Dear readers, welcome to day three of our campaign. It’s no exaggeration to say day two was one of the most exciting in The Bell’s history.
First things first — dozens more of you joined our mission, and we’ve now smashed through the 100 barrier. Getting almost 900 more of you still feels like a very tall order, but not quite as intimidating a feat as it did when we launched on Wednesday morning. Here’s the tracker — and a reminder that you can follow the progress on our site.
Then we received our first coveted celebrity endorsement. Award-winning author and all-round legend Andrew O’Hagan took to Instagram to get behind our drive for 1,000 new members by 15 November. “If you care about civic journalism and truth, about nurturing young talent and building a better Glasgow, please join me in subscribing to The Bell”, he wrote (followed by some more very lovely things).
Heed his call, and join the 111 who’ve already signed up. For a very limited time, you can choose your price.
But even this wasn’t the high point of day two. That was last night, in Drygate Brewery, when Darren McGarvey, Emily Cutts and Andrew Hoolachan joined Robbie to discuss the ups and downs of the city, and how we can get more of the former.
Many of the talking points got my neurons firing, such as Emily Cutts’ story of her initially-small project to protect a part of North Kevinside for local children and how it grew into one of the most pioneering youth charities in the country, the G20 Youth Project. Darren McGarvey spoke about how small inconveniences from city centre roadworks combine with political prejudices to shape our perception of the city, and how a late-night rant about this somehow made him a poster boy for Glasgow’s scunnered taxi drivers. Andrew Hoolachan explored the inequalities within the city, and how statistics and data should drive policy and debate rather than “vibe”. Easier said than done!
As well as honest portrayals of the city’s ills, there were plenty of laughs and hope for how citizens can effect change — with attendees later saying to me that just starting the conversation and being in the room is a great start. All of this was washed down by Tennent’s unpasteurised lager, the raw product they pump straight from the factory next door. My verdict: surprisingly delicious.
The Mensa members among you might have clocked that last night’s event sounded suspiciously like the second of our campaign pledges — those wonderful things we’ll do if we reach our target:
Why do we think this matters so much? Well, you’ve probably noticed that social media has become an increasingly toxic place to have any kind of conversation. Here, it only seems to allow for two narratives: 1) that Glasgow is a pestilential hellhole or 2) that Glasgow is a beautiful utopia of influencer-friendly bakeries and stunning parks.
The truth is, of course, somewhere in the middle, and mature cities need a forum to debate what’s working well and what isn’t. It’s something we try to provide with our reporting, with nuance being one of our core values. But we want to take this further and start providing a real home for civic debate.
Clearly, a lot of you agree. All 250 tickets sold within a week. If we reach our target, we will do three events like this per year — and keep them affordable. We love doing them, but they’re a lot of work, which is why we need your support. So, if you haven’t yet, join the 111 others and push us closer to that big goal.
As a special campaign present, you can choose your price for The Bell. For a limited time only, you can nab a year’s subscription for only £65 — this is more than £40 cheaper than paying monthly, working out at little over a fiver a month.
Or if you’re not sure yet, you can try us out at just £2.99 a month for a couple of months. There are actually six different payment options to choose from, including one unashamedly targeted at those with hearts of gold and bank accounts to match. See them all here.
You know what to do. Join our campaign and our big push to get 1,000 new members. You won’t regret it.
We’ll be back tomorrow, with a story about the weird world of the cheapest bed in Glasgow — and hopefully more exciting news on the campaign’s progress.
