The Doulton Fountain at Night

When we were waiting for the taxi – see the previous post – we were sitting by The Doulton Fountain outside The People’s Palace.  It was particularly beautiful lit up at night:

 

After The Party

After the wedding party in the People’s Palace in Glasgow we had a problem getting a taxi.  The first company just didn’t arrive and no one else could provide a car.  Eventually the supervisor at one firm took pity on us and a car arrived within minutes.  Apparently, the driver told us, there was a big gig on at Clydebank (I assume he meant the SSEC) with 10,000 people all trying to get home after midnight!  Anyway two tired littlies, one glam mum and one oldie all got back to Anna’s sanctuary – late but grateful.

A Wedding and Birthday Celebration

Catherine and Wayne married some weeks ago and had their wedding reception, combined with a party to celebrate Catherine’s birthday.  The party was held at The People’s Palace in Glasgow on Saturday 5 June.  And what a party it was.  I spent most of the ‘dancing time’ dancing with Catriona who discovered that rock and roll was a Good Thing.  I was quite astonished that firstly my knee held out and that secondly Catriona had a limitless desire for being thrown around. 

Interior of The People’s Palace where the wedding ‘do’ was held

The building from the other direction with the bride and groom

Catherine and Wayne with the wedding cake.  Apparently this ‘Wedding Cake’ is all the rage in the UK.  It’s the first one I’ve seen.

Just to prove that  I don’t wear shorts and a polo shirt all the time

Catriona being Catriona

Dancing Kiwis

Shakespeare Imortalised in a Glasgow Loo

When Anna and I went to The People's Palace I answered the call of nature and was most impressed by the fact that the loos were pristine and pretty much original in their decoration (no, I don't have a thing about public toilets!).  The tiles forming the frieze were scenes from Shakespeare:

The Doulton Fountain

The Doulton Fountain was gifted to the city by Sir Henry Doulton, and first unveiled at the Empire Exhibition held at Kelvingrove Park in 1888. The fountain was then moved to Glasgow Green in 1890.

A sculptural extravaganza, the fountain was designed to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee of 1887, and celebrate Britain’s Imperial achievements - the fountain is crowded with figurative groups representing Australia, Canada, India and South Africa.

The largest terracotta fountain in the world and the best surviving example of its kind, it has five tiers, is 46 feet high and 70 feet across the base – the third of the width of a football pitch.

 

 

 

 

The People's Palace

Last Thursday I went to The People's Palace and Winter Gardens in  Glasgow Green which is the oldest of Glasgow's parks.  I've seen it many times and the last picture below was taken on Saturday from a friend's flat where I was had lunch.  Despite all that I'd never been inside.  So I remedied that and Anna and I did the tour.  What a wonderful place it is. 

The buildings are a museum and glasshouse and were opened on 22 January, 1898 by the Earl of Rosebery. At the time, the East End of Glasgow was one of the most unhealthy and overcrowded parts of the city, and the People's Palace was intended to provide a cultural centre for the people. Lord Rosebery continued: "A palace of pleasure and imagination around which the people may place their affections and which may give them a home on which their memory may rest". He declared the building "Open to the people for ever and ever".

Originally, the ground floor of the building provided reading and recreation rooms, with a museum on the first floor, and a picture gallery on the top floor. Since the 1940s, it has been the museum of local history for the city of Glasgow, and tells the story of the people and the city from 1750 to the present day.