The first step was the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society at The Mackintosh Church at Queen's Cross for the Mackintosh Trail Ticket. At £16, it is a bargain as it covers entry to many Mackintosh attractions and also bus and subway travel. Even though we started the tourist day a little later than planned, and the plans continued to be fluid throughout the day, I think we did enough to justify the trail ticket, though it was a tiring day (i.e. I am old, she is forever young(er))!
The Church itself was very nice. It looked quite plain at first sight but, on a closer inspection, the range of detailing was very surprising. This was only the second time I had been in the Church ever, with the first being only four weeks earlier at the Glasgow Comic-Con event for the preview clip of the BAFTA nominated Electric Man the Movie. I couldn't use ex-pat to describe the guys behind the film - yet! And let's not forget Night is Day, although I do feel as though I am betraying Electric Man here but I like the the idea of Lexy the vampire having her own comic and spin-off series. The BAFTA nominated Contorted Hazel was in a different vein and a bit scary to be honest - sorry Uncle Jimmy i.e. Fish. Ok, the clue should have been when the billing included 'Horror'. Guess I've just been a bit Americanised. Folk still insist that Dracula with Gary Oldman is not a spoof! And while I am on the subject, why oh why do the cinema moguls insist on billing films with art house pretensions with starlets as 'comedy' just to get the punters through the door e.g. The Good Girl.
But enough of that for now. Having made our purchases, including the obligatory fridge magnets and another copy of the comic book The Amazing Mr. Mackintosh: The Story of Charles Rennie Mackintosh - the first copy, signed by Sha himself for her at the Comic-Con event, got lost in the post on its way down south to my girlfriend in advance of her visit (or I put the wrong house number on it possibly**), we heeded the sound advice of the CRM Society lady to sign the visitors book, make haste while the sun was still shining and remember to have something to eat while on our tour***!
I was pretty certain it wasn't too far to the Glasgow School of Art but, as we could do it and we were tourists after all, we took the bus to Cambridge Street, stopping for a late breakfast savoury. After that, it was a short walk up Renfrew Street to reach the Glasgow School of Art shop to go on the tour. However the next tour was not until 1pm so this gave us a dilemma of how to make the best use of our time before then. It seemed time and opportunity were slipping through our fingertips like grains of sand, or rather water, so we decided to go with the flow, albeit the flow was slightly uphill and in the reverse direction but that's the mad-cap world of physics for you!
There had been talk on the way into Glasgow of church attendance or lack of it but also the uplifting feeling that we both felt when we did attend - like going home, so we agreed to visit St Aloysius Church - light a candle, say a prayer perhaps. I had not been in the church before although I had recently attended a lecture on the Sighthill Stone Circle in the Ogilvie Centre beside to the church.
Yes, there are common themes coming through, of being a tourist in my own city, visiting places for the first time, and circling round the same locus - the north west corner of the city almost felt like the City of London square mile, drawing me back to it time and time again. I miss London too.
My gut feeling was that there would a 12.30pm mass on in the church and on our way, we noticed a small but varied number of people heading in the same direction - who could still be visitors like ourselves, or people just going in for some quiet prayer time? We went in, blessed ourselves, sat down and looked around at the magnificent art and architecture for a moment - then the bell rang and the priest appeared for mass. We had been in a chapel at the same time before, the first with happiness for me, the second with sadness for her, but never attended actually together before but what else could we do? So when in Rome...
Following our post communion exit, we made it in time for the Mackintosh Tour at the Glasgow School of Art. The hour flew by and I thought I would have loved to have the talent to study here...
A quick visit to The Willow Tea Rooms to admire both tea rooms within the shop followed then it was off to Buchanan Street for the subway to Ibrox and go to the House for an Art Lover in Bellahouston Park. I wasn't sure if it would have been better to go from Cowcaddens subway as that was reversing the route, again re-enforcing a common theme of the day. But it did seem a longer walk to Buchanan Street but it is still my comfort factor as the other part of the city, though it excites me, is still new to me and not yet truly mine.
Twenty years ago, yes it is a long time ago, we both worked and lived together in London so we are familiar with the London tube system and trains. My girlfriend had a rather complex tube route to work from the Barbican to Green Park whereas I could take the scenic walking route via St Paul's Cathedral, the Old Bailey and Fleet Street or Convent Garden to get to Embankment in little more time than the tube. Then we moved further out to Bethnal Green so it was bus or tube for both of us and more tales to tell. I did warn her that Glasgow's subway was dinky and toy-like in comparison, running on an inner and outer circle, unlike the suburban overland train routes which also serve the city. She did know that it was lovingly referred to as the Clockwork Orange.
After leaving Ibrox subway station, there was a lack of signs to direct us. Yes, we had a map and there was also one in the subway station but sometimes just trying to figure out to turn left or right on exiting can be confusing enough, so we went right on Copeland Road and asked to confirm our choice at the local shop, where I was treated to lunch! The excitement of the trail continued, catching glimpses of Ibrox stadium between the traditional Glasgow tenements, crossing the open M8 wilderness, entering the green luscious landscape on the other side to find our goal suddenly appearing in front of us through the trees - the House for an Art Lover! I didn't really know anything about the property, except it was to do with Mackintosh. As it turns out, it has been recently completed in 1996 from his original drawings of 1901. It was an overwhelming sensory experience, from the inspirational music room, the pure calm of the oval room and the heady scents floating onto the terrace from the gardens below. I could have stayed forever - and had tea and scones! But tea and scones were already arranged for elsewhere so, with a quick glance at some of the imaginative play areas and art on display in the park, we trotted back to the subway to continue our trail.
We continued on the Outer Circle so we had stopped at all the subway stations, completing the trip at Cowcaddens subway, then onwards and upwards to Bath Street for a lovely afternoon tea with strawberry teetotal cocktails.
The day was rounded off by a short stroll in George Square, admiring some of the many statues within it before taking refuge from the imminent Scottish rain by taking a bus back home to mine via Parkhead and the local Scotmid - for Scottish blend tea bags and American Cream Soda!
I had a great day out, I hope my girlfriend had a great day too.
Our costs for the day
Mackintosh Trail Tickets £16 each
Late breakfast savouries at Greggs the Bakers on Cambridge Street - my girlfriend's treat!
Lunch deli rolls at Copeland Road - my girlfriend's treat again but she did comment they were the cheapest sandwiches she had bought in a long time - that Watford Gap effect again!
Afternoon Tea with Cocktails at The Saint on Bath Street £15 (non alcoholic as someone was driving
Bus home £3
Bonus fact of the day
Covered all three of Glasgow's main football teams grounds during the tourist trip, in no particular order:-
Patrick Thistle - just behind The Mackintosh Church
Rangers - on the way to Bellahouston Park for House for an Art Lover
Celtic - on bus home, next to the site of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014
* In this case, Watford Gap counts to make her 'ex-pat'. In later entries, it may even extend further north to encompass the Scottish Borders - if it suits my plans of course.
** So I shall need to write a stern letter to the address I sent it to, and enclose a stamped address envelope with the correct address on it and request they send it on to my girlfriend. When did I get so sloppy as to omit my return address? I blame replacing my prolific letter writing with use of the internet. Hmm, case of pot calling kettle black here perhaps?
*** Done! See Breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea notes above. No, we are not hobbits nor did we spend all day eating, even if it looks that way from the list - we didn't take a pack lunch, sweets or even emergency mini mars bars**** (for when you need that extra energy boost!)
**** Emergency mini mars bars come in useful in a variety of social occasions e.g. weddings, trips to the seaside - especially if the train breaks down, etc
