Monday’s briefing: More mummy drama, the Renfrew Ferry tries again and a correction

Dear readers, we are officially into the arse end of the year! Which means we have exactly 13 days to reach our campaign goal of 1,000 new members. Calum sacrificed his weekend to do an old-school paper run, delivering around 500 copies of our print edition to some wonderful volunteers who are distributing them in their own areas. 

Special shoutout to Catherine, Louise, Gem, Becky (who was doubling her civic duties by litter-picking when Calum dropped off her papers), and Neil, along with the proprietors of Grace’s in Merchant City, and Outlier in Trongate. And if you’re heading to the Royal Infirmary, either to work or be treated, pick up one of the 250 copies very kindly arranged for staff and patients by Hazel. 

We got another kick when dropping off a copy to the Mitchell Library to be archived. The Bell is now immortalised in the annals of Glasgow’s greatest biblioteca. Southside residents will also be spotting our posters adorning cafes and noticeboards — thanks to student journalist Maddie for her dedication to plastering them all over, which even required being hoisted onto a cafe worker’s shoulders to stick one in a prime spot.

Now, your Monday briefing.

Campaign update: We’ve hit the Bon Jovi (🎵 we’re halfway there) 

Thank you to all our dedicated readers who have got stuck in as part of the team — your enthusiasm is hugely motivating us for this last massive push. Which is still a huge endeavour: over the weekend we hit 500 subscribers (YAY!) — halfway! Congratulations to Greig, who was our five hundredth subscriber.

But this means there’s still 500 to go (ARGH!). It would be absolutely tragic to get so close and fail to hit our target, so now is the time to ‘lock in’, as the kids like to say. And boy are we doing that.  

To join Greig, or simply remind yourself of why we’re doing this (to make Glasgow better and deliver on five pledges to the city), click the button below. For new joiners, there’s the option of a £40 discount on a year’s sub, or for £2.99 a month for eight weeks.

For our existing beloved Bell members, sharing this campaign is the most effective and easy thing you can do. Send out the link to all and sundry. And if you’d like to grab a limited edition print copy, here’s where we’ll be handing them out this week.

Glasgow in Brief:

Shipwreck no more: is the Renfrew ferry set for a relaunch?

The shock closure of the Renfrew Bridge might have one silver lining; the resurrection of the Renfrew Ferry. Damage from Storm Boelo has resulted in the £117m bridge being shut down for “months” to undergo repairs and people are turning back towards the old faithful boat crossing. “With the bridge currently out of action, it’s got people talking about the possibility of bringing a ferry service back to the Clyde,” posted the administrator of the Renfrew Ferry Facebook page. “I’m not committing to anything, but I wondered whether there’s enough community interest to explore the idea of a crowdfunder to help get a new boat operating.”