Halloween Surprise.

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Before the autumn period disappears completely I thought I would temporarily suspend my bus trip and walk across Glasgow ( yes, that's still ongoing :o) and fit this oddity in before it's too late. A few days before Halloween I had to go someplace in Byres Road and I noticed Glasgow's Botanic Gardens had something on.

It turned out to be a Halloween exhibit. I noticed it was around £20 each to get in so I was very glad to see it during the day when entry was still free and they were just setting it up.

I also noticed they seemed to have borrowed DJ Tony Blackburn's bumper book of bad puns.

So I had a wander round the park/gardens.

"What do you think?" asked one of the male workers setting it up as I passed and stopped for a photograph.

"I like your big balls." I replied truthfully... attempting to get into the spirit of things. "Yacht to be a successful venture."

I was trying my best to keep up in the pun department but he didn't seem to appreciate my book of alternative bad puns so I soon gave up and left it to the experts.

There was also a fine display of carved pumpkins from local schools/colleges.

Botanic Gardens in Autumn.

Pumpkin Person.

24 hour Pumpkin People.

Pumpkin Collection. 

Must not forget the classics. We are in the West End after all.

I was also pleased to see a homeless encampment featured in the exhibits. As much a proud feature/ tradition of British towns and cities these days in 2024 as foreign shoplifting gangs, fake UK passport delivery, and scam callers waiting to steal your life savings from you every time you pick up a phone. All cherished modern institutions awaiting visitors and locals alike.

And it was good to see that even though this might be an upmarket homeless community depicted for our entertainment that was no reason to have a drop in aspirational standards. 

 But the main reason for this extra post is to highlight an incredible group of artists who skillfully blend Mexico's Day of the Dead, crossed with Classic Rock, crossed with Lunch Hour at the Nurses Station plus some feminist attitude. If you haven't seen this Spanish group perform before now prepare to be amazed. I've known about them for years and all their videos/ different transformations are usually exceptional events to witness. If you only watch one three minute video on here let it be this one. Once inside you need to click on the main group image or the unmute icon to hear anything. Simple as that. This is much more my idea of good Halloween entertainment of an evening.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x90a5qq

Different Aspects of Glasgow. Part Two. Tradeston. Gorbals. The Future.

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Glasgow's International Financial Services District. One major advantage of Barclays Bank picking Tradeston to build in is plenty of space available. Barclays Bank Complex seen from the IFSD. (Photo below.) With such a large footprint it would be impossible to squeeze it into the few remaining vacant lots here so it was always destined to be located elsewhere and just across the river in Tradeston was the obvious choice.

 

Unlike the older, tightly packed, financial district across the River Clyde, seen here, in Tradeston there's room to expand further. It was a lovely sunny day when I was walking round these areas and one difference between them was immediately apparent.

In the narrow canyon lands of the older established five to ten floor high office blocks there's seating built to accommodate workers for tea/lunch breaks if they want to sit outside but they are fairly uninviting places. Permanently shady and cold as these areas rarely get any sun at all.

In Tradeston however, despite some graffiti on surrounding hoardings, there's bags of space for seating, flowerbeds, attractive borders, and trees. And on sunny days it gets full sunshine. A riverside view here. And sunshine, especially in a not that warm northern climate makes people happy, even on a short lunch break.

The interior courtyard garden and seating area, just built, and pleasantly sheltered from wind... yet basking in sunshine.

I also like the style of this building, in a variety of different colours and materials. This post is a contrast to the last one, which was all about old buildings and graffiti. I originally thought of 'The Good The Bad and The Ugly' as a post title or 'Kaleidoscope'... but Different Aspects is a better, more accurate description.

They've also managed to save and refurbish some of the original Tradeston buildings, like this one here, incorporating them into the overall Barclays complex. And I noticed walking around that the nearby restaurants/ fast food outlets had spruced up or opened new ones as well, obviously hoping to attract customers with hundreds of potential new recruits right on the doorstep. Apart from Bridge Street, Eglinton Street and Commerce Street the rest of Tradeston looks OK, A proper Trade Town, with cash and carry, warehouses, garages, small businesses and the like. Entrepreneur land.  I've only driven through it in the past so I had a good look around it on foot this time. ( I still think my idea of using drones to air paint buildings that are hard to reach via the normal methods (i.e scaffolding) might be a game changer. If they can drop bombs and deliver packages why not create artworks with drones as well? On a windless day of course) As previously depicted on this blog in September 2022 and May 2024. Air painting with drones. Is it possible or practical for certain situations? Not the entire building, paint is too heavy for that, but in limited/ selected eye catching areas. And airbrushed to stop any drips occuring.

A few colourful murals here...

At the Turning Point building...

A Drug and Alcohol rehabilitation unit/centre.

Also some nice B listed buildings I was unaware of until now. This used to be the old South Fire Station in Tradeston. Active early 1900s until around the 1980s.

 Fantastic and perplexing sculpture details near the roof with loads of carved figures on it. Man fighting an alligator or crocodile here. No idea why. Maybe it was an arsonist? Ah!  A fire breathing dragon perhaps?

Female with two birds... Rescued from a house fire maybe? ....and loads more to ponder.

One of these tower buildings used to be a paint factory apparently. There was an empty plot of land nearby so I looked it up out of curiosity.... A link here for potential future plans for the area...

Permission sought for major residential housing project in Tradeston. reglasgow. 

 I did put a link up but it didn't take for some reason so you'll need to look it up yourself if you want to see the photos which save the listed buildings and add modern housing blocks into the gap site.

It might take a while but plans are afoot for a new version of Tradeston with Barclays Bank getting the ball rolling in the area hopefully encouraging further investment/ development.

I then walked over to the nearby Gorbals District for some more murals. Cumberland Street here.

Benny Lynch, world boxing champion came from this area. Like a lot of sports people/ entertainers once his career ended he struggled with what to do with his life when the training and fight discipline stopped and had problems with alcohol. 

 This I was not aware of. Pinkerton's founder.

Pinkerton's and Benny Mural.

Hannah Frank. Gorbals Born Artist.

African Restaurant Mural.

The Brazen Head. Celtic pub.

Highland Cow Mural.

Stan Lee and Marvel Characters.  Both murals found on the Gorbals Youth and Community Centre building

Some of the modern housing going up in the Gorbals currently. From late 1800s to early1900s tenements...then flattened.... to a hi rise skyscraper estate, multiple tower blocks...then flattened... to modern 2020s architecture like this right  here... and I've witnessed it all... and worked in it.

A period listed building that's been saved and refurbished. 

The new Gorbals... 2024 style... and even after 20 years of redevelopment in this area there's still quite a few vacant gap sites with the potential to hold extra housing units if the need arises. Glasgow used to have over one million residents within the city boundary up until the 1960s but now it's dropped and is fairly stable around 636,000 though that figure varies slightly depending on who is counting it and around two million when you include the surrounding urban area. i.e Paisley, Johnstone, Motherwell, Hamilton, Wishaw, Bellshill, etc... Edinburgh however is catching up fast at 500,000.

And they are still building houses here ... decades later. This is the 4th set of housing stock I've seen going up in the Gorbals since the 1960s.

And other buildings nearby still to be demolished....The continual rise and fall, decline and rebuild, of any town or city.

Different Aspects of Glasgow. Part One. Laurieston/ Tradeston District. October 2024.

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Like any town or city there will be old and new not far away from each other. Rich and poor districts existing side by side, expanding or contracting over the years and decades with boom or bust economies and changing lifestyles/ technology having an influence. No other bus ride I've taken over the last ten years however showed this change so completely. 

Clyde Street Waterfront. As Scotland's largest city and the UK's 4th largest, I think Glasgow could do far better than this for a prized riverside location. It never used to look as bad as this.... I only noticed it going like this during the Covid pandemic lockdowns. This section at least has murals but mostly it's just run down and depressingly messy. Not a good look for the city. I found myself wondering what visiting tourists think of it? Compare this with Liverpool's vibrant and popular Docklands area. Another post industrial city but one getting it right. I did hear on TV there are plans to refurbish Argyle Street and Clyde Street/ the waterfront... but for the present time it looks like this. Judging by the number of city centre hotels though, Glasgow still gets loads of tourists with numerous conferences occurring ( The International Interpol Intelligence gathering conference with the UK PM in Glasgow has just ended and The Commonwealth Games may well take place in Glasgow in the near future.)

The Riverboat Casino beside the Clyde Walkway.

Which highlights the downside of everyone aspiring to be a Banksy. Very few will make it as professional artists or make any kind of a living at it but everyone wants to leave a tag at least. From the 1960s to the 1990s in Glasgow most of the graffiti was largely confined to the outlying council estates ( where I lived) but now it seems to have made a retro comeback, like vinyl records,  not in the estates but right in the city centre itself, for some reason.

Despite being very close to modern buildings, billion pound investment centres, posh hotels, and other brand new infrastructure.... (Barclays Bank newly constructed plaza seen here.) Graffiti is widespread along the riverfront... on both banks.

Same place, same spot, just turning around to face the city centre district. 

Same place, same spot again, trying not to get knocked down by bikes racing past. Glasgow's International Financial Services District, just a stones throw from nearby Tradeston. I travelled into Glasgow City Centre in mid October 2024. I've thought for a long time that Argyle Street from Glasgow Cross to Anderston looked run down and grubby ( despite being a major shopping street and still busy) with the nearby Clyde Street, Glasgow's waterfront, a graffiti strewn mess for years. despite a few good murals standing out from the general squalor of the place. Part of the blame lies with online shopping, as it's easier to do that than take a bus to visit city centre shops. For the first time, wandering round, I thought that tourists might be better off staying in the hotels around Finnieston and visiting  Glasgow's West End instead, ie ...Byres Road and Partick. Not as hectic, not as many e- bikes to avoid, hardly any graffiti, loads of good museums etc. They could take a bus or train into Glasgow City Centre just as easily from there for day trips. It's only a few stops away. Five minutes travel. 

Bridge Street demolition. I've known about Clyde Street and the River Clyde waterfront for several years now but crossing Glasgow Bridge on the 38 bus was an altogether different experience...... as that was even worse. Maybe many UK city centres look like this now... I don't know.. I don't get around as much as I used to... but I was pretty shocked at the change. Laurieston i.e. Bridge Street and Eglinton Street were never upmarket places but they look fairly desperate now. 

Bridge Street  has been closed for many months now and the buses get diverted around it. Loads of rubbish and squalor in plain sight yet still many small businesses surviving here.

 Tradeston, Glasgow's original trading estate district does not have much of a resident local population being a warehouse/ cash and carry/incoming entrepreneur network of streets but I'd imagine you could work here and if successful, as the owner, live in upmarket areas further out. 

It's probably very quiet and deserted at night once the workforce departs, hence the extreme levels of graffiti... but I've never seen it as bad as this before.  

You could say it's an area in transition at the moment. Given the massive Barclays Bank complex is really close to here the eventual plan is maybe to gentrify this district, knocking down the older stuff and rebuilding with office towers and completely modern infrastructure.... but that could take years.

Meanwhile it looks like this....

As the 38 bus to Woodfarm trundled slowly along Eglinton Street I was amazed at the decline.

Not sure if this row of shops is closed for good or only temporarily but it does look unused. Looking at Google street map cameras for summer 2024 some were still open then.... and not as much graffiti on the shutters.

Confession time. When I left school in the early 1970s I got a job down here as a young apprentice so I've witnessed three different sets of housing stock rise and fall in this area. Tradeston/ Gorbals. One early memory was working in a tenement street, houses built late 1800s early 1900s, the housing stock of the 1930s razor kings of old Glasgow, when up and coming hard guys would carry open razors for fighting in the streets as depicted  in the 1935 tabloid best seller  No Mean City. Only thing I caught in that old tenement though was fleas, dozens of them hungry for a meal, as we were renovating an empty block of flats, recently vacated. As this was a fairly regular occurrence then in the old tenements and the building trade my gaffer had a quick solution to the problem. " Buy Keating's flea powder Son. That will kill them fast." That night on the way home I bought a packet and sprinkled it between my bed sheets, intrigued by the illustrations of all kinds of dead bugs meeting their end after coming into contact at the merest whiff of the powder. It could have been DDT or arsenic for all I knew back then as I'd never had bugs before that point but it did the trick. Now, with google and curious to find out I looked it up.

https://www.terahertz.co.uk/tk-instruments/history

Not thought about this product for 40 years. Glad to find out it was only a plant extract after sprinkling it inside my bed on several occasions. Now they build satellites for space exploration.  I got fleas on five different occasions so I was a repeat buyer of the stuff. It didn't happen often but it was just one occupational hazard back then of working in old buildings. But I much preferred that to working indoors in an office. My gaffer lived out past Hamilton so he used to drop me at bus stops wherever we were working that day and I made my own way back to Nitshill from there. Once from East Kilbride, Several times from Wishaw, Motherwell, Kirkintilloch, Airdrie etc. It sometimes took me 2 hours or more to get home at night. In the winter months a long cold slog in the dark. I had to carry a torch just to see bus stop information and street names. A tough education of working life yet I enjoyed it. Exploring different towns and cities has been a lifelong passion for me. Always on a tight budget though. Later in my early 20s it gave me the confidence to start exploring London on my own, the biggest urban prize of all in the UK. I did that in my spare time over five years. Not every district... just the most interesting parts.

Another memory of working in that period, early 1970s, was working on the top floor of an old, mostly empty, 4 level tenement in the Gorbals, 10 below with snow everywhere. It was freezing in the empty rooms, several cracked/ broken windows so my gaffer noticed some thrown away furniture in the back court and sent me down to get it. We soon had a fire going in the living room fireplace which raised the temperature enough so that we could feel our fingers again, working with metal tools in our hands all day. At lunch, sitting round our fire, we read some of the 1950s newspapers from under the lino we'd saved, always more interesting than current news stories. Spread down by the tenants moving in for both cheap insulation and to cover any bumps that might poke up into the lino. No central heating then, only coal fires and ice forming in the sink in hard winters. Minus ten was fairly common back then. One annoying habit my gaffer had though was going to a cheap transport cafe near the Gorbals if we were working in houses nearby. It was frequented back then by down and outs putting methylated spirits in their cups of breakfast tea so the strong smell of that often put me off my roll and sausage, even though it was good value and tasty. I don't imagine methylated spirit drinkers lived very long as that unhealthy practice seems to have died out nowadays.

An old electricity power station at St Andrew's Cross. I think it used to have tall chimneys decades ago, now long gone, but still a power hub in part of this building.

 Old YMCA building. St Andrew's Cross. Glasgow. A detail.

Same YMCA building. Eglinton Toll/ St Andrew's Cross. In decades gone by this used to be a busy population hub and meeting place. A notable convergence. Not so much nowadays. This is looking towards Shawlands.

The Star Bar. Eglinton Toll. Exact same location but looking towards Tradeston/ Glasgow City Centre.

The old Plaza Ballroom. Now converted into flats with only the low red sandstone frontage retained.

Unusual box style apartments at Eglinton Toll... to be continued....