The Glasgow TEN is a weekly digest bringing you advantageous insight in the form of great local stories, news, and links that you don’t have time to hunt down for yourself, but simply have to read! You can subscribe directly to the Glasgow TEN to have this sent to your email inbox every Monday, or you can wait a couple of days to read it right here on GOG.
It was a week when the searing heat began influencing much more than just the train signalling as a local man was to be found over on Kickstarter.com seeking £200,000 funding for an innovative new solar-powered device.
What’s more, things were hotting up in the race for Curry Capital of Britain 2013, with Glasgow - runner-up in the contest for each of the past two years - fighting to regain the crown it last won in 2010, as you’ll find out all about, below…
Funding sought for curious new solar-powered headphones
OnBeat Solar Headphones, a father and two sons business based in Glasgow, is seeking £200,000 Kickstarter funding to produce high quality, eco friendly headphones that collect solar energy and then store that energy in rechargeable batteries located inside the product. This means that wearers of the headphones, when out and about, can connect their smartphone or tablet via a USB cable and conveniently recharge that mobile device on the go. The company is planning to sell the solar headphones at a retail price of £119, however early birds can pre-order for £69 through Kickstarter now, which will contribute towards their £200,000 start-up funding goal. OnBeat Solar Headphones estimates to deliver the finished product by February of next year.
‘Bridge to Nowhere’ is now ‘Bridge to Everywhere’
A bridge over Glasgow’s M8 which has been left unfinished since the 1970s has finally been completed, reports BBC Scotland. The infamous ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ was left hanging in mid-air for decades after the shopping centre that it was meant to link to failed to materialise. The crossing, now called the Anderston Footbridge, was opened by the transport minister as a route over the M8 for cyclists and pedestrians. Big Lottery Fund cash was used to complete the project, which will link the city’s Central Station to the Forth and Clyde Canal through Kelvingrove Park. One of the project’s backers, the sustainable transport charity Sustrans, hopes the crossing will now be known as the ‘Bridge to Everywhere’.
Bradfords bakers goes into liquidation
In a statement, Bradfords, which has 13 branches across the country including its flagship bakery on Sauchiehall Street, and Miss Cranston’s Tearooms on the same stretch, said it was closing its retail branches “with great sadness”, reports STV Local. The statement went on: “We would like to thank all of our customers and employees for their loyal support over the years. It has been a pleasure to serve the Glasgow public through our branches, but we regret that due to the impact of increasing costs and adverse trading conditions we were unable to continue despite our best efforts following action from creditors. In keeping with our desire to provide the best possible service to customers, we will be contacting all those who have placed an order with us so that we may either fulfil the order, or provide a refund.”
Glasgow 2014: First glimpse of athletes village
In stark contrast to a near disaster at the 2010 Delhi games, when the Scotland team hesitated over whether to move into an unfinished athletes village, officials in Glasgow have said 85 per cent of its village is already complete, advises The Scotsman. Budding Scotland Commonwealth Games athletes were given their first glimpse of the state-of-the-art athletes village this past week, exactly one year before competitors will begin arriving at the 85-acre east end site located next to the River Clyde. Described as one of the most significant new urban developments in the UK, the area is largely a giant housing estate and properties will go on the market or become available to rent from November 2014. You can view a video tour of the village in its current form by clicking on the big pink headline above.
Glasgow competes for Curry Capital of Britain 2013 award
Glasgow is the only city to have won the top title four times - in 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2010 - and was runner up in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2011 and 2012. Lord Provost Sadie Docherty is determined to lead Glasgow to the winning spot this year and is calling for the support of its curry-loving citizens. She says: “I know the people of Glasgow will back their city and nominate the restaurants they know can help return the curry capital of Britain honour to us.” The public has until Friday, 2nd August to nominate their favourite Indian restaurant, which you can do by clicking on the big pink headline above. The four restaurants with the most nominations will go on to represent the city in the final stage of the competition.
Hundreds of city children could go hungry this summer
Around 19,000 school pupils across Glasgow are entitled to free meals during term time but don’t get support during the summer holidays, meaning that hundreds of children may miss meals as families struggle to make ends meet, reports The Glaswegian. Gillian McCormick, project manager for the Trussell Trust’s Glasgow North-West food bank said: “We have helped parents who are struggling to provide meals for their children because of changes in their benefits combined with low incomes.” And the Trust’s Ewan Gurr added: “So far this summer we have seen an increase in the number of parents seeking help from our food banks. We are in no doubt that this will continue to increase as the summer holidays run on. The situation is simply not getting any better for people.”
Whatever happened to our electric dreams?
Just around the corner from Central Station on Waterloo Street you can find three green cars caged behind glass, capped by a big window sign that says: “The Electric Garage.” This is no ordinary showroom, but a glimpse of our potential future, courtesy of the power group SSE, reports The Herald. Indeed, the cars are not for sale - they are for Joe Public to test drive in the city centre. There are only about 50 privately owned electric cars on Scotland’s roads, today, which must be some sort of low-sales record for a major product after three years on the market, speculates the in-depth feature article before going on to explore some of the key reasons why this is the case. You can access the full feature article by clicking on the big pink headline above.
Plan to ban cars from George Square
Private cars could be banned from the north side of George Square under somewhat sketchy plans drawn up by Glasgow City Council, reports BBC Scotland. The proposals would see a bus gate introduced at the West Nile Street access point to Nelson Mandela Place and aim to reduce traffic in the area by up to 70%. Roads bosses also plan to ban all vehicles, except bicycles, from the section of George Square in front of the City Chambers, with the road there being raised to pavement level as part of the process. The council said these proposals, which have now gone out to public consultation, could reduce pollution while creating a high quality pedestrian area. The public has until Friday 13th September to lodge any objections to the new traffic restrictions.
Construction firm lands £2.5m deal for heliport
Paisley-based Raynesway Construction has won a £2.5 million contract to build a new heliport that could be used by stars visiting the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre in Glasgow, reports The Herald. The company has been appointed by SECC to design and build a new heliport and support facilities in Govan, south of the Clyde. The building of the new heliport to replace the existing facility will release land for development on the west side of the SECC on the other side of the river. The project, due to be completed in April 2014, also includes work on related infrastructure including access roads and car parking. The contract is one of a series worth more than £5m in total that Raynesway Construction has won in recent months.
Doors open to a bird’s eye view at Central Station
Network Rail bosses are considering offering thrill seekers the chance of a lifetime during this year’s Glasgow Doors Open Day, which takes place during the 3rd weekend of September, reports the Evening Times. Central Station has one of the largest glass roofs in the world, featuring 48,000 panes of glass spread across an area three times the size of Hampden Park, and station bosses are considering allowing members of the public the opportunity to walk on the mammoth roof and enjoy a bird’s eye view of the city. There are also plans to allow visitors the chance to head down to the catacombs of the station, which are rumoured to be haunted, too. You can make your voice heard via Glasgow Central Station’s Facebook page and do your bit to help ensure that this great idea goes ahead.
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