A Glasgow Album: April 2011

Welcome to my wee photoblog on Glasgow, where we feature the joys and unjoys of walking and cycling through a fascinating, beautiful and often badly run city. For the blog's origin see the 'Introduction' post -
http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.com/2010/02/introduction.html
An alphabetical list of all posts so far can be found at the end of this post

Today is 25 March, 2011 and we are going to walk from Rutherglen to Gallowgate, completing along the way our visit to the Dalmarnock Athletes' Village area. I tried to post this whole thing earlier but my 512 RAM Mac Mini is dying and crashed on me, so I have split this walk into two. Part 1 is from Rutherglen to the 'Athletes Village' -

http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.com/2011/04/welcome-to-glasgow-4-rutherglen-to_26.html

and this section - part 2 - is from the Village to the Eastenders pub in Gallowgate.

For the previous relevant cycling/walking posts see

Welcome to Glasgow: the Dalmarnock Rd
http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.com/2010/09/welcome-to-glasgow-dalmarnock-road.html
Welcome to Glasgow 3: Charing Cross station to Dalmarnock station
http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.com/2011/03/welcome-to-glasgow-3-charing-cross.html

The Turnstiles pub

Celtic Park appearing on left

London Road Primary School

We're heading up there to Celtic Park

Crossing London Road

As Father Jack was wont to say: GIRLS GIRLS

And here, as the Victorian traveller would say, we bid farewell to London Road

For the 2009 Tommy Burns tribute, see
http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.com/2010/07/tommy-burns-tribute-16-may-2009.html

'Jinky' Jimmy Johnstone: one of Celtic's greatest and most loved players. Statue erected in 2008

Ireland United

Jock Stein holding the European Cup he won in 1967 - with a team all born in Scotland and mostly born in the east end, virtually a local club; an astonishing achievement. The statue was erected just a few weeks earlier, 5 March.

Here is a video of the unveiling:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgyddD7tinE

It is John Reid who draws the eye. He looks like a lizard that has just swallowed a small mammal. He looked that way when he was in the CPGB lecturing us about the inevitable victory of communism, and he looked that way when he was in charge of the British armed forces and told us not a shot would be fired in Afghanistan. And he will look that way when he pulls the mask off and he and his fellow lizards take us over.

Run Jinky!

This 2005 statue is of Brother Walfrid, who founded Celtic. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_Walfrid

Some day there will be a statue of John Reid beside the others. Here is an artist's impression with a human for scale.
http://cdn.wn.com/pd/9a/6a/c7f12d4907ce501f69e7ee8519da_grande.jpg

Now in Janefield St

I have to say this a pretty shabby piece of metal to greet new visitors to what is one of the world's greatest football clubs. Perhaps it looks all right from the directors' limos

The Eastern Necropolis. We shall go there one day. For the main necropolis see

http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.com/2010/02/necropolis.html

In Holywell St

Calling Cards

A lost club; worth googling

Cardowan Creameries. see
http://www.cardowan.co.uk/

From their website
'Cardowan Creameries are manufacturers of an extensive range of bulk margarines, shortenings and bread fats and are one of the few major producers in the United Kingdom still operating as an independent family business.'

As Homer Simpson would say 'bulk margarines. . .bread fats. . .hmmm'

Now on Gallowgate

Looking east

We are heading this way, west

The Forge is one of the biggest shopping centres in Scotland.

http://www.forgeshopping.com/

The website shows pics of goodlooking healthy people clutching huge sugary drinks. I was in last year, and came upon a freaky wig stall with a sign saying REAL HUMAN HAIR - and the families clutching huge sugary drinks were not quite as portrayed on the website

Millerston St up there looking north from Gallowgate

Fielden St on south side

Looking up Millerston St

Whitevale St with its old public baths on north side

Looking back

Looking west

East End Healthy Living Centre. See http://www.eehlc.org.uk/

The once beautiful art deco Bellgrove Hotel - formerly a symbol of Jazz Age Glasgow, now a place of despair. I once cycled past a huddle of the male residents of bellgrove gathered around another on the ground around here; when I cycled back the man had died. For the truth about the WHO figures for Calton male life expectancy (I have seen them quoted as fact four times in one year in the Guardian), see

http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.com/2010/03/calton.html

The figures (supposedly 'the worst in Europe') are skewed because of hostels such as as this where single homeless men arrive - and where their tragic lives have often ended. As with the St Enoch Hotel - see

http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.com/2010/10/swingergate-part-2-hows-he-no-gettin.html

- you can find chirpy upbeat reviews online of the Bellgrove. Ignore them.

See
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/975441.stm

From that 2000 BC report

'The Bellgrove Hotel has been described as the worst doss house in Scotland, the last large private hotel of its kind in the country.

It's home for men who don't have anywhere else to go. They hand over their Housing Benefit, and get a room and very little else in exchange. The Bellgrove is a last resort. The end of the road. We went undercover to see for ourselves the conditions inside.

We came across the volatile atmosphere in the dining room, and the apparent lack of control by staff. And there was the bleak and barren TV room where men too drunk to move slept on the floor.

And then there were the disturbing claims of a lack of care and support. This man in a wheelchair said he was left stranded on a first floor landing all day, and he claimed there was no help to carry out the most simple task like going to the toilet. '

For the (B-listed) building itself, see

http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/sc-49927-607-gallowgate-bellgrove-hotel-

The site says

'This building is of importance both stylistically and as part of Glasgow's social history. An excellent and particularly striking example of Thirties Moderne architecture, the Bellgrove Hotel encompasses many of the essential components of this style: clean white lines, curves, a horizontal bias, and decorative bands of coloured tiles. It forms a significant part of the streetscape in an area which has changed greatly within the last 50 years. '

I think we must go back and look at the Whitevale Baths

For more on the extraordinary Whitevale Public Baths see

http://www.derelictglasgow.co.uk/derelict.whitevale.baths.html

Gallowgate Tenants Hall

I guess 'Ally' is actually an 'Ali'

We have now come to Abercromby St on left, Bellgrove St on right

Looking up Bellgrove St; we'll pop over for a quick look

The Bellgrove St entrance to the old abattoir. Duke St at end of this street. See
http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.com/2010/03/dennistoun.html

Looking down Abercromby St

Looking down Abercromby St. For the 'God Bless Tommy Burns' poster and the church see

http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.com/2010/09/welcome-to-glasgow-dalmarnock-road.html

Looking east

Looking west

Now in Graham Square. For an excellent guide to the Calton area and its architecture see

http://www.google.com/search?q=calton+are+heritage&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Splendid Daliesque facade on left

In front of the old abattoir. The Statue is called 'Calf' by local sculptor Kenny Hunter and was erected in 2000. The calf wears a garland. The inscription running along the base is from John Berger's essay 'Why Look at Animals' and says 'ANIMALS CAME FROM OVER THE HORIZON, THEY BE / LONGED there & here, LIKEWISE / THEY WERE IMMORTAL, EACH LION WAS / LION AND EACH OX WAS OX'

Graham square is now peaceful, but for many, many years the screams of animals being slaughtered came from behind that arch. When I registered at an employment agency in 2004 after being made redundant, the first job the agency offered this vegetarian was abattoir work. The screams continue elsewhere

Back on Gallowgate

Cops casting long shadows

The Wee Mans Bar (under earlier names) dates back to the 1850s and has an interesting history. See

http://www.oldglasgowpubs.co.uk/auldhoosegallowgate.html

From the site
'When the original Auld Hoose was demolished on the Gallowgate this old pub changed it’s name to The Auld Hoose, when the original Wee Mans closed down further along the Gallowgate it changed it’s name again to the Wee Mans.'