Today I walked a mile to the Beresford Hotel, near the Mitchell Library, for a tour about the buildings servicemen stayed in during World War II. The historian had laryngitis after giving 6 of these tours as part of Glasgow Doors Open in the last coupleof days. Between that, his Glaswegian accent and not knowing much about Glasgow history, I was pretty lost. Hearing about American Red Cross hosting American servicemen was a bit interesting. After an hour I deliberately lost the group of 10 but I miss well-groomed Trudy (a Schnauzer) on tour with the elegant Glaswegian woman!
https://www.redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/National/history-wwii.pdf
Then I tried to take advantage of some more Doors Open events. At the Merchants House on George Square (closed for another year, alas), I saw a video, heard live piano music music, mostly the Beatles, and got a nice cuppa and got a brief talk by a man in a suit. Their purpose is to give to charity.
https://merchantshouse.org.uk/
What I really wanted to see was the Glasgow City Chambers because it sounded beautiful (I think someone told me it has more marble than any building in Italy) but it was closed, with no sign saying why, though it's was supposed to be open. I guess I will have to make do with a YouTube video since I leave tomorrow!
Next on my list was the Barras Market, only open on the weekend. It was an old style flea market with some cute things and a lot of junk. A tourist is the worst customer, with money but no room to buy anything! I liked the Frida Kahlo pillow. And there was a light rain...
But I expected after reading a review that there would be good food, and there wasn't much. And I had a hankering for hummus!
So I went and found some at a shwarma restaurant, and got hummus, falafel, salad and naan bread (why not pita?), delicious, and for only £6.
Exhausted and my watch says 12,000 steps so I headed to the Ibis to rest. More tea and finishing red wine from last night (this place gives you a free drink for every day of not asking for maid service)...and "Vera" on TV! I don't need all night to pack but the rest is needed.
Ibis has a lot of Glasgow related decorations, including the Mackintosh "rose" on its carpet, the shipbuilding crane,* out of use for a long time and kept as a relic, and the old Police boxes.
*The Finnieston Crane or Stobcross Crane is a disused giant cantilever crane in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland. It is no longer operational, but is retained as a symbol of the city's engineering heritage. It is one of only eleven giant cantilever cranes remaining worldwide.
A staple of the 20th century British townscape, police boxes served as ‘miniature police stations’ for officers on the beat, equipped with a telephone, incident book, fire extinguisher, and first-aid kit. With the advance in handheld radios and rise in police vehicles, the need for these ‘mini stations’ lessened. However, a few have regenerated as cafes, art galleries, shops, and most famously: a time machine.
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