Ibrox. Govan. Rangers F.C. A Very Modern Fairy Tale.

                                                   ALL PHOTOS CLICK FULL SCREEN.

 A follow up post from the last one starting at Bellahouston Park, again, then over the walkway past Pollokshields down to Dumbreck Train Station to pick up another section of the circular cycle track/walkway I used to do almost every year before Covid struck. It's a circular trip by bike of around two to three hours crossing the River Clyde twice, by Bells Bridge and then the Renfrew Ferry but due to Covid  I thought I'd walk it instead as if you fall off a bike it always hurts. Less chance of an accident by walking it and of course keeping ten feet away from anyone else as I have done since March 2020.

The walk/path/cycleway takes you past Bellahouston Academy, (playing fields seen here) then down to a pedestrian bridge over the M8 motorway into Ibrox.

 Past the Glasgow School of Sport sign. The walkway here was not busy and as I'd remembered correctly, had plenty of space to avoid anyone else.

I forgot to mention Sherbrooke Castle was also passed, this time at a distance...

 and a fine view of the Armadildo, SSE Hydro, (The flying saucer dome) and the white line of Park Circus mansions and its four towers behind  Finnieston Cantilever crane sits beside the invisible River Clyde in this photo. Also invisible was John, who could not make this trip- so I was alone.....again....sniff sniff. Wah!!!  Yet a person with a good imagination is never alone.

Once over the pedestrian bridge and into Ibrox I could either go left or right. I picked the left hand path as I had a firm destination in mind....

 'We' had more room to spread out here so let me at this point introduce the others in my covid bubble. Three of them... but not breaking any rules at all.....You may remember the Romulan cloaking device on early Star Trek episodes that made star ships invisible to humans? ....well, I had to use it here as my companions on this walk were far too conspicuous- especially given their appearance and peculiar habits. 

First  up was Arria, The 10 metre high Goddess of Cumbernald, who I'd invited over to Glasgow for the day. Having four upper body limbs and two watery tails she could get around much faster with a bat like crawl on pavements using all eight points at once so just as well she was invisible to all but me as it was a rather creepy, somewhat jerky, unnerving sight.    Let's call her Mummy.

 

No less unusual was a local Glasgow favourite who did not have as far to travel but seemed to have worked up a prodigious appetite as she had half a dead cat and its tail hanging from her lips. Which quickly disappeared inside when she noticed Arria.

"A'right Doll?" How's it hanging?" She inquired in a broad Partick accent. Turned out she was a lesbian and had taken an immediate shine to Arria.   Well, who wouldn't?   " Just stopped round the corner for some fast food." she joked. " but no' quite fast enough."         In the spirit of this age let's call her Daddy.

Last up was the wee teddy bear in the moon, which at this time of year can often be seen in the sky even in the middle of the day. " If that's ma parents doon there!!?." he wailed in disbelief. "How come baith o' them huv tits then!!!???"  No way!!!"                    Let's call him baby bear.

"Which must make you Goldilocks". reasoned Arria correctly.... then in a quieter voice to her companion said, "He's snapped. Gone completely mad with the year long isolation poor chap. Totally bonkers now. He's invented a family group for himself. I've seen this kind of thing on programmes like 'psychiatry explained.'  "

"Oh. ah just luv a brainy bird." my fast food addict whispered to me. " Never puts me aff wan bit, so it disnae. Prime crumpet!" 

So we had a wander round the Ibrox District, seeing what had changed since my last visit a few years ago. I think this is the Ibrox church where I used to go indoor rock climbing 20 years ago. My favourite indoor venue.

Link here for church and indoor climbing/photo gallery. You can also 3D check out the building and routes in here

. https://www.glasgowclimbingcentre.com/

New housing in Ibrox.

Paisley Road West near Ibrox Library. My sister and her young family used to live here when she first got married before they moved out to....................... Cumbernauld.

" It's a Freudian regression/replacement/inversion thing"  whispered Arria knowingly. " Classic case. Textbook stuff.   Anyone got some WD40?  I appear to be squeaking a bit."

 Other new housing in Ibrox....

On a bike ride years ago it used to look like this... indeed back then in the 1970s to the 1990s many Glasgow and Central Belt council estates had areas of tenements that looked like this.... now they are mostly all gone...this was one of the last of its kind.

Colourful new flats in nearby Govan.

Govan. A built up inner city district which can look very green from certain directions, as here on the riverbank.

 A new look Ibrox. Modern flats and a refurbished hi rise block. Where does the time go? The last time I passed through here two or three 22 storey blocks were standing here, in a poor run down state admittedly, but still upright. 

Now two have gone but I presume, seeing as how it's still 22 floors high, this is one they managed to save. 

 Not far away, on that same bike trip, I captured two other Ibrox towers getting demolished. This time a stones throw away at Broomloan Court in Ibrox. Even though Glasgow has knocked down dozens of its skyscrapers it still has dozens left. Love them or hate them they do define the city as a whole. No other city in the UK or Europe embraced high rise living like Glasgow did in the 1960s and photography wise they are unique.

One of the reasons I love living in a large city is that it's ever-changing....year by year....

and often filled with wondrous sights...

of course Ibrox is also famous for a certain football club that resides there. An aerial view from the sky tower.

and a close up view.

"That's ma real Daddy!" cried the wee moon teddy bear. "Let me inside again! "

Rangers Football Stadium at Ibrox.

Arria, being very bright, suddenly twigged. " Did the maker that made him make us as well?  And you brought us all together again? In a Covid 19 metal bubble.

"He did and I did." I affirmed.

The End.

 

 

( "I could really grab a hot pie, a sticky bun, or a slow moving cat right now" grumbled the fast food devotee . "Aw this walking's made me peckish again.)

Another fascinating thing I discovered recently was the Tower of David featured in series three of the excellent Homeland. An unfinished tower block in  South America that squatters moved into despite having no lifts, no electrics or plumbing, and no exterior walls. The world is a truly amazing place.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centro_Financiero_Confinanzas