Glasgow Necropolis © 2007 Scotiana

Here fond affection

rears its sculpted stone…

(from John Henry Alexander’s epitaph – Glasgow Necropolis)

“CEMETERIES ARE FOR THE LIVING. Sure, the dead are the permanent residents and the living merely visitors but the Necropolis and every other burying ground in the world were imagined, designed and built for the benefit of other living people. Time, as we are always reminded in graveyards, marches on and one generation of living people is replaced by another, over and over, time without end, amen.”

(Death by Design – The True Story of the Glasgow Necropolis – Ronnie Scott )

………………………….

Hi everybody!

It’s always with much anticipation that I’m waiting for a new post by Janice or a new ‘Letter from Scotland’ by Iain and Margaret . In her last post, Janice mentioned an article she had just read in Celtic Life , a popular Nova Scotia magazine which aims “to celebrate the living culture of the Seven Celtic Nations (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany, Galicia in Spain and the Isle of Man), to “share the culture, traditions, history, music, books, art, stories and language of all Celtic people.”  The article is entitled ‘Child Slaves From Scotland; A Story rarely told‘ . The very name of this article conjured up a lot of unforgettable memories which brought me back instantly to Glasgow Necropolis, in front of a monument erected in memoriam of the unhappy children who came to be called “Child Migrants”. When we discovered the monument, quite by chance I must say, our first thought was that it was the grave of a much beloved child and it’s only on reading a board nearby that we learned the sad fate of those unfortunate children to which it is dedicated.

At the end of a grey and rainy day, on August 2007, we had been haunting the alleys of  the “silent city”, as Ronnie Scott calls the Necropolis in his very interesting little book Death by Design. This strange city counts no less than 50,000 residents, a figure which would suggest a great density of population and much noise on the ‘Grey Rock’ if we didn’t know that its inhabitants aren’t taking much place and that they aren’t making much noise… or at least that’s what we’re expecting from them !

With this post, I’m introducing a series of articles about Scottish graveyards. It had not escaped to me, when we were planning our first visit to Scotland, in 2000, that we would find there some of the most ‘romantic’ churchyards we would ever see. In their silent and peaceful atmosphere, just try to decipher what the old stones have to say. Each of them has its secrets and  stories to tell, some graves are true works of art and poetry, others read like pages of history and you will find expressed on many of them a unique and irresistible kind of humour… finally, in this realm of death what we discover is a quite astonishing celebration of life…

Glasgow Necropolis - Dalmatian Dog © 2007 Scotiana

Always a dog in the neighbourhood …  no Greyfriar’s Bobby in the Necropolis but we’ve met a friend anyway. So dogs seem to be welcome here.  No wonder, it’s a magnificent park to take a walk and, up the ‘Grey Rock’, you can get a magnificent panoramic view of Glasgow and the whole area, if the weather is fine, of course!

We discovered Glasgow Necropolis on the very first day of our arrival in Scotland, in June 2000, and quite by chance I must say, after a short visit to the cathedral had left us very frustrated (closing time at 5.30 ) but we did not regret our walk in the solitary and labyrinthine city of the dead (the Necropolis is open from 7.00 till dusk daily). Our first trip to Scotland did not last long but it began in Glasgow and though we only stayed two days there, we could visit a number of very interesting places (Kelvingrove Art and Museum – the old Glasgow Transport Museum – St Mungo’s Museum of Religious Life and Art with Dali’s famous “Christ of St John of the Cross” -  Glasgow Cathedral). We immediately loved the big city even if when we arrived a cold and wintry atmosphere made it rather gloomy after a sunny departure from Bordeaux. In 2000, our aim was to go as far as Bettyhill in the north of Scotland and as we intended to visit a number of places on the road there was not much time left for Glasgow and still less for Edinburgh which we finally did not visit on this first trip.

In 2006 and 2007, when Janice joined us in our Scotland travelling journeys, our interest for Scottish funerary art expanded since she was looking for her Scottish ancestors and consequently we visited a number of graveyards all around Scotland.

Death by Design, The True Story of the Glasgow Necropolis - Ronnie Scott - Black & White Publishing 2005 front cover

To visit the Necropolis is to travel back in time, to dip into the Victorian world-view, where the heroes or robber barons (take your pick) of capitalism and the winners and losers of various religious disputes rub shoulders with long-forgotten poets and novelists. It provides a powerful sense of the transience of all things, the fads and fashions that pass into the mists of time, like the Clyde shipyards, the locomotives makers, the shipping lines and the importers of sugar, tea, tobacco and rum.

(Death by Design – The True Story of the Glasgow Necropolis – Ronnie Scott)

This very interesting and well-written little book of 122 pages  is illustrated and we find in it a few remarkable epitaphs.

“Modelled on Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, the Glasgow Necropolis first opened for burial in 1832 and has been a haunt for cemetery tourists ever since. Dominated by its memorial obelisk to John Knox, the Necropolis is a living testament to Victorian funerary excesses and the nineteenth century’s obsession with death, sometimes referred to as the Cult of the Dead. Here, Ronnie Scott surveys the architecture of the Necropolis’s monuments, graves and mausoleums and the architects who built them. And he also tells the stories of the folk who inhabit the Necropolis or City of the Dead, as the word necropolis translates. Unlike Pere Lachaise, the Necropolis in Glasgow may not be able to boast of being the last resting place of anyone quite as famous as Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison or Edith Piaf but it does have its share of celebrity corpses. By the middle of nineteenth century, anyone who was anyone in Glasgow was buried there or had a Necropolis monument erected to their memory. The designer of the Royal Yacht Britannia, industrialists like Charles Tennent and Lord Kelvin, a Polish freedom fighter, they’re all here and all have their own interesting stories – as do some of the rather less well-respected occupants, such as the professor of anatomy who encouraged body-snatching. The architecture of the tombs, gravestones and memorials is as varied as the lives the citizens of the Necropolis led – and sometimes just as flamboyant. The men, such as Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson, who designed Glasgow’s city-centre buildings during the period when it was second only to London in terms of prosperity also had a hand in creating the Necropolis and their life stories are covered here too.

Ronnie Scott is a cemetery historian who has spent four years researching the Glasgow Necropolis for his PhD thesis. He regularly leads guided tours of the Necropolis and gives presentations on cemetery development and body-snatching.”

(Source: Amazon)

Here’s the contents:

Introduction

1. Building the Silent City
2. Pure Dead Brilliant
3. On the Tourist Trail
4. History Set in Stone
5. Making a Grand Exit
6. From the Cemetery to the Nursery
7. The Bodysnatcher and the Brewer
8. It’s All Greek to Me
9. Ascending Towards Heaven
10. The Clyde Built Men
11. From Common Graves to the Royal Yacht
12. All Human Life is Here
13. The Words and the Stones

A Short Glossary

What Some of the Symbols Mean

Glagow Necropolis Heritage Trail - Glasgow City Council leaflet

We visited the Necropolis in 2000, 2001 and 2007 and the place was never the same. In 2007, we stayed longer there as if we wanted to miss no grave, no inscription, no symbol. At the entrance,  we had been given a very interesting leaflet with a detailed map in it and it proved quite useful to us. We were probably the last people to leave the Necropolis that day and we were quite surprised to see that cars were patrolling the park (the park is patrolled regularly by the Ranger Service) and we were asked several times if all was right with us. We would soon appreciate that reassuring presence for, as time was passing, we began to feel unsafe as if a vague danger was looming, not coming from the dead but from the living for at this late hour we began to meet strange people, and to feel that we were followed..

For sure, next time we’ll join a guided visit… and why not a ghost walk I think I’ve found a guide who doesn’t lack panache ! We’ll certainly book a tour of the Necropolis with this noble mousquetaire in the very atmospheric video below!

At the end of our visit of the Necropolis we fell on the Child Migrants monument. It was not mentioned on our leaflet and we had not seen it on our previous visits of the Necropolis. At first, we thought it was a child’s grave for it was surrounded by teddy bears and all sorts of colourful and fluffy toys but it was not,  as we soon learned on the nearby board.

Glasgow Necropolis 'Child Migrants' monument © 2007 Scotiana

This poignant monument is dedicated to the British children who were sent to other commonwealth countries, known as the « child migrants ».

Glasgow Necropolis 'Child Migrants' monument © 2007 Scotiana

Inscribed on the monument, in golden letters, is a quotation from Isaiah 49-15:

“I will not forget you…

Glasgow Necropolis 'Child Migrants' monument detail - 'In the palm of my hand' © 2007 Scotiana

I have held you in the palm of my hand” …

Has not this child on the engraving a little air of Saint Exupéry’s  ‘Petit Prince’ ?

Glasgow Necropolis 'child migrants' monument with teddy bears © 2007 Scotiana

Little presents, full of tenderness and symbolizing childhood, have been laid by anonymous visitors in front of the monument…

Glasgow Necropolis - Little teddy bear © 2007 Scotiana

… showing that there are still people who want to know and not to forget…

Below is the story of these children as we discovered it on the weatherbeaten board, nearby the monument.

Glasgow Necropolis 'child migrants' monument © 2007 Scotiana

It reads:

(…) Many children left in homes, due to broken marriages or family pressures, were shipped overseas.

The reasons behind the scheme were practical. It helped populate the Commonwealth with white children and it relieved Britain of the burden of looking after them. At the time the organisations involved also thought that the children were likely to have a better life abroad.

Classified as orphans, although the majority were not, many children were often sent away without the knowledge of parents or relatives and were denied details of their family. Brothers and sisters were separated and some children faced appaling conditions in large institutions or were forced to work for long hours and little pay.

Rose Kruger, a former child migrant, met her sister for the first time in 50 years in 1997. She was one of group of 40 women who returned to Britain to be reunited with lost family members or just to visit the country they once called home.

Rose was deported when she was 11 years old. She lived in a Catholic orphanage in Scotland and one day was told she was going on holiday. Her sister, who was three years older, did not know where Rose had been sent until nine years ago.

The trip, which the 40 former child migrants dubbed “the sentimental journey”, was partially funded by Catholic charities and the Australian Child Migrant Foundation.

The Catholic Church now acknowledges that in many cases the migrant policy had a “profoundly adverse effect” on the children. Many of the organisations like Barnados and the Salvation Army, which originally sent the children overseas, now try to help reunite former child migrants with relatives, wherever possible.

The Child Migrants Trust.

Glasgow Necropolis The children Britain did not want article photo © 2007 Scotiana

Thirty years after Britain stopped sending its children overseas to other commonwealth countries, an investigation gets underway into the practice. It follows a legal battle by what become known as the ‘child migrants’

More than 130,000 children were ‘exorted’, over a period of more than 100 years. The practice was only stopped in 1967. Many of those who were migrants themselves say it had a devastating effect on their lives.

A Health Committe inquiry, which opens on Wednesday, is to hear evidence from people who, as children, were deported to Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the former Rhodesia.

The Commons inquiry will try to establish how the British Government should help former child migrants «come to terms with their childhood experience and establish contact with their surviving relations in the U. » . One of the questions it will be considering is whether they are entitled to  any form of compensation.

(BBC News)

We were all deeply moved by this story and stayed silent for a long moment in front of the monument. Then we  passed along the Garden of Roses , crossed the Bridge of Sighs and found ourselves again in the big busy city of Glasgow where there is still so much to discover …

Glasgow Necropolis - Dalmatian Dog © 2007 Scotiana

Bye bye doggy friend…

A bientôt chers lecteurs.

Mairiuna.

Kenneth White - Lettres de Gourgounel - Les Presses d'Aujourd'hui - 1979

I would like to begin this post with a few words about Lettres de Gourgounel (1979), one of the first books written by Kenneth White (his first book of prose) and also the first book I‘ve read by this author. The title of the original English edition is Letters from Gourgounel (1966) but it has been out of print for a long time now. Lettres de Gourgounel remains one of my favourites books by Kenneth White. It is a ‘bouffée d’air pur’.

The author’s lively style and great sense of humour to tell us about the old farm he bought in Ardèche, a mountainous and wild region in south-central France, about his relationships with his colourful neighbours, make us feel as if we were up there at Gourgounel. We learn much about the place and the people who live there, about the author’s love for a simple life, close to nature, about his love for books and solitude, about his work.  In Lettres de Gourgounel, Kenneth White shares with us, the best of his literary and philosophical knowledge and, at that early time of his life, it was already immense. He was only 26 when he wrote Letters from Gourgounel!

Kenneth White - Lettres de Gourgounel Notebook - Candle holder © 2011 Scotiana

Having read this book a long time ago I feel like re-reading it now. I remember how I used to copy my favourite passages on the rough surface of the pages of a very nice leather-bound notebook I had been offered some time before. The kind of notebook so beautifully made you dare not write in it.

Kenneth White - Lettres de Gourgounel Notebook © 2011 Scotiana

But the content is well-worth my nice hand-crafted notebook. I still keep it preciously

But let us try to know more about Kenneth White’s peregrinations  ‘across the territories’! It is in Scotland that Kenneth White ‘s mental map begins to take shape.

Kenneth White - Un monde ouvert - Poésie Gallimard 2006

I was born on that Atlantic shore of Europe and I have its topography imprinted on my mind.

(Kenneth White – On Scottish Ground)

Kenneth White - Le grand rivage - Bilingual edition Le Nouveau Commerce 1980

Living as a boy on the shore

seeing and hearing the clouding

and clamouring of gulls

like overwhelming metaphors

or maybe a heron

‘na h’aonar ri atobh na tuinne

mar thigse leatha fhèin’s a’ chruinne

alone beside the sea

like a mind alone in the universe.

(From Kenneth White Le grand rivage - Editions  Le Nouveau Commerce 1980 -

Original title : A Walk along the Shore)

Our best source of information about Kenneth White will be his own writings (poems and prose)  and a few biographical books and studies written about him. There are many of them.

 

 

Gorbals Main Street 1911 Source Wikipedia

The Gorbals is an area on the south bank of the River Clyde in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. By the late 19th century, it had become over-populated and adversely affected by local industrialisation. It became widely known as a dangerous slum and was subject to efforts at redevelopment, which contributed to more problems. In recent decades, some buildings have been demolished for a mixture of market and social housing; others are being refurbished and restored to a higher standard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorbals

Kenneth White was born in the Gorbals area of Glasgow on 28 April 1936 which was not reputed then for being the ideal place to rear a family. Kenneth White’s father who worked as a railway signalman and was also an avid reader and a lover of nature, decided to move to a more genial place and Kenneth White was only three years old when the family settled in Fairlie, a little village on the west coast, south of Largs in Ayrshire. There he spent his childhood and adolescence.

Kenneth White En toute candeur Mercure de France 1964

In that house of three storeys

only yards from the sea

a house with

anwar don lavar

levawr wrthi

a wild wave talking

and clashing beside it.

(From Le grand rivage -1980 – A Walk along the Shore)

A few strange words in this extract has for a long time puzzled me. I’ve found an answer to my questions in The Radical Field. Here is what Tony McManus writes about this passage: ‘It is in his removal of the family to the coast that White senior most influenced the future of his son, for so much of what Kenneth White has come to do has its origins in that landscape and seascape. In his long poem, ‘Walking the Coast’, he writes of the sound of the sea (quoting in the by-going, both for sound and sense, an old Welsh poem) which was a constant feature of his surrounding’

In  Kenneth White’s books, we find many happy memories of this early time in Ayrshire : family life, relationships with friends and neighbours, school life, open-air activities including playing as well as working ones (Kenneth White contributed to the family economy by gathering wrack and picking shellfish on the shore), reading, much reading – and even churchgoing which he recalls with humour in the following poem:

I’d be getting at the window

and forgetting the sermon

(all about good and evil

with a lot of mangled metaphor

and heavy comparison)

eager to get back out

onto the naked shore

there to walk for hours on end

with a book sometimes in my hand

but never a thought of preaching in my mind

trying to grasp at something

that wanted no godly name

something that took the form

of blue waves and grey rock

and that tasted of salt.

(From ‘Scotia Deserta’ quoted by Tony McManus in The Radical Field)

Largs, North Ayrshire, Scotland - Source:Wikipedia

Of course, we can only try to imagine what it was like to live on the Ayrshire coast in the 1930s, decades ago and in such a different kind of society as our own, but even today it also remains ‘terra incognita’ for us for, when we go there, we are only passing travellers. However, even if Ayrshire is not the Scottish region we know the best, we quite remember the beautiful and wintry place, close to the ocean, with its many islands, hills, woods and moors. Good ground for a young poet to grow up!

We didn’t have time to stop at Fairlie and Largs when we passed there on our way  to Ardrossan for we had booked on the next Caledonian ferry which was about to depart for Arran, the rugged and mountainous island often mentioned by Kenneth White in his writings. No wonder the poet found inspiration in these unforgettable Scottish landscapes, still wild enough to offer many opportunities to admire the landscape in silence and solitude.

The Cumbraes, North Ayrshire, Scotland - Source: Wikipedia

When driving southward on the picturesque A78 coastal road we only had time to catch a glimpse of the Little and Great Cumbraes, the two small islands situated just in front of Largs and Fairlie but we have been lucky to visit the nearby island of Bute, in May 2004, at the time when its gigantic rhododendrons are in full bloom. It’s quite magical! We’ll soon devote a page on Scotiana to this little island for it is really worth the visit. At Rothesay, there is an old mediaeval fortress with moats full of water reflecting canons which seem ready to fire, a mysterious and quite fascinating gothic palace at Mountstuart and the ruins of a very ancient abbey at St Blane’s in the South from where you can also get magnificent views across the water of the the island of Arran.  While taking the ferry which crosses from Rothesay to Wemyss Bay and if the weather is fine you can also get unforgettable views of the Cowal Hills.  The Kintyre peninsula is not far either but we’ll come back to it later, for it would be too long today to describe whatwe’ve seen there.

The Radical Field - Tony McManus - Sandstone Press Ltd - 2007

One of the most recent books published about Kenneth White, The Radical Field by Tony McManus, which is subtitled ‘Kenneth White and Geopoetics’, is open on my desk. There is often no better source of information about an author than his own writings and Kenneth White’s books are particularly rich in autobiographical elements but Tony McManus who is a great admirer of Kenneth White has devoted much time to the study of his works and of geopoetics and his book is full of quotations drawn from Kenneth White’s books .

The Radical Field is divided into  into three parts: ‘The Initial Ground’, ‘The Emergent Field’ and ‘Open World Writing’). To make you an idea, I give you the contents of the book, the titles and subtitles of which are particularly revealing.

PART ONE: THE INITIAL GROUND

1    Family Alchemy
2    Shore and Moor
3    The Glasgow Student
4    Munich: Isolation and Meditation
5    Paris: The Incandescent Zone
6    Gourgounel : Resourcing
7    First Publications
8    On the British Literary Scene
9    The Departure

PART TWO: THE EMERGENT FIELD

1    A Scottish Constellation
2    Universal Ancestor: The Shaman
3    Cultural Analysis Now
4    The Drifting Dawn
5    Radical Europen Thought
6    On American Trails
7    Investigations into Asia
8    Pathways in Science
9    From Scotland to Alba end Beyond
Notes

PART THREE/ OPEN WORLD WRITING

1    The Essay
2    The Waybook
3    The Poem of the Earth
Notes

Bibliographies

The Radical Field Tony McManus Sandstone Press Ltd 2007 back cover

‘If I set out to write this book on the work of Kenneth White and geopoetics, it’s because it has been obvious to me for some time now, not only that White stands among the most significant writers and thinkers working today, but that his work belongs to a very rare category, one that stands outside those currently in vogue.
This has already been recognised in contexts other than the English language one.

Looking through the already bulky archives gathering around White’s work in the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh and the Fonds Kenneth White in the city of Bordeaux, one comes across statements such as these: (…) ‘At a time when a certain mediocrity is reaching planetary proportions, one of us has stood up, turned his back and, possessed of real knowledge,moved off’ (Revue des Belles-Lettres, Geneva); ‘White belongs to a silent vanguard, in solitary rebellion against not only the entrenched establishments, but the modernist cliques’ (Review of the University of Mexico); ‘Travelling out on his own ways, kenneth White is bound to appear more and more as the foremost English poet of these times’ (Le Nouvel Observateur, Paris).’  (The Radical Field - Foreword –Tony McManus – Edinburgh, September 2001)

To enter Kenneth White’s world is a fascinating quest but not an easy one. We hope this post and the other ones which we intend to devote to the great Scottish-French poet will be helpful for the readers who are trying, as we do, to enter this vast universe. You follow a blue road and you discover a white world, ‘un monde blanc’…

Bonne lecture !

A bientôt.

Mairiuna

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

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.

For a good choice of hotels with discount prices, visit Where to stay in Glasgow for more information.

Talk soon.

Janice

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.

St Enoch Subway Station, Glasgow Centre © 2007 Scotiana

Oh yes! Mairiuna, it was quite a fun ride we took aboard Glasgow’s Clockwork Orange subway train. Remember this photograph I took of you both just before we escalated down to the ticket booth?

St Enoch Subway Entrance, Glasgow © 2007 Scotiana

St Enoch Subway Station, Glasgow Centre © 2007 Scotiana

St Enoch Subway Station Ticket Officer © 2007 Scotiana

At the ticket booth, we had a good laugh when the ticket officer, after we told him that you and Jean-Claude came from France and myself from Québec, tells us that the most famous Canadian he knew of was William Shatner. He must of noticed the perplexity in my eyes as I was trying to figure out who was William Shatner.  “Don’t you know Captain Kirk, young lady?”  My gosh..  for sure I knew Captain Kirk from the Star Trek series, much better than William Shatner!

St Enoch Subway Station, Glasgow Centre © 2007 Scotiana

Upon walking out of the St Enoch Station, we decided to visit the St Enoch Centre.  To fully understand its social impact on Glasgow’s shopping frenzy, let’s go back into time for a sentence or two.

In 1783, St Enoch Square was the meet up place of grazing sheeps and since that day the square has grown into one of Glasgow’s finest landmarks.

Places of Interest - Glasgow Submay Maps

The St Enoch Train Station opened its rails to the public in 1876 and was honored to have Queen Victoria arrive in Glasgow through its station on August 22,1888 for her visit to the International Exhibition in Kelvingrove Park.

St Enoch Hotel - Glasgow Centre © 2007 Scotiana

Following the demolition in 1977 of St Enoch Station, which was situated near the opposite end of Queen Street, the high-level station is now the only vaulted railway station left in Scotland.

St Enoch Centre - Glasgow © 2007 Scotiana

Today, on the site of the demolished St-Enoch station, in Glasgow’s busy city centre, the St-Enoch Shopping Centre, inaugurated in 1989, is one of the favorite family shopping destinations. Popular store brands and modern food court makes it the perfect place to shop for specialized crafts and precious gifts.

Watch this short video to grasp the beauty of the largest glass structure in Europe!

Want to know more about who was St-Enoch? Listen to the superb accent of historian David Ross  in this lively short video in which he uncovers the saint who gives her name to this area of Glasgow.

Enjoy and talk soon!
Janice

The Clockwork Orange St Enoch Station © 2007 Scotiana

We like our Underground. From down below it tells you a lot about what is happening up above. South of the Clyde it is largely deserted. Traffic between St Enoch’s and Hillhead is busier with students and shoppers. Some people only like travelling clockwise or anti-clockwise. It is a subway with a heart.
(Glasgow from the Eye in the Sky Douglas Corrance and Ian Archer Mainstream Publishing 1988)

The Clockwork Orange St Enoch Station © 2007 Scotiana

In a recent post I’ve told you how impressed we had been on seeing the Royal Scotsman, a sumptuous first class train, emerging with an Orient-Express style from the Scottish wilderness and stopping in front of us at Rannoch Station. Today, I’m going to tell you about the “Clockwork Orange”, Glasgow Subway. Most of the Glaswegians using it daily will probably never get aboard the Royal Scostman but they are very proud and fond of their subway. Once called Glasgow Underground it got its nickname because of its circular line and the orange colour of the older trains. The one we got on, one summer day in 2007, had bright cream, blue and orange colours and looked like a big toy ready to brave darkness. It was as inviting as Glasgow colourful taxis. Maybe we would not be so enthusiastic if we had to take it everyday to go to work! Anyway, as we watched it loading and unloading its lot of passengers we felt like getting aboard, and we finally did, a whole circular tour, beginning and ending at St Enoch Station…

Glasgow subway map Source Wikimedia

Its main virtue is that as an underground it is a carousel. It starts where it finishes and even if you don’t get dizzy making the full circle, there are certainly bits of it you never noticed. (Glasgow from the Eye in the Sky Douglas Corrance and Ian Archer Mainstream Publishing 1988)

Glasgow Subway Shields Road station © 2007 Scotiana

St Enoch… Buchanan Street… Cowcaddens… St George’s Cross… Kelvinbridge… Hillhead…Kelvinhall… Partick… Govan… Ibrox… Cessnock… Kinning Park…Shields Road…West Street… Bridge Street…and back to St Enoch… like in a song the names come and go, most of them quite unknown to us but each one meaning something for one or other passenger who stops there… it did not take 25 minutes to complete our anti-clockwise tour along the 15 stations of the Clockwork Orange which runs along a circular line and, according to your destination, goes clockwise or anti-clockwise. Directions are indicated as “Outer Circle” (clockwise) and “Inner Circle” (anti-clockwise).

Glasgow Traffic © 2006 Scotiana

There is heavy traffic up there in the streets, especially during the rush hour, so if you want to get around the city fast don’t hesitate to take the subway! Cheap and simple this is a very efficient means of transport which offers a lot of opportunities to the visitor such as the Mackintosh Trail Ticket, the Discovery Ticket or the Daytripper Ticket.

The Clockwork Orange © 2007 Scotiana

Before it was done up in 1980, the tiny trains were of thing of some splendour, the carriages made of teak and wonderfully varnished, the seats of pure leather. It was by then a museum piece which it is again today as a whole station stands as part of the display at the city’s transport museum in the Kelvin Hall (Glasgow from the Eye in the Sky Douglas Corrance and Ian Archer Mainstream Publishing 1988)

The Clockwork Orange © 2007 Scotiana

Let us dream about the good olden times…

The very interesting Museum of Transport, which we visited in 2000, in the Kelvin Hall, before it moved on the banks of the River Clyde can help us to imagine how it was then…

The Clockwork Orange © 2007 Scotiana

The Glasgow Underground, as it was called before 2003, was inaugurated in 1896 and it is the world’s third oldest underground railway after London and Budapest (the underground metro in Paris only opened in 1900), which testifies to Scottish inventiveness and industrial engineering. It had begun as a cable-hauled system operated by steam engines and was electrified in 1935 before being modernized at the end of the 1970s and finally inaugurated by the Queen on November 1st 1979.

The Clockwork Orange StrathClyde Passenger Transport (SPT) Ticket © 2007 Scotiana

Glasgow subway is actually exploited by the Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT), as it can be read on the tickets.

St Enoch Square Glasgow Source Wikipedia

When we emerged from the subway station we found ourselves back again in the open air, amidst the cheerful crowd wandering about St. Enoch Square. The square is situated at the bottom end of Buchanan Street, the city’s busiest shopping street. A small and very picturesque red sandstone building with beautiful gables, ornamented with a clock, carved balconies and ogee-roofed circular turrets, stands in the middle of the square next to the huge modern-style glass building of St Enoch Centre.

Glasgow St Enoch Square Travel Centre © 2007 Scotiana

Azay le Rideau Touraine France Source Wikipedia

Though the French and Scotland buildings are very different in essence I like the comparison which has been made by Jonathan Smith, on SCRAN, between Azay-le-Rideau and the Travel Centre . “Built in Jacobean style and somewhat reminiscent of Azay-le-Rideau.” Both Azay le Rideau and John Miller’s building are quite deligthful, displaying a lot of beautiful architectural details which alas can’t be seen on our photo (right). Jonathan Smith very interestingly adds “The diminutive scale of the building was chosen so that it did not impose on the classical church that stood behind until its demolition in 1925”. We’ve learned since that before becoming the Travel Centre this nice jacobean-style building had been the entrance to the subway station and that it contained on its ground-floor a ticket office, a bookstall and stairs leading to the platforms below. How amazing !

Before going on to Buchanan street, we stayed a long moment in the square, happy to be there and desperately trying to catch a few words of Glasgow’s Scottish dialect.

Glasgow subway places of interest Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) guide map

I’ve just downloaded and printed the very interesting STP brochure and I’m musing over it, thinking things over and anticipating our next visit to Glasgow… As we do love this great city at least as much as Edinburgh we are eager to introduce “Scotiana’s Top Ten in Glasgow” as a counterpart to “Scotiana’s Top Ten in Edinburgh”. It is not easy task for us to choose and classify. Remember, we’re passionate but… only passing travellers;-). But we’ll try to introduce “à notre façon” each of our favourite places in the following posts. There are so many things to see in Glasgow. It’s a fascinating town…

SCOTIANA’S TOP TEN IN GLASGOW

01 – Mackintosh Trail (Glasgow School of Art – Willow Tearooms – House for an Art Lover -
Mackintosh House, Queen’s Cross Church…to be continued on our next trip;-) )

02 – Glasgow Cathedral Precinct (Glasgow Cathedral and the Necropolis – Provand’s Lordship – St Mungo’s Museum)

03 – People’s Palace-Glasgow Green – Doulton Fountain-Templeton

04 – University of Glasgow

05 – Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

06 – George Square – Buchanan Street – City centre – Central Station – The Clockwork Orange

07 – Mitchell Library

08 – Clydeside

09 – The Barras

10 – Museum of Transport

And to end this post here’s the image of the day…

Glasgow St Enoch Square Innocent Village Fête © 2007 Scotiana

Maybe Janice could tell you more about the spirit of the place…

St Enoch Square Innocent Village Fête © 2007 Scotiana

Let’s drive on… A bientôt Mairiuna