Mural Walk, Glasgow
5 March 2023
Our Sunday morning walk took us to Glasgow, where we toured the murals applied on building walls over the last ten years or so. We began with the murals on several Strathclyde University buildings then moved on to the colossal murals of St Enoch and St Mungo. A short visit to the Glasgow Necropolis behind the Cathedral gave us some insight into the celebrities of Glasgow in the past. At Merchant City we met Glasgow residents, a tribute to indigenous people, Thomas Muir and our first meeting with Billy Connolly, three times a lady in Black, and Clutha. A short stroll along River Clyde brought us to a backdoor to the “Temple of Commerce” (i.e. St Enoch shopping mall) for a comfort break and a quick coffee (or soup). We met Billy Connolly again, a portrait gallery under Glasgow’s Central Station, an economical taxi, a mother searching for her shrunken kids, as well as dandelions becoming wind turbines. Unfortunately the panda got “expelled” (i.e. tagged by an untalented lout and then painted over. By walking through the Argyll Arcade we saw some famous and expensive Swiss products (if you have to ask, then you can't afford them). “are ye dancin” “are ye askin” brought us back to the sixties and the nostalgia of Glasgow comedy duo Francie and Josie. From the bubbles with the dog to the wall of love, the swimmer, painted on occasion of the Commonwealth Games in 2014, the renewable energy, close by a loading station for electric cars, to the third Billy Connolly, half way up to Glasgow’s biggest library, to the crocodile, which was overpainted with a woman’s face (some find it nicer than the previous mural of the crocodile), passing by at the School of Arts (with a mural of course) and along Sauchiehall St with a backalley detour for the musician, we returned to our starting point, the Buchanan bus station. This was a very interesting open air museum visit, combined with a walking experience!
Annual Dinner