Gallus Glasgow A: the Armadillo

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By Ross Goodman (originally posted to Flickr as DSC_6974) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Ross Goodman (originally posted to Flickr as DSC_6974) CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) via Wikimedia Commons
That’s the Armadillo above. It’s real name is the Clyde Auditorium, but you won’t find many Glaswegians calling it that. We’re too gallus. We just love our nicknames, and this building does bear a certain resemblance to an armadillo – what do you think?

By http://www.birdphotos.com (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By http://www.birdphotos.com (Own work) CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Looks aren’t everything of course – and I can also tell you that, in my opinion, the Armadillo has the comfiest seats of any concert venue in Glasgow.

Just along from it is another example of a Glaswegian nickname. This bridge across the river is formally known as the Clyde Arc. Whit?! as we say in these parts. It’s the Squinty Bridge! Obviously.

By Myriam Thyes (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Myriam Thyes (Own work) CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Come back for B tomorrow – and bring your dancing shoes.

 

A to Z Challenge 2015, Scotland, UK , , , ,

54 Comments »

  1. Pingback: Street art: Maryhill – The Glasgow Gallivanter
  2. Pingback: Cheryl’s Homemade Alphabet Soup ~ A Mixture Of Blogging From A-to-Z Posts (2015) | Plucking Of My Heartstrings

  12. I’m French (although I grew up in the UK) and one thing I love about the Brits is the tendency to give things and people nicknames – it’s quite a unique thing I think.

    The squinty bridge is a great nickname!

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  13. I recently finished a manuscript set in Glasgow which is under consideration with my publisher. The Armadillo and Squinty Bridge featured in my book. Great seeing them here…brought back memories of my characters’ love story 🙂

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    • Really – how fabulous! Thanks for visiting. I will check out your blog as soon as I can, but I’m in an area with poor reception / weak wifi at the moment and anything other than basic answering of comments is very, very difficult so I’m well behind.

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  14. I love your first A-Z Glasgow entry Anabel. Dancing shoes at the ready though I’ll be a few hours behind as I’m in Arizona for the month(hence my post- and thanks for looking in) love that you gave the squinty bridge a shout out
    Anne

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  16. I agree that it looks somewhat like the Sydney Opera House. Though I can also see the resemblance to the Armadillo. I have only seen an armadillo in the wild once when I was in Central America but it was cool to see it.

    Sean at His and Her Hobbies

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  19. Anabel,
    I loved Glasgow, and observing how houses and buildings had names, unlike the United States. Just seems to regal. This was interesting to learn about the nicknames of these two places!
    Thanks,
    Amy

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  21. Oh, this is funny! I lived for 30 years in Texas where we saw real armadillos frequently…so when I saw your headline, I thought, “What???” You got me. Great nickname! It suits the building.

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  23. I’m visiting through the A to Z Challenge list but I think I’ll definitely be stopping by again. I live on the Isle of Bute, so I’m familiar with the Armadillo and the Squinty Bridge. 🙂

    Can’t wait to see what else you post.

    Cait @ Click’s Clan

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