'How these curiosities would be quite forgot, did not such idle fellowes as I put them down.'
- John Aubrey
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 and a list of all posts see the 'Introduction' post -
http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.com/2010/02/introduction.html
Today is Saturday 19 May 2012, and we are off to Hampden Park to take some pics of the Hibs and Hearts fans coming through for the Cup Final - the first Scottish cup final between the two Edinburgh clubs since 1896.
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| We are on the 66 bus in Renfrew St - Hearts supporters below ready for the off |
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| In Renfield St now - Hibs fans on the right corner there |
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| A green man for the Hibees! An omen? |
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| Hearts fans down there in Drury St - good business for Glasgow pubs today |
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| In Argyle St |
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| Couple of Hibs fans in Buchanan St |
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| About to cross the river |
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| Gorbals Tyres. Never noticed the wee thin door by sign before. The things you see from buses. |
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| Brazen Head up there on left - big Celtic pub, they won't be cheering for Hearts |
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| A rickshaw in front |
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| Now in Victoria Rd. We have to wait for a new bus driver. The rickshaw overtakes us, It's all like that dawdling bus passage at the end of Lucky Jim |
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| Hibs flag at window |
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| Hearts fans on right |
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| Buses for the fans |
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| First sign of a police presence there on the right - we have reached the outer security perimeter |
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| Note cops off to right. A few men were singing about being 'up to their knees in fenian blood' and the cops silenced them - doubtless reminding them it is illegal to sing that song. Jambos on left are waving at. . . |
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| . . .a minbus of Hibees |
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| All Hearts fans. Have to say already there is not the cheerfully desegregated atmosphere of the Dundee United and Ross County fans in Battlefield Rd two years ago |
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| For all Hearts supporters not maroon enough |
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| Foot long hot dogs - blue train whooshing past |
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| Prayers for Healing |
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| Heading up to Cathcart Rd and Hampden |
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| Hampden now in view |
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| Jambos hailing some Hibs fans debussing in the distance |
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| A friendly salute. Some Hibs and Hearts fans have come through together, others have pals in the opposite camp |
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| We're going to walk to the Hibs end now |
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| Hearts fan taking a pic of a Hibs family |
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| This is the way it should be |
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| 'I HATE JAM_TARTS' |
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| One of several cute (but very efficient) sniffer dogs |
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| These young women were handing our cards - some marketing promotion |
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| We're heading back to Hearts end. Will the icing be on the cake for the Jambos? |
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| We can catch a glimpse of the pitch here |
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| Beer bottles - once a common site at Scottish football games, now pretty rare |
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| Hooray - a piper |
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| Young Hibs and Hearts fans being ushered into the stadium |
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| A cop takes a pic for some fans |
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| I've photographed a few things I can't really show or that it would not be appropriate to post -you can't see this boy being huckled away by cops so have put it up. One fan says 'was he singing the Sash?' |
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| Lest we forget |
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| You can just see wee black sniffer dog in there working hard |
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| The wee dog emerges |
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| The cops are actually very helpful |
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| Taking a pic of the coveted ticket |
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| Ah done good, eh? Gallus wee creature |
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| Job well done |
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| Looking back |
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| On Cathcart Rd again |
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| A poster for Jim Davidson's Sinderella. I am behind him in a queue in the Byres Rd Waitrose a week later as he charms the ladies - he hails me as the John Travolta to his Brad Pitt - I actually look more like Yoko Ono these day alas |
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| A lost Jambo hat |
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| Waiting for the 66 bus. The score? Hearts win 5-1 |
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| A faded message in maroon |
Feel free to drop me an email with suggestions, offers of £20 notes etc. The address is damnyouebay@gmail.com
My other wee blogs are
http://parkeddogs.blogspot.com/
http://buddhasblackdog.blogspot.com/
Reviews of Scotland: 1000 Things You Need to Know
RADIO AND TELEVISON
'I love it - I'm giving this copy to a friend and buying another for myself' - Darren Adam, Presenter, Radio Forth, 17 November 2008
‘It’s a great wee book’ – Stephen Jardine, introducing Edwin Moore on Scottish Television’s Five-Thirty Show
'A fantastic book' - Scott Wilson , talk 107 Breakfast Show host
'A great read' - Dougie Jackson, Drivetime host, Smooth Radio 105.2
THE PRESS
'Despite its apparently humorous format, this is a serious and extensive dictionary on all things Scottish; from Jean Redpath to Lorne sausage, from Flodden to the Corries. Is particularly good on history and minutiae. There's a useful chapter on famous Scottish legal cases and another on literature. Excellent' - Royal Scottish Legion, Feb 2009
'This is the ultimate Scottish reference book' - Waterstones Christmas catalogue, 2008
'This is a fascinating look at the history of Scotland: its languages, politics and great achievements, from its origins in the ancient landmass of Laurentia 400 million years ago, to devolution and Billy Connolly. Edwin Moore has collected a thousand important facts about this beautiful country, covering Scottish history and culture, correcting misconceptions, and examining the mysteries of haggis and bagpipes with insight, warmth and impressive attention to detail' - The Good Book Guide, November 2008
'This is a recipe for revealing how horribly ill informed you are about your country. Although, if you are skillful, you can nod sagely as you read some new fact and mutter 'Ah, yes!' as if recalling the information from your excellent schooling. Where else will you find a real recipe for making haggis from scratch side by side with a potted biography of David Hume; a section of the Declaration of Arbroath and the curiously touching fact that Lulu was only 15 when she had a hit with 'Shout'? The whole thing is of course, silly - but oh so addictive.' - Matthew Perren, i-on Glasgow, December 2008
'. . . well crafted and witty' - Bill Howatson, Aberdeen Press and Journal, 18 October 2008
‘While most of Edwin’s entries are entertaining and scholarly – he writes like a Scottish Bill Bryson – it is when he takes an interest in the backwaters of history, the details lost down the back of the sofa, that he is at his best’ – Jack McKeown, The Courier, 27 October 2008
'History, it is said, is written by the victors. Trivia, meanwhile, is written by the guys with the smeared spectacles and the breathable rainwear. The first discipline is linear and causal; to quote from Alan Bennett’s play The History Boys, history is “just one f****** thing after another”. Things look different, though, when viewed through the prism of trivia. The past is reduced to one big coleslaw of fascinating facts that in their randomness tell a more mixed-up tale entirely.
The first approach leads to big, frowning books by the likes of Tom Devine and Michael Fry. The latter results in small, cheerful books such as Scotland: 1,000 Things You Need to Know, Edwin Moore’s valiant attempt to navigate the more trivial contours of enlightenment and clearances, crown and parliament, dirt and deity.
Moore proceeds from a sincere and controversial first principle: Scotland is really a rather pleasant and interesting place. . .As a work of popular scholarship, though, it’s in a different league to the Scottish novelty titles that get stocked next to the bookstore tills as potential impulse purchases, those little handbooks of parliamo Caledonia and regional braggadocio, such as Weegies vs Edinbuggers.' - Allan Brown The Sunday Times, 21 September 2008
'In his book, Scotland: 1000 Things You Need to Know, Edwin celebrates all that sets us Scots as a race apart - our language, law, flora, food, and of course, our people. From our poets, architects and inventors, to our artists, entertainers and fighters. But he doesn't shy away from the more unpleasant aspects of our history. . .' - Robert Wight, Sunday Post, 14 September 2008
‘We think we know all about William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and the Union of the Crowms. However, according to Edwin Moore, author of , Scotland: 1000 Things You Need to Know, we’re still in the dark about many aspects of our history and culture. . . The Big Issue looks at 20 of the most astonishing examples of secret Scotland.’ – The Big Issue, 18-24 September 2008
'What's the connection between Homer Simpson and Larbert, and why are generations of lawyers grateful to a Paisley snail? Need to know more? Author Edwin Moore has gathered 1000 facts like these about Scotland in a quirky new book. Brian Swanson selects a few favourites. . .' - Scottish Daily Express, 13 September 2008
'The palm for Christmas-stocking books seems to have passed recently to popular science, with best selling titles every year such as Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze? This year there has been a gallant attempt at a historical fight back. Scotland: 1,000 Things You Need to Know(Atlantic Books, £12.99) asks (and answers) such post-turkey questions as ‘How many kings of Scotland died in their beds?’, ‘Who on earth decided that the Declaration of Arbroath was the cornerstone of modern democracy?’ or ‘Why is iron brew spelled Irn-Bru?’ Mark Mazower,History Today; The Best of History in 2008, December 2008
'A real treat for the serendipitous Scotophile' - Reginald Hill
FROM THE INTERWEB
www.Booksfromscotland.com (on the new paperback edition)
Book of the Month, May 2010
'Whether it's Scottish lochs or Enlightenment philosophers, the facts of the devolution referendums or the mysteries of Irn-Bru, myths will be debunked and truths revealed in this light-hearted but rigorous overview of Scottish history and culture.'
Also available for download on Amazon's e-book store is my 100 Brief Encounters (only £3.06!)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/100-Brief-Encounters-ebook/dp/B006CQ8G84/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322393003&sr=1-1
Here are some reviews of the print edition (published by Chambers in 2007) -
Edwin Moore's quirky collection of a hundred encounters between (mostly) important historical figures is a gem of a book. Where else could you get concise enlightening accounts of Henry VIII wrestling with Francis I, Geronimo surrendering to General Miles, Ernest Hemingway presenting Fidle Castro with a fishing trophy or (as seen on the books cover) a baby faced Bill Clinton shaking hands with John F Kennedy. A marvelous 'little window on human history. ' - Dominic Kennerk, Waterstone's Product Planning and Promotions Co-ordinator (From the Waterstone's 'We Recommend' list for 2008)
Witty, light and packed with information -- The Sunday Herald
In 1936, in the wake of winning a clutch of gold medals at the Berlin Olympics, the great athlete Jesse Owens was snubbed by an imperious leader, on racial grounds. Popular belief would have it that the leader was Hitler, who is said to have stormed off, furious to see a black man beating European athletes. In fact the man in question was President Roosevelt, who worried that paying attention to Owens' triumphs might be a vote loser. Although Owens and the German Chancellor never talked, Owens claimed that Hitler greeted him with an enthusiastic wave. Such near-misses, shakings of hands and ships-in-the-night meetings are the subject of Brief Encounters – Meetings between mostly remarkable people, a likeable new book by Edwin Moore (Chambers £7.99). Flicking through the index, you will find some expected encounters (Dante stares at Beatrice, Corday stabs Marat, The Beatles strum along to a Charlie Rich record round at Elvis's house), and the book's intriguing and memorable cover shows a baby-faced Bill Clinton manfully gripping the hand of JFK. But Moore has navigated past some of the more obvious collisions, collusions and confrontations of history (there is no Dr Livingstone, I presume) and much of the book's pleasure derives from lesser known incidents.
Inevitably, some of the accounts of earlier meetings are somewhat sketchy but Moore offers some piquant speculation, laced with humour (the book is tagged Reference / Humour, rather than History and this feels right, but the book, though wry and opinionated, never stoops to wackiness). I was intrigued to discover that, though Attila the Hun did die on his wedding night, it was not in drunken and lecherous debauchery, as his enemies maintained, but supposedly because he was generally a simple and clean-living man who had a few too many which brought on a particularly bad nosebleed.
Moore's book is full of such tales – it would be wrong of me to steal the tastiest morsels of his research and pepper this article with them, but look out for a subsidiary reason for the Gunpowder Plot (too many dour and powerful Scots in Parliament); a great meeting of great beards, as Castro wins the Hemingway prize for sea-fishing; Dali bringing a skeptical Freud round to the art of the surrealists; Buffalo Bill's wife claiming an aged Queen Victoria had propositioned him; Oscar Wilde getting a kiss from Walt Whitman, while Walter Scott was more taken with Burns's charismatic eyes. This is an enjoyable and vigorous rattle through some fascinating and believable yarns. My only quibble is that it's a little on the short side – let's have Volume 2 please Chambers! - Roddy Lumsden, www.Books from Scotland.com
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