Sunday, November 7, 2010

Touring Glasgow Necropolis with the BBC

Before today’s post, I’d like to welcome all the new followers, subscribers and visitors. I hope you enjoy reading the blog as much as I enjoy writing it. I’d also like to send a big “shout out” to a'spaidsearachd agus a'meòrachadh and Scottish GENES for mentioning the Scottish Emigration Blog. Thanks to all!

So this weekend at the gym, I was catching up on podcasts – who I am I kidding, I am always catching up on podcasts. Anyway, several included Scottish stories, so I thought they would be the subjects of my next several posts.

First up is a podcast from Coast and Country.  The Country Ramblings segment features Clare Balding who goes off on a ramble through the British countryside and usually interviews a local expert, conservator or landowner. The episode broadcast on 23 October 2010 was a bit different because the ramble was through Central Glasgow with the Women Make History group of the Glasgow Women's Library.

Glasgow Necropolis

The bulk of the tour takes place in the Glasgow Necropolis, a burial ground located on a hill behind Glasgow Cathedral. They discuss the monuments, gypsies, John Knox, and burial customs. I visited the cemetery many years ago, as a friend from the Scottish History Department was researching the Necropolis. It is an amazing place, but like most of Scotland there is a whole lot of uphill!

This podcast neatly foreshadows two future blog posts. There is a brief mention of Glasgow and the slave trade and this is the subject of future podcast highlight. Secondly, the same friend who led the tour of the Necropolis, also has published a wee book on the Necropolis: Death by Design: The True Story of the Glasgow Necropolis. I am very sorry to say that this book has been sitting on my shelf for years and I have yet to read it. Yes, I am a bad friend! Needless to say, it has now bounded its way to near the top of the heap of books I’ll be reading for ‘The Bookshelf’ series.

Have a listen to the podcast for the sights and sounds of Glasgow. You can find this episode here to listen to or download here. Alternatively, search for Coast and Country in iTunes. You can learn more about the walks organized by the Women's Library walks here.

Happy Listening!

3 comments:

Teresa Wilson Rogers said...

Love the picture of this cemetery. And I know what you mean by "a whole lot of uphill" having spent 12 days last year traipsing around the highlands. Sorry now we didn't have time for Glasgow.

direcleit said...

Thank you (again!)for the mention.

You and your readers might be interested in the Diigo site as described here, too:

http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/08/diigo-outer-hebrides-research-group.html

All the best,
Peter

Amanda E. Epperson said...

Teresa, poor Glasgow usually gets left off most itineraries. I didn't get there until my third trip to Scotland and that was only because I was visiting someone who lived there. It is a great city and I hope you are able to visit someday. Amanda

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