The Glasgow Wrap 🗞 Weekend Guide 29 March - 1 April 2024
Court of Session for Govan Showpeople, CCA new bar, Provand's Lordship re-opens, Yousaf on Aye Write, Albert Drive revamp plan, pair 'attempt to sell drugs to cops', beer fest returns, & weekend guide
🐰 Good morning Glasgow & Hoppy Easter Weekend. Looks like a bit of rain on Saturday but otherwise dry (fingers crossed). Here’s Friday’s Wrap and the Weekend Guide.
🎡 Glasgow City Council is ramping up efforts to relocate Govan’s Showpeople ahead of the second phase of the Water Row Masterplan (part of a £57M area regeneration). A spokesperson for the authority confirmed a date has been set at the Court of Sessions in April 2024 as they progress legal action against the showpeople in the event a voluntary relocation cannot be secured.
↪ Rhymeny Stringfellow, who lives at the council-owned site at Pearce Street, has launched a petition to “prevent the forced relocation of Govan’s Show People Community”. He wrote:
This is where we reside as families and as a community all year round. Known within Govan, we have family and friends here and have been living on this land provided by Glasgow City Council for over 60 years. Despite our longstanding presence and contributions to the local economy through our businesses, we are now facing threats to our existence from the same council that once welcomed us.
A spokesperson for the council said: “We understand that the petition has been set up by someone who occupies one part of this site, and that person does not have a current lease and has no legal right or title to the land currently occupied. It should be emphasised that the council has offered this person several alternative sites (on which to live) - however, these offers have been declined. Despite this, the council will continue to attempt to identify an alternative location despite having no legal requirement to do so.”
↪ Water Row: Govan showman refuses to leave home - despite £57m regeneration project, Glasgow Times, 2019.
↪When the fun fair stops: Showpeople call for fair deal in Govan, The Herald, 2018.
↪'We're endangered': the Glasgow showpeople battling eviction, The Guardian, 2018.
⚠ Easter Weekend travel updates: M8 closure paused and Glasgow Airport set for busy weekend and holiday period - arrive at your check in time and ensure hand luggage follows the rules, reports Ben Waddell, The Gazette.
🚌 The minister in charge of bus policy, Jim Fairlie, has refused to say whether the Scottish Government will provide funding for a bus franchising model in Glasgow. - Stewart Paterson, Glasgow Times.
↪ An explainer on the bus franchising by Devon McCole is in Greater Govanhill.
🏠 The Provand’s Lordship has re-opened following a £1.6M revamp. Incredible photos by Colin Mearns from inside are in the Glasgow Times. - Eszter Tarnai & Emily Moore.
📫 Scammers are impersonating Royal Mail staff by putting notes with QR codes through doors saying a package couldn’t be delivered. Police warn that the code leads to a malicious website asking for your personal/payment information. - Rebecca Newlands, Glasgow Times.
👶 Glasgow’s top baby names in 2023 have been revealed. Muhammad took the top spot with Leo coming in second place for boys. The top two girl’s names were Amelia and Ava. You can read the list in the Glasgow Times. - Kirsty Feerick.
📚 Humza Yousaf has intervened over the cancellation of Aye
Write after Creative Scotland pulled funding. He has pledged that the Scottish Government will look into how it can help secure the much-needed cash. - Brian Ferguson, The Scotsman.
↪ The news causes uproar among Scottish writers. Read their reactions compiled by Gaby Mackay in The Herald.
🔺 The Scottish Government has released an FOI on Glasgow City local authority homicide statistics from 1996/97 to 2022/23. The latest numbers show there were 7 homicides in the city in 22/23, the lowest number in the data set. Scottish Government.
⬛ Women who survived horrific abuse as children at residential school Fornethy House have slammed Shona Robison after being excluded from the government’s redress scheme. - Jordan Shepherd, Glasgow Live.
🚨 Two people allegedly tried to sell drugs to to undercover police in the city centre - both were detained and reported to court. - Ben Waddell, Glasgow Times.
🚆 ScotRail is introducing a new Monday to Saturday timetable to provide a service every 30 minutes between Glasgow and Wemyss Bay, and faster trains between Glasgow and Gourock. - ScotRail.
🌳 A proposed £2.4 million transformation of Albert Drive, Pollokshields with new street trees and lighting has been welcomed by local councillor Zen Ghani, who says the revamp would attract more footfall. - Sarah Hilley, Local Democracy Reporter, Glasgow Live.
👨🚒 A poignant ceremony was held at Glasgow Necropolis to commemorate the 19 men who died during the Cheapside Street fire in 1960. - Eszter Tarnai, Glasow Times.
🔥 It’s Day 5 of The Herald’s investigation into the fires at GSA. You can read the full series here.
↪ GSA is looking to sell off two properties in a bid to raise funds for the fire-ravaged Mackintosh Building. - Martin Williams, The Herald.
↪ The senior project manager on the regeneration project from 2014 until 2022 spoke to Cat Stewart at length about the impact of the fires.
📺 STV was forced to cancel some of its most popular shows after staff went on strike over pay. - Eszter Tarnai, Glasgow Times.
🏆 Cllr Dan Hutchison, winner of the LGIU Young Councillor of the Year 2023, spoke to Kate Jones about his journey into politics and his work as a councillor for Govan.
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🍴 There are lots of exciting food and drink updates this week, starting with these two Wrap exclusives:
👁 The CCA is opening a new bar, Third Eye, following the closure of Saramago last year. A spokesperson from the CCA confirmed Third Eye would be owned and operated in-house. They said: “We're excited to run the bar ourselves because, crucially, it allows us to remain a not-for-profit organisation, with the earnings from the bar directly supporting the development of our creative programmes. Audiences can look out for the opening around the beginning of May, just in time (hopefully!) for sunshine on the terrace."
🍻 The West End Beer Fest is BACK after a four-year hiatus. Tickets are available now for the event at Hillhead Sports Club on August 2-3. Expect independent brewers, an intimate atmosphere and top food vendors.
☕ Signage for a new cafe, Toka, has appeared on the former Picnic, Ingram Street. Owners have taken to social media to advertise job posts. - Ben Waddell, Glasgow Times.
🥢 Hunky Dory Group (Topolabamba, Chaakoo, Panang) & Di Maggio’s Restaurant Group are teaming up to open swish Chinese restaurant Zhima in the former Prezzo unit on St Vincent Place. - Rebecca Newlands, Glasgow Times.
🍸 House of Gods Hotel is set to open on Glassford Street on April 12. - Paul Trainer, Glasgow World.
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🏍 The incredible Easter Egg Run 2024 kicks off Sunday from 10am at Greendyke Street (Saltmarket end). Bikers in fancy dress will ride through the city in a mile-long convoy to raise money for Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity.
🛍 The Lunch Conept Store pop-up at New Glasgow Society, Argyle Street starts today and runs until April 4.
🍗 The first free BBQ party at The Locale of the season kicks off at 3pm til late on Sunday. There will be a curated list of selectors, Peri Peri chicken and strong cocktails. Mandalo Easter Sunday Barbecue at The Locale.
🎸 Simple Minds are performing at the Hydro tonight and Saturday with special guests del Amitri. Ovo Hydro.
🪩 Head to Optimo Easter Bank Holiday Sunday at Berkeley Suite if you fancy a boogie. Tickets are available here.
↪ Subculture with Harry & Domenic plus Horse Meat Disco is at Sub Cub on Saturday. Tickets here.
🎵 Mamasan on Ingram Street has reinvented itself as an audio bar following a hi-fi overhaul. Starting tonight, the East Asian eatery will focus on “Bar, BBQ, and Records” with a great lineup of DJs each weekend. - Liam Smillie, Glasgow World.
🗝️ Carmunnock Heritage Trail, an interactive tour through the history of the last remaining village within Glasgow, launches today. More from Ginny Sanderson in The Herald.
↪ The Provand’s Lordship, a museum dedicated to the city’s medieval past, is also open as of today.
🎭 This Is Memorial Device, based on David Keenan’s cult novel, is back on the stage at Tron Theatre on Friday and Saturday.
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📌 There is a Curry Karaoke Night tonight (Friday) from 7.30pm to midnight at Birgidale Complex, Stravanan Street to raise money for Castlemilk’s Souperheroes. Find more about the Souperheroes (and Community Champions) here.
📈 The most-clicked/tapped links from the last newsletter:
🗞 Thank you for reading The Glasgow Wrap, weekend guide number 5. If you enjoyed reading this free roundup of top local news stories without ads, clickbait, or pop-ups, help spread the word by sharing it with your friends.
Someone on Reddit was complaining that TGW is already becoming clickbaity. I don't think so, but the link about the baby names probably crosses a line. Why not include the top names?