Dear readers – the double Halloween weekend is finally over, and we trudge onward into November. Bonfire Night tomorrow likely can’t come soon enough for those living in firework hotspots. In Pollokshields, The Bell can confirm a council snafu that stopped a proposed firework ban going ahead this year has offered an opportunity enthusiastically taken up by youthful residents, with other locals on innocent strolls often getting caught up in an unexpected, ground level pyrotechnic display. Stay safe (and maybe indoors).
Our weekend read was a different type of banger; Ophira Gottlieb dug through the hard drives of some of Glasgow’s musical pioneers: former young team members who helped push a city-wide craze for happy hardcore in the early 2000s. Thomas Gillies, aka DJ Gillies, opened up his photo archive for the piece, which readers loved. A “fantastic read”, was the general feedback, although we were schooled on initially mis-reporting Stephen ‘Smiddy’ Smith’s nickname. Ophira’s favourite comment was from Joe Mcauley on Facebook, who said the piece made him “want to get a bag of swedgers”.
Myself and my good pal Tom Gillies recently spoke to @theglasgowbell regarding everything from PC Djing, Pirate Radio, and MCing in Glasgow at the height of Ned Culture. You can read it below.
— GfB 📚 (@Gavin_F_Brewis) November 2, 2024
Trying to throw shade on me for my coffee choice too... 😌 🤣https://t.co/bw3lZE8xG0
Coming up this week, we’re going deep into the world of Southside bakeries and there’s more on buses. But first, your Monday briefing.
Your Bell briefing
💸 Glasgow City Council are investigating how tenants of a building owned by local businessman Robert Morris came to rack up a £1m tax debt. An investigation by David Leask in The Herald has unearthed text messages between Morris and business tenants in former furniture factory in Castlemilk he owns, that suggest he delayed notifying the council about new tenancies. In one message to a colleague, Morris states he saved a tenant “£24k in rates”. The Herald reports that there is £945,000 worth of tax arrears attached to Morris’ property and much of this is “effectively written off”.
🖥️ IT workers at Glasgow City Council are being made to train replacements in India for their jobs before their roles are moved to Asia. An exclusive in the Sunday Record found that around 90 “highly skilled” IT professionals are being offered early retirement or “redeployment” after council subcontractor CGI decided to rely solely on outsourced labour in India, where workers will be reportedly paid up to 700% less than their counterparts in Scotland.
🐀 Further outcry about rat infestations has hit one of the West End’s most famous parks. A video captured over the weekend showed an estimated 40 rats scurrying about Kelvingrove Park, much to the horror of onlookers. Anna, the local resident who filmed the rodent footage, told Glasgow Live she has begun referring to parts of the park as ‘Ratland’. Fitting – Glasgow’s rat population has increased by 45% over the past five years and complaints about the creatures made up 70% of all pest reports to the city council in 2023.
Big story: Homeless Project Scotland's war with Glasgow's councils heats up
Top line: Glasgow-based homeless charity, Homeless Project Scotland is still locked in a bitter battle with local authorities over its current premises. Homeless Project Scotland (HPS) say they are being unfairly ejected from their city centre location, whereas Glasgow City Council have said the organisation is using a site without the proper permissions. In September, HPS were served with an enforcement notice, which could lead to eviction, although the charity has now lodged an appeal. Tensions flared again on 29 October, after HPS organised a protest consisting of service users and supporters, outside a scheduled community council meeting, causing it to be abandoned. But why target the community council?
V for vendetta? Well, HPS holds the Merchant City and Trongate community council (MCTCC) responsible for the enforcement action taken against them. Although community councils have no statutory powers over planning issues, they were the first port of call for local business owners who raised concerns over the impact of HPS service users gathering outside their Glassford Street building, following the charity’s relocation in December 2023.
Paperwork needed: After HPS took up residence in the former office block, they were told by Glasgow City Council to retrospectively submit a change of use application by the end of March 2024, as the site was now being used as a residential shelter. This application wasn’t submitted – HPS founder Colin McInnes said this was because they didn’t plan to use the building “long-term”. McInnes has since announced he’s agreed an “open-ended, rent-free” lease with the building owner.
- MCTCC kept escalating concerns about the repurposing of the empty office block, persistently, to both city councillors and local MSP, Kakub Stewart.
- They also contacted both the Food Standards Agency and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, both of whom said HPS was complying with regulations.
- In September 2023, Glasgow City Council served HPS with an enforcement notice, which would result in eviction if an appeal wasn’t lodged by 18 October and the charity finally submitted a planning application.
Appealing to whom? HPS have now submitted an appeal and applied for planning permission, meaning the enforcement notice has been paused while their submission is considered. As a result, there was some confusion over the noisy protest last Tuesday. McInnes told newsletter The Splash that the demonstration was held because MCTCC have been “discussing the homeless project since January, but they have never reached out to us or shown interest in hearing directly from the people affected [...] We decided if they can’t come to us, we’ll come to them.”
- However MCTCC claims that HPS was not on the agenda to be discussed at Tuesday’s meeting. And since the city council is now dealing with the enforcement notice and ensuing appeal, MCTCC don’t have any jurisdiction or relevance to HPS’ current cause.
- The stunt grabbed attention though – and during its lifespan so far, the charity has done a good job of drumming up publicity and the funding that follows. One source The Bell spoke to described McInnes as a "maverick", but last year HPS doubled its total income from £247,000 to £500,000, including a £118,000 increase in donations to £346,000. Service users say they are filling a vital gap amid Glasgow’s housing emergency and HPS are not shy about putting such users front and centre to shout their efforts out ...
Bottom line: Homeless Project Scotland are committed to doing things their way, however many feathers they ruffle, and they have ruffled a lot during the course of their operation. While recognised by the likes of former Conservative prime minister Boris Johnson, other Glasgow charities in the same space were less forthcoming with praise.
One organisation supporting homeless clients that The Bell spoke to diplomatically opined that their "perspective" on how to provide the best support possible for users was not shared by HPS. Yet HPS are, undeniably, providing beds for those who have none. Equally, the city council has to enforce planning legislation, for safety reasons. As the charity’s appeal is considered, this story will roll on and we’d like to stay with it – email moya@glasgowbell.co.uk if you have any information you’d like to share.
Spot of the week: Radio Buena Vida, Govanhill
Live radio located in a Victoria Road cafe. There’s a lot of hollow talk and corporate wash about ‘community’ in today’s world. To see a place that not only creates community, but builds it from the ground up – that embodies the very word – that’s a beautiful thing. Last week, as day service turned to night, and the cafe turned to bar, a group finished up drinks and plates of snacks, while a pair of pals caught up over coffee. Mtn was in the booth, playing out spiritual French jazz cuts. Radio Buena Vida encapsulates the stuff that makes Govanhill an endlessly exciting and welcoming place to be. – Robbie.
If you'd like to submit a 'Spot of the week', send in a short blurb and photo to editor@glasgowbell.co.uk.
Media picks
Dae ye love dugs? Mogwai certainly does. The music video for ‘Lion Rumpus’, from upcoming album The Bad Fire, is something of a furry testimony to man’s favourite pet (sorry felinophiles). It features the canine perambulations of Larry Wilson, an NYC dog walker and exiled Scot. “Living here can be tough, but I have to remind myself how lucky I am – spending my days with these wondrous, magical creatures. Dogs are really good at reminding us about what is the most important thing in life.” Pre-order the album here.
Left to rot or burn: News that Martyrs’ Public School is being sold off by the council was met with shock and concern over the building’s future. The Townhead school was built on the street where one of Honeyman and Keppie’s young architects was born, a certain Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Simple in its functionality, and symmetrically planned around a central light well, it nonetheless features the unorthodox flourishes and carved ornamentation that prefigure the genius of CRM’s later buildings. Dani Garavelli took a good look at the building from all angles in this weekend long read in the Herald.
From the Calton to Hollywood: As tributes and obits flow in celebrating the life of Janey Godley, we went back to 2019 to read Libby Brooks’ piece from 2019 in the Guardian. Godley is frank to the point of brutal when reflecting on her childhood. “We were poor,” she says bluntly of her childhood. “I remember eating out of bins. But I was bright, so I had the chance to escape. And I’m not ashamed of it, because it wasn’t my fault.” She went from barmaid to landlady, renaming her pub The Weavers Inn after the Calton Weavers. Little did she know then that she’d go on to play a barmaid in the 2018 film ‘Wild Rose’. But she was, until the last, a fiercely funny comedian – still making people laugh on her literal death bed. Rest easy, Janey.
Things to do
Tuesday
📷 The final exhibition in Strange Field’s 2024 programme is by Glasgow-based visual artist Morwenna Kearsley, who’s exhibiting APPARATUS at the old Dalmarnock print factory on French Street until November 24th. Kearsley work highlights the interplay of dark and light to create “revelatory spaces”. The exhibition spills out across the city, with billboards and lightboxes that explore the relationship between photography within the public space and the history of advertisement seen through a feminist lens.
Wednesday
🧠 Take a therapeutic trip with Dr James Brown in his talk: The Science of ADHD & Psychedelics. He will explain how psychedelics work, the ways in which an ADHD brain looks and functions differently to non-ADHD brains, and the emerging evidence that psychedelics may be an effective therapeutic option for some.
Thursday
😄 Screen Time at The Stand, a comedy night run by Fearghas Kelly, of Springfield pet eating video fame. The BBC New Comedy Award Shortlister welcomes Ted Hill, Dr Bonk, Hot Death Theatre and Laura Doherty. 8:30pm, tickets here.
Friday
🎶 The soulful storyteller Alice Faye has been praised by the likes of Belle & Sebastian, with tracks featured on BBC Radio 2 and Radio Scotland. She’s previously sold out the Glad Cafe and London's Green Note. This week, she plays her biggest home venue yet at St Luke’s, with a style that draws from 70s pop, 60s folk, and country.
Saturday
🎧 A big line up at Stereo this weekend, with Hang Linton, Sheba Q, Junglehussi & Babyjaii. Expect boundary-pushing sounds. Leeds-based Linton headlines with a live set, splicing avant-funk, dance punk and breakbeat.
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