Glasgow belongs to me

I belong to Glasgow, Dear old Glasgow Town, but there's nothing wrong with Glasgow, for it 's vibrant as life goes round, We're only a common old touring two, as anyone can see, But we go out on a summers day, Glasgow belongs to me.

Every time we told people we were going to Glasgow http://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/Pages/default.aspx their answer was "WHY?" Even local people. We wondered if it was a hellhole, such was its reputation.

Next morning we awoke to a view of a very green city as green as

Auckland. We found out later that Glasgow had the most park space per head of population in all of Europe. It is a very Victorian city and grew immensely during the 1800s. They were sometimes called " the factory for the Empire" as so much of what they made was exported to the colonies.
Eventually the steel making and the ship building died off creating a vast under-class which still exists in parts of the city. The city centre has re-invented itself and has a wonderful pedestrian mall and lots of shopping. There are multitudes of free museums and art galleries and walks alongside the Clyde river.

When my mum died I found in her belongings a book entitled “ Views

of Glasgow”. I took it down to reception and they were amazed at how much was still there, how little traffic there was, and how the immediate surroundings had completely changed. We plotted a route around town to visit as much as possible in the book.
We got to eat a full cooked breakfast ( as much as you can) and I availed myself with 2 helpings of cooked food , one helping of cereal, and one of yoghurt and toast. Afterwards I was still a little hungry.

We found our way across town to the youth hostel where we booked in for a night and then set off to explore on foot. I want to say thank-you to my mum for without her precious book I would never have been treated to 2 wonderful days in a wonderful town.

First up was the University and we arrived on capping day so the grounds were alive with students and proud-as-punch parents protected by a sea of umbrellas.

Then we moved on to the museum, http://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/kelvingrove/Pages/default.aspx which has an eclectic display of art, history, and music. As we walked through the door we heard an organ recital in full swing. The organist was perched about 20m above the floor and the music filled the hallway. Just stunning.

We wandered around looking at exhibitions on Glasgow, Egypt, natural history, wildlife, a spitfire and a stuffed elephant, and on the other side was the art gallery with a van-Gogh ( we ran out of time and did not see it) a Constable , a Whistler, and many by local Scottish artists which were just beautiful. Hunger got the better of us so we found a chippy across the road.

While there, a line of soldiers dressed in World War One uniforms

paraded past and walked up the steps of the museum. Then they sang a verse of Auld Lang Syne. Then walked away again. It was very moving and the soldiers were solemn as they trudged their way around town. We saw them several hours later in the centre of town as well.

We looked up on the internet to find out they were in fact actors, and July 1 was the first day of the battle of the Somme and 100 years later it was a remembrance ceremony. And they were singing “ we are here because we're here because, we're here because we're here” to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. We were both deeply moved.

We spent several hours walking around town before heading back to the hostel for a great home cooked meal and a chat with the other travellers there that night.

The next morning as we were loading up the bikes in the rain we could here what sounded like thunder / fireworks / drums / flutes down in the valley. We followed the sound trail and found ourselves at the end of a parade. It was an Orange Lodge parade and they made a huge din with hundreds of drums and tin flutes.

We followed it for a while until we spotted a Luthier along side the route so we popped in for a chat. He and a mate had set the business up a year ago but as 95% of the work was repairs his partner had left and he ran the shop on his own. He gave us a quick description about the parade ( he thought it was racist) and we then we headed to the botanic gardens http://www.glasgowbotanicgardens.com/ where there are two stunning glass houses, and Sally thoroughly enjoyed it. I noticed while guarding the bike there were continuous rows of seats, all dedicated ( and presumably paid for by) to now deceased supporters of the gardens. In NZ we often see a seat or 2 but not a hundred all lined up side by side.