It’s the third Monday of the month so it must be the Bungo Meeting.
The committee will be gathering from 7.30pm in the Den at The Bungo Bar & Kitchen on Nithsdale Road. It’s open to all, so please feel free to come along.
Agenda and minutes to follow.
Got problems with your water supply? There’s a burst main in Pollokshaws Road. Some people have lost supplies entirely, others have low water pressure. Not sure if it’s related but there is also flooding at Melville St Early Years Centre which means the centre is closed today (Thursday). If supplies are out for a substantial period, Scottish Water usually provides bottled water to households. 0845 601 8855 is the customer helpline at Scottish Water.
UPDATE: The burst main was fixed this afternoon and the system is recharging. Anecdotal evidence suggests all should be back to normal in Strathbungo at least. If you’re still having problems, we have a direct contact at Scottish Water: charlene.mcbride@scottishwater.co.uk
Planning a little gardening for the Easter weekend? Head over to Queens Park Baptist Church (the Rainbow Pre-school building) on the corner of Queens Drive and Niddrie Road.
A substantial amount of compost and rubble was left over from the nursery planter garden project and it is being given away free to anyone who can give it a good home.
The compost is stored under a tarp on the Niddrie Rd side of the building. Help yourself but do try to keep it tidy!
Some great news from Govanhill Baths Community Trust this week.
They, The Arches and the National Theatre of Scotland have clubbed together to create a “celebratory and interactive community drama production” in the toddler/learner’s pool.
20 performances will take place over three weeks and as part of the production the toddler/learner’s pool will have a £90,000 refit, leaving it fit for use thereafter on “a limited but significant basis”.
The performances will be in October, which means we should have a partially refurbished pool open to swimmers by the end of the year!
http://www.govanhillbaths.com/news/2012/mar/19/90k-investment-re-open/
For those new to the area, you can find out a bit about the long path to this here:
http://www.govanhillbaths.com/about/origins/
Glasgow City Council is carrying out a slighty-worryingly-titled “dog fouling initiative” in our ward just now.
Some householders may have received a letter and flyer but for those who haven’t, the initiative means the Council will be stepping up enforcement activity in the area.
Enforcement officers will be “actively” monitoring the area for dog fouling offenders and issuing on-the-spot fines of £40. They will also be making more use of CCTV and are encouraging residents to call the Clean Glasgow hotline to report dog fouling in their area, particularly if they can identify the owner.
The hotline number is 0800 027 7027
or email clean@glasgow.gov.uk
or write (evidently on a very large envelope) to:
Clean Glasgow, Public Relations and Marketing, CEO’s Office, GCC, Room 2, City Chambers, George Square, Glasgow, G2 1DU.
It may be churlish to point out that the address is for PR and Marketing and there’s an election coming up…but as my nursery run is also fondly known as “the dog poo buggy slalom”, it’s good to see some attempt to sort out the problem.
Some… Starthbungoites? Strathbungoians? Strathbunyans? are probably aware of the Viennese Ensemble. (At least four people are, since there are two members from Strathbungo and I’m pretty sure our spouses have noticed us slipping out for rehearsals every week.)
The Viennese Ensemble plays pop music so old that my grandfather, who recently passed away in his mid-nineties, may have just barely remembered it from his childhood. Think of European cafe scenes from old films, gas-lit streets, waltzing in nightclubs, that sort of thing.
Though the music we play is as old and durable as Strathbungo houses, the Viennese Ensemble has now entered the digital age! We have:
We hope that you enjoy listening to this music as much as we enjoy playing it- and it is FUN to play.
Come listen to us for free and buy our new CD!
So what’s opening up on Nithsdale Road? Merry-Go-Round is a not-for-profit organisation selling good-quality used children’s items.
As well as having a gorgeous shop packed full of goodies, they will also have a real nappy library for you to rake through, a toy library that you can borrow from, a fantastic parenting room and space for local groups to meet.
As it’s not-for-profit, the owners are being resourceful in refitting the shop. They have shelves made by Glasgow Wood Recycling from salvaged scaffolding planks, second-hand furniture which they’re repairing and repainting and the shop is being redecorated by volunteers, friends and family.
They’re always looking for extra help, donations of items to sell and to fit out the shop. Right now they’re looking for light grey floor paint, some sheets of MDF and someone with joinery skills to make mantelpieces for the original fires they’ve discovered.
Contact them via Facebook, or pop by the shop whenever you see the shutters open.
The winning artworks in the Children’s Art Competition have gone on display in local cafes. Please enjoy them while you can as they are only on display for a fortnight. Looking for a particular pictures?
Winners in the 0-5 category are on display in Gusto And Relish.
Winners in the 5-8 category are in Tapa.
Winners in the 9-12 category are in The Bungo Bar And Kitchen
Winners in the 13-16 category are on display in Mulberry St.
Robin Cairns in his new show - as "Morningside Malcolm"
South Glasgow Heritage and Environment Trust and Tram Direct are presenting “To Serve is to Resist,” a new play by Ian Morland, on the last weekend of March at Queen’s Park Church. The artistic director is Isobel Marrett.
The play is based on the life of Jane Haining, a Scottish Missionary and Queen’s Park Church parishioner who was murdered in Auschwitz in 1944. Jane was born in in Dunscone near Dumfries in 1897 and later moved to Glasgow, where she was employed for ten years at a threadmaker’s in Paisley. She volunteered as a missionary and was sent to a Church of Scotland mission in Budapest in 1932.
In Budapest, Jane served as a school mistress and was in charge of 400 orphans and poor children, mostly Jewish, who attended the Scottish Missionary School. The Church tried to recall her to Scotland when the Nazis invaded Hungary, but she refused to leave the children. ‘If these children need me in the days of sunshine’, she said, ‘how much more do they need me in the days of darkness?’
This is Jane with the children at the school in Budapest. She's second row, third from the right.
In 1944, she was arrested by the Nazis for helping Jews and for “espionage” and sent to Auschwitz to be killed.
One of her former students recalled ‘I still feel the tears in my eyes and hear in my ears the siren of the Gestapo motor car. I see the smile on her face while she bade me farewell. I never saw Miss Haining again, and when I went to the Scottish Mission to ask the minister about her, I was told she had died. I did not want to believe it, nor to understand, but a long time later I realised that she had died for me, and for others. The body of Miss Haining is dead, but she is not alone, because her smile, voice and face are still in my heart.’
There are two stained glass windows in Queen’s Park Church commemorating her heroism and she has been included in the Avenue of Righteous Gentiles in Jerusalem. You can find out more about Jane Haining at Wikipedia, at the East Renfrewshire Council’s Holocaust Memorial Day site, and at ‘The Holocaust: Crimes, Heroes and Villians.’
There will be three performances at Queen’s Park Church (170 Queen’s Drive):
Tickets cost £7 (concessions £6).
For more information, telephone 0141 423 6037, email manager@tramdirect.com or visit www.tramdirect.com. Ticket can be bought in advance, and any remaining tickets will be sold at the door.
A small exhibition will be on display during the production. Tea and coffee will be served, but I would advise attendees to bring their own supplies of kleenexes.
