Glasgow Gallivanting: September 2026

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The biggest news of September is that John was away for almost three weeks on an epic bike ride across France – La Manche à La Méd. Via a company called Saddle Skedaddle he and his friend Andy joined a group in Saint Malo and cycled all the way to Nice. Above they are leaving Saint Malo looking, I would say, quietly confident.

Saint Malo
Port de Nice

And below they are arriving in Nice 17 days later looking triumphant and in very good shape for people who have cycled 1030 miles with 61,675 feet of elevation! He has some great pictures so I’ll do a couple of posts of highlights later.

And what did I get up to? Well, daily life and social life went on much as normal except that the house felt very empty in the evenings (though we were able to Face Time most nights). I did my Women of Maryhill guided walk twice (and got soaked both times) and spent a lot of time preparing a workshop to present at the Scottish Association of Teachers of History Conference on behalf of Glasgow Women’s Library. I also had a day in Edinburgh with a friend and visited my sister in Harrow for a few days in the middle of John’s absence.

Here are a few pictorial memories of the month. Firstly, some odds and ends from my walks around the West End: the Partickhill post box topper, swans on the canal, and colour in the Botanic Gardens.

Staying with the canal, the Art Bothy and Scottish Canals Volunteer Hub at Stockingfield Bridge have had a makeover – still Portacabins, but now a pretty blue.

On Doors Open Day I popped in to St Bride’s Episcopal Church on Hyndland Road which claimed to be open until 1630, but they were clearly preparing for a service when I went in at 1530 so I only had time for a very quick look. I have been in once before – my brother-in-law used to attend this church and I remember going with him to a midnight service one Christmas. That must be over 40 years ago so my memories are not very clear!

Lady Chapel
Sorrowful Mysteries, 1934 (Herbert Hendrie)
Nativity (Karl Parsons)

An afternoon on Byres Road took me into Hillhead Library which has an exhibition of photographers from Pakistan. I was particularly taken with Waleed Zafar’s Royal Winton tea set, a family heirloom, which he uses to represent the persistent remnants of the British Empire. This was followed by a visit to Oran Mor to hear Nicola Sturgeon talk about her autobiography. Love her or loathe her, there is no denying she is an excellent speaker.

Royal Winton tea set by Waleed Zafar
Royal Winton tea set by Waleed Zafar
Nicola Sturgeon at Oran Mor
Nicola Sturgeon at Oran Mor

On my way to visit a friend in the Gorbals I walked through a new area of housing and spotted the first stone in the gallery below on the verge. What on earth is Subax Wanaagsan? On seeing more and more stones I eventually twigged that they said Welcome in many languages – I did realise before I saw the English version, promise! I thought it was a lovely idea to reuse what are presumably stones from demolished tenements.

On my trip to Edinburgh, the only thing I photographed was John Knox’s grave – he’s under that yellow slab somewhere. The inscription reads:

Site of the burial in St Giles graveyard of John Knox the great Scottish divine who died 24 November 1572

The graveyard is now a carpark! I admit to doing a little dance on Knox’s grave – what would else would I do for the man who wrote The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstruous Regiment of Women?

With my sister I walked round Headstone Manor Park. The camera lens sculpture is a nod to the huge Kodak factory which used to be near by. The stained glass panel is in the café and was created by students in 2017 under the tutelage of Alf Fisher, former Chief Designer and Manager of the Stained Glass Studio at the Whitefriars Glass Factory in Harrow.

Kodak Lens by Tom Waugh
Harrow History stained glass panel

Finally, those who remember the Scotties Trail I was following over the summer might like to know that they raised £435,500 at auction for Maggie’s charity. Amazing work!

Linking to Natalie’s Monthly Wrap-Up.

Happy October!

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  2. Pingback: This week's small pleasures.

  3. John’s cycling trip sounds amazing. I recognized the Port of Nice and the #ILoveNice sign as I was there not long ago. All the places you visited are interesting. I love that post box topper, the stained glass and the makeover of the portacabins. I’m glad to hear the Scotties did so well. Thank you for joining in The Monthly Wrap-Up.

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  4. I have been following John’s exploits on Strava. He and I have different views of how to enjoy oneself on a bike. Mrs Tootlepedal and I went from St Malo to south of Carcassone some years ago without ever going over 200m.

    Great work by the Scotties.

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  5. Sounds like a good month albeit a bitter different with John gone 3 weeks. That’s a serious ride they did! Kudos to him and to the Scotties auction. That is an outstanding amount.to raise! Bernie

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  6. Well done to John. What an achievement! And so to those Scotties. I wish I could have seen them. Hey, we actually have one night in Glasgow at the beginnjng of December. To see a band called the Blossoms. They are actually a Manchester ( well Stockport) band so its strange that we are catching the train up to see them. They are playing at the OVO Hydro.

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  9. I’ll have to have a lie down now to recover after reading what you both have been up to this last month! Amazing cycle trip and equally interesting and wonderful all the places you visited and recorded so admirably. Delighted to read that the Scotties Trail raised so much for Maggie’s charity.

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  10. What an amazing achievement for John! Where next I wonder? And yes, I agree with you about the evenings, they have been the worst time for me now I am on my own, especially through last winter when the evenings stretch on forever! At least this summer I have been able to enjoy being outside later. But you seem to have kept yourself very busy. I am coming to the realisation that country life on your own can be a bit restrictive, especially as I do not like to drive at night.

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    • I don’t know where next – though there is definitely “Talk”! I don’t like to drive at night either, but I have the advantage of good transport links. I would love your area for a holiday but would find it difficult full time. I wouldn’t like to drive your roads at any time of day.

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  13. I wonder what route John took? What an achievement! But you kept busy too. You do get up to some interesting stuff – even if it does include dancing on graves with a dicky ankle ….

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  14. I do know what you mean about the house feeling empty in the evening when John was away as I’ve felt similarly when my husband has been off walking or cycling with friends. But you seem to have filled your time very well nevertheless. The sculpture commemorating the Kodak factory caught my eye – when I was in the Brownies many years ago in nearby Ruislip they would organise an annual trip to the pantomime that was put on there. Looking back I have no idea why that factory would stage a pantomime!

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  15. Sounds like you kept yourself busy Anabel. Three weeks is a long time to be apart, after the first week did you start talking to yourself! You should have taken a photo of you dancing on that grave .
    Happy October 🍂🌰🦉

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  16. First of all, wow! – that’s an amazing amount to raise at the Scotties auction, and for a very worthwhile cause too. The Harrow History stained glass panel is lovely, and your matter-of-fact stement that John Knox’s grave is ”under that yellow slab somewhere” made me laugh. And well done John too, cycling all that way – it sounds like a great adventure so I’m looking forward to seeing some pics. I’ve also been along a local canal just recently and found some very interesting goings-on – it’s three years since I was last along there but it’s prompted me to visit more often just for a nosey 😊

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