Glasgow's Merchant City - Barcelona's new Barrio?

Working in Glasgow City centre, indeed within the Merchant City area, can have the odd entetaining distraction especially as George Square sits beneath the office window.

Today is a Champions League matchday and Celtic are home to Barcelona in the 1st leg of the First knockout round (round of 16) and the streets are hoaching with Catalunians sporting their colours and singing their football and "National" songs. George Square has been playing host to numerous impromtu games of football and pubs are packed with noisy and friendly visitors.

All in all on a grey and gloomy Glasgow February day the Barca supporters cheer up the city and make it feel a little more cosmopolitan and a little more European - which can only be a good thing to my mind.

Network Rail cock up yet again

I should have started back to work yesterday but was still lurgy ridden enough to have a 4th day in bed which, it transpires, was quite fortunate.

I commute between Irvine and Glasgow and there had been Network Rail engineering work planned between the 25th December & 6th January which meant that it would have been train to Paisley then bus into Glasgow which would have added anything up to 45 minutes to my commute each way. I therefore took a couple of days extra annual leave so as not to have to undergo the stress of my return journey taking anything up to an extra hour to an hour and a half added to my daily travel time.

Of course, probably thanks to the over-run at Rugby and reallocation of staff, the engineering was extended and chaos reigned for all of yesterday and part of today. Hopefully all will have been sorted by home time tonight.

The bigger issue, of course, is Network Rail's inability to properly allocate human resources and then their headless chicken panic when one domino fell and started to topple all the others. They have, rightly, been all over the media apologising to passengers but when will we see heads rolling amongst management as hey surely deserved so to do?

Congratulations Glasgow 2014

Well then Glasgow has won the chance to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games, as has been widely predicted. Glasgow won by 47 votes to 24 for Abuja. Due to the corruption, kidnappings, economic instability and povertyin Nigeria this was not the right time for the games to go to africa. I sincerely hope that the subsequent games will go to africa but to a more stable country.

This is great news for Glasgow and Glaswegians and I look forward to going along to watch some of the events. Well done to all involved with the bid.

A Victor Meldrew moment

Victor's catchphrase "I don't believe it!" issued from my mouth a wee while ago. I was popping outside for a ciggie and offered to take the rubbish down for collection. My colleague informed me that we are only allowed to do so at 09.30 hrs each day. It seems that the Fuhrer Bunker A.K.A Labour run Glasgow City Chambers have issued an edict that there is only one time slot each day for businesses to take the rubbish out. It used to be we could drop our sacks by the kerb at any time during business hours and there would be a regular collection service. It also seems that the next door office were fined for this misdemeanour. Wonder if the builders who have a whacking great skip full of junk outside the front door will get pulled up for it? Ridiculous!

It really gets on my (Prest)wick

Why on earth do the folk who own Prestwick Airport & certain budget airlines insist on calling the damn place "Glasgow Prestwick International"? The place is 50 minutes by rail from Glasgow and is in the middle of God's Own County (Ayrshire).

It's typical of some airlines to try and make the punter think that they are flying into the centre of their destination when they are actually landing a fair old distance away. Another fine example of this cobblers is calling Charleroi by the name of Brussels South. I've suffered that overpriced and monotonous coach journey into Brussels too many times for it to be fun.

Whilst I'm ranting about airports I must comment on that utterly stupid slogan they have at Prestwick: "Pure Dead Brilliant" - Glasgow patois. Well here's some more - Aye Right! Pure dead s***e more like. Another attempt to con the unsuspecting traveller that they're arriving into the middle of the metropolis.

The Horseshoe

When all this Libdemmery (Regional Party Convener, Local Party Convener, Council Candidate, Holyrood PPC, Scottish Conference Committee Vice Convener etc.) gets too much I repair to a legendry Glasgow drinking emporium in Drury Street by the name of the Horseshoe Bar. This establishment is a magnificent example of the so-called "gin palace" style of pub and is one of the few pubs I know where "aw Jock Tamson's bairns" can happily rub shoulders. A fine example is my own little group; a ship yard draughtsman/project manager, a kitchen porter, a bank manager, a butcher, a pub manager and a pol all happily meet and chat for an hour or two about all subjects under the sun. What have we got in common? Well, I suppose our mutual enjoyment of a couple of drinks in that particular pub, but not much else other than an absolute passion for "the beautiful game" - fitba!
We've got Celtic, Rangers, Arsenal and Irvine Meadow fans and we'd argue a black craw white on the silliest, most trivial of points and, even after the most heated discussion, be able to come away as still friends and feeling a little more relaxed and part of the human race.

So, next time you're in Glasgow, have a wee trip along to the Horseshoe and, even if you don't get drawn into a discussion, just enjoy the surroundings and soak up the atmosphere.