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Yesterday Robbie wended his way up the Cart, eventually ending up at Cathkin Braes, which remains our favourite spot for a panoramic view of Glasgopolis. The sunny spell is set to continue for the next 10 days, if forecasts are to be believed. We’d love to hear how you’ve been making the most of the clement weather of late, and where your favourite spots are to while away an evening in the warm weather. Let us know in the comments. Now, onto today’s briefing.
Glasgow in brief
🌁 The shiny new Renfrew-Yoker (or Yoker-Renfrew, depending on which side you start on) bridge opened this weekend. Apart from providing photo ops of school children symbolically meeting in the middle, the bridge is expected to bring huge economic benefits, including “1400 new jobs,” according to Tom Arthur, minister for employment and investment. Plus, says Calum, who went down to check it out, those in the west can “now get meatballs at IKEA in record time”. Of course, the bridge had to be christened properly; The Herald reports the first “act of vandalism” has already taken place. What was it? A Saltire sticker of Limmy character ‘Dee Dee’, affixed to the bridge, courtesy of the ‘Les Porter Tartan Army’.
🏠 We couldn’t get one story out of our minds last Friday. You know the one, about the Strathbungo flat where sex parties involving up to six people allegedly took place. Following objections from neighbours, councillors and even local MSP Nicola Sturgeon (always worth shoehorning the former FM into any Southside scoop), a HMO licence for the dwelling was refused. Far be it from us to kinkshame, we were nonetheless intrigued at such a salacious story in an otherwise rather conservative conservation area. Robbie popped along to the property in question, and buzzed the next door and downstairs neighbours in the close, all of whom politely declined to speak, and told us they were not the disgruntled complainer. It begs the question then: were the two objectors cited in the Glasgow Times from the ground floor flats we didn’t buzz? If so, was the noise really audible from two floors below? That's some thin walls...
🇵🇸 Greens councillor Jon Molyneux is calling for Glasgow City Council to publicly express concern about the ‘smear campaign’ against Irish rap trio Kneecap in the next full council meeting on Thursday. The request is part of a bigger motion, filed by Molyneux, to reaffirm the council’s support for Palestine, and includes proposals to also back the city’s No Pride in Genocide collective in their calls for Glasgow Pride to ensure event sponsors adhere to BDS guidelines and a Fossil Free Pride pledge.
🏗 If you want an eerie experience, head down to the mounds of rubble which lie in place of the three demolished Wyndford estate towers in their Maryhill graveyard. Among bent metal, you can make out bathroom tiles and ornamental concrete, with sprinklers still active to keep the dust clouds to a minimum. The demolition happened in March to make way for a £100m Wheatley regeneration project on the site. The fourth tower, which is being dismantled gradually instead of taken down in one go, seems to be making steady progress.
🎙 As you know, we've been following the domestic abuse case against one of Glasgow's biggest media personalities, podcaster James English. Over the weekend, English took to Instagram to publicly address 19 allegations of abuse made against him, and his fight with the family courts to get access to his son, whom he claims he hasn’t seen for 19 months. “The family court says it’s fair, but I can assure you this isn’t the case as I have experienced this firsthand as the system is against the man,” English wrote on the photo-sharing site. While we don’t wish to make light of a serious story, the post had strong ‘she's turned the weans against us’ energy. A reminder that the allegations against English include attacking a pregnant woman, kicking and causing her to fall off of a bed, and pinning her against a wall. Meanwhile, the Possil podcaster has been busy speaking to Tristan Tate on his Anything Goes podcast, a man who stands accused, alongside his brother, of human trafficking and forming an organised group to sexually exploit women.
Quick Hits
🚨 Six men were arrested in Glasgow and Wishaw on Friday as part of the ongoing ‘gangland’ crackdown
Read/listen/watch: This 80s paean to a Glasgow on the up
“What I’d give to get that Glasgow back,” reads the top comment under this 1985 documentary looking at the upward swing of the city in the late 20th century. Community councils and public investment in Glasgow are all credited with a decade of development and dynamism. “These activities, coupled with the authorities’ promotion of cultural and tourism facilities have served to transform the city’s image to outsiders and reawakened in Glaswegians a sense of confidence and pride,” intones the narrator. We could do with a little of that now perhaps. Watch for the bonus introduction by one Elaine C. Smith, standing in front of the building site that was about to become the Forge Shopping Centre in Parkhead.
We also rec:
🎧 A new episode of ‘Who Owns the Clyde’ has dropped
☕️ Have you been to one of Glasgow’s ‘death cafes’?
Catch up and coming up:
- Music writer Henry Ivry was cutting about community centres and former factories to chronicle Glasgow’s longest running experimental music festival.
- Calum went for a psychogeographical wander around the old College of Building and Printing, to ask if the building that looms over the skyline in hot pink will ever make a comeback.
- Despite its plaudits, Flourish House is at the sharp end of cuts to mental health provision. Eve Livingston spent time getting to know the people who use the service, and those who work and volunteer tirelessly at the clubhouse.
- We’re still on the hunt for your questions about this city. What burning mysteries do you wish us to resolve? Drop them in the comments or email them to editor@glasgowbell.co.uk.
- Reminder: The Bell is hiring an editor. This, if we say so ourselves, is a very exciting opportunity to lead us into our next phase of reporting, with an expanded team and big backing from our readers. Salary is between £33k - £37k and the application deadline is 31 May. More details here.
Just a perfect day
Every week, one Glasgow resident runs us through their ideal way to spend a day in the city.
Dylan Lombard, 22, photographer
DAWN: I’d wake up quite early. The sun is always shining through my window so I know it’s morning and time to go outside. I’ll grab something to eat, toast or cereal. Then I’ll grab my camera, put my shoes on and maybe a hoodie or a jacket. I’m quite lucky because I live near a local park, so I can just walk there when I want. I always take my camera because I’m always looking for things that catch my eye or inspire me. Things I can tell a story with, because with photographs you can always tell a story and keep memories. When I'm walking to the park I’m always listening to the birds singing in the trees. What captures my eye is always the colour because I’m always wearing bright colours, so I’m looking for bright colours too. There are the dark greens and yellows at this time of year, but also the pink blossoms.
MIDDAY: Normally I’d be out in the park for a couple of hours, depending on how far I’ve walked in the park. I’ll try to find a local cafe or somewhere to buy a drink or a cake or a biscuit. That gets me ready for the rest of the day. When I arrive home I’ll go to my room. Going out and coming home to my room is the perfect thing for me, because my room is somewhere I feel safe in, it’s quite cosy and warm, somewhere I can go to if I’m feeling stressed out, or to relax. I’ve got a lot of photography books I’m always looking at to be inspired by. I’ve got a TV as well, if I want to watch a film or documentaries about photography. I’ve also got pictures and posters on my wall which I’ll look at to create that photography mindset.
AFTERNOON: Because I’m normally quite busy in the morning doing photography, the afternoons are more relaxed. A lot of the time I’m editing photographs, looking back and comparing them to yesterday’s ones. The weather is changing so the photographs are always changing. Then I sort them into different categories, I’m always focussing on different elements like leading lines and the depth of field. So I’ll put photos together that create a story. I love writing about photographs as well, that might be a feeling or an emotion about how I felt when I took that photograph.
DUSK: I’ll have ordered a food box with recipes on how to make dinner. It’s a quick and easy way to make food. I don’t like to take a lot of time making something, because I just want to sit down and relax. Once I’ve made that I’ll go upstairs and watch a movie. I’m always looking for movies that interest and excite me, boost my energy, something that puts my spirits up, like comedy. I have a book next to the telly that I write in with what I’ve watched, what I thought of it, how many stars I’d give it and whether I’d recommend it to someone who’s not watched it before.
AFTER HOURS: A lot of the time I’ll get invited to after hour parties. Some of my friends from college will have a party, so we can get together and celebrate people who’ve graduated or just want to have a good time because they’ve had a busy day. Dancing is something I try to fit in every day. It boosts my energy and confidence, it keeps me going. I’ll dance whenever, no matter what the time it is.
Unconstructive critique: West Brewery, 15 Binnie Place
Truly, there are few better spots in which to luxuriate on a postcard perfect day than the verdant environs of west. On Saturday, after moseying around the Barras, we walked across Glasgow Green towards the glinting Templeton Building, its golden tiling and blue mosaic detail glimmering in the bright sun. Dogs basked, punters piled in, and children frolicked on the green as we worked our way through the beers: unfiltered lager; crisp pilsner; and a malty red. The salty pretzels, albeit delicious, were not enough to quell the pangs, and we eventually worked up an appetite. Slightly agog we were, when an order for two beers and two veganwurst clocked in at over £40 — the glorified sausage and chips eventually arriving in a cardboard takeaway box. Parsimonious complaints aside, a glorious day it was. If you know of a better beer garden than this Germanic gem, we’re all ears.
Glasgow calendar: Get to know Glasgow’s forgotten ‘third’ architect
Reader Mark McIntyre flagged this one up to us. “For anyone who read The Glasgow Bell’s slightly provocative article on spreading some love & interest in the work of Glasgow architects other than Mackintosh,” he wrote on Bluesky last week, “Glasgow City Heritage Trust has a talk on Sir John James Burnet next week that's worth checking out”. Burnet is known as Glasgow’s ‘third Architect’, along with Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Alexander Thomson but his legacy has been somewhat forgotten over the years. This free Thursday talk at the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow (part of which was designed by Burnet) hopes to start rectifying his erasure.
Other dates for your diary:
🎶 Pop queen Kylie rolls into town
16 May, OVO Hydro, tickets from £75
🎭 An award-winning comedy explores sectarian schisms
16 May, Pavilion Theatre, tickets from £30
Thoughts, feelings, tips relating to today's briefing? Let us know in the comments.
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