ALL PHOTOS CLICK FULL SCREEN There is a special place
that all fairy folk know
where the colours of autumn
seem to have been handpicked
for sheer beauty
variety of colour
shape
and form.
Do human hands
still garden here....
or some other magic force
prevail?
Where abundance flows
at seasons end
and cold night frosts
herald the yearly change
of the 'little death.'
in the gardens of Persephone
as she sinks below again
to claim a darker throne
beside a new consort, far underground
and the world fades away
into winter once again
without her sparkling form beside us.
So how can we even think of destroying...
something so precious, complex, and unique as this? Our own sweet Earth. Our home.
Keeping with the seasonal changes here is a perfect match for variety and colour. I've long been a fan of this French singer and the best of her groundbreaking elaborate videos. A work of art in itself and well worth a watch full screen.
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This is part two of a bike/walking tour around Glasgow. It was going to be one post but I realized early on I had too many photographs for that. After our cycle ride along the Forth and Clyde Canal through Glasgow then a northwards loop across the top of the city we ended up in Springburn (seen here on Balygrayhill) after travelling through Lambhill then Milton. Springburn's flats are some of the highest left in Glasgow, both in numbers of floors and position on the top of a hill, making them a distinctive landmark. Next to the flats is Springburn Park, which is where we were heading now as you can do a number of interesting cycle rides across Glasgow's urban sprawl using canal tow paths, quiet back streets, cycle paths and waste ground. It's something I never tire of as its constantly changing- new buildings springing up- entire districts changing-varied landscapes- amazing views- new cycle tracks- interesting unexpected encounters with locals ( "come back here and fight you coward... this is Tongland!") - it ticks all the boxes for me. It can be very green and beautiful at times as you snake through numerous parks, follow green ribbons and assorted woodlands and the possible routes are many. Luckily Alan enjoys it as well, (Alex never did :o) and this time he wanted to see Stobhill Hospital, which is now almost empty. Several of Glasgow's older local hospitals have now shut with everyone expected to transfer into the enormous behemoth on the south side at Govan.
This is it here. The 14 floor Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. One of the largest in Europe it cost almost a billion pounds to build which included a £100,000 two word name change to fit the Queen into the title. It was originally named South Glasgow University Hospital on plans to let everyone know where its situated. As it takes longer for me sometimes to travel into the city centre these days by bus from the outskirts of the city than the journey from Glasgow to Edinburgh I'd imagine this is not convenient for everyone, especially elderly or disabled living on the outskirts. (I know this from a recent trip to Edinburgh where we hit the Glasgow rush hour traffic at peak times and it took an absolute age to get back. Over an hour to my house from the city centre- much less than that between city centre bus stations over 40 miles apart.) Nicknamed the 'Death Star' by amused/ cynical locals, not for its record of patient care but more to do with it's vast size, its towering presence over the community and a 24/7 day and night helicopter landing pad on the roof for far flung emergencies in coastal towns or offshore islands.
Alan cycling around the abandoned Stobhill Hospital. This does have security in place but as we were on bikes and only curious to see it, not to break in, by the time they approached us to tell us it was off limits we were on our way out again. Some of the hospital still seems to be in use so its a bit confusing. Similar to Yorkhill (sick children) in the last post and the nearby Western Infirmary which has been earmarked for demolition to create space for the University of Glasgow upgrade.
A lovely clock tower. As its on a hill this may be a water tower similar to the landmark tower at Ruchill in previous post which is the only part of the hospital there still standing. Maybe because its too complex to demolish with tanks and direct mains pipes under pressure hidden inside. It is a nice landmark.
Taking of upgrades the same thing is going to happen with money (actual cash) which is being deliberately phased out altogether in the near future. Not because people want it particularly but because big business and banks desire it (if you can move money around digitally it cuts costs and creates yet more profit- no money counters- no security guards- no desk staff dealing with customers-far less workers- far less jobs in the industry- pure profit right to the top where its always aimed at- WW3 is happening by stealth right now and people are smiling, waving and running like zombies towards the machine guns. Research has proved time and time again that if you are spending electronically rather than cash you spend more. Another reason to do away with it... for more profit. No wages bills to employ anyone to look after it either. Makes perfect sense. It's also great for advertisers trying to sell you products as with online payments they can capture and track every aspect of your life in fine detail. Getting your data is the new currency for both crooks and companies. Owning your soul in every way has always been the name of the game. Putting you into debt is also desirable for some companies and bosses as it gives you less choice to walk away from them. We nod wisely at the tales of workers in mines in the old days who had no choice but to buy at the local company owned shop, at inflated prices, putting them in debt to the company until they died- insuring a loyal work force. So much better now than then...... or is the eternal game played with humans just better, more sophisticated, cold- hearted complex, and highly secretive today?
This recent BBC 2 programme is really worth watching and shows how the movers and shakers (billionaires) are stealing our entire world from under our feet then smiling and patting us on the head, telling us its for our own good... and there's nothing we can do about it... as society as a collective unit is intrinsically stupid and will go along with anything. Very easy to sway or manipulate the masses with a few well picked slogans or ideas. Nothing too complex as that will lose them altogether.... just spoon fed baby mush will do. Forget the EU, forget Brexit, (a predictable disaster) forget stopping immigration or European control of the UK-as it will not change the bigger picture... they are just the sideshows of distraction to keep us busy in the meantime. This is our future... to always be conned...every time..every year...if we let it happen. .P.S. Recessions can sometimes be great for big business as you can often bring in sweeping changes or austerity measures under the radar saying its good for the country. Are recessions created deliberately as a game changing catalyst? That would not surprise me at all. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b096sjbs
Anyway, after cycling through Springburn we had to find a way to get down to Glasgow Green in the first post through a very busy congested part of the city. Luckily we again found an enjoyable network of quiet back streets, purpose built cycle tracks and open spaces just by following our instincts.
The most exiting part was this elevated walkway/cycle track across- under-and around, the motorway/ interchange/ spaghetti junction complex of roads between Sighthill and the Royal Infirmary. Most of this route was new to us both and we enjoyed it. Alan well ahead at this point as I stopped for photos. You can see him at the gantry sign.
Looking back at a maze of hi speed roads which we weaved over or under on little used cycle lanes. A real surprise.Some broken glass in places like underpasses so we walked where appropriate to save our wheels.
Royal Infirmary. Ironically this is one of the oldest hospitals in Glasgow, serving the east end, yet still fully functioning. Don't know if there is any plan to shut this place down although its the oldest hospital.
Alan miles in front by now. You can just see him cycling past the hospital in white T shirt. A common occurrence. A keen photographer has to work twice as hard on any journey with friends on bike or foot. Finally caught him up again around a mile later... only to take more photos and fall behind again :o)
As the rest of our bike trip around Glasgow Green is captured in part one, see last post, here's the rest of the West End walking day out- also partly captured in part one.
I'd arranged to meet Alan to visit the Tall Ship Glenlee and The Riverside Museum as well as the Hunterian Museum. Alan came over from Govan to Partick and I got the bus down to Partick to meet him. One thing I hadn't noticed before was how far away the Riverside Museum and Tall Ship is from any public transport. It was a fifteen minute walk from Partick to see these tourist attractions. That might not seem like much but we are fast walkers and fit. There is a medium sized car park at the Riverside Museum but it would be pretty full during peak periods and I can't think of any other major Glasgow attraction that's so far from public transport. I usually arrive here by bike so it's not something I thought about before. When I mentioned this casually to the girl on the reception desk inside she said "fill out a complaint in the visitor book then. I know it's a bit away from the bus routes, especially if its bad weather as there's not much shelter on the way down.A party just came in half an hour ago that got a real soaking." as if she's asked this question all the time by new arrivals. I could tell the way she said it that it was a common complaint she was well used to getting and that she suspected herself visitor numbers might be affected by the distance. Where it was before was the Kelvin Hall- now lying empty but right beside several main bus routes. That's progress I suppose- not always forwards- just relentless. On the bus down from my house there was a heavy localized summer downpour. Not unusual at this time of year.
Luckily it didn't rain during our hike.Walking towards the Riverside Museum. Much faster and easier to reach by bike.
When you do eventually get there it's worth the effort. The Tall Ship is right next to the Riverside Museum. This used to be called the Transport Museum which gives you a better clue to what's inside.
Transport through the ages.
It is very nice inside. Old trams, buses, cars, trains, bikes, a vintage street with period shops but as Alan pointed out many of the lesser exhibits are hung high above your head on wires so many of the articles are too high to see properly. It's a great building but it does seem rather cramped in this new location compared to the old one. Still very popular though with visitors.
Really nice design and location beside the River Clyde.
Plenty of interest in this classic photo. One of my favourite snaps.
The green and leafy front view with the 'big furniture' proving popular. This cycle track is my usual way to visit it but not everyone can reach it by bike. Maybe the museum will eventually shift into the ship itself then get smaller and smaller for each new generation of visitors as decades of austerity cuts bite deeper until its all nano designed into a matchbox that you explore with a virtual headset :o)
We then entered the Tall Ship- A late 1800s three masted barque which was lying derelict and mostly forgotten in Seville until it was brought back and restored to the river of its birth. (built in Port Glasgow) One of only four sailing ships left built around the Clyde and all are now restored tourist attractions in various cities worldwide. This used to be a paid entry attraction but is now free. So is the Riverside Museum.
It started pouring with rain again so we ducked below decks to keep dry. Crew quarters.
It's surprisingly large below decks with several levels. You can see how they could pack a lot in. The HGV or container ships of that era. The Tall Ship is also available for corporate events, special day's out, parties, etc...
Ship's cat (stuffed) popular with children and adults.
Down another level via steep stairs. Ships interiors are the original Tardis and usually surprise visitors by being very spacious compared to an outside view.
The view outside where the River Kelvin meets the River Clyde.
Ship's kitchen and turtle eggs. Interesting and colourful but I know from reading various books concerning the days of sailing ships entire islands could be stripped bare of their native bird and animal life in a couple of visits and mass extinctions occurred in places that had often taken thousands of years to built up into a paradise of remarkable complexity in far flung places. For hungry crew, far from land, stripping island's bare of life in several days was a necessity and the notion of conservation didn't exist then. Makes you wonder just how many unknown species were wiped out before they even reached the pages of any history books or records to describe them. The Passenger Pigeon, the Thylacine and the Dodo are only the ones we know about.
Two good day's out.
A lovely acoustic version here of the Chris Isaak classic by Irish singer/ songwriter Gemma Hayes and her friend. The words seem very appropriate for part of this post somehow. It occurred to me to think of it as a mission statement of intent by big business or a protest song to progress as well as a conventional love song. Guess what? It works all three ways very well. ( I always start off promising myself to write straightforward non- confrontational/ uplifting, happy, posts then the Devil descends on my shoulder, whispering in my ear. He waits patiently for this moment at the keyboard each week so it seems rude to ignore him altogether :o)
Really nice version though.
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Summer this year has been pretty rubbish in west coast Scotland. Nearly every day for months now its been frequent heavy showers, cold and dull. Mind you, only one spring/summer/ autumn/ winter in four is ever any good in Scotland, i.e. above average temperatures, maybe two weeks of sunshine in a row when it stops raining and clear blue air when people walk into the parks in T -shirts, without any waterproofs carried or an umbrella beside them- confident of a sunny day ahead without a soaking.
Maybe this blog's title gives a somewhat false impression of our soggy little country but it does rain here a lot... all the time. I did put summer down first in the above paragraph then changed it to all four seasons as sometimes it's very hard to tell the difference which is which, like the popular comic postcards sold here depict. (photo of a lone sheep in a field grazing under pouring rain (summer) then occasional snow and heavy rain (winter/ autumn/ spring etc)
This September has been officially colder and duller than normal and summer just past was the same... plus more rain. Maybe that's the main reason why I haven't been up a mountain for ages.
Anyway, this post is a mix of two separate trips myself and Alan did over two different occasions. One by bike and one on foot. The first photo is a cycle along the canal near Anniesland and the second is us cycling through Glasgow Green beside the River Clyde done on the same day. The reason they are posted together is that we covered a lot of ground and toured some very different areas on the bikes so the photos are arranged into matching categories rather than when they occurred.
This post being all about tourist attractions. Above is the Doulton Fountain, reputedly the largest terracotta fountain in the world and looking good now after years sitting neglected and water-less in the past.
Some sort of choir seemed to be gathered under it when we arrived, seen here, but by the time we reached them to find out what was happening they'd disappeared back onto their tour bus again. The People's Palace, a wonderful history museum of Glasgow life through the ages and tropical winter garden is also captured in this photo. (Heated glasshouse hidden behind building.)
An overview of Glasgow Green with the hi rise flats of Hutchesontown/ Gorbals in the background.
The magnificent former carpet factory beside Glasgow Green draws every eye with its colourful design.
The River Clyde and Hutchesontown flats. It was a lovely sunny day... until the rain arrived.
On a different day of sunshine and heavy frequent showers we decided to visit the University of Glasgow, seen here, and the Hunterian Museum inside the university buildings. We had scouted out this area on the previous bike trip and decided it was perfect as a wet day alternative as it provided plenty of handy shelter, this time on foot.
Situated under the famous latticework tower this museum is one of the oldest in Glasgow and has been recently renovated. It has a fine collection of Roman exhibits, (Antonine Wall) glass cases full of medical related topics, and various other interesting items on show. Sadly, the huge black slab of pure obsidian, which completely fascinated me as a teenager, with its remarkable properties, is no longer here.(Incidentally, any mention in back posts or my novel of obsidian was not Game of Thrones inspired but rather formed here in my own youth decades ago when I was unluckily parted from my innocence by a shard of volcanic glass.) A shame- as that thick slab was really special.
Although a lovely bright building now I do miss the gloomy but mysterious old museum from the 1970s with its completely different range of exhibits. I seem to remember a stuffed gorilla as well at one point lurking here in a corner. I wonder where they ended up?
A photo taken out the window looking across at the University Library and University Art Gallery (modern Art) The U.A.G. is free to visit by the well behaved general public as is the Hunterian Museum.
A view across the rooftops with Coopers round tower then a church spire (Belmont Street district) and then Ruchill Hospital tower lining up like three ducks in a row.
A closer view of Coopers which used to be a prestigious grocery store in upmarket Kelvinbridge- Great Western Road but is now a pub.
A beautiful old red sandstone building right next to Coopers.
And another one in Govan. As well as any architectural styles in vogue it's the building materials available locally that makes any city, town, or village unique. Glass and steel new apartments and office blocks can be found all over the world now and look much the same everywhere but what makes Glasgow different is its old red sandstone period buildings which give it a different look. Even Edinburgh, 30 odd miles away on the east coast, has different building materials available to it and favours a grey or white stonework as old red sandstone is mainly confined to the Firth of Clyde coast..
Upper Entrance Hall. Hunterian Museum.
A crest. University of Glasgow.
A better class of graffiti in student-land. Partick. This seems French inspired style wise- somehow. Just in the design alone.
A topical political comment about a well known UK English Tory MP. Partick.
New student flats. Partick. Most of the new building projects in Glasgow at present seem to be upmarket housing estates, student flat complexes, upgrades to the various university buildings with brand new state of the art mega-structures or bespoke properties. There's obviously money to be had in education somewhere but white working class males from poorer backgrounds are still the least likely group to attend university UK wide, according to various reports, and probably always will stay that way so maybe not everyone is benefiting from all this building endeavour. Glasgow now has a massive amount of purpose built new student accommodation blocks like this one for its three city universities and numerous interlinked colleges yet you would think local youngsters from Glasgow or the outlying towns would just commute from home so it's not really for them I would imagine. Doesn't make much sense paying for a flat if you already live in the city with your parents. Although tuition is free in Scotland if you are a long time resident I wonder how many locals really benefit with competition for places to get in so tight, applications accepted from all over the UK and abroad (who, unlike local students, pay much needed money each year into the system) and different grades determining where you end up around the country. Under the present system it all seems a bit of a lottery.
A wall panel. University district.
And another. Snakes are often a symbol for medicine and healing dating right back to ancient Greece.
Yorkhill Hospital and more new student apartments beside the River Kelvin. Partick.
Yorkhill hospital is now largely closed down apart from some smaller departments still open. It used to be for sick children.
Anyone who has been away from Partick for a long time will hardly recognize some of the districts now although Dumbarton Road and Byres Road look much the same.
Speaking of which here's a funny and quirky video I just stumbled across on You Tube recently featuring American singer songwriter Bonnie "Prince" Billy enjoying the nearby Byres Road, trendy student enclave Ashton Lane, and Glasgow's Necropolis. One of my favourite songs is the powerful and poignant 'You will miss me when I burn.' by the same artist who has had numerous songs covered by other singers in the past but this is cheery and fun to watch. A real unexpected treat.
