Glasgow is a sandstone city. It was built almost entirely out of stone mined from quarries across Scotland.

Throughout the 18th and 19th century, blonde sandstone was quarried in and around Glasgow, with the majority of the local sandstone used coming from Bishopbriggs and Giffnock quarries pre-1890.

After the railway network had been established in Glasgow and across Scotland in 1890 it suddenly became a lot easier (and cheaper) to bring in sandstone from outside the city.

The red sandstone you can see around Glasgow was quarried from Dumfries and Ayrshire and was used in construction of new buildings around the city from the beginning of the 20th century.

The newer sandstone gets its more traditional colour from its higher iron content, as it was formed during a different time period in further regions of Scotland.
Red sandstone’s higher iron content makes it more resistant to the pollution and weather in Glasgow than its predecessor. Whereas the blonde sandstone requires more frequent maintenance. Work carried out from blonde sandstone mined in the north of England and colour matched to the Glasgow stone.
This unique two-tone design is striking to see up close - with some tenement streets in Glasgow transitioning from blonde to red, as buildings were finished or completed after the stone switch.

The four corners, and either side of the Hielanman's Umbrella.

Above the former Rottenrow Maternity Hospital site, now transformed into Rottenrow Gardens.

For generations of Glaswegians this hilltop site was linked to the very beginning of life itself, with countless people across the city born within the walls of the old Rottenrow hospital before its demolition in the early 2000s.

Today the gardens offer a quiet green space overlooking the city, but the preserved archway still stands as a reminder of the hospital that once dominated the site and the millions of memories tied to it.

Pic credit: Dafty with a drone

I see Castlemilk from this one.

My mum used to work in Haddows and she still has a stash of these bags in the cupboard. I’m sitting on a fortune at 20p a bag here.

I used to know all the wines and beers.

I loved using the pricing gun to decorate anything in sight.

I loved drawing on the awful paper to wrap the bottles in.

When I was off sick from school, I used to have to go to work with my mum. I’d sit up the top of the ladders in the back where they kept the wine.

I once pressed the panic button “by mistake”. I never done that again.

I got my hand stuck in the wee box you used to put the notes in.

I was that small i could fit my hand through the metal grates where you got served, and open the door myself.

A mystery shopper could be spotted a mile away and then all the other shops would phone each other to warn them.

People using stolen credit cards could also be spotted a mile away. 200 club and a bottle of vodka was a dead give away. The shop assistant would phone up a number and give a secret code. They would then confiscate the card and earn £50 in the process.

Grand Slam Titles

Andy Murray won 3 Grand Slam singles titles:

1. US Open — 2012
2. Wimbledon — 2013
3. Wimbledon — 2016

His 2013 Wimbledon win was especially historic because he became the first British man to win Wimbledon singles in 77 years.

Olympic Success

Murray is one of the greatest Olympic tennis players ever:

• 🥇 Olympic Gold Medal — London 2012 (Singles)
• 🥇 Olympic Gold Medal — Rio 2016 (Singles)

He is the only player in history to win two Olympic singles gold medals.

World No. 1

• Reached World No. 1 in the ATP rankings in November 2016.
• Finished 2016 as the year-end World No. 1 after an incredible season.

ATP Tour Titles

• Won 46 ATP singles titles during his career.
• Included victories at:
  • ATP Finals (2016)
  • Multiple Masters 1000 tournaments

Davis Cup

• Helped Great Britain win the Davis Cup in 2015.
• Played a huge role, winning most of Britain’s matches during the tournament run.

Major Finals

Reached 11 Grand Slam finals, including:

• Australian Open finals (5 times)
• Wimbledon finals
• US Open finals
• French Open final

Historic Achievements

• First British man since Fred Perry (1936) to win a Grand Slam singles title.
• One of the “Big Four” era players alongside:
  • Roger Federer
  • Rafael Nadal
  • Novak Djokovic

Other Notable Achievements

• Knighted in 2017 → officially Sir Andy Murray
• Young Sports Personality of the Year award in 2004
• 2013 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. His first senior SPOTY win came after a historic year in which he defeated Novak Djokovic to become the first British male to win the Wimbledon singles title in 77 years.
• 2015 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Murray was crowned SPOTY for the second time after acting as the talisman for Great Britain's first Davis Cup victory in 79 years. He won all 11 of his cup matches throughout that historic campaign
• 2016 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Murray won the award for an unprecedented third time after a stellar season that included his second Wimbledon title, winning Olympic Gold at the Rio Games, and finishing the year as the World No. 1 tennis player. He received over double the votes of the runner-up, Alistair Brownlee.
• Known for:
  • Exceptional defensive skills
  • Mental toughness
  • Advocacy for women’s tennis and equality in sport

Great road to go down on a bike back in the day.

Credit: Astonishing Glasgow

The move is designed to make roads safer and encourage more walking and cycling

The phased rollout of 20mph speed limits on many roads across Glasgow is set to begin next month.

The first of six phases will see 194 streets or street sections in Govan reduced from 30mph to 20mph.

A legal order comes into force on Thursday 4 June, but it will only apply once signage is installed in the area over the following four weeks.

Around 3,800 streets or street sections in the city will move to a lower 20mph speed limit, but the timetable has not yet been set for all six phases.

There will be no change to roads with a speed limit of 40mph or above.

It is hoped the move will cut collisions, reduce injury severity and help create calmer, safer streets, especially for pedestrians and cyclists.

The rollout is part of a national strategy to drop the speed limit on most of Scotland's urban roads.

Glasgow City Council said areas have been prioritised based on collision data - particularly incidents involving people who walk and cycle.

Once the work in Govan has been delivered and reviewed, the rollout will progress through the council wards of Southside Central, Calton, East Centre and Shettleston to complete delivery of the first phase.

The new speed limits are being introduced under temporary traffic regulation orders, which are in place for up to 18 months.

These will be monitored and adjusted if needed, before permanent orders are brought in.

Angus Millar, city convener for transport and climate, said the work was an important step towards creating safer and calmer streets in the city.

He said: "Introducing safer speed limits is part of a wider effort to reduce the number and severity of road casualties – with lower speeds leading to calmer, safer and more liveable streets.

"We've already seen how effective this can be. Since Edinburgh brought in its default 20mph limit in 2018, collisions dropped by 30%, while default 20mph limits on residential streets are shown to have minimal impacts on overall journey times.

"Now as part of the ongoing national rollout of these default speed limits, we hope and expect that Glasgow will see similar progress."

Physical traffic calming measures, such as speed cushions, are not part of the initial rollout but they might be considered later.

A public information drop-in event has been arranged for between 15:00 and 19:00 on Monday 18 May at Elder Park Library in Govan.

Article from BBC.