GVSB
Glasgow 5105
continued from page 16
Music venues linough to accommodate the zillions of bands which make for an evergreen music scene. The best places to catch new bands are King Tut’s Wah Walt Hut. 272a St Vincent Street. 221 527‘). The lith Note Club. Clyde Street. 22! 04 I4 and Nice ‘n' Sleazy. 42! Sauchiehall Street. 333 9637. Necropolis/Glasgow Cathedral livoke Glasgow‘s gotliic past with a relleclive walk around the enormous graveyard overlooking the (‘athedral - and the brooding Royal Infirmary. rather tiiorbidly.
One Devonshire Gardens 339 loot As eating experiences go. this one is talked abottt iii hushed tones. This intimate West lind hotel is as exclusive as it gets. being the lone Michelin star recipient in Glasgow. l’osh. Renfrew Ferry (.‘lytle Place. 553 noon. Ceilidh central for the dent/ens of Glasgow bill this floating venue is also used Tor gigs of varying descriptions and successful club nights from Slam and Strange Fruit.
The Rogano ll lixchange Street. 248 4055. A shopper of an art deco seafood consumption extravaganza can be had at this long- establislted restuai'ant which also boasts a cafe and oyster bar.
Sauchiehall Street drinking/dancing 'l‘he Charing (‘ross end of Sauchiehall Street is Glasgow's social mecca. The qtiettes outside ultra-popular student club The Garage (490 Sauchiehall Street. 332 ll20l are practically a tourist attraction; key watering-holes include The Griffin (266 Bath Street. 332 23%) and Variety Bar (40l Saucliiehall Street. 332 44-19).
Statue of Wellington ()r ‘man oti horse with traffic cone on its bonce'. and situated in front of the Gallery ol Modern Art. as (III\' Glaswegian worthy of the title could tell you. Such an intrinsic part of the city's culture that the image was used to publicise the Pure Glasgow event.
Stockwell village Tl'lltlillnllill music and writing rule alongside the real ale in the three well-loved ptibs which make tip this riverside drinking community —- The Scotia Bart I I2. Stockwell Street. 552 868] ). ('lutha Vaults (lo7 Stockwell Street. 552 7520) and The Victoria Bart I59 Bridgegale. 552 (>040).
The Sub Club 22 Jamaica Street. 248 4600. Loved by visiting l)Js almost as much as by its regular punters. The Sub Club is still at the forefront of national club culture after more than ten years of larging it.
Taxis You may curse the queue outside (‘entral Station on a weekend night. btit Glasgow cab culture is healthier than most. particularly if you can perfect your hailing technique.
The Tramway 25 Alhert Drive. 287 55 l l. The former Mtisetim ol"l'ratispor‘t has been in rude health since converting to its current status as venue for cutting edge drama. art. installations and large-scale events. .\'ice bar too.
The Tron Theatre/Restaurant (i3 'l't'otigalc. 552 4207/8587. Major i‘etlevelopmeiit is in progress at this cosy theatre witlt a reputation for quality prodttctions and its support of Scottish companies. The Victorian bar/ restaurant is far more than just an annexe to the theatre.
The Underground The clockwork orange. as no one calls it. may be on a toytown-scale compared to the London underground or Paris metro. btit it's a handy way of zipping between the city centre and the West lind.
Virginia Galleries 3 U33 Virginia Street. 552 8640. A plethora of units and small shops selling antiques. second hand clothes. young local designers. second hand books. l'ilm memorabilia and other curiosities. All your retail needs catered for under one tool.
18 THE LIST 23 Jan~5 Feb 1998
Culture by numbers
Anyone who tries to define anything in statistics these days has to deal With Mark Twain first. Or at least, With the quote often attributed to him —- the one about 'lies and damn lies'. On the other hand, you can lUSl ignore it and get on \‘Jllll drawmg completely conclusions from established fact.
Some are unsurprisnig the fact
lasgow is wetter than Edinbtiign, for one. But, unexpectedly, the Cities’ average temperatures are almost identical, despite the notorious Icelandic liaar sweeping into the capital from the Forth.
Other surprises include the number of parks. The Dear Green Place boasts 74. Pretty handsome, you’d think, btit Edinburgh claims an astonishing 112. Can the city
spurious
which used to boast more acres of green space per person than any
iGlasgow
The facts and figures on Scotland’s biggest city.
Population: 623,000
Council tax (band 0): E805
Labour MP5: 10
Murders: 85 (Strathclyde)
Children receiving free schools meals: 41.9% Booker Prize winners: 1
Listed buildings: 1857
Guinness records: 9
Rain (mm/yr): l l 19
Sun (hours): 4 6
Parks: 74
Overseas visitors: 510,000 Overseas tourist income: 155m Women outnumber men by: 28,658
other European city really have fallen so far behind?
But on to more important matters. In both cities, as in the UK, the number of women is greater than the number of men. Even 50, Glasgow has an incredible 28,000 'extra' women. That's over 10,000 more than Edinburgh — so lads, if you’re looking to pull, be aware that it isn’t only better clubs Glasgow has to offer.
Of course, Glasgow has a bigger population, but it isn't that much larger in area. That means it is more crowded: Just to make your mind boggle — you'll bump into 3500 Glaswegians for every square kilometre of the city you wander. God help you if they're all drunken Rangers fans.
And while you're dodging the lbrox faithful, watch out for murderers too. Strathclyde has about four times as many murders as Lothian each year — most of them in Glasgow itself. Maybe that’s why it costs less to live there. Council tax payers have to foot roughly £7 a year more in Edinburgh.
That's not a big difference though when you consider the relative levels of poverty in east
Glasgow verses Edinburgh
RODDY LUMSDEN was born in St Andrews in 1966. For ten years he has made a living of sorts in Edinburgh, mainly by playing quiz machines and woking as a quizmaster. He received an Eric Gregory Award in 1991 and a Scottish Arts Council Bursary in 1994. He was Writing Fellow for the City of Aberdeen in 1995-6. His work has appeared in Faber's Poetry Introduction 8 and Polygon's Dream State: The New Scottish Poets. His first collection, Yeah Yeah Yeah was published by Bloodaxe Books last year, priced £7.95.
Glasgow
On every corner, someone's selling hope With plastic straps and wonky seams.
The men call the women ’pridda bayba’
The women call their menfolk Sunny Jim.
The past slouches on fallen masonry, in togs which flatter anyone but him.
Birthday gifts are shoehorns and ashtrays. At Xmas, biscuits are crushed in paper bags.
The waitress slams down in front of me an empty plate and a mugful of holy war.