THURSDAY, MAY 9
READY OR NOT…
Though our one day in Glasgow could have been doomed by heavy rain, the deep chill we felt in our bones from weeks of being cold, and my flu-like symptoms, a bright ray of light shone through. Before we went to bed the night before, Chloe received a message from her Vancouver agent. A recruiter from the London IMG office, who Chloe met last year, requested new photos and a video.
A few days before that night, Chloe’s Vancouver agent sent a message saying that the recruiter was returning to Vancouver and asked if he could see Chloe. Her agent shrugged it off…as a, “too bad.” Chloe also had to shrug it off then, and said, “Timing is everything,” resigned, sad she wouldn’t be there to meet him and upset to lose the opportunity. Still she was pleased he had remembered her. Then we heard that he wanted photos and video…even if she wasn’t there.
We panicked. Only the day before, Chloe’s high heels and her tight black pants were shipped to Hazel, and Chloe vowed she was waving farewell to any thought of modeling for three months.
Again, Chloe said, “Timing is everything.”
We had a mission in Glasgow (in addition to seeing a little bit of art), we needed to find high heels and take photos and a video to send to the recruiter.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD WE WERE IN
Our airbnb was a bit of a dump – the entire kitchen faucet turned with the cold and hot water handles, the light switches were so filthy our fingers stuck to them, the heater sparked when we turned it on, and every dish and pan was grimy. There was mold in the pans. The building was sketchy with garbage on the lawn and spilling out of the bin outside. The building door didn’t fit in its frame. A rock was used as its door stop. Neighborhoods were waking around in their pajamas…never a good sign.
GLASGOW APPEARANCE
It was hard to tell if the neighborhood, between Trongate and Gallowgate, near the Barrowland Ballroom, was downtrodden or in transition. Hipster-like shops (tattoo salons and vintage clothing stores) seemed to be nudging their ethos into the drug dealer corners, abandoned buildings, and working class, low-rise, rowhouses.
Some buildings, like the Barrowland Ballroom and St. Luke’s, looked abandoned, with boarded up windows and beat up exteriors, but in fact, are thriving. Barrowland is a club hotspot and Saint Luke’s, with the St Lukes and the Winged Ox Restaurant and live music, is busy and popular. (We went there for dinner — all fresh foods, lots of comfort food fare and good. We both had the curry special, which included bok choy, fresh beans and peas, rice, and for me chicken and nan.)
As Trongate became Argyle and we moved closer to the center of town, drunks and hipsters mingled on the street, and pubs and fish and chips joints were joined by vegan-option restaurants and trendy coffee shops.
Argyle street was busy with pedestrian traffic, mostly people shopping in thrift shops and convenience stores, until we reached Buchanan Street, which is a pedestrian shopping street. There are as many, if not more, buskers here than in Dublin. Music of all variety from bagpipes to hiphop echoes down the alleys and streets.
Glasgow’s streets are broader than those in Old Town Edinburgh, and the architecture more diverse. Old and new buildings exist side by side, rather than separated by “old” and “new” town designations. Many buildings appear to be from the 1800s, and often reminded me of French or Italian architecture. The city has a more industrial and manufacturing feel than Edinburgh and seems like it would be a great place for artists and students to experiment and take risks.
ART STOPS AND SHOES
We only made two “art” stops. First at a photo gallery — not really worth mentioning, and then at The Lighthouse, a centre for Design and Architecture. Again we didn’t find the exhibitions very engaging but the building was interesting, the converted former offices of the Glasgow Herald Newspaper, and the first public commission completed by Scotland’s renowned architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The tower is amazing and climbable via a circular staircase.
We didn’t climb it because I was sick and we had shopping to do…
In search of heels, we visited all the charity shops — the Scottish Heart, the Scottish Cancer Associations, etc. No luck. So the search continued in inexpensive department stores until, addled from the bright lights of the department stores, we left with black high heels sandals.
CATWALK IN AN ALLEYWAY
We headed out to a parking lot behind the building where we are staying, gravel crunching under Chloe’s heel. She was wearing a tank top, and gym leggings, and it was freezing cold and creepy. While she walked for the video, a drug deal literally took place while she turned and headed back to the camera. At one point, a man pulled up in a expensive car, tattooed, hallowed cheeks, shorts!, and asked us threateningly what we were doing.
We got it done, goosebumps visible on Chloe’s arms in the photos…but as usual looking gorgeous.
