If Glasgow’s Walls Could Talk Series 2

Series 2 of If Glasgow’s Walls Could Talk was released March to May 2023.

Dive into the lively world of the Moving Image Archive at Kelvin Hall with Dr Emily Munro, discover the lives of Glasgow’s show people and how they inspired Dr Mitch Miller to create the Dialectogram, and explore the empowering Women Make History Heritage Walks run by Glasgow Women’s Library since 2007.

You can also find out about about spooky paranormal investigations in the city, enjoy a virtual stroll through Glasgow’s parks and green spaces, and join in on chats with the talented photographer Chris Leslie, Sorcha Dallas from The Alasdair Gray Archive, and Joey Simons from the Glasgow Housing Struggle Archive. Plus, don’t miss the special episode recorded live at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

In our grand finale, the tables turn on Niall as Lost Glasgow’s Norry Wilson uncovers his thoughts on the city’s built environment.

It’s a series packed with stories, history, and a whole lot of Glasgow charm!

See below for the episodes & transcripts.

SERIES 2 EPISODE 1

Glasgow on Film with Dr Emily Munro (National Library of Scotland's Moving Image Archive)

In our first episode of Series 2 we welcome Dr Emily Munro, Curator and Learning Officer at the National Library of Scotland’s Moving Imagine Archive for an enlightening discussion about Glasgow on film. The Moving Image Archive is Scotland’s national collection of moving image and is based in Kelvin Hall in the West End of Glasgow, where they care for 46,000 items.

Dr Munro and Niall discuss film makers in and around Glasgow, and the great change that the city has seen over the last 100 years – but also some of the continuities. They also chat about some of the ‘hidden gems’ of the Moving Image Archive and what’s next for the Archive.

Some of the films discussed:
– Great Glasgow Fires https://movingimage-onsite.nls.uk/film/1733

– Glasgow School of Art in 1950s https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/3352

– Eddie McConnell & Oscar Marzaroli later shot this Murray Grigor d. film about Mackintosh https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/2226
– Faces, 1959, d. Eddie McConnell https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/1942
– Our Transport Services, made by the Glasgow Corporation, 1949, https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/0057
– St Enoch Hotel and Station, 1966, https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/4004
– KH-4, starring Bill Forsyth, 1960s, https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/3631
– Mungo’s Medals, 1961, Glasgow Corporation film about new housing developments, https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/2102
– Demolition of Grand Hotel Charing Cross https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/2699 (onsite only)
– The Planner’s Approach, https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/4196 (onsite only)
– Battle of the Styles, 1968, https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/2319
– The Lamplighter, 1956, https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/1500
– Glasgow Gets to Work, 1935, https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/3246

Additional films:
– Spot the Spot, 1926, a quiz made for cinema patrons, https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/0863C
– Shieldhall Chemical Sundries Department, 1959, manufacturing everything from custard and jelly crystals to asprin and shoe polish https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/0616
– Glasgow Takes Care of Its Old Folk, 1949, Innovative Glasgow Corporation ‘cottage’ housing development, designed to provide accommodation for the elderly and to keep elderly couples together https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/0135

– Tribute to Wartime Production, 1941, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth tour Templeton’s carpet factory in Glasgow where women are making army blankets, https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/1625

Read Series 2 Episode 1 transcript.

SERIES 2 EPISODE 2

A SNAPSHOT OF GLASGOW with photographer Chris Leslie

This week we’re joined by photographer Chris Leslie, who began his career in the Balkans in the 1990s. His 2017 book and multimedia project ‘Disappearing Glasgow’ featured photographs, essays and interviews with people from areas in Glasgow which have dramatically changed in the last ten years including Dalmarnock and the Red Road flats. Niall and Chris discuss the changes that they have seen across the city and the impact this has had on the people that live there.

Find out more about Chris’ new book ‘Balkan Journey’ here: https://www.balkanjourney.com/the-book/

This conversation was recorded on 2nd August 2022.

Read Series 2 Episode 2 transcript.

SERIES 2 EPISODE 3

ALASDAIR GRAY'S GLASGOW with Sorcha Dallas from The Alasdair Gray Archive

Alasdair Gray’s iconic work is dotted around the city of Glasgow, but how did the city impact his life and work? This week we’re joined by Sorcha Dallas, Custodian of The Alasdair Gray Archive to discuss all things Alasdair Gray. Sorcha met Gray in 2007 and became Custodian of the archive following his death in 2019. The archive holds a large collection of of Gray’s work which includes sketches, drawings and original prints, as well as a a re-staging of his working studio set up.

This conversation was recorded on 2nd February 2023.

Read Series 2 Episode 3 transcript.

SERIES 2 EPISODE 4

DRAWING COMMUNITY with Dr Mitch Miller

Glasgow is home to the largest concentration of showpeople in Europe, but they go largely unnoticed in the city until planning issues come to light. In this episode Niall and Dr Mitch Miller discuss the long history of showpeople and their yards in Glasgow, how they have changed and developed over the years, and the current threats to their spaces.

Dr Miller is a social researcher, artist, and cultural activist who comes from a showpeople family. Over the last couple of decades Mitch has become a pioneering presence in Glasgow through his activism. He is perhaps most known for inventing the dialectogram, a piece of graphic art that depicts place from the ground up in collaboration with communities.

This conversation was recorded on 24th January 2023.

Read Series 2 Episode 4 transcript

SERIES 2 EPISODE 5

GHOSTS OF GLASGOW with Jan Murdoch-Richards from Lanarkshire Paranormal

Whilst Glasgow may not be as famous as Edinburgh for its ghosts and ghouls, there are still stories of many spooky goings on around the city. Join Jan Murdoch-Richards from Lanarkshire Paranormal to hear about their investigations in and around Glasgow.

This conversation was recorded on 11th August 2022.

Read the Series 2 Episode 5 Transcript

SERIES 2 EPISODE 6

HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT: GLASGOW'S HOUSING STRUGGLE with Joey Simons from the Glasgow Housing Struggle Archive

Joey and Niall discuss the newly formed Glasgow Housing Struggle Archive and how it informs and is informed by Glasgow’s strong connection to housing struggles and movements throughout history. Joey tells us about the Archive, what its aims are and how he envisions it evolving. He also chats with Niall about the tradition of rent strikes, occupations and protest that continues up to today.

Joey is a writer and artist from Glasgow. He is co-founder of the Glasgow Housing Struggle Archive, a member of the National Committee of Living Rent – Scotland’s tenants’ union. He is currently working on a number of projects with the CCA, Platform, Glasgow Sculpture Studios, Edwin Morgan Trust and the Travelling Gallery.

This conversation was recorded on 23rd February 2023.

Read the Series 2 Episode 6 Transcript

SERIES 2 EPISODE 7

HOSPITALS, HEALTH & HERITAGE with Dr Hilary Wilson and Dr Kate Stevens, Friends of Glasgow Royal Infirmary

In our first ever live podcast recording we’re joined by Dr Hilary Wilson and Dr Kate Stevens from Friends of Glasgow Royal Infirmary to hear about the history of the development of Glasgow Royal Infirmary, the many pioneering healthcare providers that worked at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, and their experiences setting up the recently opened museum in the Royal Infirmary.

This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience in the museum at Glasgow Royal Infirmary on 24th August 2022.

Read the Series 2 Episode 7 Transcript

SERIES 2 EPISODE 8

WOMEN MAKE HISTORY with Gabrielle Macbeth and Anabel Marsh, Glasgow Womens Library

We’re joined by Gabrielle Macbeth, Volunteer Coordinator at Glasgow Women’s Library and Anabel Marsh, one of the Library’s longest serving volunteers who tell Niall about their pioneering walking tours which started in 2007. We hear how the staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly to highlight women’s diverse but often unrecognised impact on the city of Glasgow.

This conversation was recorded on 2 March 2023.

Read the Series 2 Episode 8 Transcript

SERIES 2 EPISODE 9

DEAR GREEN PLACE with Fiona Sinclair, Conservation Architect

In our penultimate episode of the Series Niall and conservation architect Fiona Sinclair take a metaphorical walk through Glasgow’s many parks and green spaces. They talk about the Victorians who planned these spaces for citizens to enjoy more than a hundred and fifty years ago, how they have changed over time, and how they’ve been used, with a stop at some of the well known glasshouses along the way.

This conversation was recorded on 9th February 2023.

Read the Series 2 Episode 9 Transcript

SERIES 2 EPISODE 10

A NATTER WITH NIALL with Norry Wilson, Lost Glasgow

Have you wondered what Niall’s favourite building in Glasgow is? Well this week you can find out! The tables are turned on Niall as his good friend Norry finds out about how he ended up at GCHT and any lessons he’s learned from the podcast.

Norry Wilson is a well known figure in Glasgow, having set up Lost Glasgow in 2012. Norry is a journalist and social historian with a lifelong fascination with his home city, Glasgow. His Lost Glasgow Facebook page and Twitter accounts, with their mix of archive images and stories relating to Glasgow’s history, have amassed a huge following over the years.

This conversation was recorded on 16th March 2023.

Read the Series 2 Episode 10 Transcript