GLASGOW, SCOTLAND

                        A LOVELY CITY
Glasgow is known both as the Victorian City and the Merchant City. The literal translation from the Gaelic glas cu means dear green place and thus the name Glasgow. Natives of the city are called Glaswegians. The once industrial city that was covered with a layer of coal dust is no more. The lovely Victorian city now shimmers and sparkles. It is one of my favorite cities and if I had to choose between it and Edinburgh I’m afraid I’d chose the less popular Glasgow.

Museums are free and some cultural event takes place every day. Buildings are made of either red or yellow sandstone with slate or red tile roofs. New buildings will lack chimneys, as after the Clean Air Act passed in 1967, there is no deed for them.

The city grew twenty miles from the River Clyde in the 17th century engulfing several smaller medieval settlements. During the Industrial Revolution it was the fastest growing region in Britain. Although only 40 miles from Edinburgh, there is an amazing contrast between the two cities. Glasgow is Britain’s third largest city but Scotland’s largest. The city is also the commercial capital, and the birthplace of both Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth.

Big Bertha, a huge crane, is now a monument to the vast and prosperous ship-building industry that the city of Glasgow was famous for. The last ship built on the Clyde was the QE2 in 1962. During WW II a warship a day rolled off the rails into the River Clyde. The 24-hour a day operation was incredible when 2000 ships hit the seas in a six year period. Before the war most of the ships built were passenger liners including all of the Cunard Line ships. At one point the shipbuilding industry employed over 200,000 people. The ships were not only built here, but fully outfitted here as well. To say something is Clyde built means that it is quality and built to last. The River Clyde is but 78 miles long and can have a 20-foot tide in the city.

Both the ship building industry and the BBC headquarters accounted for the heavy bombing during WWII.

I’ll talk more about this wonderful city another day. Three weeks in the country has left me with lots of information plus an interest in the food and language.