Glasgow Gallivanting: March 2018

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In like a lion, out like a lamb? March certainly lived up to the first part of that proverb: in fact snow has been a feature of most of it. There were plenty of snowmen/women about, but this year igloos seemed to be in fashion too. This one is in the Botanic Gardens.

Neptune’s Steps

When it wasn’t snowing, it was often raining. Neptune’s Steps is an annual swimming and climbing event which takes place on the flight of locks on the Forth and Clyde Canal at Maryhill. This year, I was determined to see some of it despite the cold, wet weather. The races went on all day but we only caught two, the last women’s heat and the first men’s semi-final, before retreating somewhere that served hot coffee.

Belly flop!
Climbing wall

I was quite pleased to capture the belly flop above on my phone – I didn’t realise till I looked at my photos later that I had pictured the same woman attempting the climbing wall towards the end. For her, it was the end: a few seconds later she dropped back into the water and admitted defeat.

The gallery below includes some of John’s pictures. When I looked at the results later, I realised he had a portrait of the eventual men’s winner. I bet that hot tub at the end was welcome!

Ready to start
Cargo net
Extreme medic
Wooden ladder
Eventual winner
Rope ladder
Hot tub

Women’s history

Two follow ups to things I have written about before. Glasgow’s fourth statue to a named woman was unveiled on International Women’s Day (8th March). Mary Barbour organised rent strikes in World War One when rapacious landlords thought they could charge anything they liked while the men were away fighting. Her campaign resulted in a law being passed fixing rents at pre-war levels. My pals Beverly, Mary Alice and Louisina were well prepared for the event!

Beverly and Mary Alice
Louisina

Last month, I mentioned Jessie Stephen, the Scottish Suffragette whose life and work I am celebrating throughout this anniversary year of the first women in the UK getting the vote. This month, I travelled to Edinburgh to meet Ann Henderson, who had also nominated Jessie for the Suffrage Pioneers project, and she introduced me to Sheana and Kirsteen, great-nieces of Jessie. Over lunch at Sheana’s house plans started to be made – watch this space, you have not heard the last of Jessie.

For US friends, here’s a great list I found in Forbes: A state-by-state guide to the top women’s history landmarks in America. Anyone been to any?

A wedding!

After 23 years together, our friends Jayne and Mark decided to get married. We were very honoured to be asked to be their witnesses and enjoyed the intimate ceremony at the City Chambers with just the four of us.

Wedding party
Bride and groom

Afterwards, we all went to Port Appin for the weekend. Although familiar to Jayne and Mark, John and I had never been before. What a treat! Airds Hotel was perfect and the walks straight from the door were beautiful, particularly the one to Castle Stalker. We were blessed with beautiful blue skies, but don’t let that fool you – it was freezing, and it did snow the day we drove home.

Airds Hotel
View from Airds Hotel
Jubilee Bridge
Castle Stalker
Castle Stalker

Although I joked that this was the first time I’d ever been invited to the honeymoon as well as the wedding, in reality the happy couple flew off to Athens for the real honeymoon a few days later! What a great way to get married.

Aye Write!

Glasgow’s book festival, Aye, Write!, has been running this month. I went to four sessions and, well, I might have bought a few books. Oops!

Sunshine Blogger

Do you know Kim from Glover Gardens (“A multifaceted blog for multifaceted people”)? If not, pop over and have a look at her mixture of food, gardens and travel. Kim has nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger Award, for bloggers who inspire positivity and creativity in the blogging community. Many thanks, Kim! I don’t advertise myself as an award-free blog, but I don’t always have time to follow awards and challenges up and when I do I usually break the rules. This time, I hit upon the wheeze of answering Kim’s 11 questions one or two at a time over several monthly gallivants. Here’s the first two!

What advice would you give to your younger self? Assuming I could talk to the angst-ridden teenager (that’s everyone, right, not just me?) I would simply say “Don’t worry! Everything’s going to be great!”

What’s your favourite food memory, a meaningful meal that you will never forget, and why? What was so special about it? Well, at the moment Airds Hotel, mentioned above, is uppermost in my memory. Unlike many fancy hotels and restaurants, which usually only offer one vegetarian choice, often bland, I had a whole menu to choose from and everything I ate was delicious. In fact, everything everybody ate was declared  delicious and dinner was a real event on both nights. As you can see, Mark and John were most definitely relaxed afterwards.

The last bit

So if March came in like a lion, did it go out like a lamb? Well, not exactly. There was no snow, but it was certainly blowing a hoolie. On Good Friday (30th) we went for one of our favourite canal walks before climbing to a viewpoint above the old claypits at Hamiltonhill which now form a nature reserve. The whole West End was spread out before us. As we shivered, we agreed it was beautiful, and that we were thankful to be dry at least.

Easter Saturday was a little better – we took a ferry to the island of Great Cumbrae and had a lovely walk there, but that merits its own post later on.

Finally, for my Scottish Word of the Month I’ve chosen one I used in the comments on a previous post – remember the story of Miss Inglis and the dog? I suggested that Miss Inglis was a bit crabbit, i.e. grumpy or bad-tempered. I’ve been feeling a bit crabbit myself at all this March weather! Let’s hope April does better. Snow is forecast but has not yet appeared …

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92 Comments »

  1. Pingback: Glasgow Gallivanting: June 2018 – The Glasgow Gallivanter
  2. Pingback: Statues, statues everywhere! | Wednesday's Child

  3. I looked at the state-by-state guide of women’s landmarks and can report that I’ve been to two.

    – Ida B. Wells-Barnett House in Chicago
    – Matinicus Rock and Whitehead Light Stations in Maine

    The pictures from Port Appin are magnificent (congratulations to your friends for finally tying the knot) as are the views from Hamiltonhill.

    Hope that April brings you warmth and sunshine

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  5. What a delightful post, Anabel. I learn so much from your blog! There is so much richness in this month’s summary that it will take me a while to absorb it all. I truly appreciate the list of prominent places for women’s history in the US, and your photos are breathtaking. And your simple and profound advice to a younger you (in answer to my question) is a keeper!

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  6. Out of fifty states I’ve only been to one on the Forbes list, Willa Cather’s home…and I drove probably 60 miles out of the way on a long trip home.

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  8. Well, you were busy during March! The landscape photos are lovely. I admire the work that you have been doing to acknowledge women in history, and I think that we need to more of that here in Canada.

    The igloo photo brought back memories. When I was a small child, my father built us an igloo to use as a winter playhouse. He built the traditional dome shape, and sprayed it with water so that it froze solid and was not likely to collapse on us. It was popular amongst our neighbourhood playmates, and we played in it all winter.

    Jude

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    • What a lovely memory! I have never seen igloos in Glasgow before, we don’t usually get enough snow. This year, it started with some tourists building one in George Square in the city centre. It got into the media then everyone got in on the act.

      We are lucky in Glasgow to have the women’s library which acts as a catalyst for so many things.

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  9. I found your blog for the first time because you left a comment for the 2018 AtoZ Blog Challenge and I thought I would take a minute to come see. So much work and so much fun to participate in the world of blogging. This is a great example of how it is done well. I feel quite sure that if you have a minute, my theme this year for the #Challenge would be of interest to you. BOOKSTORES, their architecture, location, and the great people who sell books. I know one of the alphabet letters was a bookstore in Edinburgh. Thanks for a glimpse of your interesting world. Stephenyhoughtlin,com

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  11. Wow, that’s quite a post! The swimming/climbing competition looks painful… and cold. I’m in awe of their enthusiasm, but I also think they are nuts 🙂

    My husband and I were together 13 years before we got married… your friends have us beat by 10 years! Good for them for not rushing into anything 🙂

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  15. Crabbit is a great word but I think I’m going to adopt the expression “blowing a hoolie” the next time it’s very windy. Goodness me, that swimming and climbing event looks like hard work. I’d rather watch than participate.

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  16. It’s hard not to feel crabbit in this weather, isn’t it? But I have to say your post cheered me up! And good for you for highlighting the important historical changes that women and brought us.

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  17. What a jam packed post with all sprts of goodies. Histpry, food, celebrations. Here’s to living life to the full! Loved the looks of that dry canal walk. And even though it looks freezing, the igloo building is definitely pretty cool.

    Peta

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  19. The wedding photographs were excellent as were the competition photographs. I particularly liked the photograph of the city skyline – many years since I last saw that. Recently I have been reading books on nursing and midwifery – and no I am not cracking up – these are real life stories of the RFDS Flight Nurses, Nurses on outback stations, nurses and midwifes in isolated and remote communities, dealing with indigenous community problems.. I knew several of the females involved with RICE – Remote and Isolated Children’s Exercise. A lot of this is under review at the moment. I liked your choice of books – I particularly liked the Glasgow Postcard book.

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    • Thanks! I thought you were considering a new career 😉 but real-life stories sound good. The postcards are all about 100 years old so it’s interesting to see what has changed – or hasn’t.

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  20. You had another (fun-) filled March, Anabel, despite the weather. What a wonderful weekend with your newly-wed friends. I haven’t been to a wedding in many, many years. And, did you know our current home owners are in Edinburgh right now? They are spending two months in Scotland, while we take care of their home in Santa Fe. One day, we will make it up there as well. 🙂

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  23. What a nice way to spend time with close friends…at their wedding! It looks so romantic with that old castle. I like your first 2 answers to the questions and have no idea what I would say to my younger self. Easter has been very busy with visiting people and I am tired.

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  24. Lovely post, as always. And a bit of everything – I like it! I have not been to any of those sites mentioned in your U. S. link (thanks for the link!), but I have been to a couple sites related to Laura Ingalls Wilder. The closest to me on that list is the Georgia O’Keefe house. I’ve been through Abiquiu, but not stopped.

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  26. Congratulations to Jayne and Mark on their wedding, to you for the Sunshine Award (and your many, many accomplishments) and for the erecting of the Mary Barbour statue. I checked out the photos on Kev’s site. It looks stunning!

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    • Thank you! I will get back to see the statue properly soon, I hope. It wasn’t universally popular (more Mary Poppins than Mary Barbour is one comment I’ve heard) but I like the energy of it and the fact that she has some of her “Army” with her.

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  27. Hi Anabel – sounds like you have been truly busy .. but with a special event to set March off with warmer thoughts … wonderful you were able to share Jayne and Mark’s wedding and early honeymoon before they went off to Athens. Igloos – we built one in 1963 … it lasted til June! I am so glad I’m here … it’s warmer!! Cheers Hilary

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  28. I love your pictures, they are always good and very different, and your Posts illuminate aspects of life I am unaware of, but these made me feel so cold! I suppose I’m a sort of pampered southerner by now, one who hides indoors when it’s wet; and as for snow … I do admire your ability to get out there and face the elements but I’m just waiting for some warm days to arrive, days when I can forget about woollen socks and boots. Your lovely wedding and description of the venue cheered me up though, and I have to say, you deserve that Sunshine Blogger Award

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    • Thank you Mari! I try to highlight the variety of life in Glasgow, so it sounds as though I am succeeding. We do say that if we waited for a good day in Scotland we’d never do anything so, yes, we just get out and get on with it.

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  29. Good varied post. Never heard until now about Neptune’s Steps event or Claypits revival so I think I’m living in a different city when I visit your blog :o) I am officially outside the ‘What’s going on in Glasgow’ loop.

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    • I just happened to walk by when they were building the course last year, so made a point of looking out for it this year. I saw on one of the Glasgow Facebook sites that a new path had been opened through the Claypits so we took a detour on our way back from Speirs Wharf. I think they will have to do a lot more to make it really interesting, mind you!

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  31. Crabbit sounds an exceptionally fine word to describe the weather, Anabel. The weekend has been a total washout here. We went to Leeds to visit our son and took refuge in the Royal Armouries. I take my hat off (but nothing else 🙂 ) to those crazy folk climbing the locks. And a belated Happy Easter to you.

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  32. Those were some hardy souls at Neptune’s Steps. It must have been fun, and cold, to watch. Your friends’ wedding and the accompanying honeymoon at Port Appin looked wonderful. The weather is always a challenge in March, isn’t it? Let’s hope for better in April. 🙂

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  34. What an amazing month. You certainly packed alot in. Neptunes Steps looks like an amazing event to watch…and quite murderous to take part in! How lovely to attend your friends wedding. I would actually love teeny wedding with just 2 witnesses, but family can be complicated and people might get the huff. Shouldn’t worry what people might think I guess. X

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    • It was interesting to watch Neptune’s Steps, but no way would I ever get in that canal myself! I thought the wedding was perfect. I’m not one for big parties either, and we just had 12 at ours, including us (immediate family plus one best friend each). I admit there were a few aunties whose feathers got a bit ruffled though. I remember pretty much touring the country in the next few months to visit them all!

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  35. Mary Barbour-good for her! It is amazing isn’t it that there is always someone who is quick to take advantage of an unfortunate situation. Glad that she organize the women and to have a law protecting the rent limitations.

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  37. Thanks for the mention! You certainly had a rich, full month. Will certainly need to go on that canal walk sometime!

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  38. You’ve had quite the full month, Anabel. Full of interesting things to see and do and, unfortunately, full of snow. My friends in Saskatchewan would have had enough snow to make igloo bricks, but here in Ontario we didn’t. I guess I should stop complaining (okay, whining) about the winter.

    I love challenges but the physical ones usually leave me either marvelling or shaking my head in disbelief. Neptune’s Steps led to both reactions.

    I loved the wedding and pre-honeymoon story and agree – what an absolutely perfect way to be married.

    Fingers are crossed that April is a warmer month for all of us.

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