Glasgow is the fourth city in Britain, and the largest
in all Scotland, yet its popularity with tourists does not match that of Edinburgh.
In the international community it is not seen as much of a resort,
which is a shame as it has a lot to offer. Glasgow was acclaimed as European City
of Architecture and Design in 1999, and it is true there are many examples of modern
architecture and up-to-the-minute designs.
As far as Glasgow works for me, I am a student at
Strathclyde University, Glasgow is the best place in Britain to be a student.
It is not an expensive place, there are three universities, the best shopping outside
London, clubs to suit all tastes and the people won't give you the cold shoulder like
they do in upmarket Edinburgh. Having said that, Glasgweigans can often be a bit "in
your face" asking "ar ye deif?" if you ignore them when they say "ony spahl change pahl?"
Glasgow is the curry capital of Scotland, if you like your tikka garam masala with
pilau rice and peshwari naan, or perhaps just chips with curry sauce, you've come
to the right place!
Buchanan Street is the main shopping street
and the main street in general of Glasgow, although now pedestrianised. There
are a number of shopping malls off here, but most of the bars are located on the streets immediately
to the west, also up Sauchiehall Street and down in the Merchant City.
The new UGC (formerly Virgin) cinema, complete after
what seems like forever building it. With 18 screens it is quite a place, the first
thing I went to see there was American Pie 2. As the main bus station is right
behind me where this shot was taken, it was pointed out to me that the clock's
legs are running the wrong way, if he's late for his bus that's not going to help!
This is the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre,
otherwise known as the Armadillo. It is part of the new science and technology park,
and is the venue for many concerts and events.
On the site of the 1989 Glasgow Garden Festival,
they built the new science centre, Millennium Tower and Bridge, and Scotland's
only IMAX cinema. The tower was built to rotate into the wind, and was
aerodynamically designed so that it wouldn't
be buffeted by the breezes. Mostly funded by lottery money, the cinema and museum have
been quite successful but the bridge was very late in completion as the hotel over
the river hadn't granted planning permission for it to be landed on the other side,
and the tower had more people going up it than expected leading to the main bearing
getting squashed by the weight and sparking a legal battle between manufacurer and operator,
not to mention the tower grinding to a permanent halt.
It still surprises me given how well known the Barras
is, that you can still pick up so many fine genuine (ahem!) products. The Barras
is Glasgow's market, at the weekend the place is full of traders with their barrows
(where the name comes from) and the famous Barrowland ballroom is here too, with
regular concerts still going on.
In the foreground is the statue of David Livingstone,
Scottish explorer who tried to discover the source of the Nile River, and went to
Strathclyde. In the background is the Cathedral, built over the course of 300 years
commencing in the late 12th century, it
was where the funeral of Donald Dewar, First Minister for Scotland was held in late 2000.
The centre of Glasgow is spectacularly lit around
the festive season, this is the City Chambers by night. An ice rink and fairground
was set up in George Square as part of the Christmas celebrations.
Just over the road from the Cathedral is Glasgow's
oldest house, on the High Street. Built in 1479, it is still not nearly as old as
Glasgow itself, as the city has been remodeled so many times. The original main
street and the oldest street in Glasgow is Rottenrow, dating back to the 6th century
when the city was founded by St Mungo. The centre moved to the High Street in later
years, and then to Buchannan Street in modern times.
Here is Livingstone Tower and McCance building,
both parts of my university. Strathclyde is not an old university, it was founded
as Andersonian's College in 1784 and only became a univeristy in the 1960's, when
most of what you see today was built. Livvy Tower was originally built by a company
for offices, but it could not be sold so the university bought it and turned it into
the languages centre, amongst other things.
Baird Hall on Sauchiehall Street is one of the off-campus
residences of Strathclyde. It is an art deco building from the 1930's which, unbelievably,
used to be a hotel. It is a bit run down inside, and most rooms are shared, but it
is the only catered hall. It is currently on the market at a snip, for ?3 million.
The main student village was developed largely in
the 80s and 90s, with James Goold Hall being constructed most recently in 1997. I stayed last year
in Birkbeck Court, popularly regarded as the scummiest halls (after Baird) but it
really wasn't so bad - no matter where you stay you still have a great time!
During second year I had the fortune to be bumped up a level
in poshness to Thomas Campbell Court, although still not at the dizzy heights of Chancellor's
Hall or en-suite James Young. I lived with 7 other people in a kind of "two flats in
one". We had two bogs, showers and kitchens yet only one living room.
See friends to meet my flatmates, if
you feel like a laugh.
I suppose I should give Glasgow Uni a mention too,
while I'm here. It was one of the four original Universities in Scotland, dating
back to 1451, this is
one of the older parts which is where History is taught...I think.
During mostly the sixties, there was a housing
revolution in Britain and nowhere more so than Glasgow, where people were moved out
of the decrepit Victorian tenements into the gleaming concrete council-built high
density housing of the schemes. It worked for a while, but now there are often
many social problems and much crime associated with such buildings. There are
more multis in Glasgow than Munros in Scotland (284 Munros!) including what were
Europe's tallest residential buildings on Bluevale Street next to the B&Q at Parkhead.
The council plans to take many of them down over the next twenty years, which should be fun to
watch.
Next to Glasgow Uni is the Kelvingrove
Art Gallery, presently being done up (2003). The Glaswegian scientist William Thompson
took his name from the Kelvingrove area when he became Lord Kelvin. He is one of
most famous scientists that ever there was, he even has a temperature scale named
after him!
