Glasgow Mural Trail - Part 2
1. The “Wonderwall” at Strathclyde University, George Street
Stop number one on the mural trail is more of a collection of several murals, spanning three different sides of the University of Strathclyde’s Graham Hills Building on George Street.
Created by Art Pistol, Rogue-One and Ejek, the murals celebrate Strathclyde Uni alumni, tutors and their achievements.
Our recreations involve headstands, opening fake doors and Antz ‘pushing the boat out’!
2. St Enoch & Child, George Street
Locating the second mural was extremely easy for us, found by looking at the boat mural pictured above and turning on the spot 180 degrees.
Painted by Smug, this mural is a contemporary interpretation of the city's founding story... St Thenue/Enoch cradling her beloved St Kentigern/Mungo.
Naturally, our version involved me cradling Antz in my arms, nursing his hangover. The robin was replaced by a can of lager, symbolising the night before.
3. Saint Mungo, High Street
Mural number three can be found on the same tenement building as mural number two, on the other gable end, positioned up and around the corner on High Street.
This mural was also created by Smug, completed in February 2016, and features another robin. Upon completion, a photo of the mural went viral on social media after being shared more than 1.5 million times within the first week.
Our version features Alex Graham in the starring role of St Mungo, and… a bottle of Eldorado in the supporting role as the robin. This version has been shared once… by me… in this blog!
Detour 2 - The Old College Bar, High Street
As we walked by the Old College Bar, Alex suggested we stop to grab a pint, a ‘hair of the dog’ for oor Antz.
The bar has a sign hanging above the street saying established 1810, and as we sipped our pint we chatted with the bar lady about the history of the pub and the dispute of whether it is in fact the oldest pub in Glasgow. She maintained that it was the oldest bar in the Glasgow City Centre area, although a couple of other pubs also lay claim to this fact.
However, as I write this blog post, I have stumbled across a Daily Record article from March 2018, where the owner Colin Beattie admits it is nothing but a marketing ploy. He explains that upon purchasing the bar, the previous owner admitted that he had 'made up the claim to boost trade'.
The marketing clearly works, we only entered due to the sign and Alex's belief that it was the oldest pub in Glasgow. The Daily Record article explains that this is the reason the pub has never been given listed status or official protection by Historic Scotland.
We were duped fellas! As the bloated orange former president would say... 'Fake news!'
Go to Glasgow Mural Trail Part 3