Langside Church to rise from the ashes

Langside Church is getting ready to be re-built after a fire destroyed part of the building in May 2009. Work is due to commence in mid April 2010 and scheduled for completion in September 2010. Minister David McLachlan explained that the new building, designed by architects CRGP, will offer more space than the previous incarnation. He said: “There will be a new glass structure at the front which will be used as a café, it will let lots more light into the building. And we will now have two floors, which will allow us to make better use of the space. The main space, the Sanctuary, will be rebuilt, and the internal structure of the remaining part will get new walls and floors.” Although the new building will have more internal space, it will only be three bricks higher than the old building and will appear to be almost the same as before. David said: “It used to be that for some events we would run out of space and had to bring in chairs for people, the new layout will mean that we can get more people in for big events.” The church has been holding services and activities in the David Cargill centre nearby while the building is out of action. David explained that they were afraid numbers might drop off during this time. “Our great fear was that numbers would drop off, but that’s not happened at all, adversity seems to have brought people together and numbers have maintained. There’s also an element of curiosity as well, people want to know what’s going on so they come along to the services to find out the news.“ The church will also be able to offer a wider range of services once the building is complete, they have even been offering class space to the nearby Langside College whilst they are undergoing building work.

John’s back in town

It’s not an unusual story; much of what Drumchapel born and bred singer-songwriter John Condron has been through is something most either have already, or will have to at some point.
But it’s that universality that makes John’s music so powerful – he shoots from the hip and sings from the heart.
He said: ‘My music is all about me. Maybe that sounds egotistical, but that’s what makes me write songs.
‘When I write a song it’s a moment in time, almost like a diary, it helps me deal with real life.
‘Some of best stuff spills out onto the page when I’ve been drinking the night before and when heavy stuff is going on in my life.’
John moved to Oxford four years ago this month, after splitting up with his then girlfriend. Things were going well for the 27-year-old – a series of gigs and live radio performances on BBC Berkshire – looked to have John on the path to a successful music career….
But his stay in England was cut short when his father was diagnosed with cancer and he returned home just before last Christmas.
He ‘s made quite a noise for himself down south, but feels that Glasgow is an altogether tougher nut to crack.
He said: ‘I still don’t feel like a proper musician, up here anyway… Maybe that’s a feeling you get in being from Glasgow, where you’re not to encouraged to boast.
‘But this city is awash with talent. It’s amazing.
‘I’m just trying to make my mark in Glasgow, but things move so fast up here.
‘Down south I’m Scottish and I do my own thing – I’m a bit different.
‘But in Glasgow I’m just another guy with a guitar at the moment.’
John admitted that for his father’s condition he is just glad to be back in Glasgow.
He added: ‘They said that they won’t be able to cure my Dad, but just to be around and help him with simple things is good.’
John Condron plays McCuills on Thursday, March 25.

Yorkhill charity’s challenge not for faint-hearted

Brave souls from across Glasgow are being invited to take part in a charity abseil event in aid of Yorkhill’s family house.
The Ronald McDonald House at Yorkhill Hospital needs 100 volunteers to abseil the iconic Glasgow Finnieston Crane by the Clyde on Sunday, June 13th. It’s not for the faint hearted – the Finnieston Crane is nearly 200 feet high.
If you think you’re up to the task and can raise a minimum sponsorship of £110, give Allison a call on 201 0849 or email at allisonmckillop@hotmail.com.

Bank boosts stamina for aspiring athletics and badminton champions

Bank of Scotland has re-affirmed its commitment to sport by extending its sponsorship of scottishathletics and BadmintonScotland.
In January, Bank of Scotland parent group Lloyds Banking Group announced a partnership with the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympic Games as part of a strategy to develop grassroots sport.
Susan Rice, Managing Director of Lloyds Banking Group Scotland, said: ‘We are committed to helping these sports develop young athletes right up to elite performer level, to achieve their dreams of winning medals and trophies at major championships.
‘Of course, sport isn’t just about the winning; it’s also about taking part. That’s why we are so proud that our partnership helps to increase participation amongst young people in Scotland.’
Anne Smillie, Chief Executive of BadmintonScotland, said: ‘Badminton is one of the highest participation sports in the country and accessible to all. It’s a Commonwealth Games and Olympic sport. Really, the bank’s involvement allows us to do so much towards developing the sport from grassroots right through to elite level.’
The funding, Anne said, will allow BadmintonScotland’s programmes to continue up and down the country.
‘Bank of Scotland’s help also allows us to stage national championships from under 11 to under 23 level. They’re involved with international championships, and that attracts players from 30 nations, so it touches every aspect of the sport.’
Meanwhile, a new report says Glasgow is on course for increased sports participation and performance in the lead-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The Glasgow 2014 Sports Development Legacy report focuses on achievements in athletics, badminton, cycling, disability swimming, hockey, rugby union, swimming, table tennis and netball.
The city’s commitment to coach education and mentoring, hosting international events and creating links between schools and sports clubs to increase participation are also outlined.
The report found that 112 partnerships have been formed between schools and sports clubs. These partnerships cover athletics, rugby, hockey, badminton, netball, tennis and golf.
It said that more than 500 young Glasgwegians per week are regularly playing table tennis, with 17 primary schools and six secondary schools signed up for a Glasgow City Cup.
A rugby union coaching programme has now been extended to the East End, with 60 primary and 15 secondary schools taking part city-wide.
More than 3,000 schoolchildren took part in a badminton festival as part of the International Badminton Championships, while four secondary and 12 primary schools are also receiving cycling coaching.

Irish community celebrates St Patrick with family festival

Glasgow’s Irish community kicked off its celebration of St Patrick with a family festival at Glenconnor Park on Royston Road.
At the launch of a week-long calendar of events put together by the city’s Irish cultural and sporting organisations, Pat McAleer, of Garngad Irish Heritage Group (GIHG), said: ‘This is the fifth year we’ve been running our St Patrick’s event and we’re trying to make it as inclusive as possible.
‘We see this as a two-pronged approach to educating people: children of an Irish background are having their culture reaffirmed, saying it’s okay to celebrate your Irishness. Children who are not from an Irish background are, I think, seeing Irishness in a positive light and I think that has many good aspects to it.’
Pat believes outreach is a huge part of GIHG’s work. ‘Trying to educate people in Glasgow what the word “ethnic” means is a big job. Most don’t seem to understand that you can be Scottish, but of an ethnic Irish background and make it alright for people to celebrate that Irish dimension to their background.’
The week’s events were given the city’s approval by Deputy Lord Provost Bailie Alan Stewart, who was joined by MSP Paul Martin and Glasgow North East MP Willie Bain.
Paul Martin, who celebrates his birthday on St Patrick’s day, praised the efforts of GIHG, its committee and volunteers in growing the annual event.
He added: ‘There are so many people getting to know about this and I assure you we (elected officials) will continue to support the hard work in respect of the celebrations of St Patrick’s day and we look forward to the future.’
Meanwhile, Tir Conaill Harps Gaelic Athletic Club has launched a £15,000 fundraising appeal to replace its minbus, which was destroyed in a firebomb attack in Lambhill.
The club’s committee has asked Strathclyde Police to investigate the incident as motivated by anti-Irish sentiment.
The club raised nearly £1200 through catering and a tombola stall at the St Patrick’s festival, while a further £1,500 was added following a concert in King’s Park.
The club’s ‘Get the Harps Back on the Road’ campaign continues with a gig at the Admiral Bar, Waterloo Street, on April 29, with Anarkali, The Wakes and The Amahdains set to perform. Tickets are priced £8.

http://www.tirconaill.org/index.asp?pageid=218788

Hugh’s meagre grasp of Mandarin cracks up the in-laws

Songwriter and larger-than-life performer Hugh Reed O’Hagan left his native Glasgow for an extended visit to south-western China to work as an English teacher. He travelled to Zunyi, in Guizhou Province with his wife, Duofen, to meet his in-laws. Here Hugh shares his Glaswegian perspective on life in a far country he has come to love and looks at how his Chinese students view Scotland.

Duofen and I married in Glasgow and in China. When I met her mother for the first time my wife, in front of her entire family, asked me to try out some of my very basic Mandarin Chinese.
The first thing that came to mind was an expression my wife often says to me which is ‘Ni, ni ni zhe ge huai dong xi’. I didn’t really understand what it meant, but Duofen always took great pleasure in shouting this at me.
I thought I’d try it out, only to discover it meant ‘You, you, you, you’re a bad egg’. Considering the respectful rituals expected of a son-in-law, this came as a big surprise. Everybody laughed – except Duofen’s mother.
I had a great experience teaching my pupils, who were all aiming to attend Western universities. Three from Beijing are studying now in Glasgow, and I see them regularly. It’s been great to show them round our city and get their impressions.
They, for example think Glasgow is a very old-looking city, as in China most of the buildings are very modern. They prefer restaurants to pubs, go out early, say 6pm, and go home early, say 8.30pm, even at the weekend.
They, in common with most visitors, find Glaswegians to be very friendly.
One of my other students is in Aberdeen. When she got there she sent me an email saying: ‘I thought you told me Aberdeen was a big town’. To her, it seemed nothing more than a big village.
Like most visitors to China, I had to see the Great Wall. I got a big surprise when I went there as I saw a musician playing Auld Lang Syne on a Chinese stringed instrument.
When Chinese people think of Western New Year, this is the song that comes to mind.
When I attended a jam session at Celtic Connections, Duofen brought the house down when she launched into the Chinese version of Robert Burns’s biggest hit.
It was the small things I missed while in China. Most restaurants don’t serve coffee, it’s not easy to buy cheese, and the bread for some reason is very sweet.
The only easily obtainable publication in English is the woeful China Daily, the mouthpiece of the government.
Television isn’t particularly good, and the Chinese don’t watch it. They watch Western programmes through the internet which are subtitled in Chinese.
There’s a fantastic vibrancy to the place, very little crime, unbelievable buildings and constantly strange sights. For example, female construction workers, people of all ages sleeping at all times of the day on the street under street barrows, guys on rickshaws driving the wrong way up a motorway.
For me, China is so interesting that I’m almost reluctant to write this article as I don’t want too many Westerners going and diluting its uniqueness. Seriously though, check it out soon, before Starbucks, KFC and McDonalds take over.

Friends of Rosshall Park serve up good, clean fun

Friends of Rosshall Park aim to make it a better place by organising a big clean-up.
Saturday, March 27 between 10am and noon at the entrance off Crookston Road on the city’s Southside, will be the time when volunteers get together to help. The reward is refreshments and the knowledge of a job well done for the community. All volunteers are advised to wear suitable clothing for the grubby job in hand and children aged under 16 years will require adult supervision. Protective clothing and equipment will be provided. Call 0141 276-7727 for details.

September date for papal visit to Glasgow confirmed

Glasgow is to be the second stop in Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the UK in mid-September. Following in the footsteps of his predecessor, the 83-year-old pontiff will celebrate mass at Bellahouston Park.
The Archdiocese of Glasgow has confirmed that mass will take place on the afternoon of September 16 before a crowd of up to 125,000 people.
In 1982, 250,000 people saw Pope John Paul II celebrate mass at the same venue. Health and safety legislation dictates that crowd numbers be controlled and entry to the event will be by ticket.
The Pope’s first day in Scotland will start at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, where he will meet the Queen. After the Bellahouston mass, he will fly to London.
On Sunday, September 19, Pope Benedict is expected to beautify Cardinal John Henry Newman at a ceremony in Coventry.
Archbishop of Glasgow Mario Conti said: ‘I am delighted that Pope Benedict has confirmed his visit to the UK and especially glad that it will begin in Scotland. I am pleased and honoured to know that the first mass to be offered on British soil will take place here in Glasgow.
‘It is perhaps coincidental but maybe providential that this visit comes in a year of anniversaries, many of them relating to the reformation. The last papal visit brought about a qualitative leap forward in inter-church relations.
The Pope noted this in his address to the Scottish bishops just last month: ‘The Church in your country, like many in Northern Europe, has suffered the tragedy of division. It is sobering to recall the great rupture with Scotland’s Catholic past that occurred 450 years ago. I give thanks to God for the progress that has been made in healing the wounds that were the legacy of that period.’
‘My hopes for the visit are that it might promote a rediscovery of the religious history of Scotland and that it might boost ecumenical relations,’ the archbishop added.

Health Secretary launches £840m hospitals campus

Gemma Mackenzie and Martin Graham

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has launched the new £840m South Glasgow Hospitals Campus in Govan.
The building, which is due for completion in 2015, will be the largest single NHS hospital built in Scotland’s history.
It is expected to bring around 2500 jobs to the area and contribute £30m annually to Glasgow’s economy.
Commenting on the development, the Health Secretary said: ‘This is a massive project, it will be one of the biggest hospital campuses in the whole of the UK and it’s the biggest ever hospital construction project in Scotland.
‘It will bring together the adult, the children’s and the maternity hospitals on to one site and medical opinion says that this is the gold standard for healthcare.
‘It’s really exciting, it’s the best thing that’s happened to the NHS in the West of Scotland for a long time.’
Chairman of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Andrew Robertson said: ‘The redevelopment of the Southern General site is a catalyst for wider economic and social regeneration activity, contributing positively to the physical development of the local area, the South West economy and that of the wider locality.’
Ross Ballingall, the director of Brookfield Construction UK, who are building the campus, said: ‘With the size and timescale of the New South Glasgow Hospitals complex we have the opportunity to create a meaningful and lasting legacy for the surrounding area.
‘We and our supply chain will, where possible, be advertising for local sub-contractors and offering jobs and training to local apprentices and people who are currently unemployed.’
The project was praised by Cardonald College, who offer a number of apprenticeship schemes.
Principal and Chief Executive, Susan Walsh said: ‘This regeneration of our local area, and subsequent creation of jobs which we hope many of our students can fill, is a tremendous boost for the south-west of Glasgow.’

Hundreds march in support of Red Road asylum seekers

By Martin Graham & Erik Geddes

400 people took to the streets for a march from Red Road flats to the city centre to express their grief at the recent suicide of three Russian asylum seekers.
The Serykh family jumped to their deaths from the high flats at 63 Petershill Drive after their asylum claim was rejected.
Led by Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees and Positive Action in Housing, the marchers made it clear that refugees are welcome in the city and that the Home Office and UK Border Agency should adopt more humane policies when dealing with asylum seekers.
As the marchers reached the City Chambers, they held a mass sit down and chanted ‘Say it loud and say it clear, refugees are welcome here.’
Organisers were told by police that they could not gather in George Square due to construction work, so the group moved on to Shuttle Street, where there were speeches from Green MSP Patrick Harvie, STUC representatives and SNP MSP Anne McLaughlin.
Many of the speakers criticised Labour MP for Glasgow North East, Willie Bain, for failing to attend and show his support.
Speaking afterwards, Anne McLaughlin said: ‘The Home Office are refusing to speak to MSPs about asylum issues, claiming that it is a reserved issue and outwith our remit. But I will continue to fight for the rights of asylum seekers in Glasgow.’

Campaigners are calling for a public inquiry or a fatal accident inquiry into the deaths of the three Russians.

Denis Davies, a volunteer with Unity, a charity which operates an advice and support network for Asylum seekers in Glasgow, was on the march. He says the march went well but claims political support from the local MP was short in supply.

He said: ‘The core of the march was asylum seekers and people form the Red Road flats, so it was quite representative of the area.’But Willie Bain never came, and we’ve not had much support from him in the past.’

‘The Home Office do what they want to do and it makes the lives of very vulnerable people more difficult than they already are.’

‘The Home Office seem to be changing their story as and when it suits; I understand that they are now saying that the Serykh family jumped because the father was mentally ill – but their asylum claim was refused on the grounds that they were not mentally ill.’

Willie Bain MP was last at Red Road on the Monday morning following the incident. He discounts claims that he is not doing enough. The former law lecturer says that a more ‘integrated approach’ is needed to try and stop future tragedies.

He said : ‘I’ve spoke to the Prime Minister about this. I’m trying to see if the border agency can work a bit more closely with the NHS and social work to try and pick up some of the particular vulnerabilities and health issues that some asylum seekers might have.

‘In this case here it’s very clear that there was an underlying mental health issue. ‘Neither I nor anybody that spoke to him believed that Sergie Serykh or his family believed they were capable of self-harm, which of course is what eventually happened.

‘The one lesson that we can take is that there has got be a better understanding of working together between the home office and the other local agencies to prevent other such tragedies in the future.

‘The biggest thing we can do is get through asylum claims more quickly, and that is why the Home Office has taken on more case workers.

‘The Asylum seekers that come to me don’t like being in limbo, they need to know more quickly where there future lies and if they can work in the UK or not.’

« Previous Page — Next Page »