Glasgow Gallivanting: July 2024 (1)

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Summer outfits on 1st July!

On the 1st of July my friend Beverly and I went on a women’s history expedition to Govan. You can see by the way we are dressed what a lovely summer day it was (not)! There are two contrasting women strongly associated with the area – Mary Barbour, a working class activist, and Isabella Elder, the wealthy widow of the local shipyard owner and a philanthropist both in Govan and in Glasgow generally. Both appear on the mural above (by the marvellous Protests and Suffragettes), but what you can’t see in this image is the quote at the top: The problem we are up against is that of poverty in the midst of plenty. Sadly as true today as it was when said by another activist, Agnes Dollan, in 1934.

Both women have statues in Govan, and Isabella’s bust can also be seen in the newly refurbished Elder Park Library.

Mary and Mrs Barbour’s Army
Bust of Isabella in Elder Park Library
Statue of Isabella in Elder Park

We also visited Fairfield Heritage, a community museum in what was formerly John Elder’s shipyard. It was interesting to see an image of one of the rent strike demonstrations led by Mary Barbour after viewing the plaque at the very spot it took place.

Rent strike demo at 10 Hutton Drive
Image of rent strike demo at 10 Hutton Drive

There was a lot more to our women’s history tour, but we also found other things of interest including several other pieces of street art with which I shall finish this section.

Girl and daffodils by Smug
The Flock by KMG
Ahcumfigovin by Artisan Artistworks

It was a grand afternoon which, of course, ended up with tea and cake.

Also enjoyed was Cathy Wilkes’ exhibition at the Hunterian Art Gallery which I went to with John (on till 29th September). Cathy responds to issues of war and conflict and is influenced by her childhood in Northern Ireland, which particularly resonated with us because of our recent visit. The largest exhibit is a female figure shot by a rubber bullet – an article in a nearby case tells the story of Emma Groves who was blinded in both eyes by a paratrooper in 1971.

Article about Emma Groves in ‘Socialist Woman’
Female figure and rubber bullet
Female figure and rubber bullet
Rubber bullet
Untitled 2014

I grew up hearing on the news about people being shot by rubber bullets and imagined something small that would sting and ping off you. In my twenties I met someone who grew up in Belfast and kept one on his mantelpiece. It was HUGE. I think you get an impression of that in the gallery above. As an antidote to that, Wilkes also includes several images of candles indicating healing, ritual, and acts of peaceful communion. We left deep in thought.

On the middle weekend of the month we made a flying visit south. On the Friday evening there was a reunion dinner at John’s College, Churchill in Cambridge – 50 years since matriculation. How did we get so old? Churchill is a modern (1960s) college, further out of town than the more traditional ones, and therefore has much more space around it and a fine collection of sculptures in the grounds.

I thoroughly enjoyed the dinner and even met someone who was persuaded to donate a copy of her book to Glasgow Women’s Library – now catalogued and added to stock. Thank you Athene Donald.

Cowan Court – we stayed here
Cowan Court – internal courtyard
Sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture
Porters’ Lodge ducks
Sculpture
Book by Athene Donald

On the Saturday we travelled to London to see my sister and her husband. On Sunday, we took a stroll along the South Bank with them from the Tower to Westminster Bridge. I took quite a few photographs at the beginning, then not so many later as the chat went on! I particularly liked the juxtaposition of the Tower and the modern buildings peering out from behind it.

West Dock
Dickens Inn at St Katherine Docks
East Dock
Tower with modern London behind it
Tower with modern London behind it
Great Hall of Winchester Palace
Busker on Bankside
Westminster Central Hall

On Monday we travelled home – there was a lot of sitting on trains for such a short visit, but it was well worth it. And the trains (mostly) behaved, which was unexpected!

An unusual garden next. SWG3 is a former galvanizers’ yard and collection of warehouses reimagined as a series of spaces for art, music, and nightlife. We know it mostly for its role in the city’s street art – I did not know it also had a community garden which I was alerted to this month because it had an open day as part of Scotland’s Gardens Scheme:

Situated behind the main SWG3 warehouse building, it’s a surprise to walk up the steps leading to this space and be delighted by the sight of trees, grasses, shrubs and perennials making a beautiful garden where there was once only derelict land between two railway lines … Many of the plants were donated to SWG3 by The New York Times, who had their offices for COP26 in their buildings.

Garden acknowledgements
Garden and picnic tables
Raised beds – used by the local community as allotments
Looking back to the warehouse
Terrace
Tea and carrot cake

For £5 I got to wander around and indulge in tea and cake on the terrace too! On the way back I checked out some of the ever changing murals in the surrounding streets.

By Vile Graffiti
By Katie Scott
By Andy Council
Glasgow, artist unknown
Left by Ursula Kam Ling. Right by Ellietype (Ellie Mills)
Yorkhill Community Gareway
Can’t read the signature!
Can’t read the signature!
Partick mural

At this point my post is in danger of becoming unwieldy, so I’ll finish here and add another instalment at the end of the month. There will be heilan’ coos and penguins!

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52 Comments »

  1. I love the street art this month, the artists who create them are so talented. That rubber bullet’s terrifying! I had no idea they were so big, I’d always assumed, if anything, they’d be smaller than a regular bullet.

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  3. Excellent murals this month. I like hearing about the activists who were sed all the methods they could contrive to help establish tenants right. I had no idea rubber bullets were so large! I guess the busker was illiterate. Hopefully he’ll use his earnings at the nearest education center.😄

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    • Those particular activists won – greedy landlords wanted to put rents up when the men were away at war, but the women sorted them! The actions in Glasgow resulted in an Act of Parliament freezing rents. Not sure if the busker was illiterate or just stupid! In which case education possibly won’t help 😉.

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  4. Like you, I always imagined rubber bullets as being small, the size of a regular bullet, and that getting hit by one just caused minor pain and bruising. Clearly, I was wrong. I live for the day when humans figure out that peace is never attained through violence. Never.

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  7. So much to enjoy vicariously here, as in most of your monthly round-ups. The street art around SWG3 looks great (I especially like that bird nesting in the upturned helmet) but my favourite mural in this post is the one of the young girl and daffodils – stunning! The rubber bullet sculpture packs a punch for sure, while I smiled at your photo of the ‘no busking’ sign as I have a couple of my own of different buskers exactly on that spot 😀

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  8. Who cares about the weather when you’re having fun? At least you worn appropriate clothing and sensible shoes 😉 Anything or anyone that prompts artists is a positive thing. Enjoyed the images and a good read. Thanks, Anabel.

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  9. You have been busy again. I’m not surprised by the lack of summer clothing in your first photo. We wore far more warm clothing than cool clothing during our time in UK. 🙂 Train travel might take longer but it is a far more pleasant way to make a long journey.

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  11. With all this gallivanting I’m sure you must have forgotten what the inside of your house looks like 😀 I love all the murals, especially the girl and daffodils, it’s stunning, but the orange sculpture is just weird 😕
    I don’t know if you saw it but last Thursday I watched Susan Calman’s Grand Day Out, she was in Derry and it showed some of the places and the murals you featured in previous posts plus lots of others too.

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  12. Goodness I’m exhausted just reading all about your amazing visits! Really interesting and informative as usual and photos that enhance superbly! Thank you

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  15. That’s a very powerful sculpture of the rubber bullet woman. Saw a 1960s sculpture recently on a walk that meant absolutely nothing today, like too many from that era. Also liked the human cat with golden ball. Bob. BSS.

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  16. Gosh you’ve packed a lot in, and I’ve been enjoying the street art the most here. And I too had imagined a rubber bullet was – relatively – benign. I hope I never have to find out the hard way how un-benign it is.

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  19. A lovely wander with you this week. You found a lot of street art! And I had a smile seeing the busker right in front of the No Busking sign. Why do they do that? And I’m sure that’s why you took that particular shot 😊

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  21. Hi Anabel – it’s always so interesting to see where blogging friends have been – and the notes they make on their various subjects – this one is full on – that rubber bullet is horrific – and no, I’d not realised they were that size: unsettling to say the least. I’ve just read a book on Paris in 1942/3 – about an architect … but the rest … appalled me – we all know it happens and continues to. Cambridge and London – lovely to have been down. Cheers Hilary

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