COMMONWEALTH GAMES 4: BIKES AND BUSBYS

I spend the day with friends in Glasgow soaking up the atmosphere.  We ended up at the BBC on the Quay and found a crowed gathered around some moutain bike activity.

It turned out to be Danny McCaskil and a few other fellas doing their bike tricks on some boxes  that look like the sort of thing the BBC uses for lugging kit to their gigs.

"Danny MacAskill is a Scottish trials cyclist, from Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye. [A few years ago] he gave up his job as a mechanic so he could ride full-time and now lives in Glasgow.... In  2010 [he] released a new video Way Back Home ... which showcases locations around Scotland."  [photo and text from Wikipedia] 

His website here.  His film, Way Back Home, has, as of today, 32,466,155 views!  I must check out his other more recent ones.

We had tickets for the Hydro which is the space-ship type building behind the Finneston crane.  It is a recently built events hall and before the Games' events was being used (and will continue to be used) for large rock concerts etc.

 

 The above photo shows the security setup, somewhat similar to any airport.

The security was tight to get into this and other events being held at the same time in adjacent buildings on the site of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre.  All the approach roads were blocked or were single lanes to make way for pedestrians coming and going.  It has been a bit of a pest for locals who are going about their everyday life but when you become aware of the huge numbers of people moving about (e.g. the Hydro's capacity is 8,000 people) one feels they are in control of the huge logisical exercise involved!  

There have been complaints about people not managing to get to events because of the numbers trying to get on the above-ground and below-ground (Glasgow's subway which is a double circular track of 15 stops).  More buses have been laid to help ease the situation. 

I also now realise that trains have been cancelled not because the rolling stock is not working but because they have to stop the numbers of people entering the system where the risk areas are not just squashing on trains but probably more related to possible crushes in, for example, stairwells and escalators.  (Glasgow has bad history of crowd crushes at sports events.....)

We watched the men and women's gymnastics all afternoon.  For a break they had us doing a Weegie Wave around the hall.  This involves each section standing up and waving sequentially around the hall.... a great laugh and a good way to stretch the legs.  In order to get up all shouting they put up the text on the balcony flashing notice: Gee it Laldy! (1/3 way up, horizontal blue banner in photo.)

The big screen in the centre is a standard feature in all halls. Also every pub and bar in the city is putting up their big TV screens so everyone gets to follow events over their pint! 

I took thes following photos in order to show our neighbour, Helen.  Her grandson is a piper in the Scots Guards regiment.   She was telling us that he is playing at the beginning of the medal ceremony.

Is this him under that busby (the bearskin hat) coming into the hall? 

A close-up of him on the big screen makes me think this is not a 19 year old. Never mind, if you don't look too closely you would never know.

Here are the women's medals for artisitc gymnastics being presented.  The gold went to England, silver to Australia and bronze to Wales.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES 3: THE RIVERSIDE

Another glorious day!  The whole city continues to be buzzing with folk on trains, walking along the river, or wherever, as they either head to an event or just enjoy the whole atmosphere.  

There are helpers in red jackets along the various routes to the venues; police and security folk dotted about the place; volunteers holding sticks with a large pointing hand to indicate where the throngs of people should head in and around the intersections and junctions en route to Games' sites.  They have great fun giving you a High Five* as you pass by!

I headed for the river to simply enjoy the view and the various street and riverside activities. I continue to discover places I had never been before.  One of the reasons is that a lot of this river property is now being used in a completely different way.  All the docks and yards have been made over ... well ... most them.  You can still see the old graving docks where ships were repaired.

The above photo shows the Finneston crane (one of many icons on the Clyde). Behind it is the Hydro auditorium which looks a bit like a space ship.

Here is the Clyde auditorium which is known as the Armadillo and is often booked for conferences, musical events, trade shows.  They may not be building ships on the Clyde any more but they still have the cash registers ringing with the rock concerts and such like that are laid on.

The far left is a glass fronted hotel where the reflection of the Armadillo is seen on its front, east facing side.

The Science Centre and the BBC building are both on the river opposite the Armadillo and Hydro. Today, all around these 2 buildings, there were  lots of upturned pallets made into benches to sit on.  A rather good idea, I thought.

The silver roofed Science Centre had some folk on the domed roof today.  I waited for them to abseil down but I think they were either stuck or just practicing.

Occasionally they hold an outdoor broadcasts here. Also there is this large, super-wide screen for people to watch (when they are not doing live TV) from the comfort of these (presumably the BBC's) deck chairs.

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High Five " is a celebratory hand gesture that occurs when two people simultaneously raise one hand each, about head-high, and push, slide, or slap the flat of their palm against the flat palm of the other person. " [Wikipedia]

SAFETY NOTICE:MOBILE PHONE USE WHEN DRIVING

This is a 1:24 minute video entitled MCL cinema Hong Kong Mobile phone car crash is well concieved safety notice!

COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2: RIVER CLYDE FLOTTILA

The Clyde has not seen so much activity in years!  The RYA of Scotland organised a 250 boat flottila to sail up the river to Pacific Quay today.

People were out on the banks of the Clyde in various places giving the boats a wave as they went by. Brian and Maggie kindly asked me to join them at Bowling Basin where we based ourselves to see the sail past.

Head of the fleet was one of the MacBrayne ferries - a familiar vessel not just on the Clyde but on the west coast generally.

And then there were lotsa yachts....

 

And finally ....

 Under the Erskine Bridge and on upriver to the city centre where they will be moored until Monday.

We have been associated with Bowling Harbour for many years as we still keep our boat in the basin (though she is in Plockton at the moment). Outside the harbour, on the river there are still ruins of old piers and  hulks lying in the mud. However, we did notice that there has been some cleaning up of the shore nearby which I think is partly because they are making improved cycle pathways along this section.

I chatted to this couple who enjoyed the sailpast from the park higher up the river bank.

The city of Glasgow grew up around the river and while not as busy on the water as it has been over the centuries the river impinges on everyone as they use the tunnel, the bridges, the (rather good) motorways or one of the ferries which plies the lower reaches of the Clyde.