The Glasgow Wrap 🗞 Weekend Guide 31 January - 2 February 2025
Burst Big Duck in Dennistoun saga update, step forward for tourist tax, ADHD assessment programme axed, i-D photo essay divides opinion + the Weekend Guide
⛅ Good Morning Glasgow. The Met Office forecasts a mix of sun and cloud with a low of 2C. Here’s Friday’s Wrap followed by the Weekend Guide for paid subscribers.
🦆 Following news that a huge inflatable duck belonging to Big Duck Bathrooms exploded in Dennistoun, the firm’s owner took to the community Facebook page to assure “all the environmental health know the beads are safe.”
↳ One resident tested the balls and found they were actually made of PLA and polystyrene, not bio foam as previously thought. The result is a viral X/Twitter thread from Martin James.
↳ Connie of Big Duck Bathrooms has since apologised. ”First and foremost, my sincere apologies about the mess my little balls have made all over Dennistoun. Let me assure you we are doing everything to try get them cleared up.”
✈ A tourist tax of 5% on overnight stays has taken a step forward with a public consultation to begin as soon as possible. - Drew Sandelands, Local Democracy Reporter, Glasgow Live.
↳ Bryan Simpson of Unite the Union said he wants to see the levy used to support hospitality workers. - Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco, The Herald.
🚨 A man died after he was hit by a lorry on the Clydeside Expressway on Wednesday afternoon. - Ben Waddell, Glasgow Times.
🧠 A programme designed to tackle the huge waiting list for ADHD assessments in Greater Glasgow has been axed after the Scottish Government slashed mental health services in the city by £1.5m. - Catherine Hunter, Local Democracy Reporter, STV.
🎨 Creative Scotland has more than doubled the number of organisations on three-year funding deals with the CCA and Aye Write on the list of recipients. - Brian Ferguson, The Scotsman.
↳ Cumbernauld Theatre’s funding application was unsuccessful leaving the team heartbroken and the future uncertain. - Nicole Mitchell, Glasgow Times.
👨🎨 Following the funding announcement, the CCA revealed it will reopen on April 1. - Instagram.
🚮 GMB convenor Chris Mitchell says scrapping or heavily discounting the £183 fee for commercial uplift from businesses could cut flytipping in the city by half. - Amanda Keenan, Glasgow Times.
🏢 Plans for a mixed-use high-rise development on an Anderston brownfield have been submitted to the council by Telereal General Property GP. - Eszter Tarnai, Glasgow Times.
🚆 ScotRail has stopped allowing the use of digital tickets at Bellgrove Station, angering locals. - Kieran Webster, Glasgow Live.
✍ Nightclub owner Donald MacLeod has apologised for praising Donald Trump in a column written for The Splash. - Steph Brawn, The National.
🍵 Annyeong Cafe by Toast Tea is opening in St Enoch in February, serving a mix of Korean and Asian-inspired desserts and snacks. - Craig Williams, The Herald.
🛣 WSP UK Ltd has been awarded the contract to provide technical advisory services for a permanent repair of the M8’s Woodside Viaducts. The project is up to £71 million over budget and delayed by years. - Ben Waddell, Glasgow Times.
👮♂️ The front counter of Gorbals Police Station is closed due to a “staff vacancy”. - Nicole Mitchell, Glasgow Times.
🍟 33 Irish Kitchen in Ashton Lane, known for its Spice Bags, announced its time has come to “an abrupt end”. - Nicole Mitchell, Glasgow Times.
💄 Nars is opening soon on Buchanan Street. - Nicole Mitchell, Glasgow Times.
🌊 The project team behind the River Clyde regeneration project have shared their latest designs for both sides of the river at Custom House Quay and Carlton Place. - Urban Realm.
📷 Glasgow, Straight-Up! Buckfast gets you f*cked fast!!!! Square sausages, haggis, and everything else fun that happened in Scotland on Burns Night.
↳ Photographer Izzy Leach photographed people around Glasgow for i-D, sparking a debate in the Instagram comments about the representations of the city.
🏛 Would the Egyptian Halls be in a better condition if they were built in Edinburgh? This week’s column for The Herald.
🕺 The Glasgow Culture Wrap: 29 January - 4 February 2025: Crowdfunder launched to save The Dream Machine, GSA receives 2K rare object donation, Copita & Coffee festivals announce return + food/drink updates, gig/stage announcements and more…
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