Friday, May 06, 2005

Back to the Future and then home to Glasworks

I leave Bill`s by the Bain Street entrance, head south towards London Road, I am travelling down the most easterly part of the Barrowland area, there is not a lot here except new housing and bits of waste ground. Bain Street is a sort of boundary between commerce in its simplest form, the Trader, and the householder, during the week it guarantees to be virtually empty, but at week-ends when the Barras opens up it can be teeming with people.
Out of Bain Street and straight across London Road, and I leave the barras behind
Down the side of some rundown shops, across a bit of waste ground, I cross the cobbled remnants on Monteith Row.
As I move into Greendyke Street, heading west, Homes from the Future looms up in the near distance. The long perspective has been utilised nicely by the Arcihtectural Team responsible for the development. Nestled between London Road and Greendyke Street, the development looks south over Glasgow Green. Its a sunny day and in the distance the buildings look good, and on the whole its a pleasing modern development, but like the equally pleasing Muscle Building, it suffers from bad finishing in places. Time is pushing on and I have been out of the studio longer than I meant.
But I can`t pass by without a comment, Rick Mather Architects have designed a an excellent exterior for their central section of the development, I like it!

Rhino Memories

The Saracen Head Bar, squats as it always has in front of St Mungos Well which is apparently in the back court behind the pub. Some may have said in the past that to get to heaven you sometimes had to pass through the gates of hell. Famous for its white T and shammie, it was the favoured hang out for the down and outs ( winos in other cultures) of the city, and very often the only place that served them. In all the esteemed University student guides, it was down as a must visit, not neccessarily because it was one of the contenders for oldest pub in Glasgow ( a title still hotly fought over), but more likely because it was akin to a visit to the human zoo. They would appear on a dark night huddle around each other at the bar ogle, giggle, treat every one with suspicion and general contempt depart generally never to be seen again.
No great loss. It was my local bar for several years when I set up studio in East Campbell street, purely because it was at that time the safest and most civilised bar near to WASPS Dove Hill Studios. I have fond memories of Tommy (I fought the Japs) an unsuccesful safe cracker, wee wet Mary and her wellie boots; Angus and Alastair the two brothers who inherited the pub from their father, and who famously never spoke to each other.
But one memory will always endure with me, the night we drove a Rhino jeep through the main doors into the Sarrie.
It all started because Rony a friend from the west end used to chide Angus( the older brother) about the lack of cappucino in the bar. This was a relentless joke which Angus one day got fed up with and promised cappucino on demand, but only if we could get Rony`s jeep through the main doors and into the bar. A pretty safe bet!
Well no, the next day the absolute width of the door was quietly measured along with a corresponding measurment of the Rhino jeep, we had an inch and a half either side.
We picked a thursday night for the maximum impact (chelidh night and the day that welfare was paid out, some thursdays were like walking into the witches party from Tam O`Shanter)
So on a foggy October Thursday night the jeep was ligned up, headligts on full beam, with the door. The light hitting the door windows was my que, to open and pin back the doors and in roared the jeep, all four wheels in the bar, with Rony leaning out the drivers window, claiming his first cappucino for the next morning.
Friday morning and Angus had managed to get a sort of one cup cappucino machine, the bet was honoured in full. A fleeting memory, I`m nearly at Bill`s tool store, a right turn into Bain street and I`m nearly there and there it is on the corner of Bain and Moncur Street BILLS TOOL STORE at last, in I go purchase the 5 sheets of finest grade wet and dry paper and depart

Bain Street market frontage

The Sarrie Heid

The sun is still shining and.................

I pass the self proclaimed "oldest chippie in Glasgow", mabey it is, I don`t know. Pass by the amputee blond tenement, a possible inspiration for the muscle, and The Saracen Head looms into view, more memories.

The oldest Chippie and the Muscle`s inspiration


I have never eaten fish & chips from here, but like almost all chippies at the Barras thay probably sell shellfish like welks cockles mussels and maybe even the incredibly tasty but horribly ugly clappiedo, a must try for any tourist coming to the city

Oan ta ra Barras an` Bills

Ok! I know the title is a bit Francie & Josie, the Barrowland Ballroom is starting to loom large.
Out of Watson and left into Gallowgate.
I spy Shipka pass, I`ll say good by to it now in case I blink and its gone.
Head east along the Gallowgate, its a beautiful day, blue sky wispy clouds and sun.
In the distance there`s that crappy gable end mural, I never did figure out what it was about. But one way or another public money painted that!
To the right and before it on the corner of Gallowgate and Moir Street stand a taste of the new Barras.
It stands there proudly proclaiming I am the future, but on closer inspection it reminds me of John F. Kennedy`s famous "ich bein ein Berliner" speech.
If this building could speak it may well proclaim ” I am a muscle”
The Barras/Gallowgate are famous for them.
Its a pretty good looking building at a distance, but have a closer look, is it me or are building standards collapsing. This is a pretty building let down badly by a lack of attention to detail. Purple blue engineering brick mixed with green glazed brick around the back in Charlotte Street marred by numpty pseudo victorian wrought iron work. The white rendering that cloaks a large part of the building, is thankfully high enough out of the way of the dreaded tagger. But will it quickly absorb the patina of the climate mixed with what the city streets belt out, the pure juice of the traffic jam. ahhh!

The Muscle



Bye Bye Shipka

Goin to see Greek T`s

Do a right out of Tontine and head along to the corner of Bell and High street, the day is dissapearing and I hit a traffic jam. The rules of the road are being blatently ignored, traffic blocking all junctions, buses vans cars, you can`t see the pedestrian traffic lights to cross and there is not a safe gap big enough to get through. Disgusting!
I find a way through, and get across the road, continue along Bell and turn down Watson. I cross over to get a better view of the former site of one of Greek T`s glasgow gaffs.

Thank God its gone!, because you now get a really nice view of the Glasgow City Council Parks Department and Culture and Leisure`s offices (side elevation) High Street. I give them a wave, no one waves back. The builders on the old Havana site look at me as if I`m daft. But they are the ones who are digging up and building on Havana.

Question ................... Why did Greek T not have the foresight of Nostradamus, and build most of his buildings where developers today are obviously not going to have an easy ride with planning permission.
Greek ya daftie, hindsight would tell you................. Bearsden!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am sure there must be a quartrain!

Look Greek you can see Culture & leisure from here

Intervention 2

The Great British experiment with democracy is over yet again, and guess what,
"Well I did`nt really mean that I would actually really stand down. I mean, well!"

Another 5 years of this, Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, well I mean sort of no.