some good nights out with special friends in Queen Charlotte's Street.

Not bad for a rainy Monday!!

Be well, be happy!!

Long to rain over us...

2009-07-05T10:43:00.005+01:00

It's the weekend and just wouldn't be the weekend now without your Glasgow the Day quiz would it?

This weekend all the photos relate to something to do with the monarchy. Long to reign over us ? Think this city gets rained over more than most!!

How many can you get?

1. Want the name of the building?

2. This is the Kibble Palace. That not the answer. Where is the other building in the background?

3. Doctor Livingstone I presume? But where is this picture?

4. The new Tradeston Bridge. The Squiggly Bridge. But where was I standing to take this shot ?

5. Hoping you can name this building?

6. The King has not left this building. What building is it ?

7. Long to rain over us ? Where is this?

8. Fit not only for the monarchy ? Where is this ?

9. Queen Victoria. But what building is she sitting on ?

10. The BBC and Science Centre at Pacific Quay. Also site of the Garden Festival. But the dock behind used to have another name?

Some easier than others there. Answers to glasgowtheday@gmail.com as usual.

Winner gets to recommend a tour for this blog. Within reason!!! :)

Be well, be happy!!

Happy 4th July!!

2009-07-04T21:10:00.004+01:00

It's the 4th of July!! American Independence Day!!

It commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence from us pesky Brits on 4th July 1776. It contains one of the most famous quotes in history:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Want to wish happy 4th July to anyone from the USA reading this blog!!
But did you know that in Glasgow there is also a Washington Street?
Seems unlikely amongst the Waterloo Streets and Wellington Streets to name a street after a man that led the Continental army to independence and became the first US President in 1789?

Here is the story...

The land Washington Street stands on was in the middle of an 18 years legal battle over ownership. This battle ended when a member of the Reid family bought off the claimant to the land for 1000 pounds.
After that the Clyde trust offered to buy the land to build a dock here. The now owner Mrs Mary Reid asked for 10,000 pounds. Not a bad mark up. The Clyde trust refused. Although they returned a year later to offer 8,000 pounds. But Mrs Reid now had other ideas. She turned it down and opened up a brand new street in 1815 realising 30,000 pounds in feus (a Scottish form of rent) in the process. Not a bad deal.

Now Mrs Reid was a ardent pro-American and republican in politics so named her new street Washington Street in honour of the First President of the USA. I'm sure this must have annoyed a few people at the time since America had only just won independence 39 years earlier and had been at war with Britain again between 1812-1815 in the not very imaginatively named War of 1812.

I popped down to Washington Street yesterday on way back from Museum of Transport to see what is there today.

And here is the funny thing...

Right in the middle of Washington Street. The Pentagon. Well where else would you expect it to be?
This is a large business center.

Also is the old Washington Street school. This now seems to be empty and a lot of it is boarded up. Is a shame because is actually a really interesting building. Still has the Boys and Girls signs carved into the stonework above the gates and doors . And Washington Street sign is carved into one corner. Also gives the date 1890 on it. Anyone know the history of this building?

The most noticable new building on Washington Street is the Menzies Hotel.

Think Glasgow is missing a trick here. Should name all the buildings in Washington street with American themes. The Menzies Hotel should become the White House.

And a large area of the street and surrounds is undeveloped now and overgrown. A potential site for the new Lincoln Park perhaps? :)

While I was in the street a big summer thunder storm opened up. So had to pack up and make a run for it. Not the first time a Brit been in retreat from Washington!! :)
But it was interesting to find this little corner of where Glaswegian history met American history.

Wishing everyone reading this the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!!
Happy 4th July!!

Be well, be happy!!

Planes, trains and automobiles...

2009-07-03T23:27:00.017+01:00

Got some positive movement on the job front today. So fingers crossed.

Looked like the weather was going to break today. Was forecasting showers so decided there was no time like the present to go to the Kelvin Hall to see the Museum of Transport as recommended by this week's quiz winner Lynsey.

Now the Kelvin Hall is another iconic building in Glasgow. It was seemingly built in 1927 as an exhibition centre and it really compliments the art galleries across the road. For me the Kelvin Hall still conjures up childhood memories of the Carnival and Circus at Christmas. Could still imagine that excitement today just looking at the building.

Of course the Kelvin Hall not an exhibitions centre since 1987 when it was changed to an internatinal sports arena and the museum of transport.
I've not actually been in this building since before then so was another new Glasgow experience for me today.
Although when I got there I thought that St. Tweet, the patron saint of Bloggers, had forsaken me because the fire alarm was sounding and the fire brigade turned up.

There was nothing else for it but to sit and wait and get myself another '99 ice cream from the vintage ice cream van outside. Nice touch.

Soon the nice firemen had sorted the issue and I had scoffed the ice cream (with extra sprinkles, raspberry sauce and a flake) and finally got to see inside.

Have to admit I really enjoyed this museum today. It is what it says, a museum of transport. But the presentation of the exhibits and the variety of what is there is fantastic. Posted up some of my favourite bits...

Here is the view across the main exhibition hall from the first floor balcony. This is where most of the larger exhibits like the trains and tram cars are presented.

First place I headed for was the Clyde Room which is full of large scale models of ships, most of which were built on the Clyde. Really is an impressive set of models of a really impressive set of ships. The detail on the models is stunning and it's only when you see all these big ships here do you get a sense of the scale of what the shipbuilding used to be like on the Clyde.
On a week when there were rumours about potentially more yards being closed it really is sad to think that this may be lost completely from the Clyde.

The ship posted above is just one nice example. She is the Empress of Russia and was built in 1913 by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan. She used to work the Hong Kong to Vancouver route and broke the Pacific crossing record.

And then there are these 3 great ships of the Cunard line. Queen Mary (1934), Queen Elizabeth (1939) and Queen Elizabeth II (1967).

These mighty ships were all built at John Brown and Company in Clydebank.

This yard also built the Lusitania, HMS Hood and the Royal Yacht Britannia.

The last ship completed there was in 1972. Although I believe that this year they have reopened the big Titan crane at the site and you can travel up to the top. That may be worth a wee trip to Clydebank to see.

http://www.titanclydebank.com/

Some of the exhibits in the Clyde room are already being packed away for when the museum moves to it's new location next to the river. http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/showExhibition.cfm?venueid=7&itemid=97

Outside the Clyde Room is the bicycle and motor bike exhibit. And they have a chopper bike!! This was the only bike worth having when I was young!!

And this is the oldest bike in the world made in about 1845 by Gavin Dalzell from Lesmahagow.

There are also some lovely motorbike and motorbike sidecar exhibits. But I actually came looking for this one. My mum had told me in the past about it. This belonged to my Gran and Grandpa's next door neighbour. My mum actually sat in this sidecar when she was young. I remember her saying that he was a shoemaker that used this bike to travel about doing business. He donated it to the museum in the '70's.

Another blast from the past. A Sinclair C5 electric car from 1985.

A visionary design before it's time or just a bit daft? Probably a bit of both.

Harley Davidson bikes just keep turning up on this blog. Think this is finally a sign that I should get one?? :)

Over from the bikes is an area which focuses on aircraft safety and has some very touching tributes to the Lockerbie bombing. Above is the painting Psalms of Shadows Opus 2 by Keith McIntyre from 1991. He has done a series of paintings inspired by this tragic event. This one is very haunting.

There are also 2 plaques listing all those killed in the bombing. The names at the foot of this one are of the 11 people killed on the ground in Lockerbie.

Really brought back memories of that terrible day.

Down the stairs now in the main hall and there are a number of this very impressive steam trains. Really are beautiful pieces of engineering.

But not all old trains... also had this brand new train which is coming into service in next few years.

Is there light at the end of the tunnel on my job hunt? Or is it just a train coming the other way?

We shall soon see.

Also have a variety of these old Glasgow trams on display. They just look so much more graceful than modern buses.

I really liked this statue. It's of a "angel" tram flying up to heaven. Represents the demise of the old trams in Glasgow.

Now onto the cars. The entire history of the motor car is on display in this museum. All makes, models and sizes. Just a few featured below...

This one caught my eye. It's the Hillman Imp. Sometimes referred to as "Scotland's car".

It was built from 1963 to 1976 in Linwood. About half a million of these were built but it was not a great success and the Linwood plant finally closed in 1981.

I remember driving past this plant when my dad took us down to Largs. All the cars lined up in rows.

This made me laugh. We used to call these police cars "a jam sandwich" for obvious reasons. I had forgotten all about that until saw it today.

And then saw this little beauty. My first car that I got when I was 17 looked just like this one. Same colour and everything.

The sign in the window says it all. That is so very true. NSJ597 X. That was my registration number. Still know it today off by heart. Can't tell you my current car registration but will never forget this one. Had some cool wee adventures in that car.

It even got totally burnt out after an electrical fault but managed to get it back on the road. Eventually the rust got her and there were so many holes in the side it looked like I had driven in through heavy flak. So the scrap man got her.

Gone for definitely not forgotten.

Memories of your first car ? Post up a comment.

And then I started getting scared. This is the spitting image of my second car!!! A Metro.

Same colour and everything!!

You know you are getting old when the first 2 cars you owned are now in a museum.
They now need to get a white Peugeot 106, a silver VW Golf and a Rav 4 and they will have the full set!!

And here is one for all the parents out there...

Edie McCredie's bus from Balamory.

Is it a school day or a play day today?

Hey, it always a school day on Glasgow "The Day"!!! :)

And finally ... no I haven't lost my marbles. Here they are here.

Saw these in the shop and once again had some happy childhood memories. I loved marbles as a kid. Seemed to remember them having names like "Clear", "Milkies" and "Rainbows". My Grandpa used to work in the steel works and he used to bring home the most amazing "Steelies" as the metal ones were called.

Was a day for memories.

Maybe it's a sign of age when a museum brings back memories?

But I enjoyed my little nostalgia trip today.

Thanks to Lynsey for the recommendation.

Be well, be happy!!

Sleepless in Shawlands... the Starbucks quiz answered ...

2009-07-03T02:05:00.002+01:00

The quiz was easier this week than last week. And we had a few people get 10 out of 11. But only 1 person got all 11 and that was Lynsey. Number 6 was the stumbling block and this was the twist I did warn you about...

Anyway here are the answers :

1 Queen Street Station. (Still being built)
2 Buchanan Galleries (with the colourful glass roof)
3 Exchange Place (Next to Rogano)
4 Buchanan Street (Tron church in the background)
5 Corner of Nelson Mandela place next to the Tron Church
6 West Nile Street (Now the trick is that this is the same branch as number 5 just the other entrance.)
7 Charing Cross Mansions
8 Sauchiehall Street
9 Renfield Street
10 Central Station (under the electronic board)
11 Bothwell Street

So congratulations to Lynsey on winning this week's quiz!

Decided to have a wee prize this week and that is to allow the winner to nominate somewhere for a tour. Lynsey has suggested the Transport Museum. So... watch this space.

Hope you enjoying these wee weekly competitions.

Keep having fun out there!!