Home to the 2014 Commonwealth Games…


Having left Wales, we continued to make our way north to Scotland.  Glasgow was an obvious place for us to stop and stretch our legs after several hours of driving.

To get the full effect, you need to read this post in a bonnie Scottish accent!

This year, Glasgow hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Games from the 23rd of July until the 3rd of August (unfortunately we just missed them), and there was still plenty evidence of the games through banners, murals, and displays particularly in the main city square.

By all accounts the games went off very well.

When we arrived in the city the walking tour we were hoping to join did not happen, so Katina found a self-guided tour from Frommer’s online, I downloaded it to my Blackberry, and off we went to visit a broad spectrum of “the sights” in Glasgow’s east end.  For me the highlights include the Central Necropolis, located at the top of High Street behind Glasgow Cathedral, where we learned that the “place to be” (buried) was at the top of the hill close to the statue of John Knox, a leader of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland.  We saw the former St. Andrew’s Church styled after St-Martin-in-the-Field in London, which is now being used as a centre for arts and dance.  We wrapped up our tour in George Square, the city’s main civic square.  I found the city hall to be quite an impressive building, with a huge square out front which included statues of the likes of Robbie Burns, and the city’s cenotaph.

The photos below highlight some of the sights we saw…just click to enlarge the gallery.

The highlight of our time in Glasgow really was the people we met.  For instance, while we were conducting our self-guided tour and looking for St. Andrew’s Square, a gentleman came up to us and asked if we needed some help.  What started out with “where are we” ended up with a brief history lesson on the church we were looking for and how it had changed over time.  We also learned that the west end of Glasgow, as in most UK cities, tended to be where those with money lived, and that this originated from the fact that the winds in the UK blow from west to east…so anyone living down-wind from the factories could be in some pretty unpleasant smelling neighbourhoods. As people became more affluent, they moved to the west end, to be upwind of the factories.

Although I had done the tour in my best Scottish accent – you know, to get everyone immersed into the Scottish feeling like they were really seeing a bit of the city through the eyes of a local – for some reason I did not get a tip!  Tourists!

Next, we headed to the house of Duncan and Roisin McIntosh, a Servas family who hosted us for the night in their beautiful century home.  I was in my glory.  Many of the places we have visited across the UK have extremely short ceilings and doors!  I’ve banged my head more times than I care to mention!  In the McIntosh house, the ceilings must have been 12 feet high…yes!

Roisin and Duncan were very warm and welcoming hosts.  Duncan is an enthusiastic gardener and both he and Roisin took us through their garden on a “scent” test.  They tested us on the smell of a number of herbs they grow in their garden, including mint, rosemary, bay leaves, dill, peppermint, and basil – just to name a few!  They also had a wide variety of berries and fruit, flowers, and a small greenhouse filled with cherry tomato plants.

Another interesting thing we learned was that the house was originally a single dwelling, but had been subdivided many years ago.  However, instead of dividing it vertically – where each family would have ½ of each of the 4 floors – the house was divided horizontally.  Roisin and Duncan have the side entrance and the top 2 floors, and their neighbours have the front door as their entrance to the bottom two floors.  The backyard is divided equally with a hedge, but not straight down the middle…it starts at one corner of the house and snakes its way to the back of the property.  While having tea we saw a red fox loping along in the back yard.  What an unexpected surprise in this little piece of paradise.

In the morning, Roisin treated us to a “full Scottish breakfast” which included square sausage, round sausage, pork sausage, bacon, blood pudding, eggs, and bread.  It was filling and delicious!

Scottish Breakfast with all the fixings!
Scottish Breakfast with all the fixings!

After saying goodbye to our new friends, we packed up our car and headed for the wee town of Kirkmichael…and what do you think we found there?

 


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5 responses to “Home to the 2014 Commonwealth Games…”

  1. Harriet Johnston Avatar
    Harriet Johnston

    Hi Oliver,
    Thanks for your post on your visit to Glasgow. It is a great place for music concerts (we saw Tragically Hip in a small pub and Depeche Mode in the stadium) also it a great place for shopping, and I often had University meetings there. I can’t say we got used to the Scottish cuisine though – blood pudding is just not my cup o’ tea.

    Since you mentioned the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games thought you’d be interested in watching part of the opening ceremonies that took place in part in George Square where you visited. It features a couple of popular singers including Rod Stewart (I just saw him in concert in Calgary – a great show – think he was wearing the same outfit when I saw him)…but better than that it features Glaswegians including our friend Police Constable Fiona Wilson and one of her colleagues singing and dancing in a flash mob type rendition of Rod Stewart’s “Rhythm of My Heart”… Thought you might have fun watching. When we were living in Dundee, Phil worked for the local police department in a business analyst role…he loved his work and enjoyed combining his business experience and his academic training in criminology.

    1. Hi Harriet, thanks for sharing the video clip!

      As I watched I could see the “Glasgow 2014” banners in the background, which I thought was really cool. I liked how they pulled people in from different walks of life in the video as well.

      As for blood pudding (or black pudding as it’s also known) I’d agree it’s an acquired taste. I remember having it when I was much younger and for sure it was not as enjoyable. Tastes change I guess!

  2. Harriet Johnston Avatar
    Harriet Johnston

    Not sure what happened to the link to the you tube video — here it is again
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyrcQCYcn08

  3. Hello Laddie! I would have given you a bonnie good tip for all your effort!!!!! Love, Mom P. (Baba)

  4. Jill Watson Avatar
    Jill Watson

    Shared this with my Scottish neighbours (Ian is from Glasgow) and they loved it – especially the part about how friendly the people are in Glasgow.
    The video clip/song is great!
    Teta Jill