One of the highlights of my August was being invited to the opening of an exhibition in the City Chambers about the Glasgow Coat of Arms. Over the last few years Dr Caroline Scott has collected over 4500 images of various representations of the Coat of Arms, mostly crowdsourced, and this was a display of a very small selection. I have met Caroline at a previous exhibition and contributed some photographs so I think that was how I made the cut.

The gentleman with Caroline above has, for one so flamboyantly dressed, the very mundane title of Council Officer. He is traditionally responsible for ceremonial duties such as carrying the municipal mace and leading the Lord Provost into the Council Chamber. He kindly got the mace out for us to handle, as seen in the gallery below – it is just one of the many spectacular things about the City Chambers.

Staying in the city centre, on one of our Scottie trail meanders we revisited Provand’s Lordship, the Cathedral, and the Necropolis. Provand’s Lordship is Glasgow’s oldest house dating from 1471. In the Cathedral we looked at the new window and refurbished well created last year for Glasgow’s 850th birthday. They have featured here before because I had seen them already, but John had not. In the Necropolis I found the colours in the refurbished Alexander Mackenzie memorial startling, to say the least, and I don’t remember noticing the memorial to Archibald McLellan before, even though it has apparently been there since 2004. (McLellan was actually buried in the Cathedral Graveyard in 1854). Spot the elements of Glasgow’s Coat of Arms within the circle!

We needed a small upholstery job done which involved a trip to Dumbarton during which we visited Levengrove Park, a place we hadn’t been for some years. It’s beautifully laid out with several ruins and memorials to look at and great views of the volcanic plug on which Dumbarton Castle stands.

I visited a different sort of garden which was open one Sunday as part of Scotland’s Garden Scheme, one which I have passed many times without knowing it was there, even though it is only about 10-15 minutes walk from home. At the top of Garrioch Crescent is a set of gates, usually closed, which hides a secret. Bounded by tenements on all four sides, a communal space has been created by removing the boundaries of the separate back courts to create a garden for all residents to enjoy. As well as the gardens themselves, I enjoyed an indifferent cup of tea accompanied by some superb home baking. The priorities seemed right!

The Glasgow Penguins have been quiet recently, but to make up for it I’ve been spotting the work of A Sign of Humour around Glasgow. The last one is a reference to Still Game, a Scottish TV show in which Maryhill ‘played’ Craiglang. I think some people have too much time on their hands!

Here are some other small moments which have given me pleasure during August. If you look really closely you can see another Coat of Arms on the bus.

On the last weekend of the month we went to stay with my cousin Ian and his wife Lynn in Auchterarder in Perthshire. On the Saturday, John and Ian were taking part in the same cycling event, the Muthill Sportive, held to raise money for the Muthill to Crieff Cycle Path project. Lynn and I had a more sedate time visiting the local parish church and an exhibition. The church was designed at the beginning of the 20th century by Honeyman and Keppie, the firm for which a young Charles Rennie Mackintosh worked. While there are no drawings or documents to connect Mackintosh with this project I think the roof beams could show his influence (or maybe they influenced him!)

I also discovered a bear from a Perthshire trail similar to the Scotties and some good advice from a local bakery.

After the conquering heroes had returned home we went out for a lovely meal, and the following day before we left for home we visited a fascinating exhibition in Auchterarder Picturehouse celebrating 50 years of Apple. We were lucky enough to join a tour by the curator, Gavin Knight. Everything on display belonged to him – right back to the very first Apple computer. It’s fair to say he is something of an Apple geek!

And finally – longer term readers might remember that I once helped my Mum to blog her memoirs. When she told the story of moving from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Paisley in 1994 she included a picture of the removal van. Imagine my surprise to be contacted by the son of N. Pretswell whose name is on the van! Apparently an old Pretswell van, last seen when sent to auction in 1995, had been spotted in a field near Blaydon being used to store hay for horses. Although it wasn’t the same van, Mr Pretswell Jr asked if he could use Mum’s picture for a before-and-after post on a Facebook group dedicated to old removal vans. I was very happy with this and the  post duly appeared generating lots of comments and memories. Although I have been asked for the use of images before they have usually been of views or buildings – this is the most unusual request yet. What lovely connections blogging can make!

Speaking of connections, as usual I am linking to Natalie’s Monthly Wrap Up.

Happy September!