Glasgow Gallivanting: April 2025

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Rita McGurn’s bench 2025

A bench for Jude – every Spring one of artist Rita McGurn’s daughters yarn bombs this bench in the Botanic Gardens in her memory.

The penguins have been absent for a while, but they have been more active lately.

Into battle?
Best Mum
Dancing?
Solidarity with Heard Island!
Easter Bunny

Spring has well and truly sprung on this postbox topper in North Gardner Street.

Spring post box
Who are you looking at?

I’m still busy with the Jessie Stephen exhibition at Maryhill Halls. The publicity round is over, but I’ve continued to take people on tours and there was a special event on Easter Saturday, April 19th, which just happened to be Jessie’s 132nd birthday. I took a group on a shortened version of my Maryhill women’s history walk and then we all gathered for birthday cake.

A cake for Jessie
Aurora, Anabel, Sheana

As you can see, the cake was iced in the Suffragette colours of purple (for dignity), white (for purity) and green (for hope). Some also explain them as green, white and violet standing for give women the vote. In the second photo I am flanked by Aurora from the Halls and Sheana who is Jessie’s great-niece. We had not consulted with each other, but had all decided to wear a Suffragette colour and, amazingly, all three were represented. Aurora and I were greatly relieved that Sheana loved the exhibition.

Also at Maryhill Halls, I attended a moving ceremony to re-dedicate a First World War Memorial. Originally sited in St George’s Episcopal Church, long ago demolished, it had been languishing in a museum store in the centre of Glasgow for years but has now been restored to Maryhill and will have a permanent home in the Halls. 78 men are named on the plaque and members of some of their families were represented – the wreath to the right of the memorial was laid by one of them.

The Colour Party enters
Piping out the Colours
WW1 Memorial

We had a trip to Edinburgh to see The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives at the Dovecot Studios. While there, we also wanted to see Woven Colour by Ptolomy Mann, which we hadn’t had time to look at properly on our previous visit to the Studios, and on our way we dropped into Old St Paul’s to see Alison Watt’s Still. This hangs in the Warriors’ Chapel built as a memorial to the many young men from the parish who died in World War I. Afterwards, when I looked at my photographs, I thought these three had a lot in common: something about light on white fabric.

Alison Watt: Still
JD Fergusson: Jonquils and silver (1905)
Ptolomy Mann: Jodhpur grey

Some more images from our day out:

  • Crucifixion scene from Old St Paul’s. This stands at the top of the Calvary Stair leading from the street – 33 steps, one for every year of Christ’s life.
  •  La Vielle Balayeuse, Dieppe by Charles Ginner (1878-1952). Because the Colourist exhibition places the four painters in the context of their European contemporaries I came across artists I didn’t previously know. This street scene appealed to me.
  • Rug designed by textile and fashion designer Jamie Bruski Tetsill. I liked the dynamism of its three constituent parts.
  • Looking down on the Tapestry Studio from the balcony. This was originally a swimming pool, Infirmary Street Baths.
  • High Street Hostel. An ancient and inviting entrance.
Crucifixion, Old St Paul’s
Charles Ginner: La Vielle Balayeuse, Dieppe (1913)
Jamie Bruski Tetsil and Dovecot Studios: Rug 01 (2008)
Dovecot Tapestry Studio
Hostel entrance

We spent 10 of April’s days in the Channel Islands. We started in Jersey:

St Helier Marina

Followed by a few days in Guernsey:

St Peter Port Harbour

During which we had a day trip to Sark:

Sark Ferry

More to follow!

Finally, John has continued his cycling excursions, though sometimes it doesn’t look much like cycling to me. Each to their own!

Out of the woods
Into the wood
Where did the track go?

Have a good May.

Scotland, UK , ,

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  6. I love the colors on that yarn-bombed bench. And I never knew the colors of purple (for dignity), white (for purity) and green (for hope) were Suffragette colors. The Channel Islands look fabulous. My dearest friend Jayne is from Jersey and she goes back quite often. I’ve never been myself. And John’s biking adventures look just a tad bit challenging! 🙂

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  7. So much to comment on! Love the yarn bombed bench and that mail topper. The penguins are as cute as usual! Then all the Glasgow sites. Then Jersey and Guernsey which are so on my to go list. Plus I didn’t know that the suffrage movement had colours…I wonder if they did in Canada. What a full April you had.

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  8. Such a busy and interesting time! I do like that those penguins keep their fingers ( flippers?) on the pulse of things. Seeing Dovecot Studios jogged my memory, I enjoyed a few visits there when we were in Edinburgh.

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  9. Hi Anabel – what a range of subjects … and fun to see – the penguins have a mind of their own, but in Scotland – they’re bound to be snatched away … on the orders of an Orange Man. You’re right about the ‘cycle’ ride – good for John and his friends. Those art and museum places looked to be fascinating. Congratulations again on your Jessie exhibition – cheers Hilary

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  11. It’s a great exhibition and I’m glad to hear Sheana approved. How could she not? It does look as though you’ve had a busy spring, and great weather in the Channel Islands! Looking forward to hearing more about that trip.

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  12. Nice to see the penguins again and the team are creations. Great pic of you with the women in the suffrage colors!

    I liked the images of the rug parts and the looms in action.

    Yeah, you call that “cycling”?

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  16. When you write it all out it seems like masses, Anabel, but I expect it doesn’t feel like tons when you’re actually doing it. It’s good to have diverse interests and be able to get out and enjoy them. I’ve not been to the Channels either, but I’ve heard good reports xx

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  17. Fun to see the yarn bombing and penguins and glad the exhibition is going well. It’s nice to see what is going on in Glasgow and Edinburgh. I used to live in Napiershall Street when I was in Glasgow, near St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral.

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  18. Well that’s definitely a unique bench, must take a lot of work. Nice to see the penguins back, not nice to hear they get stolen 🙁

    Been 30 years since I was in Jersey and none of the high rises existed then. I was working so didn’t get to Guernsey, which is somewhere I would like to visit.

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  19. I love that yarned-over bench, Anabel. It must be more comfortable to sit on now as well. The bright colors would brighten any passer by’s day. I’m glad you had a little vacation to islands. I’ve always been curious about Guernsey. Maybe, one day Mark and I will get there. Maybe John is becoming a triathlonist?

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  20. You must be like the Duracell bunny Anabel, only stopping when asleep to pack all that in. Perpetual motion every day. Love the penguins and the PO box covers. I like going out but not to that extent as I also like my deck chair in the garden, book reading, TV watching and online music surfing rather than live concerts. But after five long years and two dud motors I seem to have finally found a reliable second hand car that will actually take me further afield than my own local area for a change. Not been to Sark and the Channel Islands but have seen various programmes set there over the decades.

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  25. Yay! The penguins are back – their antics always make me smile. I love the yarn bombed bench and the rug in three pieces. Your last sentence made me smile, that cycle ride looks a bit too much like hard work 😀

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