The music connection

Glasgow, 15th August 2017 – We walk along Sauchiehall Street towards the centre. The sun shines but the wind bites when we move from the sunny to the shady side of the street. We pass the art deco Beresford hotel, a building from the thirties, the tallest in Glasgow between the wars. I found pictures of the opening in 1938 and it looked very elegant and chic. The former elegance of Glasgow can still be felt in this street, although it is not always immediately obvious. As the shops close, the street is getting empty. We hear loud music barking from a bar. Outside, heavily pierced and tattooed men lean against the wall, smoking. An impressive number of rock singers and bands come from Glasgow. Think of Franz Ferdinand, Belle and Sebastian, Snow Patrol, Aztec Camera, Simple Minds and many more. This is fertile territory for music. A friend of mine reminded me of a song from Carter USM: ‘Sealed with a Glasgow Kiss’. Strangely enough Carter USM are Londoners…

Love ain't like the movies
It blisters and bruises
Knocks you about with its fists
It leaves you a wreckage
All postaged and packaged
Sealed with a Glasgow kiss

Beresford in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow (FDC)

Reacties

Een reactie posten

Populaire posts van deze blog

Christ of Saint John of the Cross

Afbeelding
Glasgow, 16 th August 2017 – Before we leave for Edinburgh, we visit Kelvingrove art gallery and museum. What a stunner! The red building from 1901 was renovated and reopened in 2006. Magnificent exhibition. In the West wing a real 1944 Spitfire is hanging above your head and at first we have difficulty in orientating. After the tour with a volunteer guide, it all becomes clear. There is a logic in the collections, ranging from natural and human history to art. A fine room full of Monet, Gauguin and Renoir and a tribute to Mackintosh and the Glasgow Four. Top of the bill are Rembrandt’s ‘Man in armour’ and Dali’s ‘St John of the Cross’. Dali painted his Christ floating in the sky without nails, blood or thorn crown in 1951. The painting was acquired by the director of the Glasgow Museums in the early fifties for roughly £ 8000. Today its value is enormous.  In 1961 a visitor attacked the painting and badly damaged it. It was successfully restored. Unfortunately, we look at a cop...
Meer lezen

The Flying Scotsman

Afbeelding
Glasgow, 15 th August 2017 - Who remembers Graeme Obree? The cyclist from Ayr, who broke the world hour record in 1993 and 1994. He was odd, that is the least we can say. He developed his own, unconventional bikes, forcing himself to ride in extremely difficult positions. On ‘The Old Faitful’, his first, he made straight and narrow handlebars. He put them so close to his saddle that he had to ride with the bars under his chest. He could hardly breathe. Graeme beat the world hour record and the UCI banned his bike and his riding position. So the Scot invented the Superman Position; now he rode with his arms fully extended in front of him. Again, the UCI banned this position. Nevertheless he had a rewarding carreer and is considered a great athlete. Two replicas of his bikes were used in the Flying Scotsman, a film about his life and based on his autobiography. These bikes are on show in the Riverside Museum. Please read more about this man. How he bolted his shoes to his pedals and u...
Meer lezen

Duck’s Bath

Afbeelding
Stow-on-the-Wold, 6th August 2017 – In this village, the highest of the Cotswolds, The Battle of Stow, the last battle in the English Civil War, took place on 21st March 1646. In 1646, a Royalist army marched through the region in a desperate attempt to join up with King Charles at Oxford. They were met at Stow by a Parliamentary force. The fighting was fierce and deadly; the Royalists were defeated and over 1000 men were imprisoned within St Edward’s church. It was said that ducks were able to bathe in the pools of blood that formed on the street leading away from the market square. This is said to be the origin of the street’s name “Digbeth” or “Duck’s Bath”. Today Stow is a picture book town, full of second residences of rich Londoners, who sip their lattes with a view on the rolling hills.  Quiet life in the Cotswolds (FDC)
Meer lezen