Robert Black tomb, Glasgow Necropolis

Robert Black tomb, Glasgow Necropolis

Jude’s Life in Colour challenge for April is pink. Becky’s April Squares challenge is bright. Being a bright spark, I am tickled pink to combine the two.

The serious stuff first – a tomb might not seem the obvious place to find a colour like bright pink. My first two squares, above, show Robert Black’s tomb, repaired in the last few years by the Friends of Glasgow Necropolis. They deliberately left the old and new stone to show the restoration, though I’m not sure about the inspiration for the bright pink gate (another recently restored tomb is bright blue). This Greek Doric temple was the first mausoleum in the Necropolis, and is a stop on Glasgow Women’s Library’s  heritage walk, where we discuss the subject of infant mortality. Robert Black, a wealthy merchant, originally commissioned it in 1837 for his daughter Catherine, who had died aged just 12. Robert himself was 86 when he died in 1879, but as well as Catherine he lost four other daughters before they were 21. It’s true that early death was more likely to happen in lower class families, but the middle and upper classes were not immune as this example illustrates.

On a more frivolous note, there are flashes of bright pink around the city in advertisements, street art / graffiti,  and shop fronts.

Oor Wullie Trail 2019

Pink on the canal

Simplicity Beauty, Maryhill

Pink in Maryhill

Pink on the Kelvin

Pink in Yorkhill

Pink on Queen Margaret Drive

Pink at Charing Cross

Cairns Bar

St Luke’s

The figure of comic character Oor Wullie in the gallery above is from a public art trail in 2019. This one’s Bonnie Oor Wullie by Shelley Jayne, and as well as Wullie’s pink dungarees I notice I’ve captured a bright pink rain jacket (it rains In Glasgow, who knew?) and two banners with the city’s marketing slogan, People Make Glasgow, in the background. I’ve used the Clyde Tunnel version of this, below, in previous posts, but not the other from St Enoch’s Shopping Centre. Words can be added to the basic slogan, for example all rubbish bins say People Make Glasgow Cleaner, which doesn’t seem to work! In this case we are told that People Make Glasgow Vibrant which is a clearly pre-pandemic message with its boast of a fantastic year-round calendar of events.

Clyde Tunnel, Govan entrance

People Make Glasgow Vibrant

Finally, a few floral pinks come with my thanks to Jude and Becky for giving me inspiration for a post at a time when I’m really stuck for ideas!

Botanic Gardens Gatehouse

West End Garden

Pollok Park