How these curiosities would be quite forgot, did not such idle fellowes as I put them down.'
- John Aubrey
'Oh roads we used to tread,
Fra' Maryhill to Pollokshaws - fra' Govan to Parkhead!
- Kipling, 'McAndrew's Hymn'
'Photography can be a mirror and reflect life as it is, but I also think that perhaps it is possible to walk like Alice, through a looking-glass, observe the puzzles in one’s head and find another kind of world with the camera.' - Tony Ray-Jones
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 -
Feel free to drop me an email with suggestions, offers of £20 notes etc. The address is damnyouebay@gmail.com. I have had to start watermarking the pics as I have come across one big website using a pic without permission - I suppose there must be others.
If you are a private individual and want to use any of the pics for non-commercial purposes please get in touch and I will usually be happy to say 'Aye' for free - just give the Album a credit. If you want to use a pic for commercial purposes a small mutually agreed fee and a credit will suffice. And you can follow me on Twitter if you wish: Edwin Moore@GlasgowAlbum.
Today is Saturday 4 April 2015 and we are pff to George Square for the Scrap Trident rally. See
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| Passing Scotland Forever shop, which the march will go past |
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| George Square, people assembling |
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| As usual, if you are in any of these photies and want a clean full resolution pic, just ask |
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| Cop conflab |
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| The giant figures are by CND, the blue one is called Sandy, the female has the rather irritating name CiNDy. CND has nailed its colours firmly to the pro-Scottish independence mast. See https://www.facebook.com/scottishcnd |
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| Lots of Hands off Yemen posters. |
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| Socialist Worker, ubiquitous as ever |
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| I have imitation Ortliebs |
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| Glasgow Green Party. Our excellent councillor Martha Wardrop on right |
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| Dog on left signalling to dog on right |
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| I chat to the guy on the left (of course they are all on the left politically), say that I do not agree with their policies but their party did some great work when they had MSPs - pushing through the ending of warrant sales, etc. They are now extinct as a political force, although there is the occasional media appearance from the likes of Colin Fox. Their function for the SNP in the Yes campaign was to give an impression of a wider range than SNP in the Yes campaign |
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| Let's go down to the drummers leading the march |
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| Off we go |
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| This smart chap is collecting for the Royal Marines charity. We donate some money and take a sticker. See http://www.rmctf.org.uk/ |
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| Turning into Renfield St |
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| For an attempt at completeness at capturing the march, there are going to be many more photies like this - feel free to skip |
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| Hello! |
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| Lovely wee face |
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| Two ladies having a chat - a Bud Neill cartoon come to life |
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| Wee boy on scooter brings up end of march |
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| We head back to the square |
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| Stickers on the old public toilets |
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| Council should do something with these - wee flower garden, whatever |
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| Back in square |
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| Blockade Faslane |
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| Solidarity - the Tommy Sheridan groupuscle, founded after the split from the SSP |
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| Gail Sheridan in the green jacket, centre. She writes a column 'Gail's Gab' in the Evening Times. One recent column on how evil Westminster is managed to misspell Malcolm Rifkind throughout as 'Rifkin', an indication that no one at the Times bothers reading it. Ms Sheridan is much exercised by the fact that Westminster MPs are on high salaries but seems unaware that Holyrood MSPs are also on huge salaries - indeed FM Nicola Sturgeon is one of the highest paid elected leaders in the western world. (Gail praises Nicola, but Nicola seems to be silent on any merits Tommy may have.) |
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| For the Tommy Sheridan trial (and good walks between St Enoch's Square and the High Court) see
Swingergate Day 2: Tommy and Gail Sheridan on Trial
Swingergate Day 11: 'How's He No' Gettin' Drapped Aff?'
Swingergate Day 28: A Large Pinch of Salt
Swingergate Day 37: Andy Coulson doesn't slip up
Swingergate Day 45: Waiting for the Verdict
Swingergate Day 46: the Last Day
Swingergate: Sentenced
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| Tommy raises a clenched fist. Guy beside him shouts 'Freedom'. Braveheart Bolshevism from the Tartan Trots. I first noticed the hunger of the left to wrap itself in Scottish patriotism at the short-lived Occupy demo here; saltires and royal standards rather than red or black flags. See George Square 3: 'Occupy Glasgow' October/November 2011 |
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| Agree with this petition: Dungavel is a place of misery that shames us. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungavel |
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| Guy in kilt looks like the lamented Andy Stewart |
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| Man in kilt buys a Scottish flag. There's a thing you don't see every day |
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| Over to the Cenotaph |
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| The two ladies on the left are explaining the joys of a future independent Scotland to the chaps on the right |
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| This conversation may go on a while |
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| The march arrives back |
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The V for Vendetta Guy Fawkes masks are not quite fitting in a Scottish context.
Scottish nationalists often suffer from the delusion that Fawkes is one of theirs as he wanted to blow up Westminster - in fact, like many English Catholics and liberal Protestants he distrusted the Scots Calvinists descending on London and told the fearful Jamie Saxt ‘Our intention was to blow back the beggarly Scots to their native mountains.’
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| Lady in hijab. Only one I have noticed on the march, whatever that may mean. |
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| Here comes Sandy and the annoying CiNDy |
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| Thomas Graham gazes upon the scene |
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| The CP used to have a hefty presence on CND marches. Changed days |
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| Marchers climb onto the Cenotaph to take pics. This is disrespectful to our war dead - I say as much to someone who is standing by. He smirks and shrugs. For some of the marchers the Cenotaph belongs to the Age of Ignorance - Coning the Duke and the Age of Ignorance http://glasgowalbum.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/coning-duke-and-ages-of-ignorance.html |
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| A frisson of tension - this lady has been handing out sweeties to the children of middle-class parents. A coolness is in the air |
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| A pair of cops walk past, unbothered by the feet on the cenotaph. So it goes |
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| We decide to take a break, visit our sister up the road. Nicola Sturgeon is giving interviews just now but we have enough previous pics of Nicola in the square -
When Worlds Collide: Botham's Great Walk, the SNP Rally, Cricket and Glasgow, Bernard Ponsonby and the Monstrosity
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| Interlude: Bus spotters at Buchanan St |
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| Lovely patient dog |
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| The soprano Kyla Lingley at the Buchanan St steps |
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| For the campaign to save the steps see
Save Our Steps: Stop the demolition of the Buchanan Street steps
Save our Steps 2 and Bairns Not Bombs
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| An evangelical church group on our left. The evengelical churches - strong immigrant backbone - are growing in Glasgow and doing good community work |
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| Interlude over. Back in the square |
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| Impressive costume on right. Think this chap was photographed at Salmond's book signing the other week. |
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| Our fine Councillor Martha Wardrop again. The Scottish Greens will not do well at the GE say the polls |
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For the George Square encounter between Loyalists and Yessers after the referendum see
Referendum Day + 1: Loyalists and Yessers in George Square - 'Scotland, Who AreYou?’
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| Posters from the day (and Royal Marines sticker) |
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| Kelvinbrdge, later that day. The General Election will confirm what we already know, that there are now two Scotlands, two nations of equal size: one half is moved to tears of joy as Nicola Sturgeon clutches yet another photo-opportunity child to her bosom, the other half is not sure whether to laugh or cry at the spectacle. |
Thank you for browsing, dear visitor.
My other barking wee blog is
Reviews of Scotland: 1000 Things You Need to Know
RADIO AND TELEVISION
'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
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.co.uk
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