The Ideal Hut Show

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The Ideal Hut Show has reached Glasgow’s Botanic Gardens! A selection of architects, artists and designers from Scotland and abroad have transformed standard garden sheds for this exhibition, which is touring Scotland as part of the Festival of Architecture. I loved it! Especially as the weather has been so good lately: it’s been fun to wander through the huts. Do you have a favourite?

Andy Scott
Craig Amy Architect
Ian Ritchie
Eva Jiricna
Benedetta and Miralles Tagliabue
Konishi Gaffney
Page\Park Architects
John Russell
Jane Duncan
David Mackay
Isabel and Clara Garriga-Serrano, Holmes Miller
Jon Jardine
Malcolm Fraser
Adrian Wiszniewski

This has got me thinking about “Festival Glasgow”. In the first 6 months of this year, as well as the Festival of Architecture, we’ve been to events for Celtic Connections (music), Aye Write (books), the Storytelling Festival, Glasgow International (art), the West End Festival and Refugee Festival Scotland.

Some highlights – NB these are mostly phone photos, sometimes from quite a distance away, so they don’t really bear enlarging:

Here’s Frazey Ford (ex-Be Good Tanyas) supported by Ola Onabule at the ABC – this was our favourite gig of Celtic Connections (the emphasis mostly being on Connections rather than Celtic.) We were right at the front which had the added advantage, for an all-standing gig, of being able to lean against the crowd-barrier. The musicians at the Royal Concert Hall (centre) were a little stiff though 😉

Frazey Ford
“Musicians”
Ola Onabule

I’d never been to a Storytelling Festival before. It surprised me by having music and images as well as spoken word.

Kittlinclapperdin
A Circumnavigation

I visited a number of small exhibitions during Glasgow International. Below is a 16th century commonplace book which formed the centrepiece of Speaking Volumes at Glasgow Women’s Library, a couple of colourful rooms at the David Dale Gallery, Semi-gloss, Semi-permeable in the gloriously light space of the Albus, and back to the Botanic Gardens where some sculptures by Aaron Angell nestled amongst the plants in the hothouse.

Speaking Volumes – 18C commonplace book
David Dale Gallery
David Dale Gallery
Semi-gloss, Semi-permeable
Aaron Angell
Aaron Angell

Finally, the West End Festival is still in full swing. Last Sunday we caught this colourful Lion Dance in a street near our home.

Lion Dance
Lion Dance
Lion Dance

Glasgow is a really fun place to live, so the moral of my story is, there’s never a bad time to visit – there’s always something on!

Scotland, UK , , , ,

47 Comments »

  1. If I had a bigger garden I think I would pick Jane Duncan’s black striped hut. It looks really cool. What a lot of wonderful festivals. Such a lot of choices. We have a lot of festivals here too but they are mostly music festivals. Would love to attend some of these.

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  7. Love all the huts, couldn’t pick a favourite. We went to the Tatton Park Flower Show last year and they had a hut section – it was our favourite part of the whole thing, who knew what creativity could do to a humble shed.

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  9. So great to have all sorts of culture and variety on our doorstep! My parents are visiting from Canada tomorrow so I’ll start with the Botanic Gardens. Your photos are excellent!

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  12. Cool sheds!
    You certainly live in a vibrant city. My home town is a cultural black hole. Luckilyvwe live clise to Manchester and Liverpool whuch helps. But Glasgow probably has even more going on than either

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    • Thanks! I don’t know much about Liverpool but I always think Manchester looks to have a lot going on. We lived in a cultural backwater before Glasgow so I really appreciate what we have.

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      • Aye. The grass is always greener!
        I reckon Liverpool is better at “culture” than Manchester. But there’s always something to see and do in both cities. But all the Glasgow festivals always look fun.

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  14. Love the huts. I have a garden ‘shed’ that is my sanctuary. I don’t quite know why these little structures give you freedom to do things you wouldn’t do in traditional homes, but by looking at your photos (and looking at mine), it seems to be true.

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  15. So much fun! I love the huts – I think the black and white striped one is my favorite, but so hard to choose just one. And so many festivals to attend! Glasgow is definitely on my list of must-visit places!!

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  16. These huts are cool looking and my favourite is the purple one with the blueish/purply door with the round window. The one man with the accordion looks quite old. There seems to be a lot going on there and so much fun

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  21. From the moment you mentioned the Ideal Hut Show, I thought, “wow, there is so much to do in Glasgow”, and then, the rest of your post proved just that. It is exciting to live in or near a city for all of its interesting and eye-opening events!

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    • Thanks Liesbet – it truly is. I think most people thinking of Scottish festivals think of Edinburgh, because it has the really big one, but we have lots of little quirky ones.

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