Dear readers, love bagpipes or loathe them, there’s been plenty of tuned air blowing around the city of late. On Friday and Saturday, bleats and blasts could be heard emanating from Glasgow Green, where the World Pipe Band Championships were taking place. We can report that the Inveraray & District Pipe Band were declared champions of The Worlds for the second year in a row. Meanwhile, the suggestively-named Piping Live festival rounded off in style on Friday with a big session at the National Piping Centre. Truly heady days for fans of double-reeded, arm-powered instruments.
Over the weekend, Robbie had a rather disappointing experience at a certain Southside pizzeria that had hitherto placed highly in his pizza rankings. We can think of at least one Roman emperor who wouldn’t be best pleased at the £18 price tag for a bang average pie... All was not lost, however, as he managed to bag plenty of veg, plants and local produce at an allotment open day earlier on Saturday. Calum continues to adapt to dog dad life; Dumpling remains in captivity for another week until her final jabs are administered. But she’s bulking up nicely, clocking in at 7 kilos and looking forward to her first al fresco walkies. Without further ado, your Glasgow briefing.
Glasgow in Brief
🇮🇪 The links between Glasgow and Northern Ireland are well known, but we were still surprised to learn that dissident Irish republican group the New IRA has been raising thousands of pounds in the city recently, according to reporting by Sunday Life. The fundraising activities are organised by a certain James Murphy — the point-man of Saoradh, the political wing of the New IRA (considered to be the largest and most active dissident republican group). It was another offshoot of Saoradh that was behind last weekend’s march in Glasgow which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the end of Northern Irish internment. The march finished at Barrowland park, where Murphy gave a speech in support of the New IRA. His role within Saoradh is to raise funds in Scotland and send these back to Northern Ireland. And where else to shake a bucket than around Parkhead on match days, where the daily takings can be as high as £2,500. Celtic FC are unhappy with this state of affairs, but given no laws are being broken, there’s little they can do to stop Murphy sending money back home for the boys.
Another person of interest spotted at last weekend’s march was Jordan Devine, one of the men standing trial for the murder of journalist Lyra McKee. Devine was seen playing the bass drum while marching with members of the offshoot Irish Republican Prisoner Welfare Association (IRPWA). The Bell confirmed his identity through distinct tattoos visible on his lower arms and hands. Devine has denied any involvement in the killing and is currently on bail. Another man at the march was Caolan Brogan, who is awaiting sentencing for having a document in which the New IRA claimed responsibility for the attempted murder of PSNI detective John Caldwell in 2023. The men are reported to have been in Glasgow at the invitation of Murphy. “After the parades they all go out for a drink in a bar where they put a band on, charge a tenner entrance fee, raffle off handicrafts made by prisoners and send a bucket round asking for donations,” a republican source told Sunday Life. Videos on TikTok show the group at Hoops bar on the Gallowgate, where Devine can be seen banging his drum front and centre, flanked by flautists.
🚙 If you’re travelling into Glasgow from East and West Dunbartonshire, North and South Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire — and the rest of Scotland’s 32 local authorities for that matter — then you could be hit by a congestion charge, under plans being advanced by councillors at the City Chambers. It’s essentially a form of suburban taxation by another name, an issue we’ve covered before in these pages.
In Garavelli’s article from last November, GCC treasurer Ricky Bell floated the idea alongside a Clyde Tunnel toll and an entry fee for museums (for non-Glasgow visitors). As Cllr Bell said at the time, the problem is that the council must seek legislative consent for each new proposal. “We are legally required to balance the budget, but we are not being given the levers to do it,” Clrr Bell said. As of last month, the tunnel toll was still under consideration. A workplace parking charge of £500 per space (which would have raised £8m annually) was abandoned last week. A tourist tax, another financial lever, is set to begin in January 2027. Visitors to the city will be charged £4.83 per night, in an effort to raise £16m per year.
Whether welcomed or not, such financial manoeuvring strikes us as tinkering at the edges, economically speaking. Five words do spring to mind as an alternative solution to the city’s financial woes: bring back Strathclyde Regional Council.
🍉 A man wearing a tee shirt reading “Plasticine Action” and “we oppose AI generated animation” was questioned by police on the Saltmarket at the weekend. The tee features a cheery-looking Morph, the clay stop-motion children’s TV character. A video showing the incident has been circulating on the forum-based social media platform Reddit over the weekend. In it, the individual can be seen being spoken to by two police officers outside 74–78 Saltmarket. It’s likely the video was filmed on Saturday, when around midday a protest calling for the end of the war in Palestine was gathering at Glasgow Green and marching towards the Buchanan Street steps. Police Scotland have confirmed to The Bell that no arrests were made at the demonstration.
Sceptics might question whether this man is a simple animation artist whose job is threatened by artificial intelligence. The phrase “Plasticine Action” appears to be another legal test to the UK Government’s proscription of the protest group Palestine Action, presumably aiming to raise concerns over the policing of a non-violent form of protest. On 9 August, a man was arrested for wearing a similar tee shirt in London while at a Palestine Action rally. He was subsequently de-arrested, after which demand for the tee shirts has risen, with people buying them online.
The tactic of displaying messaging similar to the words “Palestine Action” has been deployed before in Glasgow. Serial-protestor Sean Clerkin wore a shirt with the phrase “genocide in Palestine, time to take action” at a protest on 18 July and was arrested and charged under the Terrorism Act.
Stories you might have missed:
🚂 Fight to save Possil Railway station left to rot by Scotsman group, the Herald
⛪ Glasgow church pastor guilty of rape and beating children, BBC News
🏥 ‘I was hospitalised for two weeks by Police Scotland’, the Herald
📝 Tributes for comedian Gary Little who reportedly died in a tragic climbing accident, BBC News
🏘️ Demand for housing from homeless refugees could rise to £66 million next year, the Herald
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Read/listen/watch: Gary Little at large
“I’m a scary-looking, wild-bearded, 6ft2, skinhead, ex-convict,” so starts the late Gary Little’s four-part BBC Radio 4 series, released last year. Little overcame many obstacles in life, from poverty and addiction to depression and incarceration. “An incredible comic, huge personality and friend to many. We are lost for words and he will be profoundly and sorely missed,” wrote The Stand comedy club. The Springburn-born comedian was found dead after walking the Five Sisters of Kintail in the Highlands on Friday. He’ll be remembered as one of Scotland’s finest comedians. This series explores his life “before, behind and beyond bars”, using Little’s stand-up clips and script to tell his life story with wit, grit and warmth. RIP, big man.
We also rec:
☀️ How the Sun Rose, new single from Glasgwegian soulful singer/songwriter Cara Rose (YouTube)
🎭 Sturgeon living rent free in enemy minds is joyous political theatre (Herald, £)
🕷️ Waiting for Spider-Man (GQ)
Catch up and coming up:
- Robbie’s interview with an artist-turned-paedophile hunter is a must-read.
Robbie Armstrong
- Last week, Calum took in the grand sights of the Barclays campus and surrounding Tradeston to ask if the area has a sense of coherence.
- After a spate of vandalism on a community greenhouse, this week, Robbie is bringing you the lowdown on what’s going on in Blackhill.
Unconstructive critique: Outlier, 38 London Road
London Road’s premier hipster café and bakery has the distinction of offering the city’s best food on a good day, coupled with some of its worst service on a bad day; sadly not a unique state of affairs in today’s economy. For the past few months, the lights have been on well into the evening, as Outlier soft launches its evening offering. While it was a little ropey towards the start, things were on a more even footing when we frequented the tastefully-tiled space this weekend. There were several highlights, including a tomato salad with cherries and sheep’s cheese, and a dish of courgette, harissa and almond cream that we practically licked off the plate. The highlight was cod with broccoli leaf and green strawberries, served with an oyster sauce that was a lesson in the potent pleasures of umami. Plus, there was nary an aloof waiter in sight; the service was light-handed yet attentive. It’s BYOB with no corkage until they get their licence and start selling wine. So get doon to Glasgow Cross for yer supper sharpish.
Glasgow calendar: ‘That famed place of aquatic gamboling’: the story of swimming in the Clyde
Another intriguing talk put on by New Glasgow Society. Lucy Janes, PhD candidate at the University of Stirling, shares the “little-known story” of the Clyde as a place for bathing and swimming. Janes has written before about the rich tradition of Clyde swimming, recounting a 145 year-old story of 6,000 spectators watching two teenage girls swim half a mile up the Clyde. The makers of the podcast Who owns the Clyde, in which Architect Jude Barber and writer Louise Welsh dived into the murky ownership and untapped potential of the river, will also contribute to the event.
Tuesday 19 August, tickets by donation, 6.30pm, New Glasgow Society, 1307 Argyle St, Glasgow G3 8TL
Other dates for your diary:
🛸 Free aerial drone workshop for children 8+, led by 15 year-old West Calder “prodigy”. 23 August, 2pm, St Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church, G64 1DL (registration via British Youth International College)
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