(no subject)

Today has been action-packed.  A trip to Glasgow in the morning, closely followed by a brief stint of gardening. 

I am now suffering the consequences of a wrestling match with a stinging nettle.  Note to self, for future reference: the levels of formic acid in nettle leaves do not diminish during winter.  "I wouldn't tackle a nettle without gloves," said Smart Alec Husband.  So I tried to argue that there wasn't any satisfaction in pulling up nettles without getting up close and personal with your enemy.  As a result, my mitts are smarting.  But the nettle is much diminished.

Then I went horse-riding.  I watched the two women who were in the lesson before me.  They were perched precariously upon their ponies, with very short stirrups: in between their canters, I lifting up my schooling stick and studied the way one of the women was sitting.  There's supposed to be a line running between head, shoulders, elbow, hips and heels.  This time, there wasn't.  The lady in question was sitting too far back with her legs pushed forward.  I realised then why I'm trying so hard to sit tall, sit straight, and sit properly.  It's easy to do it wrong, and so very satisfying when you get one step closer to doing it right.  We sorted out the leg problem today at last - it wasn't a leg problem at all, it was an upper body problem.  Once I concentrated on sitting very tall and proud, the leg rectified itself.  One small step forward, then...

I'm digressing.  Last year, it was my intention to use my monthly trips to Glasgow to do an architectural spotlight on a Glasgow building.  I never got round to it, because there was just too much to blog about.  This year's different. 

J reckons that the best way of appreciating Glasgow is to look up.  There's a wealth of 19th, 20th and sometimes even 18th architecture to be found out there, and its commercial buildings are particularly fine.  So I thought I'd start with one of my particular favourites, the Scottish Legal Life Assurance Society building (81-107 Bothwell Street).  Built in 1927 by the architect E. G. Wylie, it's a late addition to the scene, representing Classical architecture, but executed in something of a brutalist style.  It's bold, it's swaggering, and a bit austere, more Sparta than Athens, so to speak.

I tried to take a photo, but it's a bit squint...  Has anyone else out there discovered just how difficult it is to take photographs of building elevations in the city?  Or is it just that I'm spoilt by the work camera, which makes life -and taking photographs of buildings - much easier...

 

But it's the details of this building that I find particularly engaging.  Again, they're a bit brutalist, but they're still very fine.  There's the main entrance, with its gilded coat of arms:-

 

You can see why a horse-lover like me has a soft spot for this one...

The sculptures are by Archibald Davison, and they include 4 panels representing Industry, Prudence, Thrift and Courage.  Here's Courage:-

 

And lastly, the clock:-

 

We always end up parking near this building, so it's becoming something of an old friend.  Best of all, it's located conveniently close to a coffee shop...

(no subject)

Today has been action-packed.  A trip to Glasgow in the morning, closely followed by a brief stint of gardening. 

I am now suffering the consequences of a wrestling match with a stinging nettle.  Note to self, for future reference: the levels of formic acid in nettle leaves do not diminish during winter.  "I wouldn't tackle a nettle without gloves," said Smart Alec Husband.  So I tried to argue that there wasn't any satisfaction in pulling up nettles without getting up close and personal with your enemy.  As a result, my mitts are smarting.  But the nettle is much diminished.

Then I went horse-riding.  I watched the two women who were in the lesson before me.  They were perched precariously upon their ponies, with very short stirrups: in between their canters, I lifting up my schooling stick and studied the way one of the women was sitting.  There's supposed to be a line running between head, shoulders, elbow, hips and heels.  This time, there wasn't.  The lady in question was sitting too far back with her legs pushed forward.  I realised then why I'm trying so hard to sit tall, sit straight, and sit properly.  It's easy to do it wrong, and so very satisfying when you get one step closer to doing it right.  We sorted out the leg problem today at last - it wasn't a leg problem at all, it was an upper body problem.  Once I concentrated on sitting very tall and proud, the leg rectified itself.  One small step forward, then...

I'm digressing.  Last year, it was my intention to use my monthly trips to Glasgow to do an architectural spotlight on a Glasgow building.  I never got round to it, because there was just too much to blog about.  This year's different. 

J reckons that the best way of appreciating Glasgow is to look up.  There's a wealth of 19th, 20th and sometimes even 18th architecture to be found out there, and its commercial buildings are particularly fine.  So I thought I'd start with one of my particular favourites, the Scottish Legal Life Assurance Society building (81-107 Bothwell Street).  Built in 1927 by the architect E. G. Wylie, it's a late addition to the scene, representing Classical architecture, but executed in something of a brutalist style.  It's bold, it's swaggering, and a bit austere, more Sparta than Athens, so to speak.

I tried to take a photo, but it's a bit squint...  Has anyone else out there discovered just how difficult it is to take photographs of building elevations in the city?  Or is it just that I'm spoilt by the work camera, which makes life -and taking photographs of buildings - much easier...

 

But it's the details of this building that I find particularly engaging.  Again, they're a bit brutalist, but they're still very fine.  There's the main entrance, with its gilded coat of arms:-

 

You can see why a horse-lover like me has a soft spot for this one...

The sculptures are by Archibald Davison, and they include 4 panels representing Industry, Prudence, Thrift and Courage.  Here's Courage:-

 

And lastly, the clock:-

 

We always end up parking near this building, so it's becoming something of an old friend.  Best of all, it's located conveniently close to a coffee shop...