Between 2pm on Saturday 27th August and 3pm on Sunday 28th August, someone attempted to force entry to our house via the basement window (under the stairs). Fortunately the bars on the windows prevented access but we have had to replace the window. If you saw anything suspicious, I’d be very grateful if you could get in touch or speak to the local police office direct.

Most of you will have had a council refuse collection schedule through your door.  The schedule gives diary dates for all bins, blue recycling bins (all paper, tins, plastic bottles and now card), purple glass recycling bins, brown garden waste bins and domestic waste bins.

In case you didn’t get a copy, here it is with everything explained.

Lets just hope the council stick to their own schedule…

On Monday 22nd at around 9pm a car was abandoned and torched beside the pedestrian railway bridge at the corner of Moray Place and Regent Park Square. A fire engine quickly put out the blaze and the police were on the scene in minutes. No one was reported to be hurt in the incident and it is unclear whether other vehicles were damaged either from the fire or as a result of the car driving the wrong way along Regent Park Square.

There is no suggestion that this was the work of someone living locally or someone who is known locally but the police were taking statements from residents. If anyone else has any information about the driver of the car or any passengers please do contact the police.

Zero tolerance for street crime in Strathbungo

Update – Seems that someone tried to rob a G4S security van on Victoria Road yesterday at around the same time. I suspect that this was the getaway car which they trashed to destroy any evidence.

The first of a promised tranche of road resurfacing works in Strathbungo was started today.

Regent Park Square is now pothole free with Queen Square and Moray Place to follow shortly.

It was also a rare opportunity to snap the street without cars!

After the English riots last week there was something very reassuring about this photograph by David Levene which whizzed around the news wires and the internet. It showed a strength of community spirit that wasn’t going to be broken in spite of some pretty severe provocation and not inconsequential damage to town centers throughout England. It got me wondering why there weren’t similar riots or at least disturbances in Scottish towns and cities which, I am sure, most Scottish politicians could answer, but I, not being from around these parts, was unable to answer.

As an Englishman having lived in Strathbungo for the better part of two years now, it has struck me that Scotland has a much stronger sense of national and cultural identity than England. No doubt the reasons for Scotland remaining riot free are considerably more complex than a strong sense of identity but I suspect that it counts at least for part of the explanation.

An (unrelated) discussion with Police Officer this week about crime prevention in Strathbungo did yield an interesting comment from her on community spirit. She said that in the past people were much more willing to challenge antisocial behaviour whereas now people were more minded to call the police. Perhaps we are more afraid of the consequences of challenging unruly behaviour for fear of being verbally or physically attacked. Certainly the level of violent crime in Glasgow reported weekly in the press would appear to warrant such concerns, but it is a pity that we are more afraid of challenging bad bahaviour that we were. My suspicion is that, like the fear of hitchhiking, the fear of reprisal following challenging antisocial bahaviour is more imagined than real. Challenge doesn’t need to be aggressive – indeed it should never be aggressive – but more a reminder to those out to disrupt the social order we have enjoyed for a long time that antisocial behaviour is not acceptable.

Those people in the photograph holding up brooms are not afraid. They are not aggressive. They do not even appear to be angry. They are just reclaiming the streets from thugs and louts. The response to the riots in England as shown in the photograph should be an inspiration to us here in Strathbungo. Certainly next time I come across someone raking through and overturning the bins in the lanes, or trying car door handles, or shouting at someone I will be having a quiet word to remind them that Strathbungo is not Enfield, Peckham or Croydon. If it gets nasty I will however be the first to hightail it out and give the police a call. But the first line of defense in Strathbungo should be its community members. Every riot has its warning indicators and they invariably involve a breakdown of any sense of community spirit and antisocial behaviour and petty crime left unchallenged.

Let’s never let Glasgow look like this on google maps! Let’s clean-up Strathbungo before we need the brooms!

Come along to the first Strathbungo Society meeting of the new term to play your part in organising BUNGOfest on October 8th, or to bring your ideas for new society events or projects.

We will also be losing the Chair and the Treasurer this autumn when they move away from the area, so we really need any keen volunteers who can help out running the society at regular meetings or even on the committee.

Come along and let us know what you can do to help. All welcome.

Grianach, 7.30pm, 15th August

Brand new StitchUp on 18th August 6/9pm at Tapa (basement) on Pollokshaws Rd in the Southside of Glasgow

Hope you can join us with your kids to learn or share those fun creative reuse skills like repairing, revamping and remodeling, from lovingly stitching on that button thats fallen off, creating a new outfit from old pieces and learning about Wabi Sabi!!

Whatever your interest the creativity, company and coffee will be inspiring!

Hope to see you there!

PS The black and white “colour me in poster” is for saving on ink but for splashing out on family fun and creativity, should you want to promote this with your neighbours… and the coloured one is if you want to see a ready made one!

PPS We are linking the session with Urban Roots Fashion Reuse events over the next few months to create more opportunities for family friendly reuse, of which Abi will tell you more….

stitchUp-clr-me-in-poster

Winter in the existing arena

Winner of the design competition – ZM Architecture

The Strathbungo Society today received a letter of thanks from Queens Park Arena Ltd confirming receipt of £24429.15 from the ENTRUST funds of the Strathbungo Society.

This money was made available to the society a number of years ago for an attempt at resurfacing an area of the back lanes. However, quotes for the work ran into hundreds of thousands of pounds, making the work unviable, and we have been looking ever since for a project worthy of the money within the tight constraints placed by ENTRUST.

Following a vote at last years AGM, and guided by canvassing your ideas at last year’s Bungo in the Back Lanes, we offered the money to Queens Park Arena. We are glad to be able to support the project to renew the bandstand arena, and Strathbungo residents can be proud that we will be contributing around a fifth of the cost of phase 1 to stabilise the ground, install drainage and electrics, restore the amphitheatre and install the stage base.

Work is supposed to be beginning in September 2011. Watch that space!

You can find out more at http://www.qppp.org.uk/

Lastly, thanks to all society members involved in administering the Entrust monies over the last few years.

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone knew how to organise hedge cutting? Our downstairs neighbours used to organise it but have moved and the hedges are now quite overgrown!

Thanks,

Jen