atozchallenge

  • P is for Panopticon

    In 1857 Glasgow’s Trongate was no longer the wealthy and desirable locale built by the tobacco lords who had headed over to the west end of the city. Trongate was an area of dubious reputation with over 200 shebeens and 130 brothels crammed into a street no more than one eighth of a mile. So…

  • O is for Grand Ole Opry

    What is the first thing that springs to mind when you think about Glasgow? Gangs? Violence? Witty banter and a certain sense of style? I bet it isn’t country and western music but Glasgow, in common with many working class cities, has a long tradition of cowboys. There is even a shop with the risqué…

  • N is for Necropolis

    With the passing of the 1832 Cemeteries Act allowing burial for profit, The Glasgow Necropolis was built on a hill to the east of St Mungo’s – Glasgow Cathedral. Around 50,000 people are interred there although there are ‘only’ 3,500 monuments and headstones. Like most Victorian cemeteries, the Necropolis is laid out like a park…

  • M is for Ming

    I got my first dog when I was around ten years old. He was a Pekingese who was, because it was a Chinese breed, named Ming. This was an unfortunate name for a Gasgow dog as to ‘ming’ meant to smell. I soon lost count of the number of “Oi! Yuir dug’s mingin’” jibes I…

  • L is for Lewis’s

    I started my first Saturday job when I was 15. I washed dishes in the Golden Egg off Argyle Street in Glasgow. It was a horrid job. They expected me to wash ashtrays in the same water as the other dishes. And there was no plug for the sink. You had to use a wad…

  • J is for John Smeaton

    On June 30th 2007, terrorists launched an attack at Glasgow airport. An explosives packed, burning jeep was driven into the entrance of the airport. An off-duty baggage handler heard the commotion and rushed out to see what was going on. On seeing the burning vehicle and one of it’s occupants attempting to flee, this Scotsmam…

  • I is for Insults

    No body does an insult like a Weegie. and to prove my point, try using the examples below next time you want to cut someone down a peg or two. WARNING: the following contains sweary words. Away n bile yer heid.  Go and boil your head. Ya big balloon.  You large, pompous oaf. Ya bampot.…

  • F is for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

    [tweetmeme source=”nettiewriter” http://www.URL.com] Ferris Bueller takes the day off school and decides that his friend Cameron, should join him. He fakes sickness and when Ferris goes round to Cameron’s house, he convinces him to steal his father’s Ferrari. Together, they hoodwink the school principal into believing that there has been a death in the family…

  • E is for The Exorcist

    [tweetmeme source=”nettiewriter” http://www.URL.com] The film opens with elderly priest Father Merrin on an archeological dig in Iraq where he finds a demonic statue. Meanwhile, in Washington D.C. an actress has rented a house with her daughter Reagan while she works on a movie. Strange things begin happening in the house: there are noises in the…

  • D is for Demolition Man

    [tweetmeme source=”nettiewriter” http://www.URL.com] This is the first guilty secret I’m revealing during the A to Z Challenge. I love this film and I refuse to apologise for it. In 1995 John Spartan is imprisoned for recklessness in duty, causing the death of a busload of children. His quarry, Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes) is also imprisoned.…