A Wonderful Walking Tour

The walking tour of York had been so good that I booked us a walking tour of Glasgow. I'm so glad I did. As I was wandering around yesterday I kept thinking that Glasgow is a very dark, drab city and not one I would choose to visit again. This tour changed my mind. Our guide was Louise, a lifelong resident of Glasgow, aka a Glaswegian. As she welcomed us, she assured us that she would be using her "best BBC voice" so that we would be able to understand her. She said that if she spoke in the Glaswegian accent, we'd barely get a word. We started at the imposing Glasgow City Chambers building.

It was inaugurated by Queen Victoria in 1888. Sculptor James Alexander Ewing designed the apex sculptures of Truth, Riches, and Honor, and the statues of The Four Seasons on the Chamber's tower. The pediment above was intended to feature a figure symbolizing Glasgow 'with the Clyde at her feet sending her manufactures to all the world,' but when it was discovered that Queen Victoria was going to inaugurate the building, the design was quickly changed to one of Victoria surrounded by emblematic figures of Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales, alongside the colonies of the British Empire (mostly British India).

Louise said that's why the sculpture is inferior, because it was done so quickly. The central apex figure of Truth is popularly known as Glasgow's Statue of Liberty because of its close resemblance to the similarly posed, but much larger, statue in the New York harbor.

At that moment, it started to rain - not terribly hard, thank goodness. Louise said there's an old Scottish expression, "Today's rain is tomorrow's whiskey."

We crossed the street to the University of Strathclyde which has lots of wonderful street art on its wall, known as The Wonderwall. It features pictures of people from the college who have had an impact on the world, and their achievements. Among them are:

John Anderson - 18th century founder of the university who wanted there to be a practical place of learning specializing in technology and which would benefit working men and women.

Henry Faulds was a noted Scottish doctor and scientist who is known for the development of fingerprinting. He brought his discovery to Scotland Yard but was laughed out of the building. It was only after the technology had been adopted in the United States that his technology was adopted in the UK and Faulds given credit.

This represents Dr. Andrew Ure who was a Scottish scientist, chemist and geologist who founded the Garnet Hill Observatory. What made him famous, however, were the experiments he and Dr. James Jeffray did on the body of convicted murderer Matthew Clydesdale, after the man's hanging. They stimulated the phrenic nerve causing the body to convulse, bend its legs and simulate breathing. Word of this experiment is said to have inspired Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. (Though the body wasn't reanimated, it ultimately led to the development of the defibrillator.)

On one end of the building is a scene from a 1930's classroom (B&W) with current students' faces added in color.

On the other end is a mural of the Land-Ship. It was a mock navigation bridge built on the roof of the School of Navigation in the Royal College. The Land-Ship was a revolving platform with a Kelvin compass mounted on the top, used to teach the School’s students the principles of compass adjustment.

Louise had a most entertaining way of telling the stories of all these murals. We then headed up to Glasgow Cathedral where she told us all about its history and that of the Necropolis and the St. Mungo Museum. On the way down the hill she pointed out a wonderful piece of street art by the Australian Street Artist, Sam Bates, aka SMUG. It presents St. Mungo as a homeless man performing his miracle of bringing a robin back to life. His nose is red, representing the effects of the cold Glasgow winters on the homeless.

As we walked back into town I asked Louise about the flags that I saw on the lampposts and asked if they were for a special celebration or anniversary. She said that they were just there to call attention to people and events in Scottish history. Here are two examples.

The woman who produced Dr. Who, Verity Lambert, is remembered on the Wonderwall of the U of Strathclyde. Additionally, there are four Tardises on the streets of Glasgow, one just down the road from the Cathedral. They are now tiny coffee bars.

We walked back toward Exhibition Square and passed another amazing piece of street art by Sam Bates. This runs along a block-long wall and represents the four seasons. All the animals and plants on the wall can be found in Glasgow.

It boggles my mind that these murals were all done using spray paint.

We walked past the Glasgow City Chambers building - it really is vast.

In fact, it's two vast buildings connected by a stone arch.

We ended our walking tour in front of the Museum of Modern Art where stands an equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington. For years, students have been "defacing" it by putting a traffic cone on its head. City officials would be outraged and have the cone removed but by the next morning another one would be in its place. This went on for some time until the city fathers declared that it was alright to put one cone on Wellington's head, but no more. The morning after that decree, the city awoke to ten cones piled one-upon-the-other on Wellington's head. The city fathers then basically threw up their collective hands and said, "Do what you want."

Louise was a treat, and I'm so glad we took the tour. The rain had let up as we walked across town to The Gannet restaurant, recommended by the Michelin guide. It's a small, modern looking place.

I had contacted them in advance to see if they could accommodate a dairy allergy. They could, and they did, in grand style.

I had a Fir Old Fashioned to start, the fir coming in the guise of simple syrup infused with fir. In place of the creamy mushroom-filled beignet amuse bouche, I was presented with a lovely bowl of celeriac soup with farro and pistachios.

Bruce and I both chose a Loch Creran Oyster with Vietnamese sauce and crispy shallots to start. I loved the presentation.

My first course was a Perthshire mallard duck breast with pear and bitter greens

followed by the main course of North Sea cod with potato, artichoke and miniature oyster mushrooms.

There were a couple of gorgeous cream-centric desserts listed, but the chef made me a special rice pudding with coconut milk served with a non-dairy hazelnut sorbet and dollops of lime gel, which played off each other incredibly well.

The meal was made even better by the wonderful service from Annie, who usually works as the expeditor in the kitchen but who was filling in front of house that afternoon.

Bruce then took off for a pub crawl and, at the suggestion of my neighbor, Cathy, I sought out the Hidden Lane.

There are lots of little cafes and eateries and a few little shops and workshops there. Cathy had told me to be sure to go to the Hidden Lane Gallery, which I did. It's the home of the permanent collection of photos by Margaret Watkins. To quote Wikipedia,

"Margaret Watkins was a Canadian photographer who is remembered for her innovative contributions to advertising photography. She was also a pioneering modernist photographer; her still-life images of household objects arranged in compositions influenced by abstract art were highly innovative and influential."

Watkins had a successful career in New York but embarked on what was meant to be a three-month holiday to Europe which ended with her moving permanently to Glasgow to care for three ailing aunts. Though her bags were always packed and ready, Watkins never moved back to New York. She became friendly with one of her neighbors, Joseph Mulholland. The woman working in the gallery told me that Mulholland, a lawyer, drafted her will for her and, as a thank you, she gave him a suitcase of photographs but told him not to open it until after she died. Watkins died, but the suitcase wasn't opened immediately because Mulholland was dealing with the illness and subsequent death, of his daughter.

A couple of years later, Mulholland opened the case and discovered a treasure trove of prints and negatives. Though it took more than a decade, several solo exhibitions were subsequently held in Britain and North America, most notably the Light Gallery in New York As I started to leave, the woman in the gallery said that if I passed a white-haired gentleman in the street on my way out, that would be Mulholland. At that moment, the door opened and Joseph Mulholland walked in, looking very dapper in a three-piece tweed suite and silk tie. What a treat it was to get to chat with him. He talked about Watkins and what a special woman she was. He said that she could converse on a multitude of topics and was a lovely, if prickly, person.

He then told me about his current project. The city of Glasgow retired its second generation of tram cars and most of them were destroyed. He thought that was a terrible waste so

he bought six of them and they are currently stored in an adjacent building. He's not sure what he'll do with them but may turn them into small businesses in the building where they're stored. One of them will probably become an ice cream stand. Mr. Mulholland was so charming and entertaining; we had a lovely time chatting. Before I left he presented me with a booklet of Margaret's advertising photos. I hope that I get to see him again the next time I travel to Glasgow.