glasgow

  • S is for Saint Mungo

    Saint Mungo is the founder and patron saint of Glasgow. His early clerical life was spent as an evangelist in the ancient kingdom of Strathclyde under King Rhiderch Hael. He built his church beside the Molindinar Burn, not far from the site of Saint Mungo’s cathedral. Mungo is said to have performed 4 miracles during…

  • R is for Rottenrow

    Rottenrow is a street in Townhead which dates back to medieval times. There is some disagreement over the origins of its name. Some say it is because there was a ‘row’ of rat infested cottages there; others that it was names after the route of the king – Rat-an-righ in Gaelic. By the mid-20th century…

  • Q is for Queenslie

    As I mentioned in E is for Easterhouse, I grew up in the greater area of Easterhouse, but my particular wee part of hell was called Queenslie. Queenslie was a small scheme of only four streets built primarily to house the workers at the adjoining industrial estate. I lived on the top floor of a…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • H is for the HielanMan’s Umbrella

    During the latter Highland clearances in the 19th century, around 30,000 Gaelic speaking displaced people arrived in Glasgow looking for work. They dispersed all over the city but, usually on Saturdays, they would meet together under the railway bridge which carried the trains from Central Station across Argyle Street. Given the amount of rain Glasgow…

  • G is for Gangs and Ginger

    Glasgow. Gangs. The two go together like Morcambe & Wise, Torville & Dean, Brady & Hindly… As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I am from the greater area of Easterhouse. My wee scheme had 4 streets in it. Four streets and three gangs, the two biggest being the Rebels and the Fleet. One…