The Victorian Statues In Glasgow’s George Square.

Regarding the moving of the Victorian statues from Glasgow’s George Square…

In THIS article, Herald columnist Catriona Stewart writes:
“For those shedding molten copper tears over their loss: name them.”

We don’t have to name them Catriona in the same way that we don’t have to know the names on every tombstone in the City’s Victorian graveyards or the names of the architects who designed each building.
BECAUSE IF THEY’RE LEFT WHERE THEY ARE WE CAN GO AND LOOK AT THEM WHENEVER WE FLAMING WELL PLEASE CAN’T WE!?

…But since you asked,
Rabbie Burns, Sir Walter Scott, James Watt, Robert Peel, Wullie Gladstone, Queen Victoria, Jimmy Oswald, Lord Clyde, Thomas Graham, Prince Albert, Tam Campbell, John Moore, some soldiers and those big Lions.

You May Also Be Interested In…
* Glasgow’s George Square Is OUR Rectangle!
* Photos From The “World War Z” Glasgow Set
* Glasgow Cathedral At Sunset From My Window

Glasgow’s George Square Is OUR Rectangle!

The six new shortlisted designs for the revamp of Glasgow’s George Square have been unveiled and I’m almost speechless at how terrible and charmless they all are. ALL of them.

Luckily, I’m not completely speechless and I’d just like to take this opportunity to say this:

George Square Is OUR Rectangle! Leave those Victorian statues EXACTLY where they are!

The moving of Glasgow’s many Victorian statues like gigantic chess pieces is nothing new and it’s not that I or the many other people who live close to the square are against change. As a matter of fact, everybody I’ve personally spoken to is all for a revitalisation of George Square but, and listen carefully, as a PUBLIC and VERY GREEN space!

The statues that surround George Square have been discreetly moved over the years more than once but c’mon! They look so settled where they stand today. And everybody knows it except for the people in charge who very shortly are about to completely ruin George Square as we have come to know it.

Let’s take a look at the six new shortlisted designs for the Square and as always, click on the images to enlarge them.

Design One:

Design Two:

Design Three:

Design Four:

Design Five:

Design Six:

Design Six is apparently the current “most popular” design with Glaswegians. The best of a bad bunch I’d say.

I’m not very good expressing myself when I’m angry without using extreme profanities so here are some photos of how George Square has looked in the past…

1878:

1880:

1929:

1975:

Fireworks Night 2012:

…and here are two panoramic shots of how George Square currently looks today…

Don’t tell me what you think.
Write to Glasgow City Council and/or a decent Glasgow Newspaper you trust.
So not The Daily Record.

Keep right up to date with everything by visiting: Restore George Square.

You May Also Be Interested In…
* Future Glasgow
* The Glasgow Alphabet By Rosemary Cunningham
* Al Cook’s “Necropolis”

Glasgow Cathedral At Sunset From My Window.

I thought that the title of this post would explain everything but it doesn’t quite.

I took these photographs from my living room window last night at 10pm and they show the silhouettes of Glasgow Cathedral and The Royal Infirmary Hospital…

You May Also Be Interested In:
* Room With A View
* Larking Around Glasgow Cathedral (PART I) & (PART II)
* The Trongate, Glasgow

Photos From The “World War Z” Glasgow Set.

It’s really strange walking around the centre of Glasgow just now. Every so often you’ll hear the words “Dead Body”, “Zombies” and yesterday, I even overheard a wee girl say “Is this Judgment Day Dad?”.
It’s quite creepy.
The “World War Z” production has rolled into town!

For roughly 2 weeks, George Square will be doubling for Philadelphia as Brad Pitt films his scenes for the post-apocalyptic zombie flick “World War Z” and if you ask me, it’s one of the best things to happen to the city for a while. The streets are totally buzzing!

I live 5 minutes walk away from the set and I’ve been going down as much as possible. I can’t believe how quickly the Square has been transformed to look like Philly and we’re not just talking about putting a couple of American flags here and there either.

Painted road signs and markings have been removed and replaced with American signs, traffic lights have been pulled down and been replaced with (much cooler looking) ‘WALK’ and “DON’T WALK’ signs and streets have been renamed.

The really cool stuff happened a couple of days ago when a huge car crash was staged! Surprisingly, the producers of “World War Z” have no problem with the public getting up real close with their cameras most of the time and yesterday, we got to walk along the crash scene which was great because they actually had dummies lying dead in their crumpled cars and…actually, shall I just shut up and show you some of the the photos I took?

You should get yourself down to George Square and take all of this stuff in because in a matter of days it’ll all be gone.
Click HERE for a video of the car crash.

You Are Like The Buzzing Of Flies To Me.

I’ve bought a new place to live.

I’ll be moving house in a few weeks and my Friends & Family have been ragging on at me to get my act together and buy some furniture.
They’re all quite right because my entire worldly possessions amount to no more than a beautiful guitar, a few records and drawings, and mountains of dog-eared books.
…So when I move in, I’m not gonna have a bed to sleep on or a chair to plant myself in.

So that’s that.
I’ve half decided to take everyone’s advice and so I bit the bullet and ordered a big ol’ weird purple 3 seater sofa.
It’s like something out of a Tim Burton movie.
It’s ridiculous and absurd and I figured that I could sleep on that until I get around to buying a bed.
Problem solved.

I work days and nights so I’m hardly at home but when I am, I like to sit down and work on whatever illustration project I’m into at the time.
So…I’d better buy a desk and a drawing lamp I suppose, right?

I’m not really one for decorating.
I hate things that match and I get sad when I see so many people’s houses completely decked out in wall-to-wall IKEA shit.

Right now, I rent a place that looks out onto a big Victorian graveyard and the new place I’ve bought looks out onto the same graveyard because it’s next door to the place I’m about to stop paying rent for.
It’s funny how things work out but what I’m getting at here is this:
I’m rarely at home, and when I am at home I’m drawing.
When I’m not drawing, I’m either up the graveyard or staring out of the window at it.
For me, it’s better than sitting in front of a TV every night.
Britain and America really DO have talent folks but you won’t find it on Saturday night TV.

Anyways, me being a stubborn old man, the way I see it, what’s the point in decorating the inside of my place if I spend all of my time looking outside?

Ach, I suppose that’s not a very good way to think but I’ve been living alone for a long time now and I’m set in my crazy weirdo ways.

If I was selfish and had no pals, I’d just paint the entire flat black and sit on my absurd purple sofa all night looking out of the window and if you know me, you know that I would.
…However, (sigh) you will be pleased to know that I’m not gonna do that and get this!
I’ve been shopping for lamps and desks and paint today and I’m not talking about black paint either!

I hope I’m not lightening up after all these years

I don’t think I am because I’ve decided to take my decorating inspiration from someone I really look up to…(Drumroll)…
Vigo The Carpathian!

He is Vigo!
You are like zee buzzing of flies to him!

Heh heh, only kidding.
I’m only half kidding with you.

Shopping for desks and lamps proved to be surprisingly easy.
A desk is a desk so I found one of those straight away and as long as it gives off light, a lamp is a lamp.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

I plan to decorate my new place with weird and wonderful stuff and whilst messing around on the internet today I found this:

A massive chandelier made out of human bones and skulls!
I thought to myself: “SOLD!” but it turns out that I couldn’t buy it because that chandelier hangs in Sedlec Ossuary in the Czech Republic where the whole place is decorated with human skeletons.

My Girlfriend, friends and family were all against me buying a place that overhangs a graveyard in the first place so I don’t want to completely alienate them all by decorating the place like an ossuary inspired by Vigo The Carpathian.

Not yet anyway.

NOTE: Don’t even think about burgling my place because I’m hardly there because I have 2 state of the art legitimate alarms rigged up directly to the cops and 1 not so legitimate alarm which will bury an axe in your fucking burgling forehead as soon as you step through my door.