St Martin's in the Square or St. Andrew's in the Field?

No this photo is not George Square. And that is not Sir Walter Scott on top of that column.
And yes that is Big Ben in the background.




It is of course Trafalgar Square in London and that is Lord Neslon up there in the sunshine.
(The sunshine may also give away that it not Glasgow!)

I was lucky enough last week to get a weekend down in London to visit some family and got to do the whole tourist thing. This time in another city at least!!

I love to visit London and I love Trafalgar Square. Makes me think we should get fountains in George Square in Glasgow. Although can imagine the problems it may cause on a typical Saturday night!! :-)

But apart from that what has this to do with Glasgow...



Well the goal of my search was at the end of the rainbow. The white church in the corner of Trafalgar Square behind the fountains...

This is St. Martin's in the Field. The particular building was designed by James Gibbs and was built between 1721 and 1726. It really is a most striking building. This beautiful design is much admired and has been copied many times around the world. Does it look familiar?

Here is a previous photo I took of St. Andrew's in the Square in Glasgow. It was built between 1739 and 1757 and yes it was indeed inspired by St. Martin's in London. You can see some slight differences on the spire and decorations but there is no mistaking the similarity.

So there you have it, our own little bit of London right here in the heart of Glasgow.

Well they do say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! And I reckon James Gibbs would be very proud to see this version of his design so beautifully preserved in another city.

Be well, be happy!!

You took something perfect and painted it red?

I've mentioned before that I work close to the "Three Heids" statues at the side of the M8 motorway. I love these sculptures. I've come to like their "moods" as they look different on grey rainy days or bright sunny days and their playful covering of snow in winter.
They even got Red Noses put on them for Comic Relief!!

But since the very first time I met them I have wondered about the rust on the rear of the containers that they are mounted on.

Is this what the sculptor David Mach intended? I've pondered if they were actually meant to rust over time? Was it part of the art? Some kind of statement about industrial decay?


Well found out the answer this week. They have just been needing a coat of paint all these years.


Don't get me wrong they do look better all spruced up. But somehow I'm disappointed that it was something more symbolic than bad maintenance.


Anyway, now used to seeing them with their new coats on. But hope you like this wee photo of them being sorted. I just liked the image of only the first one painted and the workman having a wee break with his paper.


Be well, be happy!!

That's another fine mess you got me into Stanley...

Had a disappointment this week in that the Pope actually drove right past my place of work and I was so busy never even got a photo of him to post up.

Major event in Glasgow and nothing to say for it here. :(

Reminded me of the time I missed getting a photo of Prince Charles by 5 minutes. I'm never going to make it in the Paparazzi.

But this weekend help make up somewhat for that disappointment....

It was Doors Open Day in the city. This started back in 1990 when Glasgow was the European City of Culture. Many of the city's buildings that you don't normally have public access throw down those barriers and welcome you in for a sneak peek. There are now about 100 venues involved so can't possibly do them all but I chose a few I really wanted to see "The Day" and headed out...

A number of you may recognise this ship and it is on top of the first building I went to visit today. This ship has fascinated me since I was a child. Always wondered what it was for. Then I found out it was the symbol of the Merchants House of Glasgow. Now I was curious to see inside. And today I did...

The building on the north west corner of George Square is the third building to be the merchants house. The first was built around 1600 in the Bridgegate and then rebuilt about 1659. This is the steeple you see to this day in the Bridgegate. In 1843 a new hall was opened in Hutcheson Street. The Merchants Guild moved to the building in George Square in 1877.

As you ascend the marble staircase to the 1st floor offices you see these wonderful stained glass windows. They depict the granting of the "Letter of Guildry" to the Merchants Guild in1605. I particularly liked the lower corner with the boy and the dog.


My photos can not do justice to the splendour of the rooms and halls of this building. The main hall is beautifully pannelled.

Some beautiful detail up at the ceiling. This is the symbol of the Merchants House. The ship on top of the world which is the same as the one on the roof. There in the middle is the familiar St. Mungo with his usual tree, fish, bird and bell. And the motto of the house "TOTTIES REDUNTIS EODEM" ("SO OFTEN RETURNING TO THE SAME PLACE").

Merchants House of Glasgow symbology refelcted in every detail on the roof.

And in the Ante room another stunning stained glass window. This time showing the Dean of Guild Court in 1605.

From the Merchants House I headed across George Square. Passed the City Chambers which was also open. But I've already done a tour of these.

And onto another building I have included in another tour but never been inside. The Ramshorn Theatre in Ingram Street.

I love this building. It is a beautifully framed as you look up Candelriggs. There is something strong and elegant about the tower. Another building I never tire of seeing. This was of course once St. David's church as was built in 1824. It was sold to Strathclyde University in 1982 for a fiver and became the theatre for the University. John Anderson, the founder of Strathclyde University (formely Anderson College) is actually burried in the crypt.

If you want to know more go here:
http://www.strath.ac.uk/culture/ramshorn/info/kirk_history.htm

And today got my first chance to go inside...

And was not disappointed when I got there. Absolutely stunning stained glass windows. I didn't count but there are seemingly 32 windows all as beautiful as this. You could spend ages just looking at all the detail in every window. The sun was shining when I got there and made the colours simply come to life.

Glad I took the opportunity to see these hidden gems.

And now on to my final visit of the day. And something special hiding in plain view...

This building in the Trongate is in fact the old Britannia Panoptican theatre. The oldest surviving music hall in the world.

Above the amusement arcade that now occupies the ground floor you can see some lovely detail on the building. Cherubs holding a shield which once again has St. Mungo and his attending fish, bird, bell and tree.

And at the top of the building A.D. MDCCCLVII (1857).

The story of the Britannia is amazing. It opened in 1857 as Campbell's Music Saloon and changed to the Britannia music hall in 1859. Over the next decades many of the big names of the time appeared here including Sir Harry Lauder. The audience were known to be hard to please and often pelted the performers with eggs or rotten fruit. "No turn left unstoned" was the saying. It was bought by Albert Pickard in 1906 and became the Panopticon. "A place to see everything". Pickard added a "zoo" in the basement, a freak show, an American museum...
But life had moved on. In 1920 it was converted into a cinema. The Tron Cinema. And in 1938 it finally closed.

Only to be rediscovered 60 years later. But will get to that bit...

First we will cross the road to the wynd that leads to the entrance door. And here on the wall it the proud sign of the Brits most famous "son". Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy fame.
Stan's father was the manager of the nearby Metropole theatre and Stan had his debut here as an amateur act in 1906. And the rest is history...

Now up the stairs and into the old music hall. And what an amazing place. This picture doesn't really capture the feel of the palce but the gallery and stage areas are still all there. Although you can see the chipped paint and the bad condition of some of the roof you can really strip that away in your mind and imagine that original music hall audience still sitting in the gallery. There is a genuine magical atmosphere about the place. In all the place I have visited doing this blog this is the one that I felt most connected with the past.

For Doors Open Day there was a great exhibition of clothing, posters, movies etc from 1800's and early 1900's.

And this poster made me smile. Reminded me of anytime when I was a kid and couldn't lift something becuase I wasn't strong enough my dad would kid me on that there was "mare strength in a Woodbine". Woodbine's are known for being strong cigarettes.

You can probably tell how taken I was with the Britannia Panopticon. It is a unique place. They are trying to raise funds to save this theatre. And the enthusiasm of the people who look after it is infectious. How amazing would it be for this old music hall to be back to it's original glory?

I had said that if I won the lottery I would get the Odeon in Renfield Street brought back. But think I've actually found a more deserving cause.

To read more about it go here:

http://www.britanniapanopticon.org/

Hope you enjoyed this wee tour and look out for door's open day next year.

Be well, be happy.

Sitting on the dock of the Brae...

Ok... Glasgow doesn't really have a bay. But was down at Braehead today and went out to the Clydeside to see what was currently parked up at the shipyards across the water.

Bit of the wee boy in me there. Still love seeing the ships. Do guys ever really grow up? :-)

A note on Braehead is that they never real made the fact it was right on the Clyde much of a feature. Shame so much more could have been made of this site.

Anyway...



Here is the view down the Clyde today. It was one of those Glasgow days that was sunny, cloudy and rainy all at the same time. Think Rainshine was how I described it in a previous post.

Was happy to see some of those menacing grey shapes of warships on the Clyde. This is of course the Scotstoun yards on the north side of the Clyde.






First up with this patrol boat. CG51. Scarborough it said on her stern.

Quick look up of the mighty internet told me that she is a patrol vessel for the Trindad and Tobago navy. She was built in Glasgow and is just completing her sea trials.



Next down the river we have 2 Type 45 destroyers. If you follow this blog you will remember me going to see Defender being launched last year. Was one of these my ship?



These are actually her sisters, Diamond and Dragon. Fanstastic and dangerous looking machines.

And then a wee surprise. While we were standing this ship headed past on it's way to the sea. The "AASLI". A Norwegian ship. And is that a digger on it's deck?

As she sailed past a small crowd of people gathered. Some like myself taking photos. Funny to think that a boat on the Clyde should be such a novelty but it is. Actually makes you realise that this river is not very wide and must have been amazing in days past to see so many ships sail right up into the city.



Anyway just though would share these pictures with you.



Be well, be happy!!!