The Hidden Glasgow Forums

Posted: **Mon Jan 16, 2006 8:24 pm**

Sorry Crustry never spotted your ticking us off for going off on a tangerine there. I'll consider my wrist slapped :wink:

off to see if there's anything about the comparitive costs of the exhibitions anywhere

Posted: **Mon Jan 16, 2006 8:25 pm**

It wasn't a ticking off, honest guvv! Just a gentle nudge

Posted: **Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:22 pm**

crusty_bint wrote:The Tate Tower was situated at the top of the hill which is on the Paisly Rd West side of the park (I suppose), Helen St heads off south to Govan down past what appears to be a stadium (on the right)

The stadium - I think - was in fact a greyhound racing track.

If you walk along the ridge of Bellahouston Hill you can still see where the Tait [not Tate] Tower was. Hidden among the trees there is a sunken area lined with stone. I seem to remember having read somewhere that the tower's foundations were anchored in this. Although it was of lightweight construction the tower was of course very tall and so its foundations had to go quite deep.

One of these days I will get myself a digital camera so I can take photo's of this sort of thing rather than just trying to describe it................maybe somebody else can oblige on this occasion.

Posted: **Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:30 pm**

I remember a good few years ago now, that the Council were a bit concerned one particulary dry summer, about the number of potential injuries which could have been sustained by members of the public in Bella Park when playing football etc.

The ground had dried out and settled a good bit and a fair number of concrete foundation pads with hooks in them were found to be just under the turf. These apparently were remnants of foundations and stay blocks for temporary Exhibition structures.

These were mainly next to Mosspark Boulevard in the South East corner of the Park. I think the area was roped off for a while until the blocks were removed.

Posted: **Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:40 pm**

Evening Times September 27 1988:

200 yards from the blast, Jessie Hetherington was knocked off her feet by a jagged 5 inch square lump of metal that hit her in the mouth. After receiving 13 stiches, the surgeon commented that the metal would have ripped her throat open and killed her if it had not smashed into her dentures and split them.

Diners at the North Rotunda watched as one firework exploded and the 8 inch aluminium shell hit the Finnieston Crane, then bounced off the Rotunda and exploded over the spectators. This injured an 11 year old boy, then 2 other men nearby.

The report is inconsistent though, giving totals of between 5 and 7 victims depending which part you look at.

We were on the opposite side of the Clyde at the time, and even though it took a while to get clear of the site, other than noting some fuss on the other side, I don't think anyone knew what had happend across the river, and we only found out when we got home and saw the news.

Posted: **Mon Jan 16, 2006 10:10 pm**

AlanM wrote:The language's spellings were modernised and simplified fairly recently so the spelling in the brochure would be an old spelling.

I think it's actually just a typo - ceilidh has survived various spelling "modernisations" unchanged over the years. The Highland village was the genuine article apparently, inhabited by Gaelic speakers from various parts of the Highalnds and Islands, including Barra. It was officially know as An Clachan, meaning - you guessed it - The Village.

viceroy wrote:The stadium - I think - was in fact a greyhound racing track.

I think the stadium in the picture is White City Sports Ground; there was also the Albion Dog Track to the north east, just out of picture (between White City and Ibrox). Going by various maps, both seem to have survived until the 50s/60s (possibly even later, I don't know), but are presumably now long gone under the motorway, etc.

Posted: **Mon Jan 16, 2006 10:10 pm**

On the question of cost of the Empire Exhibition v Garden Festival I found an article by a chap called Henry Diamond http://www.geocities.com/henry_diamond/garden.htm which mentions the costs of the Garden Festival and briefly draws some comparisons between the two.

Figures relating to the cost of setting up Glasgow's festival, the benefits that accrued to the city in terms of investment, creation of jobs, and the redevelopment of the post-festival site rain down like confetti from a variety of sources, including the Glasgow Development Agency, Glasgow City Council, consultants and journalists.

According to An Evaluation of Garden Festivals compiled by PA Cambridge Economic Consultants, Cambridge, in collaboration with Gillespies Dudley and published by HMSO the festival cost £69 million, but after the sale of residual assets, disposal of the site, and festival income this figure came down to £30 million.
...
...
...
Britain had four garden festivals, Liverpool (1984) Stoke-on-Trent (1986) Glasgow (1988) and Ebbw Vale (1992). In terms of visitors Glasgow's was the most successful with 4,345,820, beating its nearest rival Liverpool by nearly a million, although income fell short of the target. The Scottish news media compared the festival with the great Empire Exhibition in Glasgow in 1938 when 13 million people, including me and my mother, visited Bellahouston Park between May 3 and October 29

Posted: **Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:51 am**

Britain had four garden festivals, Liverpool (1984) Stoke-on-Trent (1986) Glasgow (1988) and Ebbw Vale (1992).

Don't know if I trust those numbers

They've managed to miss out the Gateshead Garden Festival, unless it was part of some different 'Big Plan'. It took place in 1990, and there's pictures to prove it:

http://www.northerngrid.org/ngflwebsite ... /index.htm

Posted: **Tue Jan 17, 2006 11:56 am**

Harry Diamond was, of course, head of PR at Glasgow City Council.......

Posted: **Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:10 pm**

Armadillo wrote:Harry Diamond was, of course, head of PR at Glasgow City Council.......

large pinch of salt duly added

Posted: **Thu Jan 19, 2006 8:51 am**

From The Herald

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/54584.html

Posted: **Thu Jan 19, 2006 9:00 am**

Hey! Nice one!! Cheers for that DSC

Posted: **Thu Jan 19, 2006 5:53 pm**

Yep, I saw that too, that'll be really interesting!

Posted: **Sat Feb 11, 2006 7:55 pm**

Does anyone know the exact location of Africa House in Ardeer? I've been looking for it for ages but yet to see any sign of it.

Posted: **Sat Feb 11, 2006 8:57 pm**

maxpower wrote:Does anyone know the exact location of Africa House in Ardeer? I've been looking for it for ages but yet to see any sign of it.

There is a photograph of the South African pavilion - "now at an ICA site in Ayrshire" - in Alastair Borthwick, "The Empire Exhibition: Fifty Years On" (Glasgow: BBC Scotland, 1988). This will show you what you are looking for.

The Hidden Glasgow Forums

Empire Exhibition, 1938

Empire Exhibition "returns"