Dentist and Old Neighbourhood

Today was the last visit to the dentist. I've had a bit of work done the last month and it's over! I walked home most of the way and took in a few places from my childhood and youth. My childhood home is seen today and 140 years ago. Very little difference really. The area is now a conservation area.













I cut through Victoria Park and must say the parkeepers are doing a brilliant job. It looks far better today than it ever did when I was a kid, and believe me, in Glasgow that is a rare thing.

The walk took me through Broomhill and Hyndland where I visited the Botanic gardens greenhouses. The Keeble Palace is looking much more 'established' after the reconstruction last year.

Finally a walk past Kelvinbridge then took the Underground back to Buchanan Street in the City Centre.

The Gorbals

I went for a walk around the Gorbals area today. The 'Gorbals' used to be synonymous with poverty and Razor gangs made infamous with novels like 'No Mean City'. These days after the injection of much needed regeneration cash, the Gorbals has rebranded itself as 'The New Gorbals' complete with 'Luxury Flats' and all negative reminders of it's chequered past airbrushed into history. At the heart of the New Gorbals lies the New Park, a small but pretty oasis in the concrete jungle. I walked through it on my way to the Southern Necropolis for a look around it. I'd never been to the Southern Necropolis and was surprised to learn it contains the remains of over 250,000 citizens. It's a pretty place for a wander and at this time of the year the blooming trees make for an attractive afternoon stroll. There is however a rather disturbing sight within this graveyard. The sheer scale of vandalism and toppled headstones is really incredible. There are even piles of broken headstones and monuments scattered around

the outskirts. You wonder at times the mentality and what kind of people would think that smashing up graves and toppling headstones was a good way to spend your time. Fortunately most headstones that are visible from the passing road and are near the main entrance are intact. I read somewhere that councils these days are loath to 'right' toppled headstones in case the stone falls on the vandals next time they are toppling them and they will sue for compensation. You really couldn't make it up.

Eurovision Song Contest

Well tonight is the final of the Eurovision song contest, a competition that brings together an eclectic mix of oddballs and losers with the very occasional talent that somehow slipped through. It has become a caricature of itself over the years and is now really just an exercise in humiliation and sarcasm. The only people that take it seriously are the Eastern Europeans because nobody's let them in on the joke yet that it's not actually a serious song contest. In the past it WAS a serious contest and there have been some good songs and acts, most notably Abba. The British entry for tonight are being widely tipped to receive no points (nuls points), and after hearing it, I think the tipsters could be correct. Incidentally When did Israel become part of Europe? Oh well never mind, Israel did win a few years ago with pretty transvestite Dana International. I must say I liked last years winners 'Lordi', a band from the often ignored 'Monster Rock' genre. I will predict a win this evening for the Ukraine and the singer Verka Serdjuchka performing 'Dancing'. It is a camp transvestite number which has a good record as previously mentioned.

Buddhism

Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion and a philosophy. It is also known as Buddha Dharma or Dhamma, which means the "teachings of the Awakened One" in the Sanskrit language of ancient Buddhist texts. It was founded around the fifth century BCE by Siddhartha Gautama, known as "the Buddha". Glasgow, although not perhaps famed for its Buddhist lifestyles, does lend itself as an enviroment where Buddhism can be learned and practiced. Here is the Zen Buddhism Garden not far from me at the museum of religeon, and a few of the exhibits.

Necropolis

Today I walked around the Necropolis just up the road from me. It's a great place to have a wander around admiring the Victorian tombs and gravestones. There is much symbolism to be found in graveyards and I'm sure most casual visitors don't know a fraction about the tombs.

There are a few classic tombstone designs I'll mention. The pillar or tree that is broken in half is not vandalised or hit by lightening but symbolises a life struck down early - a child or young adults grave.

The flying hour glass is seen around and represents the passage of time flying (tempus fugit), again often a sign of a premature death.

Another common site is the Grecian Urn which represents simply The soul and mortality. The Drape on it - mourning. Apart from the symbolism, another thing seen in the Necropolis is evidence of a rather macabre practice - Body Snatching. When the Church held more influence than it does today, it was decreed illegal to perform dissections on cadavers - however there was a thriving black market in selling bodies to medical colleges. The protective wrought iron cages seen around the Necropolis bear witness to these days.







At the turn of the century if an American tourist died here they were likely to be buried here since the transportation of a dead body back to the USA was not practical. Here is one Texan tourist who ended up staying a lot longer than his original itinerary planned. There are quite a few similar ones to be seen, most having a Masonic connection.
Finally I show an image with a guy who shared the same name as myself! I like seeing these things and have often thought of making up a montage of all my acquaintances sharing the same names as the tombs. Not sure how well that would go down though

Kilts

Welcome to Bravehearts Texan kilt fitting service. Just select one of the 4 tartans, give me your waist size (best in Metric because American measurements are all wrong), then post the detail on 'comments'.
The Tartans are Royal Stewart, Dress Stewart, Lindsay, and Black watch.

Amethyst

I've always liked the look of the semi precious stone Amethyst. Amethyst is the clear purple, mauve or violet form of the mineral quartz. It gets its name from a Greek word amethustos meaning "not drunken", as it was believed to protect against intoxication by alcohol. They would drink their wine from a goblet made of an amethyst geode ( Shown on the left).
Amethyst has also long symbolized piety and as such is considered to encourage sobriety. Those born In February have the birthstone amethyst and the the birth flower Violet which represents "modesty and simplicity". Giving these beautiful little blooms to a woman is a sign of good luck and can mean that you 'return her love'.
Although amethyst is comparatively inexpensive, in my experience there are sadly many people who can only judge quality by its price tag. Often these same people spend half their life searching around for the best deal, but fail to see it when they fall over it.

Fish (again)

Sorry to bore you about fish, but that last bowl was too small for the four fish so got a 'bio dome' fish bowl with Air pump, filter and lights. It's a lot bigger than the last one and the fish seem to love it. Much more active now. I've been quite busy the last couple of days so not been in a blogging mood. Will post a thoughtful one tomorrow because I know how important they are to my regular readers (reader). Here is my new fish bowl then - I've left the old one next to it for a size comparison.

Fish

Here are my new fish. Xena loves them. Four little beauties. Only one has a name so far. 'Ringer' is the one with the white rings. Any name suggestions will be appreciated, but no 'Goldie' thanks.

Just The Fish to go!

Here is my goldfish bowl with two interested party's looking on. I've added the coloured gravel, a water plant and a kitsch castle, so all I need are the fish! If things go to plan, I will get some fish tomorrow. Saw some cheap today in a market. I wonder if paying £1.50 instead of £2.50 for the goldfish is a false economy?

Pound Stores

There seems to be a proliferation of these 'Pound Stores' in Glasgow these days. One of the chains is called 'Gift World (Everything a Pound)'. Well no wonder Scots have the Stereotype of being careful with their cash if they are only prepared to spend a pound on a gift. I believe that they have very similar stores in the USA except everything is one Dollar. Now, with the Dollar currently trading at two Dollars to the Pound it begs the question....Are we getting ripped off and paying double the price for our £1 gifts or is the stuff in the American stores just cheap rubbish?

May Day

Today if you haven't noticed is May 1st, traditionally a day when socialists and workers celebrate the history and successes of the socialist movement. There are some events taking place in Glasgow with the usual traditional folk bands, children's entertainment, and stalls distributing left wing literature and inevitably vegetarian food. Although 'left wing' socialism doesn't have the same political support it once did have, the underlying premise of solidarity to ones fellow man remains relevant to everyone.