Glasgow Gallivanting: February 2021

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Frozen Forth and Clyde Canal, February 2021

So – another month of Covid restrictions meant we did not stray far from our front door, with the added frisson of a couple of weeks of snow and ice. Beautiful to look at, less good for walking in. Here are another few shots of the frozen canal – locals might recognise embedded in the ice a discarded bottle from the tipple of choice of a certain type of Glaswegian.

Frozen canal
Frozen canal and Buckie bottle
Ice patterns
Frozen at Firhill
Frozen at Frirhill

In my last post, I wrote that a chance viewing of a tweet from Glasgow City Archives took me to Anniesland and Temple to look for a particular clock. Two things sprang from that. First, despite having lived in the area for decades, while looking for the clock I discovered green space that I didn’t know about tucked away behind two busy roads. Temple Walkway and Anniesland Meadow both offer good views of Anniesland Court, a 22-storey residential tower block, completed in 1968, which holds the distinction of being the tallest listed building in Scotland, and the only tower block in Glasgow to have been granted a category A listing. (A listed building may not be demolished, extended, or altered without special permission from the local planning authority). Not everyone appreciates its architecture, but I think it has a certain presence and I’d love to see the view over Glasgow from the top.

Anniesland Court from Temple Walkway
Anniesland Court from Anniesland Meadow
Anniesland Meadow

The name Anniesland is something of a puzzle. The next-door neighbourhood is Knightswood, thought to be named after the Knights Templar who might have had a hospice in the area (as is Temple). Local writer Jack House suggested the name might therefore derive from annis, Gaelic for destitute. Alternatively, the Knights might have owned plots of land which they rented out annually. Or maybe the land at some point belonged to someone called Annie! I definitely prefer the last theory.

The other thing to spring from my clock post was that several people told me about their own favourite clocks, inspiring me to look for images online, and a couple even wrote their own clock posts. Here are the clocks in the order that the comments came in, with links to the bloggers who recommended them, or to specific clock posts. Thank you to everyone for the ideas.

Ali was prompted to write her own post full of clocks: Even a broken clock is right twice a day (which led us to discuss whether that phrase was even true anymore in an age of 24-hour digital timepieces).

Jude referred me to one of her previous posts which featured the iconic projected clock in Guildford, which in turn reminded me of the projected clock in Winchester which I featured a few years ago.

Birgit loves the astronomical clock in Prague, and by chance that popped up on Twitter a couple of days later.

Eunice mentioned the Irish Times clock in Dublin, another projection.

Su and Suzanne directed me to the splendid University of Auckland clock. (All images from here on are by Wikimedia Commons).

Top of University of Auckland Clock Tower

Hilary’s choice was the Corpus Clock in Cambridge, also known as the Grasshopper Clock.TaylorClock

Jessica relayed happy childhood memories of the giant cuckoo clock in Sugarcreek, Ohio.Sugarcreek Cuckoo Clock

Carol selected another astrological clock, this time in Rouen, France.Rouen Rue du Gros-Horloge 04

Finally, Kev included a section on clock towers in his latest post, Saturday Saunter: Clock towers, maps and virtual experiences. I hope I haven’t missed anybody! And to round off, in another coincidence, the Word a Day blog happened to feature the term Shrewsbury clock last week. I now feel I am an expert on clocks, and am grateful to have got two posts out of that at a time when new experiences are thin on the ground. Will March be any different? Unlikely, but at least Spring is in the air. Have a good month!

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61 Comments »

  1. I’ve just been catching up with your last month of posts, so only saw this now. Thanks for the mention of my giant cuckoo clock! Coincidentally, I walked to the excellent Swiss bakery near(ish) my house this morning, since it’s about the most exciting place we’re allowed to go these days, and their cuckoo clock happened to strike as I was inside waiting for my pastries to be bagged up. It was obviously nowhere near the size of the giant version, but it did have a charming little goat that danced on the hour, and now I want one of my own!

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  2. Love all the clock photos Anabel – I do remember the Astronomical Clock from our trip to Prague back in 2006. We were hoping to go there again last year ….oh well we can dream. Hope the weather has warmed up a bit now for you!

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  3. Hi Anabel, Your first photo of the canal looks similar to our February, 2021. Although, rare freezing of rivers and lakes on our Island. The ice patterns are unusual. Likely caused by the wind? Always a treat to discover new views when in your neck of the woods. The Astronomical Clock is unique and fascinating. For some reason, cuckoo clocks always put a smile on my face. Thank you for sharing an interesting variety of clocks.

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  4. What cool clocks! Thanks for sharing the photos. And I hope your lock downs end sometime soon. I can’t help but wondering what the long-term effects of all this will be, and I suspect they will not be good.

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  5. Thanks for the shout out about one of my favourite clocks. It was neat to see all the others and like that giant cuckoo clock.seeing the beer bottle on the frozen water made me think of a show I just watched the other day about a young man and his dad who like to go scuba diving. Since they can’t go anywhere, they went into Lake Ontario near Toronto and the garbage the found in the bottom was disgusting….people are disgusting.

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  6. I’ve so enjoyed seeing everyone’s ice and snow photos, particularly as it’s been very warm here again this week. It might be autumn, but no one told summer that. 🙂 What a lovely collection of clocks everyone gathered for you.

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  7. Oh, brrrrr, Anabel, your walks look cold! I hope it warms up soon; it’s difficult being locked down and then freezing to death when you can finally get out.
    I love the clocks–they’re all so interesting!

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  12. Love all the clock photos and recommendations, especially like the Astronomical clock in Prague and the one in Ohio looks amazing. Unfortunately I suspect this lockdown will be continuing for a little while longer, hopefully May might see some change in being able to travel.

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  13. This is wonderful that so many of your readers were inspired by your clock post that they came up with their own. It’s a great theme. I remember that clock in Prague as well. And the “koekoeksklok” of my grandfather when I grew up. Anniesland has got to mean “Annie’s land!” 🙂

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  14. The clocks are a wonderful theme (aren’t we all watching them too much, wondering when it might be safe to go out again?). When you first mentioned a projected clock, I thought of a light projector! Silly me.

    Hope spring and freedom is around the corner for you.

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  15. Interesting stuff. I seem to remember reading something about clocks also being one of the first essential ways to control populations in general, along with religion, as before that, in towns, folk were prone to mayhem at night and prominent clocks in towns and cities were a way of getting them sober enough to work in the morning. Might explain Stonehenge as well, the first computer/timekeeper, though not exactly hand held.

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  16. Your snowy days look lovely — especially from the humid Antipodes.

    I love how particular posts really (I won’t copy Sue and say chime) strike people. When I can finally get out again I’ve got a list of old clocks to visit (and probably find they’ve disappeared in some new development) ☹️

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  19. I was wondering why the tower was listed? It looks something built in the sixties.
    Wow iced up canals and snow you’ve certainly had a beauty. Beats rain doesn’t it 🙂

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  22. Snow and clocks for you. You got it all. I still haven’t seen snow down in these parts but one year way, way back we had a snowy Easter, so I won’t give up yet! Loved all the clocks but the only one I can find is the Gros Horloge set in a Renaissance street-arch in Rouen which is one of the oldest working clocks in Europe as the mechanism was made in 1389. It features in a post I wrote some years ago. Loved your snowy pictures of the Forth and Clyde canal.

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  24. Hi Anabel – yes that was a fun post – and generated a few ‘new’ clocks for us to look at – the Guildford one – I used to shop there in the early 1960s .. passed my driving test too in Guildford -we’re going back. I’m so looking forward to seeing the Cambridge one … anon.

    Re Banana skins – I answered that bit in my reply to you on my blog – there is a food possibility … the article I read in the Saturday Times had lots of ideas … and interesting thoughts … not for me now – but certainly if I was cooking for kids – I might well use some of them.

    Cheers – Hilary

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  26. Some nice snowy photos there, I like first one. A great selection of clocks too, I love the University of Auckland one and the giant cuckoo clock – thanks for the mention by the way. Your previous clock post inspired my to look through my photos for some clock pics of my own for a future post – I’ve found a few so one of my missions now is to go out and actually look for some 🙂

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