Let the games (blog) begin (again).

I've been away for far too long.  That's not to say that I haven't been giving my opinions about what's been happening in Glasgow to anyone who will listen - it's just I haven't been doing it here.  That has to stop now.  The blog got off to a good start, and I got a lovely review, but then it stalled.  I had other stuff I was doing and I didn't fit in the time.  That's going to change.

So, what brings this renewed sense of commitment and enthusiasm to blog.  Simple.  In the past, I was always trying to come up with new and interesting topics based around my experiences in Glasgow.  Well, frankly, I'm not that interesting, but Glasgow is - especially right now, and that's why I'm starting the blog up again.

The Commonwealth Games is a goldmine of topics for any average Glaswegian. As such - trust me, I'm very average - I'm going to look at what decisions are being made on our behalf and how these affect us.  All sorts of topics will come up during the games and I'm hoping to get something out regularly to highlight things that interest us as Glaswegians but may or may not interest the media.

Going forward the plan will be to follow-up on the 'legacy' of the games as see what it really means for us.  I'll no doubt vary topics in the future, but for now, it's going to be all about the Games and what they mean to our city and more importantly what they mean to us.

Let's see what happens.  Let the games begin.

A bevvy of outside space?

The nights are fair drawing in and it looks like we’ve reached the end of yet another miserable summer. I thought at this point, just before it fades completely, I’d write a wee bit about al fresco Glasgow, before we all have to retreat to our caves to hibernate for the winter.

                When we actually get a bit of sunshine in Glasgow, it can be a wonderful place.  It’s full of beautiful parks and wonderful architecture, and makes the place look great on a sunny day.  Walking, jogging or cycling down the banks of the Clyde is a great way to spend a nice day, and more and more city establishments are adopting the pavement cafe culture.  All of this almost makes the place feel like a modern cosmopolitan European city; almost.

                Glasgow, however, has a number of elements which don’t really help to make it a great place to live, never mind to visit in the summer months.  As much as the aforementioned parks and Clydeside are an attractive place to sit and enjoy the sun on a pleasant day, they do create a strange oxymoron based on one Glasgow’s favourite pastimes, alcohol consumption.  Now, on a nice day, the idea of a wee bottle of plonk or a few nice beers whilst sitting enjoying the sun in the park with a wee bite to eat (or even without!) sounds like an enjoyable way to spend your time.  Well, not in Glasgow you don’t my friend!  The public places drinking ban is here to spoil your fun.  Don’t get me wrong, the drinking ban was brought in for ‘admirable reasons’, but let’s be honest it really doesn’t work in the way it’s supposed to.  Visit any pleasant outdoor space on a nice day and chances are that there’s going to be neds, not giving a crap, and flaunting the drinking ban without any reprisal.

So, here’s the reality of situation, the only people that are losing out here are you and me, folk who fancy a quiet wee drink in the sun.  Thank you Glasgow City Council.  Ok, so what’s the alternative then?  I mentioned earlier that as a city we seem to be adopting the European pavement cafe culture, well to an extent anyway.  I honestly don’t think it works very well here.  Most of our pubs and restaurants weren’t designed to have outside space and the pavements don’t really accommodate the idea.  It works ok in some places, but in others it looks very much tacked on and looks like an afterthought designed to try to make the place look more sophisticated.  It doesn’t.

I love sitting outside for a beer.  I love doing it in Glasgow.  However, there are places it just doesn’t work, and I’m not just talking you spit and sawdust establishments (which frankly I prefer), but the outside tables in more salubrious establishments don’t seem to work.  If you visit European cities where the whole pavement cafe culture really works, one of the first things you notice in is that the outdoor and indoor spaces to flow quite well together and you always seem to be attended to quickly by staff who are used to working the space.  Very rarely does it work like this in Glasgow, most of the outside space tends to be in front (i.e. out the door and alongside) or actually (as is the case on St Vincent Street and Buchanan Street) a distance away from the place itself.

It’s also a bit of a class thing when it comes to outside drinking or eating spaces here.  It’s seen as a middle-class pursuit eating and drinking al fresco here, where as that prejudice just doesn’t exist on the continent.  I suppose though, that’s the thing about here, class matters.  Of course it does in other European cities as well, but drinking and eating habits are defined a lot more closely by class here rather than elsewhere.

Maybe that’s unlikely to change, with the bottom line being that in a lot of establishments that if you want outside space, you’ll need to just make do with standing by the wall mounted ashtray.  If you fancy sitting watching the world go by whilst enjoying some food and drink, then you’re probably going to have to pay handsomely for the privilege.  Personally I don’t see many reasonably priced licensed cafe’s with pleasant outside space popping up, as I think that the assumption is that there wouldn’t be the demand for it.  Which is a bit of a shame as I think that it might be a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon, with a couple of reasonably priced light bites and a few drinks with attentive service and a pleasant atmosphere.  Alas, I don’t think it’ll ever quite work here, as in a lot of places it’s about trying to be something they’re not and losing their Glaswegian identity.

If you want a wee recommendation from me for a way to whittle away a Saturday afternoon next summer, go to the Clutha. Seats and tables out front with a view of the Clyde and the best kept beer garden secret out the back. It may not be ‘cafe’ culture, but it certainly is a very Glaswegian way to enjoy a drink on a summer day.

Running out of cynacism.

I took part in my first Great Scottish Run yesterday.  I could go on about how tough the half marathon was, and it most certainly was, but a more interesting thing than my own pain struck me as I lugged my body around 13 miles of an unusually sunny Glasgow.  For the first time in a long while, I was struck by the friendliness of the people of Glasgow.

                As a lifelong resident of Glasgow, I find it very easy to be cynical about Glasgow, and don’t get me wrong, there was plenty yesterday to be cynical about.  From the Lord Provost waving like a walloper from the front of an open topped bus at the start, to the collection of minor celebrities and politicians taking part for a bit of public exposure there was plenty of ammunition for those looking to be critical.

                Sure, I’d heard the support shown by people on the way round the course was good, and of course folk clapping and cheering you on was a great motivator to get round and much appreciated, but this isn’t what made me proud to be Glaswegian for the first time in a while. No, what really impressed me were the wee individual acts by several different people at different stages of the race, and I’m writing this to give them a mention and tell them that they were very much appreciated.

                Coming out of Pollok Park just after the halfway point, when the miles were starting to take their toll, the first of the people I was impressed by had lined up.  Now, there’s no official water point till about the after 6 miles till the 9 mile mark, and this was some way before it.  However, the local residents on Titwood Road had lined up an unofficial water station with plastic cups full of water which were much appreciated after the undulations of Pollok Park. Coupled to this the hose they’d brought out to spray runners in an uncharacteristically warm Glasgow, and they made themselves a very welcome addition to the day.

                Further down on to Darnley road I was particularly impressed by the couple who had evidently been standing there since the first runners went past and were consistently slicing oranges into segments and offering them to the passing masses.  It looked a time consuming and repetitive task, but the two folk doing it seemed more than happy to be doing it just for the benefit of others, and I can assure them that their selflessness was very much appreciated by all who passed.

                There were another few things which made me smile and re-affirmed my faith in the friendliness of Glaswegians. The couple of folk standing with big bags of sweets and offering them to the runners as they headed into the last couple of miles was a really nice thing to do.  I also liked the comedy value of the salesman at the Pollokshaws Road Arnold Clark Vauxhall dealership who gave me a chuckle and spurred me on at the right time by blaring the Rocky soundtrack out of the speakers of one of the cars on the forecourt.   However, I think the sweetest act I saw of the day was the wee boy who had got his Dad to buy him a bottle of water and he was standing by the side of the road holding it out hoping someone would grab it off him.  At that point even this cynic almost said AWW!

                Don’t get me wrong, I still had my faith restored in the stupidity and pettiness of some people  here when I got over the finish line and over officious and lazy looking steward told me and some other runners to keep moving.  Aye, very good, you try not having to rest for a minute when you’ve just dragged yourself round 13 miles.  Numpty!  Anyway, it didn’t spoil my warm fuzzy feeling I felt about Glasgow for once.  No doubt the intervening 12 months will bring the cynicism and grumpiness flooding back, but I’ve still got next year’s race to look forward to re-affirm my faith in our ‘friendly’ city once again!