Glasgow Gallivanting: December 2022
First of all, a rather belated Happy New Year to you all! I hope the festive season was as good for you as it was for us. December was very busy socialising with friends and family in Glasgow, but on the 20th we went away to a cottage in the Borders for a week and just blissed out by ourselves. One day I will write that up, but it joins a very long queue! We didn’t have a white Christmas, but there was a light dusting of snow on Boxing Day, and when we left on the 27th this was the scene.
I might already have bored you stupid with pictures of the new Stockingfield Bridge over the Forth and Clyde Canal, but I’m afraid there’s more. In December we had the official opening – great excitement! We visited with friends and had a lovely evening.
The event began with a procession of paddle boarders and a boat decked out as a swan. Unfortunately, a pair of real swans were caught between two groups of paddleboarders and weren’t at all happy. They took off suddenly, knocking one paddler into the water! You can see the rescue operation going on in the bottom left corner below.
At 4.30pm the bridge officially opened with a light show, after which we wandered round the other installations before heading for an Indian restaurant to warm up with a curry.
You might remember that during November’s WalkingSquares Challenge I included the first image below. It’s a memorial to Sub Officer Adrian McGill of the Glasgow Fire Service, part of the Firefighters’ Heritage Trail, which is set into the pavement near the spot where he died 50 years ago. I read at the time that a red plaque had also been installed at Maryhill Fire Station to mark the anniversary, and at the beginning of December I walked up there to seek it out. A lovely tribute.
Almost finally, here’s a random selection of shots from other walks in and around Glasgow last month.
And finally, a bit of family history. I mentioned in June that I had lost my Aunt Elspeth, who lived in Brisbane, Australia. A few months later I received a package in the mail from Elspeth’s friend Mary – a collection of family photographs. Many I had already – some I know I had sent out to Brisbane myself – but I was overjoyed to find the two below showing my father with his three younger sisters in 1937. I have a lot of photographs of my mother’s childhood and youth, but hardly any of Dad before he met Mum, and had never seen these before. They were faded and torn, but I took them to a photography shop in town and they came back in December much improved. In order of age, the siblings are John (1929-2015), Annie (1930-2010), Elspeth (1933-2022), and Elizabeth, the baby and sole survivor, who was 86 in December.
I had a quick look at my stats this morning and note that 2022 is well down on 2021. I know that’s because I have been blogging less and not because you lovely people have been neglecting me! Thank you for every view, like, and comment, all much appreciated. I shall continue to blog less for at least the next couple of months because I have several women’s history events to write material for, the first being a talk on the 17th which I have not yet started. I am going into isolation next week and it WILL get done! Wishing you a very happy January, and hoping you are more on top of things than I am.
The Glasgow Gallivanter 
Thanks Anabel – and a Happy New Year to you both … sounds like Christmas was blissful – a week of quietude and peace together. A little white stuff is fine … more: not so.
Good luck with the talk – I’m sure it’ll be fine … I’m just, like you, glad to be busy … that bridge looks amazing … and I’m glad the curry warmed you all up. Cheers Hilary
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Thanks Hilary! I agree about the snow it looks pretty till you have to go out in it. A little goes a long way!
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Happy New Year, Anabel and John! And good luck with your writing for the 17th – I’m sure it will be a great talk. Looking forward to catching up again soon.
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Thanks, Lynne, and the same to you, Mark and family. Will definitely catch up again soon – AFTER the talk!
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Happy new year. Old photos are a joy and frustraton if like mine I sometimes have no idea who is who
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Thanks Geoff! A happy new year to you and yours too. We also have some unidentified photos, though mostly from John’s father’s side where there is absolutely no one left to ask.
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Hi, Anabel – We would never neglect you! Wonderful photos past and present!
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Aaaw, thank you Donna!
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The official opening of the new bridge sounds like a great event, it certainly looks very colourful.
How lovely to get some never-before-seen photos of your dad when he was young, you must have been thrilled.
I love the dog statue, a Belgian Malinois and fairly recent, dedicated to all Scotland’s police dogs past and present. Presumably it will eventually have a plaque in that blank space 🙂
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Oh well done, Eunice! Thanks. Makes sense – the police dog unit is in the park.
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What a treasure this collection of photos must be. And your community must really appreciate that new bridge to give it such a wonderful welcome.
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Thank you! The bridge gas been very popular.
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Once again, Happy New Year, Anabel. It is a privilege to follow your travels and insights regarding Scotland etc. All the best for the women’s events. I love the snowy countryside. We were always so excited when snow eventuated when we were housesitting. The small things in life.
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Thank you, Suzanne. I am not a big fan of snow for walking or driving in, but it does look very pretty, and this amount was manageable.
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Happy New Year, Anabel!
Thank you for sharing the photos of the bridge opening event. It looks like a fun time – and I like even more the idea of warming up with a curry afterwards.
You know, I never look at my stats but I would expect my views and engagement are way down too as I am also blogging less and not with much regularity. I don’t suppose such things matter much so long as we just enjoy the blogging for its own thing, right?
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Thanks Laura – the bridge opening was great, and there is nothing better than a Glasgow curry! I only look at stats at the end of the year, just out of interest. Like you, it is not what I’m doing it for. That also means I don’t feel too guilty when I backslide! Happy new year to Clan Pict.
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What a lovely time you had over Christmas. I love the look of that bridge all lit up…UT looks like the bow of a ship. I love the dog statue and wonder what that is about. I am also happy to see how this firefighter has not been forgotten.
It’s so nice to see these pics of your dad and his sisters when they were little. I wish I had pics of my dad but I doubt any exist. These are cherished photos. Happy New Year!
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Thanks, Birgit, we did. I don’t know the story behind the dog statue – it is either fairly new or I have been very unobservant! There seems to be an indented space in front for a plaque so maybe all will be revealed next time we go. Happy New Year to you too!
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Happy New Year Anabel. Keeping busy as usual!
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Thank you! Doing my best – Celtic Connections just round the corner. Happy New Year to you too.
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