Interview with Gill Davies (Glasgow Spotter)

Gill Davies, Glasgow

Today an interview with Gill Davies, Spotter for our Glasgow cityblog.

How do you like being a Spotter? Do you have a nice Spotters-story?
Being a Spotter suits me fine as I work freelance and often have time during the day to cycle around the city and look out for new spots.

I first heard about Spotted by Locals when I was in Berlin a couple of years ago on a graffiti tour and one of the guides, Herrman, told me he was a Spotter for Berlin.  I thought it would be fantastic to do the same thing for Glasgow and when Sanne and Bart got in touch and asked if I would be interested in spotting for Glasgow, I was chuffed to bits.

Why Glasgow? What is a must do when you visiting Glasgow? What is not?
Glasgow is a brilliant city to live in – there’s great live music, theatre, art galleries, festivals, parks … I could go on and on, but I won’t – just check out the recommendations on the site!  And you don’t have to walk for miles to get to the main attractions. I used to live in London and I wasted half my time on public transport. Now, I can get into the city in 10 minutes on the tube. But the best thing by far about Glasgow is the people – you won’t meet friendlier people anywhere and the sense of humour here is second to none.

A must do when visiting Glasgow?  Number one on my list at the moment is a visit to Kelvingrove Art Gallery.  You’ll see Dali’s masterpiece, Christ of St John of the Cross, but don’t miss the AC/DC exhibition. The £2 entrance fee is worth paying just to read singer Bon Scott’s letters to his girlfriends – they’re hilarious.  I’ve been four times already and I’ll definitely be back before the exhibition closes in February.

What not to do?  Avoid the city centre on Saturdays or Sundays.  Glasgow promotes itself as the best shopping centre outside London, but the shops in the city centre are the same shops you’ll find in any other European city.  Full of the same stuff.

Which prejudices about Glasgow are true? Which ones are not?
True – unfortunately, religious bigotry is still rife in the city, thanks to the big football clubs Rangers and Celtic.  Although not every fan is by no means a bigot, there are still problems when both teams play one another.  A tip – don’t travel by tube before the matches start or when they finish.  It’s not a pleasant experience.

Not true – that Scots are mean.

What do you know about Glasgow that no tourist will know?
Another wee tip – avoid the open air tourist buses and buy an all day ticket for the Number 44 bus instead.  It crosses Glasgow from the south side to the west end so you’ll see a good bit of the city for a fraction of the price and hear some quality Glasgow patter from your fellow passengers.

Can you describe a perfect day in your city? Which spots (that you wrote about!) would you visit?
Perfect day – if the sun is out, go for a cycle along the Forth and Clyde Canal to Bowling or in the other direction to Speir’s Wharf.  Come back in time for Tchai Ovna opening at 11 and have some delicious Yogi Chai.  Go for a walk in Kelvingrove Park in the afternoon and, if I’ve won the lottery, treat my friends to a slap up meal in the Stravaigin.  If not, get a bag of chips from Philadelphia chippy and then go into the town to see a gig in Barrowlands Ballroom or the ABC.

Is there something else you want to share?
People (especially Glaswegians) like to have a good moan about the amount of rain we get.  But as Billy Connolly says, there’s no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothing.

Check out all articles by Gill Davies and the other Spotter interviews.