On a recent trip to the West End of Glasgow, me and my ol' china Moonmando had a wee suanter roon' the place while he snapped a few photies. Thought you might like to take a look at 'em. (You can see me lurking about in the first three.)
And below is one of the above photies (as we say in Glasgow) after Moony had played around with it using digital technology.
I like the mix of modern and old buildings but not the ugly sixties blocks. The more modern ones are ok. But that yoga studio annoys the heck out of me. Can't we escape yoga anywhere? And Subway. The world has the same chain stores ....
ReplyDeleteI like the outdoor cafés. Reminds me of Paris.
It's a nice neighbourhood, Phil - very atmospheric. I used to live in the area back in the '50s.
ReplyDeleteGreat to see these. Im a sucker for cities at dusk, something magical about them I think. I'd never been overseas until, must be nearly two years ago now (where does the time go?!), and seeing these really ignites the travel bug. Loved those low angle shots of the old church too. The camera is the only true time machine, allowing us to look back at a place and time in history that will never exist again so take lots of photos I say and preserve that point so it can be travelled back to by future viewers of these images, as we all do when looking back at our old photos. Even though the world around us at the moment is the only one we know in the moment - those moments all too soon pass. Thanks to you and your pal for posting.
ReplyDeleteI had friends over from Australia on their first visit to Scotland. They started off in Edinburgh,which they loved,but it was Glasgow,particularly the west end that really enraptured them,both the buildings and the people.
ReplyDeleteThey were not wrong!
I know what you mean about a camera, PC, but I've often found that objects (comics & toys) to be time machines too, in that they transport me back to long-vanished moments just on sight of them. I think a camera captures a moment in time and brings it into the present for one to step into, whereas an item takes you back to the past. However, the effect is the same, so they're just different routes to the same destination. I'm glad you liked the photos, as is Moony, I'm sure.
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You've got friends other than me? That's news, Moony. And here I thought you were the original 'Nigel Nae-Mates'. (You done good with the photies, my son.)
Of course - how could I leave out the transporting power of possessions?!, as I sit in a room lined from wall to ceiling with the fruits of 40 years (give or take - I started early) of collecting. Don't quite have the memory that you seem to exhibit of knowing the origin of just about every piece, but you are right; there's many that the sight of transports me back to the time that they came from, particularly comics and vinyl LPs.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's strange how things can do that, eh, PC? Strange but welcome, it has to be said, because there's no place like home. (And 'home' is often to be found in yesteryear.)
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ReplyDeleteWas that church Oran Mor?
Well, there are two churches in the photos, but Oran Mor is the second one on view, McS.
ReplyDeleteOran Mor is not a church, although it was built as Kelvinside Free Church in 1862 (on top of an old coal mine). More recently it was a fundamentalist Bible college. The only holy spirit you get in it now comes out of a whisky bottle as it is now a pub for Glasgow's well heeled trendy nationalist alkies.
ReplyDeleteIt won't be long until Glasgow becomes one big pub. Most of the old banks in Glasgow have already been converted to pubs.
Oran Mor is a great music and entertainment venue / bar - I love the West end of Glasgow (and Finnieston and Partick) theres a great buzz about the place(s). When you say you lived in the West End in the 50s I assume you were no more than a baby then???
ReplyDeleteOnce a church, always a church, P - even when it's a pub. Incidentally, you can still get married in the place - really!
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No MORE than a baby? Why, you make it sound like something of no consequence, McS. I was one and a half years old when I realized my future lay elsewhere. The West End wasn't BIG enough for me. (And no, I don't mean I was a FAT baby.)