The Kintyre Forum

Pinkston

HUNDREDS of towerblock residents have won their five-year campaign to save their homes from demolition.

Campaigners in two double multi-storeys in Pinkston Drive, Sighthill, have finally got support from the board of Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) to renovate the blocks.

Residents, many of whom have lived there since the late 1960s, were horrified when they were told the blocks would be torn down.

Now GHA has agreed to a full assessment on the financial impact of the proposal to save Pinkston.

The move follows a passionate campaign by the Pinkston Tenants' Association to keep some or all of the blocks.

Campaign spokesman Sean Clerkin said: "This is a tremendous victory. Everyone gets along very well in this unique community which has welcomed refugees and asylum-seekers."

A gha spokeswoman said the plan would see the blocks at 31/35 and 3/5 Pinkston renovated.

The three double multistorey blocks - at 16/18, 17/19 and 32/34 Pinkston Drive - would be either demolished or "disposed of". This means they will no longer be used for social housing.

The 546 GHA tenants will be able to choose where they are rehoused, while GHA will hold discussions with the nine owners affected.

Jim Sneddon, GHA's executive director of regeneration, said: "We recognise the great sense of community in Pinkston. People are at the heart of what we do and these plans show we mean what we say."

High Court Glasgow

A man has been charged with attempting to murder a policeman with a cleaver. Allan Brown will appear from custody this week charged with trying to kill constable Ronnie Arnott at 10 Skye Road , Rutherglen in February. Brown allegedly struck the police officer on the body with the cleaver, causing him severe injury and permanent disfigurement. He also faces a charge of assaulting officer Arnott and his colleague officer Gary Crossan. Brown who is believed to have been on bail at the time, is further charged with barricading himself inside the premises and threatening to set light to the building whilst holding a cigarette lighter, committing a breach of the peace. The 47- year old is also facing a charge of making threats and breaking his bail conditions, contrary to Criminal Procedure ( Scotland ) Act 1995.

Glasgow Sheriff Court

Four men have been charged with dealing cocaine in Sighthill. Habiba Ibrahim, 21 Yusef Elmi 19, Delmar Birik 21 and Farhia Muqtar 20, are alleged to have supplied the class A drug from Birik and Mugtar's home at flat 5/4, 18 Pinkston Drive, and also from flat 1/2 in the same block and various stairwells last June and July, contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act. Birik is believed to have been on bail at the time. Ibrahim and Elmi are also from Pingston Drive.

High Court Glasgow

A man and woman are accused of attempting to murder a man whom they were allegedly robbing. Ryan Higgins , who will appear from custody, and Alisha Lane of Livingston Drive, Airdrie, are charged with attempting to murder Charles Perry at 25 Kintyre Crescent Airdrie on February 9 this year. The pair allegedly pushed Mr Peery, held him down, and struck him on the head and body with knives. The pair are accused of demanding money from him, and of robbing him of a watch, bracelet, and glasses. They are further accused of robbing another man at the same address. Higgins 27, and Lane 18, allegedly robbed John Doughty of a phone and wallet after it is claimed, the pair struck him with a knife and repeatedly demanded money from him.

ionnsaigh wrote:

ionnsaigh wrote:Four men have been charged with dealing cocaine in Sighthill. Habiba Ibrahim, 21 Yusef Elmi 19, Delmar Birik 21 and Farhia Muqtar 20, are alleged to have supplied the class A drug from Birik and Mugtar's home at flat 5/4, 18 Pinkston Drive, and also from flat 1/2 in the same block and various stairwells last June and July, contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act. Birik is believed to have been on bail at the time. Ibrahim and Elmi are also from Pingston Drive.

ionnsaigh wrote:Jim Sneddon, GHA's executive director of regeneration, said: "We recognise the great sense of community in Pinkston. People are at the heart of what we do and these plans show we mean what we say."

ionnsaigh wrote:Pinkston

HUNDREDS of towerblock residents have won their five-year campaign to save their homes from demolition.

ionnsaigh wrote:Residents, many of whom have lived there since the late 1960s, were horrified when they were told the blocks would be torn down.

ionnsaigh wrote:The 546 GHA tenants will be able to choose where they are rehoused, while GHA will hold discussions with the nine owners affected.

So we have a residents campaign to save these blocks in Pinkston - residents are horrified when told of demolition - Yet we have drug dealers selling Class A drugs in the stairwells and wherever in the blocks - I mean how horrified can one get ?
Out of Five Hundred and Fifty Five houses - only Nine are home owners - either nobody wants to buy a house in this wonderful community - or they don't have the money - despite the ( generous discounts available ). Nobody in their right frame of mind - would willingly live in this dump. I suppose all those auld buddies - moved from toonheid in the Sixties - either never had a brain - or had it's capacity diminished - by Forty years of Sighthill living.

WILD pranksters have started a new and dangerous craze of running or skate boarding over the Squiggly Bridge's two decorative arches.

Now police warn that "Doing the Squiggly" over Glasgow's latest footbridge across the Clyde could lead to death or serious injury.

The latest craze is to run over the bridge's two shiny arches in rapid succession.

But police say that such a stunt is fraught with danger and those considering taking part are urged to think again.

Some passers-by told The Glaswegian that skate boarders have attempted the "Squiggly."

Superintendent Elizabeth Weir, deputy commander from Glasgow City Centre Police Office has ordered officers to step up bridge patrols to stop "Squiggly"riders.

Glasgow Community and Safety Services (GCSS) have dedicated CCTV cameras zeroed in on the bridge night and day.

The dangerous stunt riders who've completed the run have posted their exploits on You tube.

Already bloggers are posting their own views and some comments make people aware of the fatal pitfalls.

Some comments say that whoever started the craze "will have blood on his hands" and that the stunt "will cause death before the year is out."

One You tube clip show two males scaling one of the arches at night and another shows cult Glaswegian comedian Limmy standing on an arch in broad daylight.

Superintendent Weir said she is anxious to prevent people injuring themselves.

She insisted: "This is not a 'sport.' This activity is foolhardy and I would strongly urge anyone considering it to think again.

"We have stepped up police patrols on the bridge in a bid to deter future activity and at worst, prevent deaths.

"Our aim is public safety and we hope that an increased police presence and greater CCTV monitoring by GCSS will go some way in expressing the dangers of this activity to them."

Phil Walker, managing director of GCSS, said: "We are working together with Strathclyde Police to provide additional coverage at this area.

"We have increased patrols of our mobile CCTV vehicles and our Community Enforcement Officers in a bid to reassure the community and deter any antisocial behaviour at this site."

Offenders face being charged with breach of the peace which can carry a hefty fine.

Glasgow police have already warned Park our enthusiasts - free runners - that only the most experienced should participate in the sport and risky runners may be breaking the law.

New Victoria Infirmary opens to boost health service on the south side

Jun 10 2009 By Frank Hurley
New Victoria

A REVOLUTIONARY new hospital opened its doors to new patients for the first time this week on Glasgow's south side.

The opening of the s100 million New Victoria follows that of the New Stobhill Hospital last month.

Together they stand to transform the balance of acute hospital care away from inpatient overnight procedures to same day treatment.

South siders can now go to their local, state-of-the-art hospital for MRI scanning, chemotherapy and renal dialysis services rather than travelling to other hospitals.

The unique aspect of the New Victoria is that thousands of surgical patients, who would normally have needed an overnight stay, will have their operations as day procedures and go home a few hours later.

Twelve 23-hour short stay surgical beds will also support the work at the site, enabling clinicians to extend the range of surgical procedures offered and also allow patients who do not have a carer or access to a phone to stay in hospital overnight to complete their post-surgery recovery.

One of the first patients to experience the New Victoria hospital was Rita Mulvenny (72) from Giffnock.

Rita said said: "I will be going to five of the clinics here and the hospital looks lovely, so nice and clean.

"It's easy to find your way around and there are a good number of disability parking spaces.

"I'm really impressed, it's a beautiful hospital."

Alex McIntyre, programme director, explained that the aim had been to design and build a new hospital that not only looked beautiful but also delivered better models of care and greater efficiencies.

Welcoming the New Victoria Hospital, Nicola Sturgeon, Health Minister, said: "The hospital is a fine example of the very latest technology bringing care as close to people's homes as possible."

But there is no A & E facility.

EMDEE wrote:But there is no A & E facility.

Seems not - it appears a cloister of clinics providing ambulatory care ( had to look that up ).
How much money has been allocated for new builds in Kintyre?

Eric Bogle & John Munro: Waltzing Matilda No More.
ROB ADAMS June 08 2009
Location: Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow
Star rating: **************

When you die, apparently your whole life flashes before you. Something similar must confront troubadours planning farewell tours. This wasn't actually Eric Bogle's last Glasgow appearance: public demand has elicited an extra concert in September, unless the Times' reporting of him as a First World War poet killed in action catches up with him beforehand. But for those not tempted back by the promise of a different set of songs, this will be how they remember Bogle before he retired to his adopted homeland, Australia.

It was a kind of Eric Bogle: This is Your Life, without Mike Aspel and his big red book and conspirators arriving to drop Bogle in it. He can do that himself, with considerable relish and aplomb, while recalling life in Peebles, including his dad's graphic illustration of small-town gossip, the band that let him realise his early musical ambitions and the stoic scene as he departed for the emigrants' ship in Southampton.

Sometimes the recollections and observations on these and subsequent events are sharper than the songs they inspired, but with Bogle and his long-time accompanist, singer, guitarist and occasional mandolinist John Munro, forming an incorrigible double act, it's the whole package that counts. Apartheid-era South Africa, Dunblane and Iraq were some of the external ports of call - ageing (dis)gracefully, perpetually dreaming and passing on the baton among the personal topics - in a concert overseen by Bogle's twin towers, his pointed, poignant treatises on war's futility, No Man's Land and The Band Played Waltzing Matilda. Too bad Bogle's avowed fan, Tony Blair, and his like never got the message.

..............................................................................

Surprised you missed this important review from The Herald 08/06/09.Must get your priorities right Ionns.

Take it you were'nt present at the concert ?

I must admit I had no idea who Eric Bogle was - little less his two companions. Come to think of it I can only name all four of the Beatles ( Pop Group) like film stars - all above my head. Surprising really because I really like those two songs, I even requested one to be played on Argyle FM - unfortunately the DJ played Waltzing Matilda. ( I think that was what I had asked for ) Too much strong alcohol the night before - some of it distilled in Campbeltown. I remember going up the close - tae a hoose - wae a wee pot still. Yir other stuff is dearer. This thread ( the talk of the Washhoose ) or Glasgow News is open to everybody and anybody - well that's two at least.

PS. See that auld pal of yours ended up in hospital - hope it was one of those private jobs - make her pay for her own milk - I say.

ionnsaigh wrote:PS. See that auld pal of yours ended up in hospital - hope it was one of those private jobs - make her pay for her own milk - I say.

Aye,30 years ago now since she led us into the promised land.God bless her.How time has flown.

Aye Thirty years - since I last stood on my soapbox in Sauchiehall Street. Stirring the auld passion - wae eloquent fighting talk.

bill wrote:

ionnsaigh wrote:PS. See that auld pal of yours ended up in hospital - hope it was one of those private jobs - make her pay for her own milk - I say.

Aye,30 years ago now since she led us into the promised land.God bless her.How time has flown.

Aye, Thatchers regime made the Charge Of The Light Brigade look like a sensible military exercise