31st May 2013
People’s Palace, Glasgow
Mostly today I just wandered around enjoying Glasgow, but I did visit the People’s Palace in Glasgow Green and just about cried at some of the stories I read there. Their Red Road: Past/Present/Future Exhibition, tracing the story of high-rise living in Glasgow, in these particular flats is quite moving. I’m not sure if any of them are still standing, I got the impression they’ve all been demolished, but I could be wrong. Seems overcrowding of the tenements and the subsequent slums led to these high-rise buildings being built, but they deteriorated too and created the same types of problems all over again. I know it’s happened all over the world, but until you actually see the photos and read the stories it’s all rather distant and doesn’t mean much. I know I’m certainly having my horizons broadened in a huge way on this trip and hoping I’ll be better for it all.
There were the usual nostalgia inducing displays of seaside living, old shops and household objects to lighten the tone, but they didn’t have the impact of the Red Road stories. Coffee and cake at the café in the Winter Gardens glasshouse was a fine end to my visit though.
Doulton Fountain, Glasgow
Outside the People’s Palace building is the Doulton Fountain, the largest terracotta fountain in the world. Apparently it was built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee in 1897, not that it means much to me – it wasn’t even doing much in the way of spurting water, but it is quite spectacular.
I headed back in to the city from Glasgow Green for my last visual feast of the buildings and atmosphere then to the Botanic Gardens to say goodbye to my fave places. Packing again tonight, heading off tomorrow on a 3 day bus tour to the highlands, Isle of Sky and ending in Edinburgh.
I’ve always thought the windows that you can climb through and stand on the fire escape or whatever are really cool. I’ve only ever seen them in movies or on Friends. When I told Sarah I had some, she was pestering me to climb out and take photos. Well, being the wuss I am, I wasn’t quite game to stand out there but I climbed out and took some selfies while sitting on the window sill instead. If anyone saw me I’m sure they’d think I was crackers, but, they wouldn’t be the first – and probably not the last either.
MidLife Traveller 