"Scottish Snippets"

"Colour Supplement"

2 December 2006

Each week the Rampant Scotland Newsletter includes a number of photographs which illustrate the weather and the seasons, plus the flora and fauna of the current week around Scotland. There are often so many such graphics of Scottish subjects worth including that this separate "colour supplement" is created where some of the best pictures can be displayed in a larger format. Here is this week's crop of Scottish views!


The magnificent, Victorian, City Chambers (the seat of local government) in Glasgow's George Square are always lit up at night. But the building looks particularly attractive over the festive season when all the other Christmas lights (and a skating rink) fill all the open spaces in the civic square.


Although adults are catered for in the festive displays in George Square, many of the presentations are aimed at the younger generation - like this Santa's sleigh, pulled by reindeer, picked out in coloured lights.




In recent years, the column supporting the statue of Sir Walter Scott, which towers over George Square, is always festooned with red lights and Sir Walter himself sports an array of coloured lights.


In architectural terms, nothing like Royal Exchange Square exists anywhere in Europe. It began life in 1778 as a palatial Tobacco Lord's house with a large garden (which replaced a cowherd's thatched cottage, fronting Cow Loan - later Queen Street). That was refaced and fronted with a giant portico of Corinthian columns and became the Royal Exchange for the city merchants. The buildings surrounding the square arrived later. These days, the building houses the Gallery of Modern Art and a truncated Stirling Library in the basement (it used to occupy the whole building).


In recent years, as part of a "Festival of Light" in Glasgow, the entire space between the Gallery of Modern Art and the surrounding buildings has been covered over with a myriad of lights, creating a star-lit "Milky Way". The pavement cafes have had a new lease of life, even in November, as a result of all tobacco smokers being banished outside! The Tobacco Lords of the 18/19th century would have been horrified!

If you want to look back at earlier editions of this Colour Supplement, there is an Index Page





Where else would you like to go in Scotland?








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