Workers City

Workers City

The Real Glasgow Stands Up

Edited By Farquar McLay

Clydeside Press

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WORKERS CITY
With an Introduction and Notes by FARQUHAR McLAY

1988
Clydeside Press (Publishing) Ltd.
37 High Street
Glasgow


Acknowledgements:

MacMillan, London Ltd. For extract from ‘Wisdom, Madness and Folly’ by R.D. Laing.
Fat Cat Publications for ‘The Orra Man’ from ‘At Glasgow Cross and Other poems’ by Freddie Anderson.

We have sought were possible full permission to include the material chosen in WORKERS CITY. The editor and publishers apologise for any error or omission, either textual or attributive, and will be pleased to receive further information regarding any author or passes selected in this anthology.


Contents

Introduction

ANNE MULLEN
For Whom It May Concern

JANETTE SHEPHARD – Two Stories
Where I Came From
Christmas Party

WILLIAM SUTHERLAND
fae A Clydeside Lad

BRENDAN McLAUGHLIN
Life’s A Bowl o’ Cherries

ADAM McNAUGHTON
The Glasgow I Used To Know

JIM McLEAN
A Farewell to Glasgow

ALEXANDER RODGER
(1784-1846)
Sawney, Now the King’s Come

JOHN TAYLOR CALDWELL
The Battle for the Green

SANDY HOBBS
Clyde Apprentices’ Strikes

RUTHERGLEN DRAMA GROUP
Caterpillar Talking Blues

FREDDY ANDERSON
The Orra Man

PHIL McPHEE
Hutchie E - A Monument to Corruption, Stupidity and Bad Planning

JOHN McGARRIGLE
Refuge
Write nice things

JAMES MACFARLAN
(1832-1862)
The Rhymer

PETER ARNOTT & PETER MULLAN
Beechgrove Garden Festival

LEWIS GRASSIC GIBBON
(1901-1935)
Glasgow

FARQUHAR McLAY – Three Poems
Toast o’ the Mongers’ Man
Glasgows Smiles
Langmuir an Algie Earns

ETHEL MacDONALD
(1909-1960)
The Volunteer Ban

ROBERT LYNN
Not a Life Story, Just a Leaf from it

R. D. LAING
from Wisdom, Madness and Folly

ALEX CATHCART
Nostalgically Speaking, Imagination is Money

DOMINIC BEHAN
Call Me Comrade
Babylon

THURSO BERWICK
(1919-1981)
Glasgow Eskimoes

IAN McKECHNIE
The Balloon Goes Up

JEFF TORRINGTON
Singing: No, No, Yuppie,Yuppie - NO!

JACK WITHERS
Glasgow Winter
Glesga
Dear Grey City
Somewhere between St. George’s Cross and Hillhead Subway

JANETTE McGINN
Gizza Hoose

FARQUHAR McLAY
Playboys

IAIN NICOLSON
The Labour Provost

MATT McGINN
(1928-1977)
A’ for the Sake o’ a Pub Licence

J. N. REILLY
from Triptych

JAMES D. YOUNG
Culture and Socialism

HAMISH HENDERSON
Jimmie Tyrie

Further Notes on Authors


The Scottish literary tradition is quite clear. You speak out for the people all the time. It is a people’s tradition. Whoever or whatever happens to coincide with the people’s tradition, you back them up and you don’t split hairs. That’s how you keep the thing. Solidarity without compromise.

Thurso Berwick

Drumchapel engulfed them like quicksand.
‘Some place,’ Laidlaw said.
‘Aye, there must be some terrible people here.’
‘No’, Laidlaw said. ‘That’s not what I mean. I find the people very impressive. It’s the place that’s terrible. You think of Glasgow. At each of its four corners, this kind of housing-scheme. There’s the Drum and Easterhouse and Pollok and Castlemilk. You’ve got the biggest housing-scheme in Europe here. And what’s there? Hardly anything but houses. Just architectural dumps where they unloaded people like slurry. Penal architecture. Glasgow folk have to be nice people. Otherwise, they would have burned the place to the ground years ago.’

William McIlvanney, ‘Laidlaw’