Glasgow Gallivanting: January 2021

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View from Gleniffer Braes, New Year’s Day 2021

The weather on New Year’s Day was fairly typical of January: cold and icy.  A steep path opposite the end of Mum’s street in Paisley leads up to the Gleniffer Braes from where we got the best view of the month. The Campsie Fells are to the right in the picture above, and the beginning of the Highlands, including Ben Lomond, can be seen to the left. A couple of zoomed shots show more detail.

View from Gleniffer Braes
View from Gleniffer Braes

We are still in a fairly strict lockdown, so otherwise have been confined to Glasgow. We have hardly any new photos because we are doing all the same routes that we did in the Spring, often in the dark after John finishes work. Thank goodness for weekends and the canal and river paths. Here’s a great view down the Clyde towards the Riverside Museum, including the tall ship Glenlee, and a swan admiring its reflection on the frozen canal.

Riverside Museum and Glenlee
Swan on frozen canal

In January I would normally be reporting excitedly about all the Celtic Connections concerts we had been to. Not this year! The entire programme has been moved online. Nothing can replace live performances, but the upside is that we can watch everything: over 100 musicians and 19 days with at least one, sometimes two or three, concerts each evening. At only £30 for a Festival Pass, that’s an absolute steal. I suppose it is better for my waistline too, because we are also not going for all those pre-theatre dinners. Nor could we go out for Burns’ Night this year, but we improvised with John making a very good Address to a (veggie) Haggis.

Talisk online at Celtic Connections
Grosse Isle online at Celtic Connections
John addressing the haggis

The virus continues to rage (though vaccines are on their way – Mum has had her first one) and Brexit continues to have “teething problems”, but at least Trump has finally gone. I often include a Scottish Word of the Month in my gallivanting posts, but this month a Scottish video seems more appropriate. Here’s Iona Fyfe with a ditty called Donald whit a loser to the tune of  Donald where’s your troosers?

You’ll be sad to know that Iona is sometimes the target of vile abuse for daring to sing in Scots, as is Miss PunnyPennie who offers a Scots word of the day on Twitter. Here’s another phrase for you: the Scottish cringe – a feeling that anything Scottish is bound to be inferior. Do any other countries have a similar phenomenon? Or people who are so threatened by their own culture that they have to go on the attack to decry it? It’s bizarre and sad.

Anyway, let’s not end on a negative note. How about some graffiti ceramics? We first noticed these in the summer around Sydenham Lane in Hyndland, an area we often walk through. Lately, we’ve spotted some new ones even closer to home and I recently read an article (click the link for more examples) identifying the artist as Louise McVey. She says: “When lockdown initially hit … it became clear to me that this was what I could offer – to add something to the streets that may make a difference for people on their daily walks.” It has certainly made a difference to us – we love spotting them, and it’s very different from the usual type of street art.

Woodlands
Sydenham Lane
Sydenham Lane
Sydenham Lane
Sydenham Lane
Sydenham Lane
Cleveden Drive
Clarence Drive
Highburgh Road

So we’ve made it through January healthy and safe – I hope you all have too. There is no chance of our current restrictions lifting before mid-February at the earliest, but I’ll do my best to have at least a little bit of gallivanting to report on at the end of the month.

Scotland, UK , , , , ,

102 Comments »

  1. My mind is definitely going – I thought I’d posted a comment a few days back. Trying to kick my old blog off again has had the usual flurry of notifications in the inbox to the point I don’t know where I’ve been or who has been to me lol. Never mind…any anti Trump post is a good post 🙂 although I rather miss the entertainment factor. Still the US is far better off without him even if a large percentage of the population don’t realise it yet. He has been loathed here for many years. Our hillwalking forum had a thread called “I hate Donald Trump” that went back to 2008 I think it was. I know the feeling about trying to blog something new – since last March my “days out” have totalled 1 meal and 4 coffees. That’s it other than shopping. Not ideal for making up some new material. Good to see some quirky street art – we need more of that sort of thing these days. Look forward to some more of your adventures.

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    • I thought you did too! I thought that was how I found you. The world as a whole is better on without Trump, I just hope the US can recover and his followers don’t resurge. I agree, it’s very dull when the biggest outing of the week is Tesco. Nobody wants to read about that!

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  2. Great to know your mom has received her first vaccine. I keep up with the UK news and am unsurprised at all the problems people are experiencing with Brexit. 😳 Yes, thank goodness trumped has gone. Love the song. 😅

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  3. Very interesting topics today. First of all, I had to laugh at “Donald’s whit a loser”. We’re so glad he’s gone! Also am intrigued by the Celtic concerts. Is this something you could access in the states? Of course it would be better to be there in person, but obviously not an option. I love Celtic music. Laslty, I am baffled by the fact that people disrespect the Scottish culture. Especially people who are Scotts? We in the U.S. love Scotland. We admire your music, love your accents and dream of visiting. I’d think people would be proud of their Scottish heritage. ????

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  4. Hi Anabel – love the finials and other ceramic items to cheer the locals – what fun. Those pics on New Year’s Day are amazing … wonderfully clear. Our Prom is usually packed … I wander where I can without others – the best for me. We just have to be patient a bit longer … but with Spring springing let’s hope things will ease up – all the best – Hilary

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  5. Those graffiti ceramics are amazing, Anabel! What lovely surprises to find on walks. I so respect and appreciate creative people making a difference to the world and the surroundings. Sorry to read you are still on a strict lockdown. Those canals and views – and creative art – do make a difference in a Covid winter! I love the swan reflection. Good eye! 🙂

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  7. Yes we have gone through a period where people preferred anything that was made overseas as being superior to Australian Made. However, Covid-19 has made some interesting changes in that people are now campaigning for manufacturing to be returned to Australia and go out of their way to look for labels that read “Made in Australia” – and that includes Hand Sanitiser. Australian products that were sold to overseas companies are being bought back and returned to Australian Owned as well as Australian Made. All good for jobs and the economy being rebuilt.

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  8. Goodness – the Gleniffer Braes – I haven’t been up there in years! We used to be regular visitors when I was a child and my aunt and uncle lived nearby. Often we would take a drive up there in their little mini car, and usually the outing resulted in an ice cream cone from the van that always seemed to be parked there and sold the most delicious Italian ice cream. Thanks for bringing back happy memories.

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  9. I’ve never understood why people think that putting oneself, or one’s country, down is a sign of moral superiority. It isn’t. We get that a lot in the States as well, and it is at best silly and at worst a bit dangerous. And I’m glad you’re making the best of a difficult situation! Here’s looking forward to warmer temperatures and better times ahead!

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  10. I enjoy your posts a great deal. Of course we Americans have many unnecessary and ignorant cringes. Too many racial divides…But: the TRump cringe is not one of them–hello Biden and Harris, thank goodness! And thank you so much for introducing me to Iona Fyfe. I explored her work more-excellent music. The ceramic additions everywhere must be so lovely and fun to find. Thank you.

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