The most dramatic event of the week was the great fire of Glasgow.
It began on Sunday afternoon as a small fire in a vape shop, with a passer-by trying to tackle it with a fire extinguisher. But suddenly it grew into an inferno as the vape canisters caught fire. The four-storey building, in the heart of the city, was built in 1851 and stands next to Glasgow Central Station, the busiest station in Scotland. People were aghast as 18 fire crews tried to control the blaze and stop it spreading to the station and to a nearby hotel. By good fortune, no one was killed or injured.
Small business owners watched as the building was gutted and the iconic dome on top collapsed. Hairdressers, nail bars, the famous Blue Lagoon chip shop and various art businesses were checking their insurance policies – some to find their contents were not covered. The railway station was closed completely for three days, it is still closed for long-distance travellers, and Glasgow City Council has announced that the remaining facade is too dangerous to leave in place, and it will be demolished.
All sorts of questions are now being asked. Should vape shops be subject to better safety measures? Can there be compensation for the small business owners? Was the Union Street building properly fire resistant? What will be done to replace the historic building? How would any reconstruction fit in with the existing plan to up-grade the city centre after a number similar fires in old buildings, notably the Art School and the ABC nightclub?
The fire wasn’t the only disaster to hit Glasgow this week. An ugly pitch invasion came at the end of a lacklustre nil-nil match between Celtic and Rangers at Ibrox in the quarter-finals of the League Cup. At the start, like the great fire, it looked tame enough. But it grew, as more and more Celtic fans came streaming onto the pitch to celebrate their victory, after a penalty shootout.
Rangers fans also stormed onto the pitch and began attacking the Celtic fans and we were back in the old world of sectarian violence. The police and stewards were quick to intervene and, through the smoke of battle from illicit pyrotechnics, they managed to separate the rival factions. There were only a few minor injuries and nine arrests.
But the damage to Glasgow’s reputation was done. Everyone immediately condemned the violence, everyone except the football clubs themselves who remained in embarrassed silence all week.
Rangers FC has now made a statement condemning the disorder. Celtic FC have yet to make a formal statement.
Ferries
Further down the Clyde there was more embarrassment as Ferguson’s shipyard revealed that there was further trouble with its Glen Sannox ferry. It’s only been in service for a year on the Arran route and now it has to have its propellers replaced at a further cost of £3.2million. The ship was already four times over budget and delivered six years late.
The deputy first minister, Kate Forbes, tried to put a brave face on it when she visited the yard on Tuesday to speak to new apprentices. She said the mistakes were in the past and the state-owned yard needed to look to the future. Last week she announced that The Scottish Government had ordered four new vessels from the yard in an effort to prepare it for commercial work in the future.
On Wednesday a 100,000 signature petition was presented to parliament calling for an end to the traditional “guga hunt” in the Western Isles. It’s a practice that goes back to the 15th century and sees men from the village of Ness, on the northern tip of the Isle of Lewis, crossing to the tiny island of Sula Sgeir and spending a fortnight catching young gannets with the use of long poles and hooks. They are then salted and brought back as a food supply for the winter.
The hunt has been given an exemption from the general ban on killing gannets under the Wildlife and Countryside Act but it has been limited to ten men and 500 birds. Protect the Wild and other environmental organisations say the practice can no longer be justified in view of the huge decline in Britain’s sea bird population.
As yet another war begins in the Middle East, it’s a relief to know that the Edinburgh International Festival, founded in the aftermath of the Second World War, is staging another season of artistic peace-making in August. This week, the director of the festival, violinist Nicola Benedetti,CBE, announced its theme, “All Rise”, as a way to mark the 250th anniversary of the American declaration of independence. The title comes from an opera, written by her husband, the trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, to be performed by the big band he has led for 40 years, Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra from New York.
Ms Benedetti said: “The American story is filled with innovation and ingenuity, perseverance and prejudice – tensions which have fuelled the most extraordinary artistic achievements in history.” It will be interesting to see if art can bridge the gap between Trump’s America and the liberal world.
But it will be art of a different type we will be looking for this week as Scotland take on Ireland at rugby. Fresh from an extraordinary win against France, Scotland could just win the Six Nations competition. Let’s hope there is no ugly pitch-invasion.
