The Willow Tea Room Sauchiehall Street © 2007 Scotiana

Hi everybody ! Try to imagine we’re all sitting on a Mackintosh chair round a Mackintosh table, in the very special atmosphere of the Willow Tearooms in Glasgow, chatting about everything Scotland, our favourite subject !

Jane Haining

To begin with, have you read our friends’ second Letter from Scotland? This time, Iain and Margaret have told us a very moving story. I must confess I didn’t know anything about Jane Haining before reading this marvellous page about her. What I will retain about this remarkable Scotswoman, who lost her life protecting the school-girls she was in charge of in a Hungarian school, during WWII, is not only her intelligence and courage but the very kindness with which she has always acted from beginning to end.

Her story has now entered world history and her name has been inscribed, with so many others, on the walls of impressive Holocaust memorials but, under the talented pen of Iain, Jane keeps a human dimension. She becomes so lively that we feel as if we knew her, following the young woman along her short life, from her native Dumfriesshire to Glasgow and Budapest. We lose trace of her in the deadly mist of Auschwitz but a picture, a poem on a stone, a written page will speak of Jane forever.

Iain told us he had found a little book about Jane Haining which he used to write his post. He recently mentioned something which may well interests some readers. I quote him :  “did you wonder that Jane should have a step-sister alive in 1997? It comes about in this way….  Jane’s father remarried in 1925 (when he was about 55). Just six months or so later, he died. But in November of that same year, a child was born to his new wife.. .. a girl, Agnes.. .. known as ‘Nan’.. .. who was to become Mrs O’Brien. I wonder whether she’s still alive.. .. she’d be almost 85?”

The Sauchiehall Street Willow Tearooms - Wikipedia

But now, back to the Willow Tearooms where we are supposed to be sipping our tea, nibbling delicious Scottish scones. I’ve nearly forgotten that, in spite of the magical decor and the very tempting menu card. Jane, who “used to bring each week a bag of cream buns for her pupils”, would certainly have liked to be here with her girls!

Quite astonishing the modern look of this tearoom! It has been renovated in its original “Modern’ Style” which, as the name doesn’t indicate, dates back to the end of the 19th century.  What we have here is a marvellous example of what we call in France “Art Nouveau” . It’s simply beautiful. No wonder! It is the result of a unique collaboration between two very talented persons : Kate Cranston and Charles Rennie Mackintosh…

Charles Rennie Mackintosh - Wikipedia

Catherine Cranston - Wikipedia

Kate Cranston was born in Glasgow in 1849. Her social and family background partly explain why she has become a successful entrepreneurial lady. Her father, a baker and pastry cooker, had bought a hotel situated in Glasgow city centre. After some renovations he finally renamed it “Cranston’s Hotel and Dining Rooms” offering his customers no less than : “Convenient Coffee room and detached Smoking Rooms on Ground Floor, commodious Commercial Room and Parlour, comfortable Bed-rooms and Baths, etc. Coffee always ready. Cigars, wines, spirits, ales, Newspapers, Time-Tables, Writing Materials. Superior and varied Bill of Fare at the usual moderate charges.”

Catherine’s brother, a tea-dealer, had already opened several tea shops offering sandwiches to their customers when Catherine Cranston, launched herself in the business, carrying it a step further. With the opening of her ‘art tea-rooms”, Miss Cranston was the first to offer men and women a beautiful and cheerful place to meet in a city where industrialization was making life of people more and more difficult and grim. By the way, these tea-rooms proved to be a good alternative to pubs in times when alcoholism was widely spread and quite destructive…

Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery : Mackintosh Tearoom - Glasgow © 2007 Scotiana

Kate Cranston successively and very successfully opened four tearooms :

1878 : The Crown Luncheon Room in Argyle Street
1886 : Ingram Street Tearoom
1896 : Buchanan Street Tearooms
1903 : The Sauchiehall Willow Tearooms.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh had been born in Glasgow in 1868 and when Kate Cranston first commissioned him to design the wall murals of her Buchanan Tearooms he was only 28. This was the beginning of a long partnership between them. The Willow Tearooms opened at 217 Sauchiehall in October 1903. For the first time, Charles Rennie Mackintosh was given the opportunity to fully express his art, designing not only the interior fittings, but also the exterior and internal layout of the building. The Willow Tearooms quicky became a favorite meeting place in Glasgow.

The Willow Tearooms - Mackintosh 1903 - Wikipedia

The Willow Tearooms - Mackintosh Room de Luxe - Wikipedia

The location selected by Miss Cranston for the new tearooms was a four-storey former warehouse building on a narrow infill urban site on the south side of Sauchiehall Street. The name “Sauchiehall” is derived from “saugh”, the Scots word for a willow tree, and “haugh”, meadow. This provided the starting point for Mackintosh and MacDonald’s ideas for the design theme.

The decoration of the different rooms was themed: light for feminine, dark for masculine. The ladies’ tea room at the front was white, silver, and rose; the general lunch room at the back was panelled in oak and grey canvas, and the top-lit tea gallery above was pink, white, and grey. In addition to designing the internal architectural alterations and a new external facade, in collaboration with his wife Margaret, Mackintosh designed almost every other aspect of the tearooms, including the interior design, furniture, cutlery, menus, and even the waitress uniforms. Willow was the basis for the name of the tearooms, but it also formed an integral part of the decorative motifs employed in the interior design, and much of the timberwork used in the building fabric and furniture. (Wikipedia)

On entering the Willow Tearooms, though they have been renovated a number of times since their first opening, in 1903, we immediately feel the peculiar atmosphere Charles Rennie Mackintosh had wanted to create for Kate Cranston. Clear and sober lines – nice colours – beautiful geometrical and floral motifs – a feminine touch – what a feast !

The art of Mackintosh is omnipresent in Glasgow and our enthusiasm never failed when visiting other places or admiring objects he or his talented wife, Margaret MacDonald, had designed.

Time to share another cup of tea !

The Willow Tearooms - ©unresttwothree - Flickr

Chin Chin !

A bientôt. Mairiuna

We are delighted to publish this second Letter from Scotland received from our dear friends Iain and Margaret. A very moving story…

I wonder whether you remember driving that time from Wanlockhead (home to the Lead-Mining Museum) all the way to Wigtown, to explore the many bookshops? The journey would have taken you through part of Nithsdale, just north of Dumfries, a relatively quiet but very pleasant part of Scotland. Drumlanrig Castle, with its art treasures, and Ellisland Farm – where the poet Burns tried farming for the last time – are two of its main attractions.

Dumfries & Galloway Wanlockhead Road © 2006 Scotiana

H V Morton wrote about this area, too, in his travel books of the late 1920’s and early 30’s: “In Search of Scotland” and “In Scotland Again.” (I know he’s a particular favourite of yours, Marie-Agnes!)

But who would suspect a link between this quiet corner of Scotland and the most appalling event of the Second World War – the Holocaust that spread through Europe, as country after country fell under Nazi domination?

That link was Miss Jane Haining, the heroic Church of Scotland missionary born near Dunscore, but who died in the vile prison-camp of Auschwitz. Her name has been added to those of the Righteous Among the Nations at the Yad Vashem Memorial, Jerusalem.

Jane Haining

Jane Haining was born on the 6th June 1897, at Lochenhead Farm, just a short distance from the village of Dunscore. Her parents were deeply religious. When Jane was just five years old, her mother died in childbirth. Grievous and bitter though this loss was, it may have played some part in making Jane the outstandingly self-reliant and resourceful woman she was to become.

A clever girl, Jane excelled at school, winning a bursary to attend Dumfries Academy. In the senior school, she was the leading pupil in her year (‘dux,’ as we say in Scotland.) She had a particular flair for languages, and was an early boarder at Dumfries – both relevant to her later life’s work, as we shall see.

Jane, now 18, moved up to Glasgow, where she took a secretarial course, and soon had a job with J & P Coats Ltd, of Paisley, the famous threadmakers. She progressed to become secretary (‘P.A.’ we might say today) to the Company Secretary – a senior and responsible job. And Jane had also by now joined Queen’s Park West Church, quite close to the rooms where she stayed in Forth Street, Pollokshields. (This same Church is now known as Strathbungo Queen’s Park Church.)

Glasgow Queen's Park Baptist Church - Wikipedia

Jane Haining was active in Sunday School work, a knowledgeable and hard-working teacher; kindly too, bringing each week a bag of cream buns for her pupils. She founded a library of books on Missionaries, in which she had, even then, a particular interest.  It may be significant that Jane had a cousin already doing missionary work in India, sent by a Canadian church. Around 1927, Jane Haining seems to have first felt herself called to this work. Her employers at Coats’ persuaded her to stay on, giving them time to train a successor.

Five more years were to pass before Jane’s work began in earnest. Following another year-long course in Glasgow, this time at the College of Domestic Science, Jane Haining arrived finally at the Scottish Mission in Budapest, Hungary. It was September 1932, and she’d been appointed Matron of the Girls’ Hostel attached to the School there (which you can still see in ‘Vorosmarty utca’ – Vorosmarty Street.)

Budapest then, as now, was a beautiful city. Jane loved it from the start. The Scottish Mission, housed in a handsome five-storey building, had a long history, stretching back to the 1840’s. The School  had its own head-teacher and staff -  the head of the Junior School set about teaching Jane Hungarian, and in three years she had an excellent command of this difficult language.

Hungary Budapest Mujegpalya Ice Rink - Wikipedia

In Jane’s charge were 30 to 40 girls, mostly from a Jewish background, many orphaned or otherwise uncared-for. The total roll of the School – which had an excellent reputation – exceeded 400 pupils at times. It’s important to understand, I think, that the Scottish Mission did not set out directly to ‘convert’ young people – this was actually against the law in Hungary. Rather, the Mission aimed to show these deprived youngsters Christian love in action, surrounding them with care and kindness; so that,  in years to come, many of them would turn towards Christianity.

To this end, it was thought good that some of the girls – a quarter, or so – should be Christian. Jane Haining had the idea of keeping in touch with the girls who left each year, by holding an ‘At Home’ on Sunday afternoons, open to all who wished to visit. These reunions were an important feature of the Mission’s work.

Jane loved her girls, and they loved her, too – but what was she really like? A simply-written letter explains; received at the Mission  after Jane’s death, from a girl called Anna.. .. (She is tearful, having been brought to this strange place by her mother, who couldn’t cope.)

“Suddenly I heard a nice voice. ‘Oh, you would be our little Anna.’ I could not see anything except a couple of beautiful blue eyes and I felt a motherly kiss on my cheek. So this was my first meeting with Miss Haining, and from this very moment I loved her with all my heart.”

Jane declined to return to Scotland when war broke out in 1939; later, it was reported that she’d cut up her suitcases, using the leather to repair the girls’ shoes. Abandoning the children was never in her mind.
‘If they need me in days of sunshine,’ she wrote in one letter home, ‘how much more do they need me in days of darkness?’

Budapest Jane Haining plaque © The Girl from Noddy's House -Flickr

The Scottish missionary must have felt in particular danger – if, indeed, she thought of herself at all – after the Nazis invaded Hungary in March 1944. Very soon she was under arrest. The incident that prompted her seizure by the Gestapo seemed trivial enough in itself – she’d challenged a young man, Schreder by name, who’d been helping in the kitchen, accusing him of stealing from the girls’ meagre supply of food. But this fellow was an ardent Nazi, a member of the Hungarian Nazi Party, and he denounced her. From the ‘Gestapo Villas’ in the Buda Hills, Jane was taken to the ‘Fo utca Prison’ (Fo Street Prison) in Budapest, then to the dreaded Auschwitz camp.

Appeals from the Church of Scotland, the Hungarian Reformed Church and the Swiss Government were ignored. Brave and saintly Jane Haining died in Auschwitz on 17th July 1944.

Irongray churchyard Jane Haining family Memorial © Iain McEwan

The Church of Scotland has been prominent in commemorating the life of this heroic missionary. A pair of stained-glass windows in Jane’s old church in Glasgow  – one to each side of the entrance – were amongst the first memorials. There are plaques, of course, at the site of the Mission in Budapest. And a small cairn was built in 2005 to Jane’s memory in the grounds of Dunscore Parish Church.

Dunscore Jane Haining Memorial © JamesPicsSK - Picasa

The State of Israel honoured Jane Haining in 1997, when her name was added to those of the Righteous Among the Nations (or ‘Righteous Gentiles’  -  non-Jews who, often at great risk to themselves, helped Jewish people during the Holocaust.) A tree was planted, and Jane’s name  inscribed on the wall in this section of the huge Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem Yad Vashem Memorial Hall of Names - Wikipedia

Jerusalem Yad Vashem Memorial Hall of Remembrance - Wikipedia

In Glasgow, too, a dignified and memorable ceremony took place on 8th December 1997, in the new St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art. Mr Moshe Raviv, Ambassador of Israel to the UK, presented Jane Haining’s medal and certificate from the Yad Vashem Authority to her step-sister, Mrs Agnes O’Brien. (These items are now displayed in the St. Mungo Museum, very close to Glasgow Cathedral.)

Glasgow St Mungo's Museum © 2001 Scotiana

Mr. Ben Helfgott, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Committee in Britain, spoke first. (Mr. Helfgott is himself a concentration-camp survivor, and was instrumental in having Jane’s heroism recognised by the Israeli authorities.) The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Right Reverend Alexander McDonald, replied on behalf of Mrs O’Brien. “This award is a timeous reminder of a life lived faithfully, both in service and in sacrifice.”

Assuredly, the memory of this courageous Scotswoman will endure for all time.

Holocaust Righteous medal Wikipedia

A bientot, Marie-Agnes, Janice et Jean-Claude!>

Iain.

.

Glengarry Highland Games - Canadian Stamp -1997

Each year, hundreds of bagpipes musicians gathered in various bands offer concerts to enthusiastic crowds
all over the world and they are the key element to any Highland Games.

Wearing the MacDonald kilt, Ottawa bagpiper John-Hugh MacDonald is pictured here on the Canadian stamp issued in 1997 to commemorate the 50th Glengarry Highland Games held in Maxville, Ontario.

Highland Games Glengarry, Ontario - 1997 Canada First Day Cover

Commissioned by Canada Post to take pictures of the event, Andrew Balfour shot approximately 40 photos from which four participants were chosen to figure on the 1997 Canadian official commemorative stamp.

The caber tosser, Harry MacDonald is native of London, Ontario while the dancer, Jennifer Blackburn, is from Port Perry, Ontario.

We also see Russell Pretty, the drummer, wearing the traditional kilt, jacket and hat of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa.

Canada First Day Cover - 1997 - Glengarry Highland Games

“….the stamp was “significant (because) a reasonably large chunk of our population comes from Scotland and a lot of people in Canada are involved in this. There are highland games virtually every weekend somewhere.”

Glengarry Highland Games tartan

“The Maxville games, which date back to 1863, claim to be the longest running continuous highland games in Canada.

(…) The Glengarry Highland Games are billed as the world’s largest.”

http://www.camerons.ca/News_Stamp_Unveiling_1997.html

Even though I live near St-Eustache, in the province of Quebec, I’ve never attended the Glengarry Highland Games, which are only two hours driving distance. I will remedy to this shortly as I jotted down on my agenda the dates of July30 -31st, for this year’s event. It will be a great opportunity for camping as the site provides facilities.

Maxville, Ontario, Canada - Host of the Glengarry Highland Games

The only Highland Games I ever attended were the Scottish Aboyne’s Highland Games event during our 2007 trip to Scotland.

Aboyne Scottish Highland Games - Copyright © 2007 Scotiana

It was very impressive!  Seeing those big guys caber tossing is something you must see at least once in your life!

The Highland Games are definitely a very entertaining event were piobaireachd (or “peebrock” : pipe/playing music), fiddling, dancing and other Scottish traditions are kept alive with so much enthusiasm.

By the way, when was the last time you attended a Highland Games event? Leave a comment below to share your experience with our readers.

Ireland-Bagpipes-2001

PS: Have you ever thought of starting a Bagpipes topical stamp collection? As you can see on HotPipes.com, there are more than 150 different stamps from all over the world that have issued stamps depicting bagpipes.

Bagpipes on stamps

Enjoy!

Talk soon.

Janice

.

.

Snowdrops Bank Hall Lancashire England - Source: Wikipedia

Words rise out of the country. They are around us. In every month in the year we are surrounded by words.

(Shall Gaelic Die? Iain Crichton Smith)

Snowdrops Scotland - Photo Shendry (Flickr)

Winter has its own dictionary, the words are a blizzard building a tower of Babel. Its grammar is like snow.

(Shall Gaelic Die? Iain Crichton Smith)

Time flies…

St Valentine’s red roses are already fading in their crystal vases while snowdrops are blooming fresh and pure in woods and winter gardens, announcing spring…

Snowdrops Scotland - Photo Stephen Random (Flickr)

In Scotland, the calendar is punctuated by a number of very inviting seasonal festivals. I’ve just read about a winter one, the Scottish Snowdrop Festival which takes place between 1 February and 15 March. How I’d like to be there now to add this winter flower to our spring and summer Scottish bunch!

I open Kenneth Cox’s Scotland for Gardeners to see what he says about The Scottish Snowdrop Festival.

Scotland for Gardeners Kenneth Cox Birlinn Limited 2009

Scottish Snowdrop Festival, featuring some of the very best snowdrop gardens, woodlands and estates across Scotland, was started in 2007, coordinated by VisitScotland, and will hopefully be an annual event in February and March with many gardens all over the country opening, with events, tours, sales and just great walks, at a time of year when almost all Scotland’s attractions are closed to visitors. See the leaflets and website for details. Cambo in Fife is the model for snowdrop opening with a whole range of activities, gift shop and plant sales. I have listed some of the best snowdrop displays:

Brechin Castle woods
Cambo House
Dalmeny House (Mons Wood)
Danevale Park
Floors Castle and Springwood
House of the Binns
Mertoun House
Kailzie…

I’m pretty sure there are many more places covered with carpets of snowdrops at this time of the year in Scotland and then it will be time for the bluebells…

Arran Brodick Castle © 2004 Scotiana

While writing these lines my thoughts go to Margaret and Iain for I know how impatiently they’re waiting for the arrival of spring in Scotland! So is Janice too, in her snowy Quebec. Here, in the garden, the almond tree will soon open its delicate pink and white flowers. Spring is almost here…

Blessed John Duns Scotus Church - Photo by Ilike (Flickr)

By the way, many many thanks to our Scottish friends for their kind contribution to Scotiana. We’ve read their Letter from Scotland with great pleasure, as if we were there, in Glasgow, following our guides off the beaten track, in quest for one of the little secrets of the big city. We’ve already planned to visit Blessed John Duns Scotus Church during our next trip to Glasgow, not only to light a small candle in front of St Valentine’s shrine but also to discover, in its neighbourhood,  the famous district of the Gorbals. As many urban districts in the world, it has been completely renovated. So, how hard it must have been once to live in the Gorbals, far from the snowdrops carpets,  we can only try to guess…

No Mean City Alexander McArthur, H Kingsley Long Neville Spearman, London, 1956

Books are a good means to stimulate our imagination. Iain mentioned No Mean City in his post. I don’t possess this book but I remember how happy I was when I fell on Growing up in the Gorbals while I was browsing in one of my favourite secondhand bookshops in Bordeaux. I knew nothing about Ralph Glasser, its author, but I had already heard about the Gorbals and I wanted to know more, so I bought it at once. It’s a big book, with more than 600 pages, and I have not found time to read it yet so, as I can’t say more about it, I’ve included a few comments found on Amazon.

Growing up in the Gorbals -Ralph Glasser- Lomond Books -1999

Growing up in the Gorbals -Ralph Glasser -Lomond Books- 1999

Customer Review

“An extraordinary book from an adult’s understanding, as well as boyhood perspective, of poverty-stricken and problematic family life in the Gorbals of Glasgow. This very honest, well-written book is successful in its honesty and description of friendships, family situations, political philosophies and working environment during the period. It conveys both a profound and generous understanding of helpless personal circumstances. I went to Scotland searching for a second copy of this book as it was out of print at the time and found it in a used bookstore. I will always have this book with me.”

Review

“‘… a classic… he caught both the people and the place… and there are passages which stand comparison with Zola and Gorky. The Observer”

Product Description

“I was driven to write these books because the spirit of the Gorbals would not leave me and insisted that I give expression to its continuing power and its lessons for our society.” -Ralph Glasser

Ralph Glasser’s Gorbals Trilogy is an extraordinary account of a remarkable life. In Growing Up in the Gorbals, Glasser describes his childhood and adolescence in the impoverished slums of the Glasgow tenements in the 1920s and the hardships and heartaches that went with it. At 14, he left school to become a barber’s soap boy but he soon started the night classes that would eventually lead him to a scholarship to Oxford. In Gorbals Boy at Oxford he describes his new life, the incredible characters he met and the arrogance of Oxford academic life, and in Gorbals Voices, Siren Songs, Ralph Glasser’s brilliant trilogy concludes in the wayward world of postwar London.

About the Author

Ralph Glasser spent his childhood and adolescent in the Old Gorbals of Glasgow. After years of night study he won a scholarship to Oxford+inly in the Third World, campaigning against the destruction of traditional communities.

I have a lot of books about Glasgow in my library. I will introduce them very soon on Scotiana. Some are very interesting…

Snowdrops Scotland - Photo Stephen Random (Flickr)

But in the meantime, why not have a walk in the countryside in company of this friendly Scottish dog…

Spring has its own dictionary, its leaves are turning in the sharp wind of March, which opens the shops.

(Shall Gaelic Die? Iain Crichton Smith)

A bientôt.

Mairiuna

Peacock on top of Princes Square facade - Buchanan Street Copyright © 2007 Scotiana

At the end of the nineteenth century, Art Nouveau transformed towns and countryside around the world.  Even though its style had gained popularity from just the last ten years or so, Art Nouveau permeated many arts & crafts: jewellery, book design, glasswork, textiles, wrought iron, and architecture, to name just a few, with its high Victorian design and craftwork.

The peacock being the most spread Art Nouveau pattern, a great example is the one adorning the Princes Square building facade on Buchanan Street in the heart of Glasgow.

In 1985, Hugh Martin & Partners were commissioned to renovate the Princes Square building. They had several meetings with Alan Dawson to create the Princes’ building decorative art program consisting of gates, balustrades, the famous “Peacock” and other associated decorative ironwork.

They had some doubts about the delivery dates promised by Alan Dawson, for such an extensive project would require much time.  They were also sceptic that it would all fit inside the budget, but Alan Dawson was confident that he could accomplish the task within deadline and budget.

Following a partnership with the Workington firm Shepley Engineering, he teamed with traditional artist-blacksmiths. They started the program in 1987 and in 1990, in time and within budget, the main exterior peacock was added to the Buchanan Street facade, in part as a contribution to the City of Culture Festival in Glasgow that year.

Art Nouveau in architecture - Princes Square's Peacock- Copyright © 2007 Scotiana

The Princes Square’s peacock is a magnificent piece of metal art and deserves we take some time to know more about its features.

Located on the top of the facade, the peacock’s sculpture is made in coloured hand-forged wrought iron and steel, extending to its colossal dimensions of 10m high and 20m wide. It comes out from the iron ring which is located in the center of the attic balustrade.

Its tail, outspreading in the air are tipped with bronze aluminium rods making it an eye-catching sculpture and definitely a dominant landmark of the Buchanan Street’s south section.

Peacock - Princes Square Galleries by night - Photo by gordonjc (Flickr)

The use of a consistent pattern of imagery throughout, as well as a candid dependence on Art Nouveau precedents in the style,  enables the scheme to be read as a visually and conceptually unified whole.

Public Sculpture of Glasgow by Raymond Mckenzie

Glasgow is notable as being one of the few British cities to have resisted artistic centralization based in London. Only in Glasgow were there significant local workshops, often family-based, training dynasties of native sculptors. Public Sculpture of Glasgow includes work by some of the most influential British and continental sculptors during the last 200 years including John Flaxman, John Gibson, J.H. Foley and Carlo Marochetti. Ray McKenzie has in this volume for the first time demonstrated the importance of Glasgow’s architectural sculpture and explained its function with a wealth superbly arranged and carefully marshaled detail.

I cannot write about Art Nouveau without mentioning the name of Charles Rennie Mackintosh!

Charles Rennie Mackintosh

He was an architect-designer and has put Glasgow on the map with the formation of the Glasgow School of Art, along with other local artists around the turn of the century.  His work can be seen around the city in the shape of many historical buildings, and his designs and architectural works are still a source of inspiration for many modern designs of today.

During our last trip to Scotland, we visited some of Mackintosh’s heritage sites : The Hill House, Glasgow School of Art ( founded in 1845 which makes it one of the oldest creative institutions in the UK ), The Willow Tearooms, The Mackintosh House ( Hunterian Art Gallery),  The Queen’s Cross church and Mairiuna and I are eager to write several posts about them.

Copyright © 2007 Scotiana

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was more than just an architect. He was also an outstanding international artist and designer, so stay tuned for more!

Enjoy the read and leave a comment below to share your thoughts.

Talk soon.

Janice

We are very  pleased today to introduce our dear Scottish friends, Margaret and Iain McEwan, as our first “Guests Bloggers” on Scotiana.

In this Letter from Scotland, Iain will guide us to the St-Valentine relics that remain in Glasgow, a very timely and interesting subject to read on the eve of worldwide celebration of St-Valentine’s day.

We could not have found a better guide so, without further ado, let us discover what Iain has to say about this mysterious link between St Valentine and Glasgow…

Bonjour from Scotland on this crisp, early Spring day! I know you were intrigued to hear that St. Valentine had a connection with Glasgow, and as his Feast Day approaches, I’ve tried to find out a little more about him.. ..

St Valentine Relics In Gold Casket- Photo by Ilike (Flickr.com)

I had only vague memories of having heard that relics of the Saint had been kept somewhere for a while in a big cardboard box, so it’s been interesting to look into all this a little further…

St.Valentine doesn’t get a lot of publicity these days, except, of course, around the 14th February, so it was a surprise to find that the casket containing relics of the Saint has actually been on display now for 11 years, behind glass at the entrance to Blessed John Duns Scotus RC Church, in the Gorbals district of Glasgow..

Did I really say Gorbals?

The Gorbals Children by Roger Main, 1958

Not the first area of Glasgow that one tends, even now, to associate with romantic love.. .. for the reputation of the old Gorbals was formidable.. .. slum housing, street gangs, ‘protection rackets’ and other crime. Now all of that has been swept away from the Gorbals, which is just over the Clyde and less than a kilometre south of the busy shops of Argyle Street (The best-known book on the old Gorbals – which undoubtedly added, perhaps unfairly, to its notoriety – is probably Alex McArthur and H Kingsley Long’s No Mean City.)  The quotation is from St. Paul, Acts 21:39. Paul has caused a near-riot in the temple at Jerusalem, and addresses the commander of the Roman soldiers who have arrested him: “I am .. a Jew of Tarsus.. a citizen of no mean city. Suffer me to speak unto the people.”)

No Mean City by Alex McArthur and H. Kingsley Long-Transworld Publishers Ltd 1984

But to our tale!  The handsome wood and brass casket containing the relics of the Saint was first displayed at a special service at Blessed John Duns Scotus on St. Valentine’s Day, 1999 – which happened to be a Sunday. (The Church, which actually dates from the 1960’s, is attached to a Franciscan Religious House – John Duns Scotus, influential theologian and philosopher, was an early Franciscan,  who died in 1308.)

Relics of St Valentine are held in this church: Blessed John Duns Scotus - Photo by Ilike (Flickr.com)

But how, and when, did the relics come to Glasgow? This was in 1868, when a wealthy French family, anxious to secure their future, and having heard that a new Franciscan friary was being constructed in Glasgow, entrusted the relics to the Church authorities – together, we’re told , with documentary evidence of their authenticity.

St Valentine Reliquary - Photo by Ilike (Flickr.com)

So the relics came first to St. Francis’ Church in Cumberland Street, where for over 100 years they remained in a side aisle.. .. before eventually being placed in Blessed John Duns Scotus, just ‘around the corner’ at 270 Ballater Street, where, of course, they can be seen today.

It must have been during the course of this removal that the relics, according to one newspaper, ‘lay for six years in a cardboard box, gathering dust.’  The whole point of the ‘cardboard box’ was actually to keep the dust away from the wooden case inside that held the relics of the Saint. Dust is a fact of life, and a rich reward surely awaits the man who finally eliminates it!

It’s just a pity that there’s so much confusion over the true identity of St. Valentine – there seem to have been two Valentines, possibly three! I’m no expert, but it seems to me to be a lovely idea to have someone keeping a kindly eye on those in love.. .. love hurts, it’s an anxious time! The most likely candidate to be Patron Saint of romantic love seems to be the Northern Italian bishop, beheaded on the order of Emperor Claudius around 270AD. A very long time ago…

Exploiting its link with St. Valentine, Glasgow launched an advertising campaign in 2005, promoting itself as the ‘City of Love’.. .. but Paris surely has a head-start in this race, n’est-ce pas?

Coming right up to date, prayers are now said at Blessed John Duns Scotus ‘for those in love and out of it’.. .. while ‘those experiencing difficulties through separation or breakdown’ are also remembered.
Which is nice!

Before ending, may I just say a word about the Reliquary itself in Glasgow?

Its design seems to have been inspired by that of the famous Monymusk Reliquary, one of Scotland’s greatest treasures. Taking its name from the Religious House in NE Scotland where for centuries it was kept, the Monymusk Reliquary is believed to have been made by the monks of Iona, to hold relics of St. Columba.

Monymusk Reliquary Edinburgh Scotland Museum © 2007 Scotiana

Carved from a single block of wood, it is richly decorated with plates of embossed silver and bronze.. .. and in 1211 came into the care of the Abbot of Arbroath. A later Abbot, known to have been present at  Bannockburn, almost certainly used the Reliquary to bless the Scottish army before the battle.  Stirring times!

Museum of Scotland - Edinburgh - Scotland © 2007 Scotiana

The Monymusk Reliquary is considered the most valuable exhibit of the new Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.

Small enough to be carried on a strap around the neck, the Reliquary is depicted on the reverse of Clydesdale Bank £20 notes..

Enjoy Glasgow!

A Bientot.
Iain.

James Campbell Lord Provost of Glasgow Scotland

Back in 1840, Glasgow architect John Baird was commissioned by Sir James Campbell, to design the large block of business premises in Buchanan Street, known as Prince’s Buildings. The buildings formed a four-storey merchant square in yellow sandstone, named in honour of the birth of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII)

A year or so later, the building was ready for occupancy and the then Lord Provost of Glasgow, James Campbell, having gone into partnership with his brother, expanded their clothing  business within the new premises under the company name of  J. & W. Campbell & Co.

The medallion picture beside shows the favourite occupation of Sir James Campbell: using his compasses. His expertise on planning and erecting buildings was of great reputation.

He put the emphasis on one particular element:  lighting! He thought that architects were neglecting this key factor and insisted that the construction of any building should always provide for plenty of light in all areas.

That’s exactly what the architectural firm of Hugh Martin & Partners took into consideration, in 1985, when they undertook the restoration of the building to deliver the actual structure of the Princes Square Shopping Centre.

Princes Square Shopping Centre on Buchanan Street in Glasgow, Scotland - Copyright © 2007 Scotiana

From the magnificently designed peacock on top of the facade, that guards the entrance without rustling its feathers, to the beautiful finishings inside the atrium along with more than thirty stores covering fashion, beauty, art, jewellery, gifts and lifestyle, all under a magnificent Art Nouveau glass roof, the Princes Square Shopping Centre is now Scotland’s leading specialities leisure centre.

Princes Square-Buchanan Street-Glasgow-Copyright © 2007 Scotiana

Princes Square Central Escalator Entrance, Glasgow. Copyright 2007 Scotiana

Princes Square Central Escalator Entrance, Glasgow. Copyright 2007 Scotiana

What really catched my fancy when we last visited, was the central entrance from Buchanan Street leading up into a 2 storey escalator which takes you directly to the upper terrace gallery.

The walls of this entrance adorns the series of “Trompe L’oeil”  artistic paintings designed by Dai Vaughan to commemorate famous Glaswegians of the past: Charles Rennie Mackintosh, James Watt, Lord Kelvin, David Livingstone, Thomas Lipton, William Burrell, James Maxton et Sir John Moore…

Mairiuna and I were so impressed by this superb work of art, as Jean-Claude was also, that we spent more time going up, again and again, the escalator passage than we took time shopping.

A feature of this design is that the figures come and go in focus as a visitor moves slowly up the escalator!

As we were experiencing with this awesome visual effect, we took some footage which is now inside this video put together by Jean-Claude. The images speak for themselves. Check it out! You won’t regret it.

Princes Square Atrium,Buchanan Street, Glasgow-Copyright 2007 Scotiana

Circulation around the square, as in any building, is important in a centre with 3 upper levels of shopping. With the spirit of the ‘theme’ however, movement is seen as part of the pleasure and not a cause for anxiety.

Visitors are ‘invite’ to explore all corners of the building. The lifts, staircases and escalators are designed to allow people to feel part of the theatrical display of pattern and colour.

The ‘grand’ staircase, lifts and escalators are all clearly visible from the entrances. The grand staircase is a double helix designed to allow people to progress gradually between the lower ground, ground and first floor levels. The curved landing between each flight also allow people to stand and look around.

We sincerely hope that Princes Square will set a trend towards the creation of more shopping centres where the shopper not only enjoys the experience, but received good service and quality merchandise, and most of all feels a sense of place .

Source : www.princessquare.co.uk

Princes Square - Buchanan Street- Glasgow -Copyright 2007 Scotiana

Specialities Stores-Princes Square-Buchanan Street-Glasgow- Copyright © 2007 Scotiana

Arts & Crafts -Princes Square-Buchanan Street-Glasgow-Copyright © 2007 Scotiana

Entrance Door - Art Nouveau Style-Princes Square Shopping Center-Glasgow-Copyright 2007 Scotiana

Even though you are not in a shopping mood, it is definitely worth a visit.

Talk soon.

Janice

If it is pouring with rain, as is often the case in Scotland, and if you are not lost in the midst of nowhere in a most desolate and remote place of the Scottish countryside with only a thermos of black coffee to cheer you up, it would be unthinkable not to be able to find a castle, a museum, a pub or a tearoom to shelter in and spend your time in a most agreeable way. Beware of the closing time, however, for many places close as soon as five in the afternoon. We’ve been had several times!

That day, in Glasgow, “il pleuvait des hallebardes” or, as we would also say in France “il tombait des cordes” which means in English, that  “it was raining cats and dogs”, a favourite expression of mine which I had no problem to remember at school! I wonder what is its origin. We could ask Iain and Margaret. I’d be much surprised if our dear Scottish friends would not have a very interesting and learned answer to that funny question…

Glasgow Scotiana modified Google map

We had been walking for a while under the rain in the very busy shopping thoroughfare of Glasgow which is composed of Argyll Street, Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall Street …

Sauchiehall Street The Willow Tearoom Mackintosh Sign © 2007 Scotiana

…when we fell upon the very colourful and stylish Mackintosh sign standing in front of a bright and luxury window. On the ground floor there was a jewellery, Henderson’s it read, and on the first floor a tearoom. Guess what! We had arrived at 217 Sauchiehall Street, a number which has become as famous in Glasgow, though more tangible, as 221 b Baker Street in London.

Sauchiehall Street The Willow Tearoom © 2007 Scotiana

We immediately felt like going into this very inviting secular temple to share a hot cup of tea and taste some of the specialities offered there  but drenched as we were, with our dripping parkas and dirty walking shoes,  we hardly dared to enter this  mythical place.

Tea and scones source : wikipedia

In the very welcoming Scottish B&Bs, hotels and restaurants, tearooms, pubs and other places, we had very often been given the opportunity to taste and appreciate the delicious and inimitable local pastries, in the form of scones, pancakes and various other delicacies generally served with an abundance of butter, jam or cream and we are always quite eager to renew the experience each time a new occasion occurs, especially when it’s wintry and rainy outside. Soon, indeed, we’ll open a page on Scotiana in which we intend to introduce Scottish specialities and even try to give recipes… tested recipes…

Menu card design for Miss Cranston's Cafes at the 1911 Glasgow International exhibition Source Wikipedia

We finally entered Sauchiehall Willow Tearoom but so limited was our time that day and so long was the queue of people waiting to be served that we finally decided to come back another day. We didn’t, but no need to say how the three of us are eager to sit down at one of the little tables in the very relaxing atmosphere of this marvellously decorated tearoom.

Sauchiehall Street The Willow Tearoom © 2007 Scotiana

But The Willow Tearooms of Glasgow, for there are several ones, have an old story to tell. Its main characters happen to be a lady and a whole team of genial Glaswegian artists… but I will tell you more about all that in my next post …
In the meantime enjoy our photos to try and get the sense of this unique place in Glasgow which has repeatedly won awards of excellence.

Sauchiehall Street Willow Tearoom Award © 2007 Scotiana

A bientôt. Mairiuna.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh frieze

.

Escalator leading up to Princes Square Galleries, Buchanan Street

Hey Mairiuna, before we hop unto Princes Square’s inviting blue escalator leading up to it’s animated galleries, let’s stroll a bit longer on Buchanan street, the most popular and well known shopping street of Glasgow.

I was so impressed by the urban design that I would happily spend more time in this premier pedestrian thoroughfare housing more than 125 shops & venues.

You can find anything and everything on this street from a variety of shops fit for all budgets to museums, restaurants and bookshops.

Copyright Buchanan Street Stamps

There’s even a stamp shop!  We were past opening hours last time around, but since we are both fond of topical stamp collecting, I’ve listed the Buchanan Street Stamps as a store to explore on our next trip to Glasgow. It’s on the west side, between Nelson Mandela Place and Bath Street.

There’s much to be seen and done on Buchanan Street. Watch this video to get a feel of it.  Enjoy!

Glasgow green taxi © 2007 Scotiana

From our different trips to Glasgow, we came back with a great number of photos and unforgettable memories.

Evening Scene on Buchanan Street © 2007 Scotiana

We never stayed long enough, alas, to be able to visit all the treasures hidden in the rich and fascinating Scottish metropolis but it did not take long for us to feel the sense of place there and to love it. Glasgow speaks with a very specific accent which mixes with many other ones due to its cosmopolitanism.  A harsh accent, not easy to understand for foreigners!

On a rainy day in Glasgow city centre © 2007 Scotiana

I never saw a town singing in the rain as Glasgow does with its coloured umbrellas. “Can I help you ?” will say the Glaswegian to the drenched visitor desperately looking for his way on a map. For that and for many other reasons too, we do love Glasgow and it was love at first sight when we got out of the plane, at Paisley, one wintry day, in may 2000.

Glasgow Botanical Gardens by night © 2007 Scotiana

As we generally focused, during the day, on monuments and museums, we were left with little time to wander about the streets, but let me tell you that if you have the opportunity to visit Glasgow by night don’t miss it. It’s magical…

Buchanan Street by night © 2007 Scotiana

In Buchanan Street, for example, as soon as the street lights are on, the whole area becomes blue and of a most beautiful kind of blue. I had never seen such a thing before. Quite exciting to walk in such strange atmosphere!

Multicoloured Glasgow © 2007 Scotiana

Is blue going to replace black up the hierarchy of colours generally used to describe the town? Industry blackened the city but it had been green before, as its names indicates, and now, in the post-industrial era, it is gaining new colours. Indeed, blue is a colour which is not restricted to the city centre, as we shall see in our next posts about Glasgow.  Our vision of the Scottish metropolis is vivid and multicoloured though it has its grey and black shades too.

A blue Mackintosh motif on the pavement © 2007 Scotiana

So let us walk about the street and try to discover some of its secrets.

Glasgow Subway Places of interest St Enoch Buchanan Street map

On the road to Scotiana’s ‘Glasgow Top Ten’ we’ve begun our virtual visit of the city at St Enoch Square, one of its busiest districts. In our last two posts, we’ve taken the subway and visited St Enoch centre with Janice, as our guide.

Buchanan Street Scotiana-modified Google Map

Let us cross Argyll Street now to walk up Buchanan Street and, following our map, from St Enoch Station in the south to Buchanan Street Station in the north.

Bordeaux Rue Sainte-Catherine Source Wikipedia

Buchanan Street Source Wikipedia

It’s a long walk to go, about one kilometre. Not so long however, I would like to add with a French “clin d’oeil”, as “La rue Sainte Catherine” in Bordeaux which, with its 1.25 km is reputed to be the longest pedestrian street in Europe. I can’t help comparing the Scottish and French streets as they seem to share a number of features as do indeed Glasgow and Bordeaux as a whole. I’ll try to widen the comparison in my next posts.

Bordeaux Rue Sainte Catherine Meeting with a friendly Scotsman

On rue Sainte Catherine you even happen to fall upon a son of Scotland… tall stature, tartan, and… a smile! Many thanks to the gentleman for the photo!

Buchanan Street © 2007 Scotiana

Back to Buchanan Street now. No need to say it has undergone big changes since the 18th century when the street was called Virginia Street after a house belonging to Andrew Buchanan, a rich tobacco merchant. If he came back today this “tobacco lord” would certainly not recognise his estate nor the street to which he had given his name. Most of these changes are quite recent, in fact. A whole process of refurbishment seems to have begun in the area after the demolition, in 1971, of the old buildings of Buchanan Street Railway Station which had been closed in 1966. The street was then entirely repaved with beautiful pink granite cobblestone and equipped with that blue neon lighting which gives it, at night, its strange and blue atmosphere. For all that, together with the construction of new buildings mixing rather harmoniously with the old Victorian architecture of the place, Buchanan Street won, in 2008, the Academy of Urbanism “Great Street” Award. Quite deserved!

Princes Square © 2007 Scotiana

There are a number of very interesting places to visit in Buchanan street for the Art Lover as well as for the shopper. For the first one let us mention the Gallery of Modern Art and the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall which are highly reputed. The Lighthouse, this artistic temple which stands like its ocean counterpart amidst the city flow and which is parlty devoted to Mackintosh sublime art, is not very far either.

Princes Square modern style peacock emblem © 2007 Scotiana

We did not have time to do our shopping in the very attractive stores we found on our way but if we only passed in front of the famous Buchanan Galleries we did not fail to enter Princes Square which had appealed to us at once with its superb modern style roof ornamented with a stylized wrought-iron peacock that has become one of the emblems of the street.

Donald Dewar statue Source : Google Photo

I would not leave Buchanan Street without paying my tribute to Donald Dewar, this great Scottish politician whose statue stands just in front of the Royal Concert Hall. He was the first holder of the office of Prime Minister in the new Scottish Parliament which opened in 1999. He is often considered as the “Father of the Nation”. Unfortunately, he suddenly died in 2000, while in office. Dewar’s funeral service was held at Glasgow Cathedral and his ashes were scattered at Lochgilphead in Argyll.

On the above photo, behind Donald Dewar statue, on the wall of the Royal Concert Hall, the coat of arms of Glasgow is clearly visible.  The famous Scottish rhyme goes :

This is the tree that never grew.
This is the bird that never flew.
This is the bell that never rang.
This is the fish that never swam.

The Willow Tea Rooms Mackintosh sign © 2007 Scotiana

And why not end our walk sharing a delicious cup of tea and a few delicacies in the famous Willow Tea Room, at number 97,  which happens to be situated next to the building where Mrs Cranston’s original Buchanan Tea Rooms were located. Chin Chin ! A bientôt. Mairiuna.