LiveIt SpotlightOn Glasgow’s South Side
Down under
Kirstin Innes speaks up in praise of the overlooked wonders of Glasgow’s South Side
T he West End might shout louder and jangle its designer bracelets more ostentatiously, but for its many residents, the gigantic, sprawling mass of the South Side is the true heart of Glasgow. As many local historians and geographers have observed, defining its boundaries is tricky. ‘South Side’ can really refer to anything south of the Clyde, from the modern façades of the Citizens Theatre and Pacific Quay, just a bridge away from the city centre, to areas as far flung as Newton Mearns and Rutherglen. However, at the risk of making exactly the sort of pretentious statement to get me kicked back across the river with a flea in my ear, the places where you find the spirit of the South Side, as opposed to just ‘South Glasgow’, are the places where a very particular set of cultures have been brought together and mixed (not always easily), to form something new.
As an area, it moves to its own beat, and that beat, right now, is more often than not bhangra, rising up from street corners and halal shops all over Shawlands and Pollokshaws. A vibrant community of Scots Asians generates much of the economic power and cultural buzz in the area. They live alongside a new generation of economic migrants: young homebuyers taking refuge from the still-ridiculous house prices in the West End, who have come to expect a certain kind of chi-chi café culture from their city: witness the success of the super-cool Mulberry Street Bar, bustling cultural hubs springing up at areas such as Battlefield, or increasingly chic boutiques such as Butterfly Kisses. There’s a vast, vital interplay of cultures here, creating, as South Side Happenings blogger Allistair Burt puts it, ‘a mix of traditional Glaswegian values and exciting new ideas which is unique in the city’. Perhaps all this is most obvious in the case of the Govanhill Baths, saved from closure by community action. A sit-in protest involving hundreds of local residents and, eventually,
DON’T MISS Hidden Gardens
25 Albert Drive, behind Tramway, open Tue–Sun. Tucked in behind Tramway, Hidden Gardens are a unique, beautiful oasis of calm. It’s all been specifically designed by artist group NVA to examine questions of religion and landscape, features integrated art works by Gerry Loose and Stephen Skyrnka, among others, and offers poetic audio tours of the various flora and fauna. 12 THE LIST 10–24 Sep 2009
A MIX OF TRADITIONAL GLASWEIGAN VALUES AND EXCITING NEW IDEAS
riot police ensued when the council tried to close the swimming pool down – it had the only women-only space in the city, making it important to local Muslim communities. It’s now run by the whole community as a health centre and arts trust, maintained by a volunteer-run charity shop. All these factors make the South Side one of the most rich and interesting areas of the city. The food is no exception to this rule, with
much-loved Glasgow institutions, Tapa Coffeehouse, Balbir and VIP Taste keeping locals well-fed. There’s also a rich seam of culture running through this side of the city that many of the residents take, if not for granted, then at least as the norm: witness young families clambering over the contemporary sculpture of Tramway’s Hidden Gardens, the pervasive community influence of the Citz, the many, many parks and green spaces studded with strange and wonderful attractions such as the Burrell Collection and the Rennie Mackintosh-designed House for an Art Lover. Finally, don’t miss the chance to slow dance with an old cowboy at the Grand Ole Opry, that enduring remnant of Glasgow’s love affair with country music.
The Scottish Football Museum Hampden Park, Letherby Drive, Mount Florida, 0141 616 6139, www.scottishfoot ballmuseum.org.uk Located at Hampden, Scotland’s national stadium, two miles due south of the city centre, the museum’s memorabilia includes a ticket from the 1872 England-Scotland international and the world’s first national trophy, 1873’s SFA Challenge Cup.
Queen’s Park Langside Place Perhaps the best-loved of all of the South Side’s dear green places, the park is reigned over by the stately Glasshouses and the Battlefield Monument (marking the spot of Mary, Queen of Scots’ last stand). It’s home to some friendly ducks as well as splendid inner-city fest the Wee Chill (Sat 26 Sep). Some of the city’s best ice-cream is served at the Queen’s Café.