Glasgow Garden Festival 1988

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Postby My Kitten » Sun May 09, 2004 6:58 pm

I remember that there used to be a TV programme from BBC one broadcast from there, mainly cos I dogged school to see hue and cry on it :)

I remember paul coia was on it
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Postby martin » Mon May 10, 2004 12:06 am

The Beechgrove Garden at the Festival? I know that existed, because we've got a poster of it. Doesn't sound like it would be a very entertainment-y show, though.
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Postby GoRdY_b » Mon May 10, 2004 10:08 pm

I was 8 yrs old at the time and my memories are also a bit hazy.

However I do remember not being allowed on the Coca-Cola roller, I think that was moved to a theme park abroad. I'm sure one of the rotundas was used as toilet facilities.

Anyone remember the Clydesdale bank tower? It was pretty close to the Moat House which had just been built or was being built at the time.

What a mess the site has been in since the festival though - a prime site wasted for years, and the science centre and office developments has hardly changed that.

I too share the opinion that it wasn't actually that big but being wee at the time made it seem huge.
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Postby Apollo » Tue May 11, 2004 10:16 am

dr_lightning wrote:What's left from it? Apart from the Bells Bridge and the Rotunda, of course....


Assuming its not been demolished since I was there last, there is a commerative park located in the area between Govan Road and the dock area, with the entrance between the roundabout that goes 'nowhere' and the junction near the dock on Govan Road.

I think it was the area where the disitillery was with the little lake and river, and goes back as far as what was a sloping garden with waterfall.

As far as I recall, there are no surviving artefacts though :(

Did anyone ever wander back to Brand Street? It was the maintenance and preparation area for the site, and all the props used to be stored there. They also stored the pieces there for ages after the festival ended. If I recall correctly, they used to transport the stuff through an access tunnel that ran under Govan Road.
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Postby Reverend Scapegoat » Tue May 11, 2004 11:02 am

A guy in the year above me dogged school to go to the opening day - he got busted when my class ( P5 I think ) were watching the live coverage, and he was in the front seat of the rollercoaster :)

Also, the Paul Coia thing I think was the Telethon one year.
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Postby JamesMc » Mon Aug 09, 2004 3:07 pm

Ah the Garden festival. Some fantastic memories. I was 10 at the time.I remember watching some of the royal opening ceremony when i went home from school for lunch, we all moaned in the afternoon that they wouldn't let us watch it in school! I visited a couple of times, most memorable was when i went with the school and we were an attraction ourselves.

My primary school (Hills Trust in Govan) was really big on school assemblies, the choir, speeches etc, so the headmistress talked the festival organisers into letting us put on a wee performance. It was nervewracking doing that in such a public place. The theme was the civil rights struggle in 50's/60's America and apartheid in SA. I had a couple of speeches to do to introduce such classics as we shall overcome, brother can you spare a dime and Blowin' in the wind. Fairly enlightened stuff at such a young age...i didn't even know who Bob Dylan was! Anyhoo, the best thing is i've got a video of the entire thing, it really brings it all back whenever i dig it out.

One thing that really sticks in my mind is the 'security'. Guys done up like the Terminator in a black one piece jump suit and shades, who took us round, got us set up etc. Don't know if they were official security or just actors done up to look 'cool'. Anyone else remember them?
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Postby escotregen » Mon Aug 09, 2004 6:13 pm

I'm a bit surprised at the number of postings playing the Festival down. I was full growed up when I went and our crowd all thought it was a great success for Glasgow. It was the only one of the run of 'International' garden festivals in the UK in those years that got to put its name in the start of the Festival name. Glasgow's was seen as the best succcess, when Liverpool tried to outdo it for the next Festival it failed to make the same impact. The 'failure' of the Festival wasn't really within its control - it was intended to kick start the regeneration of Govan and the Clyde Waterfront areabut the Thatcherism induced recession of that decade put paid to any development prospects
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Postby Apollo » Mon Aug 09, 2004 8:45 pm

I don't think there can be any question the Garden Festival was a success. I spent a silly amount of time there (season ticket :) ) and with the good weather, it was always packed with happy faces.

As for the dopey ideas for regeneration etc. floated as it was planned, we all know who they were kidding, and it wasn't the locals or Glaswegians. The only part I didn't like from day one was the flats they built as part of the forward plan, which I doubt anyone local was ever likely to afford.

Like all the festivals, part of the deal was that the site be returned to 'as was' condition, but I always wondered how long interest/visitors would have been attracted if it could have been left for a few years :)
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Postby DMcNay » Mon Aug 09, 2004 9:19 pm

escotregen wrote:I'm a bit surprised at the number of postings playing the Festival down. I was full growed up when I went and our crowd all thought it was a great success for Glasgow. It was the only one of the run of 'International' garden festivals in the UK in those years that got to put its name in the start of the Festival name. Glasgow's was seen as the best succcess, when Liverpool tried to outdo it for the next Festival it failed to make the same impact. The 'failure' of the Festival wasn't really within its control - it was intended to kick start the regeneration of Govan and the Clyde Waterfront areabut the Thatcherism induced recession of that decade put paid to any development prospects


Liverpool had done the Festival before Glasgow.

Gateshead held it after Glasgow. I went to that one as well, and it certainly wasn't as good.
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Postby nuttytigger » Mon Aug 09, 2004 11:00 pm

this may be a daft question, but does anyone think it'll be back? or has it been back?
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Postby Fossil » Mon Aug 09, 2004 11:04 pm

It wont be back and it hasn’t been back. It’s not the circus. All that area is now redeveloped or being redeveloped


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Postby nuttytigger » Mon Aug 09, 2004 11:06 pm

was just wondering, i was hoping it would be since i can remember it! :), anyways, told u it was a daft question., i'm not thinking straight tonight, got exam results coming tomorrow which will tell me if i've got into my HNC or not :?
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Postby turbozutek » Mon Aug 09, 2004 11:07 pm

Yeah, Fossil!

Don't be so... Snappy!! ::):

Chris...
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Postby nuttytigger » Mon Aug 09, 2004 11:08 pm

:), thanx Chris.

absolutly s******g myself now, :(
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Postby Fossil » Mon Aug 09, 2004 11:11 pm

sorry TZ not thinking straight (insert joke here)…
What was the question again? :)

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