I used to live in the Gallowgate area of Glasgow, which is right in the city centre. At times, it could be pretty much chaos. I can’t tell you how many times I ended up calling the police about some incident unfolding just below us at the Cross, or the bizarre characters that used to kick about there. I’m pretty sure that there’s something psychologically symbolic that draws people there as a meeting place. Oh, and then there was the times that I paid for rent by selling photographs of major incidents to newspapers…
All of that aside, being in the centre of town was massively handy, and I came to love the area with all of its quirks and dangerous peculiarities. There was always something going on, and you always felt in the middle of everything.
Late last year I moved to the South Side of Glasgow, and I was concerned that I’d really miss the Gallowgate… and, truth be told, I do.
…but. I was up round there again recently, and it struck me just how nice the south is to live in. It feels more like somewhere that you actually… live, like, normal people, rather than caught up in the middle of city life.
Part of that might be down to the fact that Queen’s Park feels a lot more like a park that you can visit without having to be drunk, unlike Glasgow Green.
If I ever move from Glasgow, I’ll dearly miss the dear green place.
