RECENTLY after my retirement as a Glasgow City councillor, albeit at the age of 24, I have taken up employment in a local community trust with Govanhill Baths in the neighbourhood I live in. As a regular reader of The National, I noticed a small article about a Scot who stumbled across the “Scottish Parliament” while holidaying in Barcelona (Wandering Scot stumbles across the Scottish Parliament in Barcelona ... sort of, The National, October 24).
After conducting his own research, he came to realise that it was the same architect that designed the Barcelona market building he saw who also designed our Parliament building. This got me thinking, I love the design of Govanhill Baths, and I wondered if there were any other buildings elsewhere that Alexander Beith McDonald, the architect who designed our baths, that would be of similar design. After research, I found out that he did in fact work for Glasgow Corporation, the then Glasgow City Council as we know it today, and that he also designed the People’s Palace. I must admit, I wonder what he would think if he were around today to see how one of his most adored designs by the public, our pool, become the “people’s pool” after a long campaign since 2001 by local residents to save the last Edwardian baths in the city after Glasgow City Council tried to pull the plug on the much loved community asset.
Not only are there physical similarities between the People’s Palace and Govanhill Baths due to the same architectural design, now there is a link in the name. Govanhill Baths really has become the “People’s Pool” and the Govanhill Baths Community Trust is keen to make it even more so with the new offer to the public. People are now able to buy community shares from £100 to £30,000 and actually become owners of their own Edwardian baths. How cool is that? I think it is anyway. Giving the people the chance to invest rather than make a simple donation demonstrates the commitment by the baths really will belong to everyone as all community shareholders will have a say over the governance of the baths, no matter how much they invest.
If Govanhill Baths is able to reach £300,000 of investment from the public, this will mean that the trust has finally reached its target of £6.4 million to redevelop them into a health and wellbeing centre. This will mean closure of the baths next year for extensive and ambitious work to take place. Govanhill Baths is almost there. This is the final push needed and it will be done by the people. It’s my pool, it’s your pool, it’s the People’s Pool. I am sure Mr A B McDonald would be proud.
Austin Sheridan, Govanhill Baths Community Trust, Glasgow
I AM sure I am among thousands of independence supporters who would like to thank GA Ponsonby for all his dedication, hard work and insight that he brought to the independence campaign. I know I relied heavily on Newsnet Scotland when drafting leaflets for the Yes Paisley campaign team.
He was one of the first sources of information I would reach to, particularly when yet another biased BBC report was issued, you knew you could turn to Ponsonby’s work to get the true picture of how the BBC were manipulating the news. As if launching and maintaining the Newsnet website (and latterly the Indyref2 blog) weren’t enough, his book and subsequent documentary London Calling: How the BBC Stole the Referendum is essential reading and viewing for anyone who wants to understand how a state broadcaster can be used to manipulate, deceive and abuse its viewers and listeners.
I would like to wish him well on whatever he does next and hope that he can make a comeback when the next referendum is confirmed.
Councillor Kenny MacLaren, Paisley
GOOFY Gavin Williamson is exactly what UK politics needs right now: another inexperienced but crawlingly ambitious, intellectually mediocre white bloke who knows how to suck up to whichever non-entity is in power while having no comprehension of his own limitations and careless of his aptitude for the job.
It’s not the tarantula on the new Defence Secretary’s desk MPs need to worry about (there, I presume, for the same reason runty men buy dangerous dogs) – it’s the blank behind the eyes ...
Amanda Baker, Edinburgh
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