Glasgow Gallivanting: January 2018

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Mine Woods Walk

Hello, and welcome to Year 2 of my monthly Glasgow Gallivanting posts! January has been busy for various reasons, most of them not particularly photogenic, but we did get one lovely walk on a Sunday afternoon – even if it wasn’t the one we set out for. We wanted to climb a little hill called Dumyat in Stirlingshire (Doo-my-at and not, as I used to think, Dum-yat), but all roads leading there were closed. Instead, we walked through Mine Woods above the pretty little spa town of Bridge of Allan. Even though we weren’t as high up, the views were still great as you can see above.

25 years ago.

We had an anniversary this month: in January 1993 we moved into our current house. I’ve worked out that in my 60 years I’ve had 18 addresses in 10 different towns or cities, so this is quite a big deal. Once we’d unpacked, we took a lot of photos in our new house, and here are a couple with 2018 recreations.

So, I’m older, heavier, greyer and I can’t see without my glasses now, but there’s one thing that’s the same about me in these pictures. Enlarge, and you might spot what it is. Answer at the end!

The Suffragette Oak

I’ve posted several times about Glasgow’s Suffragette Oak, the last time in November (first picture) when I reported the sad news that it had been damaged by Storm Ophelia. The second picture shows what it looks like now. As well as the tear on the trunk, around 30% of the canopy was lost and to make the tree safe the council had to reduce its height and rebalance it. Its health will be closely monitored and some of the offcuts have been given to Glasgow Women’s Library to make commemorative items. We still hope it will survive in this, its centenary year. (The first women in the UK got the vote in February 1918.)

November 17
January 18

What about the women?

Maryhill Burgh Halls, where I volunteer as a Heritage Tour Guide, currently has an exhibition of old photographs of Glasgow accompanied by a series of events, one of which is me talking about women’s history in Glasgow. I’ve been busy this month working out what I want to say – then cutting it down drastically – and creating a slide-show. The tickets sold out a couple of weeks ago (only 40, but still) and so I’m repeating it two weeks later. Eep! No pressure, no pressure at all. I’ll let you know next month how it goes.

The last bit

Did you spot the common factor in the 1993 and 2018 pictures of me? It’s the ear-rings! This was entirely unintentional. Just after we moved into the house, John went to a conference in Freiburg and brought them back as a gift (I have a fine collection of ear-rings from all over the world as a result of his travels). On the day we took the new photos I chose them because they reflected the diamond shapes on my top, and I only realised when I looked at the old photos again that I was wearing the same pair!

So those were some of the things that have kept me busy in January. How has your month been?

Scotland, UK , , , , ,

86 Comments »

  2. Many, many years ago I was in the UAE and went to the gold market where I bought Annabell a set of earrings. She very rarely takes them off. She has been wearing them now for more years than I care to remember. Thus when I looked at the four photographs the first thing I looked for was the earrings.
    PS Temperature is abound the mid 30sc at the moment. Nice.

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  6. Love the recreation photos! Your kitchen looks lovely. Good luck with your talk as well, it sounds very interesting! I’m going to be doing a little research into local suffragettes myself for a display at the museum, but am a bit worried as I’ve only just been asked to do it and given a deadline of mid-February!

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    • Thank you! Hmm, mid-Feb is not long – but I always work on the “just enough” system. I don’t need to know everything, just enough about each woman for the talk or walk and maybe a little extra in case somebody asks me a question. It’s got me by so far! I’m an expert in nothing.

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  7. I love the photos recreating the poses from when you first moved into your house. That’s a long time to live there, and I must say that both you and your house have aged very, very well!

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    • That’s very kind, Ann. I still love the house, but when I look at 35 year old me I envy her size – then I remember the work I would have to put in to get back to that and forget about it!

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  8. Glasgow is braw, indeed! I hope to visit one day. Wow. 25 years is a long time, for many things, especially living in the same place, something I will probably never do for that long. 🙂 I noticed you redid the kitchen, but I failed to notice the earrings. what a thoughtful husband you have!

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  9. You’ve confused me by posting this before the end of the month! What a fabulous post though, and love the fact you wore the same earrings – your inner self must have known.

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  11. Love the then and now comparison pictures. How privileged we are to get older! And then the then and now photo of the beautiful tree who has fared less well than you over the years! 🙂

    Peta

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  12. Hi, Anabel – I thought that the similarities between the two photos was your love of coffee. I totally missed the earrings!! I especially love the opening photo – it’s stunning.
    BTW – I’d hate to add up how many home addresses I’ve had in my life. Quite a few!

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    • Ah, the coffee was deliberately staged to make the photos the same! Confession: the pot was empty the second time which is why I used an opaque one. I had to think hard about the addresses and I don’t think I’ve missed any. I’d already had 6 before I left home for uni aged 18 and student years certainly added a few on.

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  13. Glasgow is beautiful, Anabel. It’s on my list to visit. I spotted your earrings in the photos but was not 100% sure. You sure moved a lot before this house. Happy home anniversary! You’ll ace your talk. My January has been great. I’ll post my recap on Jan 31.

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  14. You’re well travelled with all your house moves. Like the four photos years apart and a nice cheery video to end with. Good luck with the talk.

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  15. I guessed right! Yay me! I loved the before and after pictures… you’ve changed… and yet not. Thank you for the video about Glasgow – it looks so beautiful. I just finished a novel set in Glasgow (Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine), but the city didn’t play much of a role, so it’s nice to see the real thing. One of these days…

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    • Oh, i’ve just read that too! If you know Glasgow, you can recognise some of it. What did you think? I thought it was possible to pick holes in it (didn’t like the Mummy strand) but overall it was very moving, especially as she began to learn about relationships. From the point where she visited Raymond and his mother I seemed to have something in my eye most of the time. Unaccountable 😉

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      • I really enjoyed it. I’m mostly drawn to historical fiction, but every once in a while, these types of books (A Man Called Ove is sort of similar) grab me. I loved how most everyone was flawed in some way (much like all of us) yet they were likable and charming. Yes, I had something in my eye at certain parts too.

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  19. I always love your monthly recaps, Anabel. I figured out before you gave it away that the earrings were the same! How wonderful that John brings you earrings from his travels and you have a collection from all over the world.

    Isn’t it nice to have been in the same house all this time after all your moves? We moved into our current house one year and one month after you moved into yours – in February 1994. I remember it was Mike’s 40th birthday and I had to wait till the next year to have a 41st birthday party!

    I hope your talk went well; I’m sure it was a great success. And your walk did have some marvelous views. 🙂

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  20. I loved this post, Anabel – the variety of updates you provided, the side by side photos, and the information about your women’s history talk. I had no idea it was the earrings that were the same. They’re beautiful – John could shop for me anytime!
    Enjoy your talk. You’ll be brilliant… twice.

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  21. I’m a bit excited – you’ve shown somewhere we’ve been! In 1999 we went to the Highland Games at Bridge of Allen. It was the most wonderful day, with so much happening and so much to see. Our daughters were 12 and 9 at the time and they were entranced. Our younger daughter turned 10 just after this and spent her birthday at Loch Ness. ( I bet not many Australian girls could say that!)

    I was thinking how little you’d changed apart from your hair colour. I did notice the changes in the kitchen though – very nicely updated. Perhaps someone could video your talk. I’d love to hear it.

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    • Ooh, that is exciting! And thank you for the compliment, although you might need to see your optician 😉 I don’t think there are any plans to video, but maybe some of the stories will make their way onto here sometime.

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  22. Wonderful post, Anabel. Pleased to see that you got a walk in. Yes, we had a challenging wee time in South West France when trying to get a few walks in. I kept convincing my co-horts that it would not rain, we got soaked and they never listened to me when it came to weather forecasts, not sure why 🙂

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  23. Hi. Speaking of earrings: I volunteer on Mondays at a hospital. A nurse today was opening a supply drawer and noticed something on the floor. It was an earring that she lost three days before. She never expected to find it.

    I enjoyed this article very much. Take care —

    Neil S.

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  26. Congratulations on the house anniversary! Your talk on women’s history sounds wonderful so I am not surprised it sold out. I would love to come along. I hope you make it up Dumyat some time.

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  27. I didn’t enlarge it, but guessed ‘watch’. Then again, if it had been me it would have been my watch. Although the strap changes colour occasionally, I’ve had it since I was eleven!

    Sorry about the oak, but it has a good chance of recovery, even from something as drastic as that. Here’s to its bicentenary!

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    • I’ve had so many watches since then! Although I do have a wind-up Timex from when I was a similar age which serves in an emergency. As for the tree, I hope so. It does look rather forlorn at the moment.

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  30. YES, I was right. It was earrings. I didn’t even enlarge your photos. 😉 These photos are fun to see.
    It seems like you have done a major remodeling of the house. I can see and understand the difference in your kitchen, but I was a little confused with the first photo. They sure look different, other than the door frame.
    Glasgow seems like a good place to visit. I add it to my list. Who knows? 😉
    Have a great day.

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  31. Hi Anabel – congratulations on your anniversary … and fascinating to see the two photos re your present home and those diamond style (added in!!) earrings … what fun to see the video too -more towns, villages and cities should do those short ones.

    Love the walk you took … and then have fun with your talk – great the tickets went so quickly and you have the opportunity to give another one – sensible organisers.

    Sad about the oak – but I’m sure helping it start off again will be so beneficial in the long run – cheers to you and John for many more years together and perhaps some extra special earrings!! Have a great week – Hilary

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  33. I spotted the earrings! How uncanny was that! Love the view from your hill too – been rather too murky down here this month to get much of a view most days. Sigh… roll on spring. At least the evenings are becoming lighter.

    You may be interested in this blog given your interest in women and suffragettes. It is a diary of a suffragette in Holloway prison.
    https://suffragettediary.wordpress.com/2018/01/23/the-journey-begins/

    The link at the bottom of each post takes you to the next one.

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  34. I do hope that the oak survives its ordeal. It would be such a shame to lose it. I also have many pairs of earrings but tend to wear the same ones most of the time. 🙂 I love the word ‘Braw’. It has a good ring to it and is certainly true of Glasgow, judging by your pictures and video.

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  35. Glasgow is looking very braw! I recognise a few shots in the video from a weekend away there about 8 or 9 years ago. The Kelvingrove Museum and the school of art. Love your comparitive shots. Funny about the earings. Happy home anniversary!

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