Egyptian Halls owner says he’ll fight council’s compulsory purchase order

Good morning dear readers. It’s almost August, which we associate with warm and wet weather, a return to school, and the football season kicking off again. Over the weekend, Robbie cooked up a Mexican fiesta, while Calum may have picked up a new puppy, which everyone at The Bell should definitely be excited about. Welcome to Glasgow, Dumpling.

With US President Donald Trump appearing to cheat at golf (assuming he didn’t take a penalty for the dropped ball) while in our green and pleasant land, read on for your very own cheat sheet right here. Here’s your Glasgow in Brief.

Glasgow in Brief

🚲 There’s allegedly trouble afoot at cycling charity Free Wheel North, which aims to improve mental and physical health via bike access. Based at Glasgow Green, the organisation was subject to a damning report last week, published after a Scottish Charity Regulator’s (OSCR) inquiry. The central issue is a chaotic dispute over how trustees have been appointed, with current and former staff questioning the founder, Norman Armstrong’s, position on the board. The OSCR report doesn’t seem to have cleared things up; the watchdog says “there is a lack of clarity as to who is now a validly appointed charity trustee” and that recent appointments are vulnerable to “legal challenge”. The charity’s accounts aren’t in great shape either; income from 2021 to 2023 dropped from £444,649 to just £84,718, and current financial updates are overdue. We’re looking into this more; if you have any other information on the wrangles at Free Wheel North, please get in touch via editor@glasgowbell.co.uk.

🏛️ If you’ve always wanted a 150-year-old A-listed Alexander “Greek” Thompson masterpiece — and you’ve got deep pockets and a credible plan for it — the Egyptian Halls on Union Street could be yours. Not only that, but Glasgow City Council will even buy it for you, or so they say. That’s because now, a mere 35 years on from it being first placed on the buildings-at-risk register, the council are inviting proposals for the building’s repair and ultimate reuse. Councillor Ruairi Kelly told The Bell that he “would expect” the council to use a Compulsory Purchase Order should a “credible” proposal come in and then “transfer it to that organisation” along with £150,000, according to reports. He added that the council’s priority is “positive movement” for the Egyptian Halls. 

But, quick to pour cold water on the council’s grand plans, Derek Souter, director of the two businesses that own the Egyptian Halls, this morning told The Bell he’d be appealing any new CPO the Scottish Government grants in the court of session. Clearly frustrated by the council’s move, Souter said he aims to submit a pre-application for his own regeneration proposal called the Mackintosh Thompson Mews in the autumn. This proposal, which would link the Egyptian Halls to Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s nearby Lighthouse (owned by Glasgow City Council) has previously been floated, with a view to breaking the deadlock between the owner and council. 

📉 In more Glasgow charity trustee drama, the community integration and regeneration charity Pollokshields Development Agency has been placed into liquidation by a court. OSCR has been investigating the body since May 2023, over the sudden removal and replacement of trustees and concerns about the safeguarding of the charity’s assets. It is believed that the liquidation is not directly linked to the investigation, but instead reflects the dire state of the charity’s finances. Scottish Housing News reported this morning that the charity’s cash reserves fell from £66,651 in March 2023 to just £672 by March 2024.

🪧 Evening stravaiging — through Queen’s Park, down Byres Road, along Nelson Mandela Place, or even further afield in Knightswood, Bearsden, Neilston or Lochwinnoch — will likely be accompanied with the din of pots and pans this week. The cookware in question is being banged by a collective of mums and their children, called Mothers Against Genocide Scotland (MAGS). They’ve been gathering for five days, quickly picking up new members and locations as they protest the forced starvation of Gaza. In total, the UN reports more than 100 people have died from malnutrition during the war (up to July 22), 80% of whom are children. MAGS is calling for the UK government to do more to get food, water and medical aid into Gaza. 

A MAGS member told The Bell this morning that they’ll continue to gather at 6pm every night until the siege of Gaza is lifted. “It’s a positive way to channel the rage that we’re feeling at the inaction of the UK government,” the spokesperson said. The group is pushing back against the “stereotype and social conditioning” that mothers ought to be “quiet”, “care for others” and remain neutral. Asked whether they’ve been in contact with politicians, the spokesperson explained they’ve received “classist”, “misogynistic” and “patronising” responses from the MPs and MSPs to whom they’ve written. The Scottish Greens, they added, are “the only Scottish party speaking up about the genocide”, although they have no formal links with any political party.

Stories you might have missed: 

✈️ A man was tackled and arrested on a plane at Glasgow Airport after shouting “death to America, death to Trump” (Daily Mail)

🚫 Glasgow 'mass deportation' march met with counterprotest (The National)

🏫 Glasgow city council fails to check buyers of homes on school grounds (The Times, £)

🕷️ See this helpful Redditor’s map of which city centre roads will be shut and when for Spider-Man filming (Reddit)

Read/listen/watch: Trumped, You’ve Been Trumped, You’ve Been Trumped Too

It’s weeks like this when you wish Janey Godley was still with us, what with Trump being a mere fifty miles from Glasgow right now. We’ve revisited the frankly scandalous story of how the orangeman managed to push through a golf course on the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire, on a site of special scientific interest — and one of Britain’s best examples of a mobile sand dune system. It all makes you wonder, who’s the real enemy of the Scottish landscape — the “windmills” the US president has been tilting at of late, or DJT himself? Anthony Baxter’s 2011 documentary, ‘You’ve Been Trumped’, told the David and Goliath tale of the Balmedie residents standing up to the tycoon in his pre-presidential days. Jonathan Melville described it as “an emotive film which shows both what can happen when a Government considers money over its own laws and how those at the sharp end remain resilient throughout”. It was followed up with ‘You’ve Been Trumped Too’ in 2020. Baxter also returned to the story last year in the BBC podcast Series Trumped. 

We also rec:

🐀 Chris Mitchell makes his debut as Glasgow’s first rodent-themed superhero, ‘Rat Boy’ (The Glasgow Splash)

🇺🇲 Why Trump's really here (BBC)

Catch up and coming up: 

• Danny Macpherson penned an insightful recent history of Glasgow’s football ultras, their origins, and the new traditions they’re bringing to the stands.

How Glasgow brought football ultras to Britain

An essay on the Bears and the Brigade

The BellDanny Macpherson

• In light of weekend anti-immigration protests in Glasgow and continuing protests and tensions in England, we highly recommend Eve Livingston’s anatomy of a false rumour that spawned an anti-immigrant protest in Royston.
• Last Wednesday, Iain McGilp took us on a dark and tragic journey back to 2000 when a mystery illness killed many of Glasgow’s drug-injecting population.

Unconstructive critique: Tutankhamun Glasgow, An Immersive Experience

“Step into Ancient Egypt like never before”. So promises the Tutankhamun immersive exhibition as it arrives at the SEC for a “strictly limited 14 week run only”. For the bargainous price of £28 a ticket, you can be subjected to a painfully cringe AI photo booth, replica artefacts, a dismal mummification hologram and the world’s most underwhelming video mapping room, replete with pixellated bugs and an astounding lack of any narrative elements or discernible story line. The seated VR experience, meanwhile, had all the technological trappings of 2001’s Tomb Raider on the Playstation. The headset also smelled a bit funny and didn’t fit properly, but hey, at least the swivel chair rotated a full 360°. For the most part, the exhibition was giving Egyptian Willy Wonka experience with VC funding, but we did genuinely enjoy becoming Howard Carter and venturing into the metaverse Valley of the Kings. The Scottish media establishment, on the other hand, has lapped it up — with the exception of one rather delicious article in the National. 

Glasgow calendar: Cami Layé Okún and Fergus Clark (A Cut Above x Havana Glasgow Film Festival)

Irregular club night A Cut Above is teaming up with Havana Glasgow Film Festival this Friday to bring Cuban DJ Cami Layé Okún to Exit nightclub (which has had its lease extended, delaying its closure for now, at least). Okún, a record collector, ethnomusicologist and researcher is known for her tireless crate digging, and sets which span the music of Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. Support from Fergus Clark of 12th Isle. August 1, 10pm–3am: Tickets from £5.

Other dates for your diary:

📯 Summer Nights in the Bandstand start in Kelvingrove tomorrow evening (29 July) with John Lydon’s Public Image Ltd and Berlin noise-pop group ERROЯR.

💃 Govanhill International Festival and Carnival returns for its ninth year. Aug 1–10.