DIY

We had grand plans for completing lots of DIY with Ann moving in here to Queens Park but quite quickly realised that we wouldn't have the time to do everything that we really wanted too so instead we opted for DDIY (Don't Do It Yourself). But then that gave us the problem of who to hire, we looked for names through the yellow pages and had a wee search on the Internet to try and find reviews of their services.

Its always a bit worrying hiring to do work to your flat, I think everyone has fears that whoever they hire will either A) rip them off, B) make a huge mess or C) do a terrible job. you hear too many scare stories - my friend hired someone to fit his bathroom recently and in the end had to hire another company to come in and fix the butchers job the first lot did.

Its also quite a strange relationship with the workers - they are amongst the few people who get invited into your house despite the fact you don't actually know them.

Ideally you would only hire in people who came with a personal recommendation from a friend or a company with lots of positive reviews on the net but after having a good search I couldn't really find a huge number of Southside Handymen with many reviews (good or bad) and all our friends workmen had been rubbish.

In the end we chose four firms and asked each to pop round to discuss our ideas and provide us with full quotes. This was very useful as it not only helped us to cement our ideas - (though we had produced full drawings to explain exactly what we wanted anyway) but it was good way to get to meet the people interested in carrying out the work and allowed us to get a feel for what they were like and whether we felt we could trust them. I find its quite good to get them chatting about themselves and about things other than their previous works first as it gives you a better idea of what they are really like.

One guy turned up nearly two hours late with no explanation which gave him a bit of a black mark to start with and one guy decided to go into lots of detail about a recent job where the woman had tried not to pay him his full bill so he'd gone round and ripped out her toilet - again a black mark for him. After chatting with all the people and having looked at all the quotes, we decided to go with The Handyman Can (0141 419 0851), based in the Southside and who, although they weren't the cheapest quote, we felt we could trust they would ensure we got a good job.

The Handyman Can was the only one of the four who called us following our initial meeting to ask questions about what we were planning and to confirm the details about how exactly we wanted it all to look and that all boded well for a good attention to detail.

[Tomorrow I shall post about the results.]

Busy Moving Flat

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last week - we've been busy painting, packing and moving heavy boxes down lots of stairs and then up even more stairs. I am moving over to Queens Park and we're going to be renting out my flat in Cessnock, so if anyone is interested or knows of anyone looking to rent a two bedroom flat, in the Southside, let us know.

Soup, Song and a Swally - Today

The Govanhill Baths monthly fundraiser, Soup, Song and Swally, takes place upstairs at McNeills Bar in Torrisdale Street Govanhill. £4/£6 will get you a vegan and/or Halal buffet(in place of regular 2 course meal as chef is away) and great local music. Doors open at 1.00pm

What to do this weekend - 26th - 28th June 2009

So we don't have any major events on this weekend, which is a bit of a relief, as last weekend was pretty hectic. With the weather due to be nice it is definitely a weekend to stroll around outside, relax in the park and perhaps have a BBQ.

How about Lawn bowls or Tennis in the park, it's free and its great fun. A wander round Pollok house and the Burrell collection, or a trip to Holmwood House and a post visit drink in Clockwork.

If you didn't manage down to the Southside Studios new exhibition last weekend, then why not call in, the gallery is open all weekend. Saturday and Sunday are the last two days of the MFA Exhibition at the Tramway and the Hidden Gardens would be a great place to sit in the sun.

On Sunday, The Tramway are launching their 'Outside Art' Project at the St. Andrew's Drive flats in Pollokshields from 1-4pm. They have Team Extreme the BMX and skateboarding org building a temp half pipe and putting on a show- you can even have a go if you dare! Street dance, graffiti art and fun! * thanks to Lisa for this info

How about finishing off the weekend with some free comedy? Ha Ha comedy are holding their weekly Raw Comedy event, on Sunday night, at the Ivory Hotel. This week featuring Keir McAllister and some new acts.

The Coliseum Theatre and Others like it

I keep passing the site of the old Coliseum Theatre at Bridge Street..The site is so empty ..it is a great loss to that area of the city

It's amazing the poorly design and poorly built buildings which are built all over the city and how many of our old buildings, like the Coliseum, are lying derelict and in disrepair.

I found a great website that documents some of the old music halls and theatres of Glasgow, sadly it only stretches as far as Bridge Street, but it's amazing how many there were and how many have gone. Click Here

Masters of Fine Art Show @ Tramway

We also visited the MFA degree show at the Tramway at the weekend. The exhibition was located in Tramway 2 and 5 and also in the first floor foyer. It was a really interesting show with a good mix of media. There was alot of film, which I am never that interested in, though I can appreciate the hard work that goes into creating them and some were very interesting.

There were some interesting sculptures, I particularly liked the untitled piece by Theodoros Stamatogiannis a large sculpture made from concrete and timber [see below]
The trawway is a great space for exhibiting work and the layout and lighting helped to enhance the whole experience.
We were very interested in this piece [above] - Could the Pigeon Napper be an artist?

Bungo in the Back Lanes - 2009

So we had a great time at this years Bungo in the Back Lanes, wandering around, trying lots of the delicious food on offer and chatting to stall holders. We spent the last half hour sitting in one of the many beautiful gardens, listening to the piano and having scones with Strawberries and cream.

Lots of local businesses had stalls including Shimla Pinks, Busy Bees, Candy Love and Grianach. The bistro bar was run by 1901.

Activities and stalls are also located within the private gardens of Strathbungo, which are great spaces for watching the Tai Chi Demonstrations, browsing the stalls of Glasgow's Craft Mafia and Bouncing on the bouncy castle ...if your under a certain height...

It was a really good afternoon, well done to the local residents of Strathbungo for all their hard work and another successful event.

We are on Facebook

So a couple of months ago we set up a face book group and also a facebook account for Southside Happenings....but we forgot to tell you...thankfully quite a few of you have found us, but if you've not, then please feel free to join the group or become our friend or both... We hope that we can maybe get some discussions happening about the Southside of the city.

Face Book Group

Facebook Page

Urban Beauty - Pollokshaws Road

So on Saturday I tried out Urban Beauty on Pollokshaws Road, since it's been open - which is over a year - I've been meaning to drop in and check it out. Anyway I'd called on Friday and the first appoointment I could get was on Wednesday, but I was offered a place on their cancellation list. Well who ever had the 10am appointment had obviously been out the night before and had cancelled...result.

The interior of Urban beauty is really nice, it's quite small inside but well thought through and decorated. They have a large range of beauty and complementary therapy treatments including massage, skin treatment etc and all at reasonable prices,. I would recommend you try Urban Beauty the staff were lovely and really friendly and it's a nice and relaxing environment.

They are open late Wednesday to Friday.

916 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow G41 2ET
Phone: 01416 166602

For more information click here

Greek Gorbals

Photo by Daveymcn

I read a couple of short pieces about plans to renovate the old Alexander "Greek" Thompson Church on Caledonia Road last week and so today decided to try and find out a bit more information.

Poor "Greek" Thompson buildings have suffered over the years with many torn down in the 60's and many more being allowed to fall into disrepair and collapse. This is made even more striking when you compare him Glasgow's other famous architectural son - the ever present Mackintosh and the huge impact that his style still has on the city today.

Its funny that as a city we seem to have opted to put all our efforts into the one rather than try to promote both but hopefully, finally that's going to change.

Its just been announced in the last few weeks that the old abandoned Caledonia church - one of the few original Gorbals buildings still standing is possibly going to find a new life. This new life will be to create a permanent home for the Alexander Thompson Society, a gallery of his vast (150+) buildings, studios, apartments and a museum.

There is a good wee article on the Architecture Scotland website and more info on the society's site where they outline their aims for the project and how things are attempting to progress.

What do people think of the proposed images?

I like them, very different to other buildings in the city and if will completed could be a good addition to the area - but I guess it totally depends on how well it gets put together and them raising sufficient funding to afford good quality materials.

What to do this weekend - 19th - 21st June 2009

If there was ever a weekend in the Southside to run from one event to the next...it's this one. There are loads of events on catering for everyone. On Saturday we have three local festivals..Govanhill Festival, Pollokshaws Carnival and Bungo in the Back Lanes. Also on Saturday, the Kennishead community Centre is holding it's World Food event as part of Refugee Week. On sunday the Scottish Cinema Organ Trust are performing at Pollokshaws Burgh Hall, from 2.30pm - 4.00pm

On the Art front - Remember that the Tramway are again hosting Glasgow's School of Arts Masters Show, it's free and worth a visit and also the Southside Art Studios are having the opening of their new exhibition on Saturday night, if you can't make it, make sure you drop by on the Sunday as the Gallery is open all day.

More info is available on the posts below Have a fun filled weekend...we'll be posting some pics on Sunday/Monday

Southside Studios Exhibition Opening - 20th June 2009

The preview/opening of the Southside Artist Studios new show is being held on Saturday night at 7pm, in the Gallery, on Westmoreland street in Govanhill.

The Gallery will be showcasing work by Carol Rhodes, John Robertson and Michael white from the 22nd of June until the 19th of July. The gallery is open every Saturday and Sunday and during the week by appointment.

Candy Love

Last week a brill new shop opened in Shawlands and as you can see from the below I got a bit carried away taking photos but it all looked so tasty. I've not got a huge sweet tooth, but I find the colours, shapes and packaging of sweets very interesting and I love a good sweet shop.

The new shop is the run by Alison MacNeil, who is a very enthusiastic and friendly shop owner who is obviously very excited to be starting up this new business. This enthusiasm seemed to be rubbing off on the customers and everyone was leaving, laden with bags full of tasty treats.

On the opening day when I dropped in the whole family were in helping out, Alisons husband was putting up some more shelves and their two children were doing a tremendous young apprentice job of manning the til - spotting that I'd short changed (by accident) when I paid for my goods. It must be every kids dream, to have a mum who owns a sweet shop - they are prob the most popular kids in class now.

The shop stocks all the old school favourites, sour plumes, sherbet lemons etc plus a load of more designy up scale chocolate for giving out as gifts. There were a couple of items that I was looking for that they didn't stock but when I mentioned these to Alison she added them to a list of new products to buy in so Ann will be able to buy milky teeth soon.

With Woolworths closing, there was definitely a gap in the market for a pic n mix style shop and with the local schools nearby I think they will do well. If the new cinema at the Cell does go ahead just slightly further down the road then they could be sitting on a gold mine.

Despite me saying above that I don't have a sweet tooth, I still managed to go home with six packets of different sweets. The wee girls were also at the door of the shop, handing out a sample pack of mixed sweets to passers by. There was something very enjoyable about walking down the street and everyone you passed was chewing away with big smiles on their faces. Maybe there should be a new law about free sweets for all. Might make us all a bit happier though I suppose if there were loads of free sweets all our teeth would fall out so the smiles might be quite as nice.Opening times are initially 9 - 7 but this might change to match customer needs.

Candy Love - 1125 Pollokshaws Road, Shawlands, G41 3HY 0141 632 2700

Pollokshaws Carnival - 20th June 2009

Another Southside event is happening this weekend. On Saturday Pollokshaws host their annual Carnival at Greenbank Park, Netherauldhouse Road.

The parade starts at 11.30pm at Shawbridge arcade at the top of Shawbridge street and it will then travel straight down Shawbridge Street and cross over Netherauldhouse road into the park.

There are several local community groups taking part in the parade including the Photography group, the sewing group, Greenview Church, St Paul's School, St Conval's primary, Sir John Maxwell's and other local groups. There will also be carnival costumes, a pipe band and drummers. There have been workshops for children leading up to the event for costume making, nmask making and dancing

The carnival will be opened at 12.00noon by Cllr Curran and there are stage acts including, african drumming, street dance, cheerleading and a rock and pop band. Other activities include, alternative therapies, healthy cooking displays, bouncy castles, bucking bronco, carousel, games and workshops for the kids, horse and cart rides, kicks and tricks and information stalls with lots of givaways and freebies.

I've never been to Pollokshaws Carnival but we're planning on going for a wee while before we go to Bungo in the Lanes. We'll post some pics of both next week.

Food Fair @ Saturday Cafe - June 20th 2009

As part of Refugee Week the Saturday Cafe at Kennishead Community Centre will be hosting a food fair, where you can taste food from around the world, discuss dishes and watch cooking demonstrations. The event is being held from 10.30am until 12.30. For more information on the event e-mail info@gpintergrationnetwork.co.uk

Kennishead Community Centre, 10 Kennishead Avenue, Glasgow

MFA Degree Show @ The Tramway 18 - 28th June

This years Master of Fine Art degree show will again be held at the Tramway. The exhibition opens on Thursday 18th June and will be on until Sunday 28th June. We have been several times in the last few years and have really enjoyed it. There is always a wide range of work and it's definetly worth a look around.

For more info click here

Art Installations in Govanhill Baths

The Govanhill Baths will be opening its doors, for the second time since the Baths was closed in 2001, on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th of September. I ve never been inside Govanhill Baths and would be really interested in getting inside and finding out more about plans for its future redevelopment.

The Govanhill Baths Art and Regeneration Team are inviting people to propose ideas for artwork to be sited in the space for the weekend. The work should be relevant to the space, its architecture, social history or the campaign to save it. There are lots of different spaces in the building, including three pools, individual baths, the old steamie (laundry) area, changing areas, reception.

The building is in a poor state of repair (because it hasn’t been maintained since it closed) although structurally sound. Most of the contents of the building has been removed.

The artwork can be in any medium: a sculpture, painting, performance, photograph, text piece, intervention etc. It can be solo or collaborative.

for more information - closing date for proposals is 30th June 2009

Southside Festival 2009 photos

The below are some photos from the Southside Festival 2009 that someone has sent to us. We sadly were manning the Art in the Park show and didn't get out to see any of the rest of the Festival so it was great to see how the rest of the park had looked. Looks like we missed lots of fun - were grown ups allowed on the big slide?

If you have any photos or stories you'd like to share about the Festival this year then send them to the Festival Committee southsidefestival@hotmail.co.uk. They'll love to hear from you.

I think a flickr account of the best images will be set up soon.

Balbir's Saffron Lounge

After a few weeks of quite a lot of hecticness Ann and I decided to have a night off and go out for dinner. We decided to try the Saffron Lounge which is part of the Balbir's chain of restaurants. I'd been before and had found the food delicious but I had noticed the other day that they are now offering home delivery and have a banquet dining offer to allow you to try lots of different dishes.

The Saffron Lounge is pretty huge inside but is divided up into lots of different areas and spaces which mean that despite its size it still feels quite personal. In a previous life the restaurant housed the Urban Grill and quite a lot of the decor has been retained which is good as its quite modern, clean and comfy.

We were given a little two seater booth near the front of the restaurant and the waitress brought over some drinks and the menus. We asked about the banquet and the waitress said she would get one of the head waiters to come over and discuss our tastes. We were a bit worried about that but we needn't have worried. The extremely friendly waiter was full of information and asked us all about what kinda of food we liked and what had we tried before. When he heard that Ann was a vegetarian he listed off a load of different options he could make and then suggested would she like to try a little fish which is something she has been trying small amounts of since our trip to Japan. In the end we agreed to go for Bhel Poori, Bhatura Chana and Salmon Tandooi for starters with Mixed veg pakora, Chicken Tikka Chasni, Veg Tava, Palak Paneer, Peshwari nan and rice for the main course. (Not bad for £14.50 each)

Just before leaving the waiter asked, "Is there anything you really like or dislike Sir?" and I replied that I really wasn't a fan of fresh coriander. Doh I should have kept quiet.

I think the waiter must have missed heard me - because every single dish came garnished with huge amounts of coriander. I kept laughing every time a new dish came out, as the levels of coriander kept growing. I'm not sure why I don't like fresh coriander - but for some reason it tastes like soap to me. Thankfully it was just a garnish and I was able to move it to the side and it didn't effect the delicious food. I've never had fish in an Indian before but the Salmon Tandoori which is one of the speciality dishes at Balbirs is very tasty and a perfect light starter before getting tucked into some of the heavier main course dishes.

We opted to mainly have veggie dishes so that we could both share but I did get one meat dish all to my self and I was very glad too. The Chicken Chasni sauce was amazing and to be honest I'd quite happily just eat a massive bowl of that with a large sweet peshwari nan.

Despite the fact we were both pretty stuffed from just the starters we forced ourselves on. I almost did my self an injury, I was so determined to make my way through the whole bowl of chicken. It was just too tasty - not too would have been an insult.

It would have been nice to get a try of some of the deserts but sadly that was a bridge too far.

They do a pre-theatre menu for £9.95 but the banquet deal is brills and is £14.50 during the week and £17.50 at the weekends. We suggest getting along and having a good chat with the waiters and allow them to draw up a tasty sounding meal based on your own tastes.

All in all an excellent meal in a very relaxing and spacious restaurant and highly recommended.

(PS - anyone notice that nearly all our food reviews are for Indian food? Where else is good we should try.)