#glasgow city chambers

[wgm-beautiful-world]

Magnificent door in Glasgow, SCOTLAND

[bletheringskite]

City Chambers & George Square, Glasgow

This postcard has never been posted.

Glasgow City Chambers is now Category A Listed. The Historic Scotland Report can be found here : hsewsf.sedsh.gov.uk/hslive/hsstart?P_HBNUM=32691

In 1888 the City Fathers arranged for the construction of the City Chambers shown in this postcard. The City Chambers are amongst the most lavishly appointed municipal buildings in the UK. This postcard captures George Square prior to the construction of the Cenotaph in the early 1920's in front of the City Chambers.

 The City of Glasgow has been Scotland's most populated place since 1821. It was also the Second City of the British Empire. From the 1881 Census to that of 1951 it was the second most populated place in the UK after London. During this period it was also the fourth most populated City in Europe behind London, Paris and Berlin. The shipyards of the River Clyde were responsible at their height for in excess of half of the UK's shipbuilding (in old imperial) tonnage.

Since 1451 Glasgow has been the home to the fourth oldest University in the English speaking world - only Oxford, Cambridge and St Andrews are older. Glasgow can also claim to have the largest Council run library in Europe (the Mitchell Library spread over 7 floors) and one of the largest if not the largest Council controlled Art Collections in the UK.

[frogphase]

I did it 😤

I literally am trying so hard to vote rn but they didnt send my postal ballot in time! And i am now away till after the election

[marianadecarlos]

The Birth of Charles II of Spain

Supposed portrait of Charles II as a newborn. Stirling Maxwell Collection (Pollock House, Glasgow), attributed to Martínez del Mazo.

Carlos José, Charles II of Spain, was born on Sunday, November 6, 1661. The news spread quickly throughout the Royal Palace in Madrid, releasing enormous tension barely contained until then. Joy filled all the rooms, as Queen Mariana's pregnancy had come to a happy conclusion. Given the challenges of the previous days and months, this was a significant relief. Just five days earlier, on November 1, 1661, the Feast of All Saints, the crown prince of the monarchy, the beloved and cherished Philip Próspero, had tragically died. His death was a profound loss for Philip IV and his wife, who was in an advanced stage of pregnancy at the time. With the passing of the young prince, the Catholic Monarchy once again faced a lack of direct male heirs, instilling a sense of pessimism and fatalism throughout the Palace and across the cities and kingdoms of the realm. The death of Don Felipe Próspero, who was only four years old, struck the heart of the aged King like a dagger, leading him to believe, with certainty, that God had abandoned him.

Queen Mariana was deeply distressed. She understood her royal husband's feelings well. From her earliest childhood, she had been educated about the reasons for the state and was aware of what dynastic inheritance meant, so she empathized with her husband's dual pain—both providential and political. Additionally, as a mother who had already lost several children, she felt overwhelmed by the painful fate that the Almighty had in store for her, a fate that undoubtedly shaped her harsh and rigid character. The death of Philip Prospero, who was taken from life too soon, was just the latest tragedy in a long series of losses. Indeed, Mariana had endured a profoundly tragic maternal experience.

For all the above reasons, in the days following the death of Philip Prospero, the Queen's pregnancy, which was nearing its end, became a matter of first importance. The future of the Monarchy depended on this event. On Sunday, November 6, everything seemed to be ready. The doctors and physicians were on alert; the Queen's confessor was near her, and the Chief Steward of her Household was carefully reviewing the arrangement of the items in the birth chamber. To guarantee the success of the event, all the holy relics that were in the Palace and others brought from El Escorial and other places had been arranged in order.

There was the staff of Saint Dominic of Silos that the Order of Saint Dominic had brought, the ribbon of Saint John Ortega, from the Order of the Hieronymites; the incorrupt bodies of Saint Isidore and Saint Diego de Alcalá; the image of the Virgin of Solitude and the one so venerated by the royal family, Our Lady of Atocha. It is difficult to find a space so holy and sacred. Everything, then, was ready, the things of the earth arranged in order to implore God's pleasure.

At noon, after a frugal lunch, Philip IV retired to his chambers. At the same time, the Queen felt discomfort and went to her room. The midwife, Doña Inés de Ayala, and the chief physician of the Royal Chamber, Don Andrés Ordóñez, both witnesses of the birth of Doña Mariana in Vienna in 1634, were now assisting her in her sixth birth, the most anticipated of all. Mariana of Austria was then 27 years old. The chronicles say that there was no setback. It was one o'clock in the afternoon on that Sunday, the day of San Leonardo, when, according to the Gazette, “ 

a very handsome prince with large features, a large head, black hair, and somewhat swollen flesh saw the light of this world .” It was, of course, a very favorable comment, but soon rumors to the contrary spread through the gossip columns of the Villa and Court. That birth was received with joy. At three in the afternoon, when the news had already spread to all corners of the Monarchy and Europe, a sober and elegantly dressed Philip IV in black velvet, left his chamber and, “ 

accompanied by the Nuncio, the Grand Masters and the Ambassadors ”, headed towards the Palace Chapel in full courtly etiquette. There, the royal procession, presided over by the monarch, sang a solemn Te Deum, thus beginning the festivities that, in honor of the future Charles II, occupied the entire month of November 1661.

[aimeedaisies]

The Princess Royal’s Official Engagements in November 2023

01/11 Princess Anne, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duke & Duchess of Gloucester attended the Senior Serving and Retired Officers’ Briefing at the Army and Navy Club on Pall Mall in London. 🪖💼

As Chancellor of Harper Adams University, attended the launch of the University’s Strategic Plan at London Bridge Arches. 🎓

With Sir Tim As Royal Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, attended the Grand Day Choral Evensong Service at Temple Church in London. 🎶

With Sir Tim As Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Engineers, attended a Dinner to mark their 40th Anniversary at Mansion House in London. ⚙️

02/11 Held two investiture ceremonies at Buckingham Palace. 🎖️

03/11 As Patron of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, visited Citizens Advice Malvern Hills in Malvern, Worcestershire. 👩‍⚖️

Opened the Specialist Operations Centre at the Gloucestershire Constabulary and Office of Police and Crime Commissioner in Cheltenham. 👮‍♀️

07/11 Alongside King Charles & Queen Camilla, Princess Anne in her role as Gold Stick in Waiting, was present at the State Opening of Parliament. 👩‍⚖️🪶

Opened the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Museum of Scottish Fire Heritage and the McDonald Road Community Fire and Ambulance Station in Edinburgh. 👨‍🚒

The Princess Royal, As Patron of the Eric Liddell 100, attended the inaugural Lecture and Reception on board Fingal, Alexandra Dock, in Edinburgh. 🏃🏽🥂

Unofficial Sir Tim attended the memorial service for former university friend and newsreader George Alagiah at St-Martin-in-the-Fields church in London 🎓🕊️

08/11 As Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, presented Royal Medals and attended a Reception at the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 🏅

As Patron of Catch22, attended the National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum in Birmingham ✍️

As Patron of the Wooden Spoon Society, attended a Reception at the House of Lords in London. 🥄🏉🥂

As Court Member of the Fishmongers’ Company, attended a Livery Dinner at Fishmongers’ Hall in London. 🐟🍽️

09/11 As President of World Horse Welfare, attended the Annual Conference at the Royal Geographical Society. 🐴

As Patron of the Butler Trust, visited HM Prison Wandsworth in London. 🚓👮‍♂️

As Patron of the Whitley Fund for Nature, held a 30th Anniversary Dinner at St James's Palace. 🦋🍃

10/11 The Princess Royal, As President of Royal Yachting Association, chaired the Annual General Meeting and presented Awards before attending a Luncheon in London SW1. 🛥️

Unofficial Announcement that Princess Anne will take over Presidency of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, taking over from the Duke of Kent who Presided over the Commission since 1970 🌹🪦

~ Remembrance weekend ~

11/11 With Sir Tim Attended the Armistice Day Service of Remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum. 🌳 🫡

With Sir Tim Attended the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall with members of the royal family. 🌹

12/11 With Sir Tim Attended the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in London. Princess Anne laid a wreath whilst Sir Tim stood on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office balcony. 🌹

With Sir Tim Took the salute at the March Past of Ex-Servicemen and Civilian Organisations on Horse Guards Parade, London SWI. 🫡

~ End ~

14/11 As Patron of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (UK), attended the 10th Anniversary Transport and Logistics Safety Forum Conference at the National Memorial Arboretum. 🚚

Visited the new Institute of Shipbuilding course at City of Glasgow College Riverside Campus in Glasgow. ⚓️

As Patron of the Royal Celtic Society, attended a Reception at Glasgow City Chambers. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Attended Interfaith Glasgow’s Scottish Interfaith Week Forum at Glasgow City Chambers. ☪️✡️✝️🕉️🪯

Unofficial Sir Tim attended a Kent Cricket celebration dinner at Lords Cricket Ground 🏏

15/11 Visited BAE Systems Submarines' Submarine Academy and the University of Cumbria. 🤿 👨‍🎓

Visited the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in Barrow-in-Furness. ☢️

As Patron of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, visited the Barrow-in-Furness branch to mark its reopening. 🤝

As Patron of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, attended a Dinner at St George's Hall, to mark its 125th anniversary. 🦜💊

16/11 As Vice Patron of the British Horse Society, attended a Coaching Career Insight Day.

As Patron of the Butler Trust, visited HM Prison Drake Hall.

As Patron of Transaid, attended a Reception at London Transport Museum.

17/11 Not Counted Departed Heathrow Airport for Gibraltar but was diverted to Madrid, Spain and arrived in Gibraltar later than intended. ✈️🇪🇸🇬🇮

With Sir Tim As Royal Patron of the Gibraltar International Literary Festival, attended the Literary Festival Opening Dinner at the Sunborn Hotel. 📚🍽️

18/11 In Gibraltar Princess Anne;

As Patron of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, visited Gibraltar Citizens Advice Bureau to mark its 20th anniversary. 👩‍⚖️

Opened the renovated premises of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment Association. 🫡

Met representatives of the Emergency Services and members of the Armed Forces at the Convent. 🚑🪖

With Sir Tim visited specialist vehicles provider Bassadone Automotive Group. 🚗

Unofficial Sir Tim visited the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron, 🇬🇮⚓️

21/11 As Master of the Corporation of Trinity House, presented Merchant Navy medals for Meritorious Service at Trinity House, London. 🏅

With Sir Tim Attended the State Banquet in honour of the President and First Lady of South Korea. 🇬🇧🇰🇷🍽️

22/11 Visited Retrotec Limited near Northiam, East Sussex. ✈️

Visited Focus SB Limited in St Leonards-on-Sea. ⚙️

As Commandant-in-Chief of St John Ambulance (Youth), attended a Reception for Young Achievers at the Priory Church of the Order of St John in London. 🚑

As Chancellor of the University of London, attended Foundation Day at Senate House in London 🎓

23/11 As Commodore-in-Chief of Portsmouth Naval Base, opened Alford Schools of Military Music. 🎶

Attended a Luncheon at Spithead House, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth, for The Princess Royal's Patronages based in Hampshire. ⚓️

As President of the City and Guilds of London Institute, presented The Princess Royal Training Awards at St James's Palace. 🏆

With Sir Tim As President of the British Olympic Association, attended the Team GB Ball at the Savoy Hotel. 🏋️‍♀️

24/11 As Royal Patron of the London Scottish Football Club, attended the 10th Anniversary of the St Andrew's Day Luncheon at the Sheraton Grand London on Park Lane. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏉

28/11 Presented The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Awards at Fishmongers’ Hall in London. 🏆

As Chancellor of the University College of Osteopathy, attended a Graduation Ceremony. 🎓

As Royal Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, attended a New Fellows’ Dinner. ⚙️🍽️

29/11 The Princess Royal, As Royal Patron of the National Coastwatch Institution, visited Canvey Island Station and attended a Reception at the Island Yacht Club. 🔎🏝️

Opened Huntingdon Fire Station and Service Training Centre. 🚒

Opened North Cambridgeshire Training Centre. 💼

As Honorary Member of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers, attended the Annual General Meeting and Discussion Dinner. 👷🍴

30/11 As Patron of the Not Forgotten Association, held the Christmas Reception at St James’s Palace. 🎄🎅🏻🎁

Total official engagements for Anne in October: 58

2023 total so far: 458

Total official engagements accompanied by Tim in October: 11

2023 total so far: 92

[ukrfeminism]

Westminster city council and Social Work England last week became the latest to join a list of organisations – including Arts Council England, a barristers’ chambers and a thinktank – found to have discriminated against a female worker because of their gender-critical beliefs.

The social worker Rachel Meade’s winagainst the council and her profession’s regulator means she joins a select but growing group of gender-critical feminists who have successfully brought discrimination claims on the basis of their beliefs.

Gender-critical feminists believe sex is biological and cannot be changed, and disagree with trans rights activists who say gender identity should be given priority in terms of law-making and policy. Clashes in workplaces – in some cases with those who regard the focus on biological sex as transphobic – have led to a string of employment tribunals.

On Monday, a tribunal began hearing a constructive dismissal claim from Roz Adams against Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre. Next month, Kenny McBride’s case against the Scottish government is due to be heard in Glasgow, while judgments are pending in a claim from Prof Jo Phoenix against the Open University and that of the Green party’s former deputy leader Shahrar Ali against the party.

In all four cases – and more in the pipeline – the claimants argue they were discriminated against because they hold gender-critical beliefs.

They hope to follow in the footsteps of the barrister Allison Bailey, and of the researcher Maya Forstater who obtained a landmark judgment in 2021 that her gender-critical beliefs were a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act. The campaign group Sex Matters, founded by Forstater, has identified at least 19 current cases.

After the Meade case last week, which like several others involved disciplinary action being initiated against an employee as a result of social media postings, Westminster council said it would “consider what changes we need to make”. For the local authority it comes too late to prevent a payout, but other employers may need to learn from it.

Lucy Lewis, a partner at the law firm Lewis Silkin, said that on such a politically charged issue, employers could feel they must act quickly after a complaint.

“Because this has become a politically toxic issue, there’s a sort of temptation [on the part of employers] to take a kneejerk reaction rather than the considered view of actually, what is the impact, is there another way we can address this [other than disciplinary proceedings or suspension]?

“People are being influenced by the very public and political dialogue on this and actually there’s value in just taking a step back and understanding all the factors.”

Georgina Calvert-Lee, an employment and equality barrister at Bellevue Law, agreed that the wider debate – in which gender-critical feminists and advocates of transgender rights have been at loggerheads – may have influenced employers, but said they must adjust their behaviour in light of the case law.

“What Forstater and Bailey have done is they’ve set this very strong precedent of tolerance,” Calvert-Lee said.

“Above all, in a pluralistic society, which is what we want, you have to accept that people are going to have different views and some people are going to find their colleagues’ views completely obnoxious – but nevertheless protected because freedom of speech is something that … has been really promoted and underlined.

“It’s always been there but it’s been sort of forgotten in some of these culture wars.”

After settling a case with a gender-critical volunteer, Katie Alcock, Girlguiding UK said it remained “a home for trans people” but added: “We agree that sex and gender are different, and will reflect this in the language we use.”

After another case that was settled out of court, brought by the student James Esses, who was thrown off his course for expressing gender-critical views, the UK Council for Psychotherapy conceded it was a valid professional belief that children suffering from gender dysphoria should receive counselling rather than medical intervention and people should not be discriminated against for such beliefs. Esses’ case against the Metanoia Institute continues.

Calvert-Lee said the cases to date showed the importance of employers training staff “about what is acceptable and what’s not and what amounts to harassment and what probably doesn’t – the sort of respect they should give to each other”, as well as giving training to those staff investigating complaints.

“Whenever there’s some sort of complaint which involves a belief that’s basically pitted against another belief, they [the investigator] have to be completely neutral,” she said. “It’s not on for the investigator to come to it very overtly with their own value judgment.”

The tribunals have made clear that it is not a free-for-all but a balancing exercise. For instance, David Mackereth – an outlier in that he lost his case based on gender-critical beliefs – was found to have crossed the line by misgendering service users at the Department for Work and Pensions, making its decision to dismiss him reasonable.

Calvert-Lee believes the recent increase in cases will ultimately be a blip rather than a growing trend, as workplaces become more aware of the need to handle complaints and concerns more carefully.

The events that led to Meade’s claim came “just weeks before the Forstater employment appeal tribunal decision was given”, she said, and the results of the Forstater and Bailey cases would mean “employers will have training, and so they’re likely to fall off, you’re likely to have fewer cases”.

Lewis said there would always be “bad eggs” but compared the situation to legal cases on manifestations of religious belief at work, such as wearing a cross.

“You have a flurry of cases and people that aren’t lawyers … wonder why those cases go away,” she said. “In a common law system like ours, you have cases that set out some of the principles employment tribunals need to consider and then really good organisations like the CIPD [Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development] take all that reasoning, they give advice and training to employers and then employers are clear about what they need to do, how they should manage this kind of conflict in the workplace.”

She added that the media attention afforded to gender-critical cases perhaps suggested that they were more common than they really were. In fact, she suggested there were likely to be a greater number of claims brought by transgender people alleging harm, though many go unreported.

“The overwhelming majority of employers are not setting out to discriminate; they’re not just thinking ‘well all people with gender-critical views are bad, so we’re just going to get rid of them’,” said Lewis.

“They just have got strong alternative views in the workplace and they haven’t known how to navigate through that conflict.”

[thiziri]

Princess Anne attending Glasgow’s Scottish Interfaith Week Forum at Glasgow City Chambers, on 14 November 2023.

[scotianostra]

On March 3rd 1792, Robert Adam, the Scottish architect, furniture and interior designer, died.

Born in Kirkcaldy, Adam is regarded as one of Europe's great architects. Now I'm not one for visiting Stately homes and the like, give me a castle ruins any day of the week, but Adam designed some of the most admired houses, not only in Scotland, but throughout the British Isles, he didn't just work on buildings, he was also a furniture designer, I have added a couple of his pieces in the pics.

After his death some of his structures were remodeled as tastes and styles changed, some of his best surviving work in Scotland can be seen at Hopetoun House, Register House and The former Royal Exchange, now the City Chambers in Edinburgh, Trades Halls Glasgow and the mock medieval Culzean Castle in Ayrshire. Down south in England my favourite of Adam's work is Pulteney Bridge which crosses the River Avon in Bath Somerset, I lived in Somerset for a few year and loved visiting Bath. Over in Ireland he designed the Templetown Mausoleum in County Antrim, his style was copied extensively and is described as "neo-classical"

Adam was a success in part because he insisted on designing everything himself, down to the tiniest detail. The result is work that has a sense of overall unity, or flow. He moved beyond the Roman classical style, and borrowed heavily from Greek, Byzantine, and Italian Baroque influences.

This obituary appeared in the March 1792 edition of The Gentleman's Magazine:.....

"...... Mr Adam produced a total change in the architecture of this country: and his fertile genius in elegant ornament was not confined to the decoration of buildings, but has been diffused to every branch of manufacture. His talents extend beyond the lie of his own profession: he displayed in his numerous drawings in landscape a luxuriance of composition, and an effect of light and shadow, which have scarcely been equalled...to the last period of his life, Mr Adam displayed an increasing vigour of genius and refinement of taste: for in the space of one year preceding his death, he designed eight great public works, besides twenty five private buildings, so various in their style, and so beautiful in their composition, that they have been allowed by the best judges, sufficient of themselves, to establish his fame unrivalled as an artist."

He left nearly 9,000 drawings, 8,856 of which (by both Robert and James Adam) were subsequently purchased in 1833 for £200 by the architect John Soane and are now at the Soane Museum in London.

The pics are odf Adam and some of the interiors with his designs,

[grandmaster-anne]

15 September 2022 Princess Anne, accompanied by Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, departs City Chambers with flowers gifted by a member of public during a visit to Glasgow, Scotland. Photos by Stuart Wallace

[crownedlegend]

Queen Elizabeth II visit to Scotland. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh with the Lord Provost of Glasgow arrive at the City Chambers in Glasgow in 1953. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

[screampotato]

As I sit eating dorayaki pancakes in Yo Sushi in Glasgow, I feel the need to tell the story of how the square it sits on got its name.

Yo Sushi sits on a corner between West George Street and a funny little square, really just a diversion of the road to pass round St. George's Tron church (Gay Tron, to be specific, but that's a story for another day). These days, the only other things on the square are a few eating places and an Urban Outfitters, but back in the 80s, St. George's Place, as it was called, was a bit more civically significant, being the home of the Glasgow Stock Exchange and the South African Embassy.

I say "civically significant", not "prestigious", because although the UK government in those days was fawning over Apartheid South Africa, up in Glasgow they were a little less popular. This was at the time when Mandela was in prison, and the people who make Glasgow took a rather dim view of the whole situation. Unfortunately, Scotland's opinions have always been slightly less important than the Prime Minister's choice of socks in the eyes of the British Establishment, the opinions of any one area of Scotland even less so, so there was sod all we could do about it.

Or so they thought.

Glasgow City Council thought differently. Local authorities in the UK have no powers whatsoever in international diplomacy, but unchallenged sovereignty in the matter of street names. St. George was probably a stand-up guy, and very useful if you've got dragons to slay, but he already had a church and a Cross in the city, not to mention sharing a name with a much bigger Square and two Streets. He could afford to give up one tiny wiggle in the road to a man trying to slay a much bigger and uglier dragon.

"Yes", the councillors said to themselves "Nelson Mandela Place. That's got a nice ring to it."

The splutterings and chokings at the Embassy, when they were presented with the idea of printing Mandela's name at the top of their fancy notepaper, are sadly not recorded - or if they are, the spies have kept them for their private enjoyment. No doubt Margaret Thatcher had opinions, but the converse of city councils having no voice in Parliament is that the Prime Minister has no voice in the City Chambers. She might drink tea with the monarch, but she doesn't get to name Glasgow streets.

Those days are long past. The dragon was slain. Who knows if those little iron signs nine thousand miles away had any real effect except to send a crumb of encouragement to a man in a jail cell. That it did that is a matter of record - he heard, and it gave him hope. That's all we could send, but we sent it.

All these years later, Nelson Mandela Place keeps its name, a quiet memorial to the power of making a bloody nuisance of yourself when the machinery of state offers you no other levers to pull, and of laughing at those who think they are too powerful to be the butt of the joke.

[maridiayachtclub]

let's try documenting a big Satisfactory project!

so i have this facility called SPINE. it's a multi-function structure with a stupid (but cool) name. pics under the cut because they're big:

it's bad and it could stand to be renovated.

it was one of the first large facilities i built. it was conceived as a centrally located factory that would gather in resources from the surrounding area, use them to manufacture various fundamental parts like iron plates and screws and whatnot, and then funnel them outward to specialized factories. where possible, additional functions could be built within what felt at the time like a roomy interior, and the structure could be extended upward to make more factory space within.

in addition, it was built on legs, making space underneath for three purposes:

allowing tractors and other vehicles to pass through (at the time, i had an automated tractor running stuff back and forth between a few buildings, and anticipated having a fleet of little wheely friends going to and fro)

making space for ceiling-mounted conveyor belts that would not just move materials through the building but provide the means to deliver them up into the building's interior for processing

room for aminals to wander through :)

so, seeing as this was going to be the center of a general stream of many different products needed throughout my growing factory-city, it seemed analogous to a a spinal column. hence, SPINE, or rather, S.P.I.N.E. what do the letters stand for? i figured i'd think of an appropriate combination of words eventually, but i never did. the name nevertheless stuck

SPINE has been doing what i have asked of it for a while now. the inside chambers mostly look like this

anyway, as mentioned, this was made early on, and while i think the concept is sound, the implementation has ultimately proven insufficient. the space underneath ended up being too small for the variety of materials i require to move through, as well as all the necessary branches needed to move things back and forth between the transport space on the bottom and the factory spaces inside. here's what the underside looks like:

seriously it fuckin sucks down here bro

i can't just keep extending the conveyor lines further down from the ceiling; making enough space to move all these materials and move them up into the factory requires all sorts of stupid twisty turny conveyor belt tricks. the backside, where everything funnels in, is absolutely embarrassing. wizard-of-oz-man-behind-the-curtain bullshit. glasgow willy wonka experience-ass levels of fulfillment. slapdash mickey mouse duct tape effort. real "I didn't do my homework and now i gotta make up this presentation live in front of the class and they can see me sweating" energy embodied.

the horrid tangle running through SPINE is complicated by its output, set up so that it delivers things to my central storage barn. things need to leave the facility in a very specific way, like so:

this part, at least, works fine. this massive vein of conveyor belts is a bit ugly but it works very well. i put a lot of time into designing my central storage barn (there were spreadsheets involved) and it paid off. look at this shit, look at how neatly everything gets sorted into easily accessed bins

i love it. the power fantasy of living in an organized environment, realized here in digital form!

unfortunately the clean functionality of this building just draws into stark relief how bad SPINE is. even if I spruced up its exterior, fully finishing the walls and adding fripperies such as signage and doors and lights, its core functionality is insufficient for my needs. SPINE was conceptualized and built far in advance of my understanding of what i would actually need it to do and i can't stand it any longer! no more!

so, i'm planning to tear it all down and replace it with a bigger, better-organized SPINE. in addition to making it look nicer, it could actually be expandable without adding another strand into its already tangled guts. it would give me an opportunity to incorporate the functions of numerous smaller satellite facilities, cleaning up the surrounding landscape a bit and making room for other factories i know i will have to build in time. it would, potentially, allow me to incorporate a train station or two, so products could be picked up or delivered as needed... not something i need at this time, but even if i never do, having the capability of entertaining visiting trains is a worthy goal in itself.

anyway i haven't started on that yet. SPINE 2.0 is still in the planning stages, and i'm leaving on a trip in a day or so so i'm not gonna be able to start on this project in earnest for at least a week.

i might keep documenting the project here for funsies. i love Satisfactory; it's a perfect vehicle for one of my favorite things to do in a game: turning nothing into places. if you're in a video game and you see a bunch of hills and trees and rivers and piles of iron ore and other natural features, it doesn't really mean much on its own, but spend enough time there and you grow accustomed to it. you put together a mental map, figure out whatever routes you're going to be taking through it, learn how to navigate it quickly and efficiently, and soon that random bit of wilderness is a place. the rocks you have to navigate around and the rivers you have to jump over become familiar sights. and if it's a building kinda game, and you're populating this unsullied wilderness with the mortal profanity of civilization, that place is even more place-y than before. i very much like the places i have built in Satisfactory, so regardless of how this is received, it's fun to talk about it, get some of my internal thoughts on this project down in a format that can last. at least until tumblr shutters its doors and gets sold to some venture capitalist vultures in 2026

[bornatnightt]

PROMPT 007: [redacted]!

Strangers in a bar was not a romantic notion for Jesse. Happened too often for it to be. And yet... Him.

Oxford. Bored out of his mind, skipping classes, picking fights with the posh englishmen who would twist their noses at him then ask to fuck.

He was badmouthing england to some guy over beers when he caught his eye, serving drinks while holding back a laugh.

Omari Achebe was many things. Stunning, charming, intelligent. A breath of fresh air in the echo chamber of priviledged entitlement. For him though, Jesse was just another Oxford boy, no matter how offensive he found the notion.

Omari didn't care for his charm, paid no mind to the allure of mystery. He was a man in a time Jesse felt like just a boy still. He wanted the real him, no fantasy, no pretty lies. No rush, no games, slow and honest and everything Jesse was afraid of.

And he'd thought he'd never fall in love...

Soon he spent more time in the pub than in class, half-truths sipped away over the good stuff Omari hid. Invitations to spend the night, songs sung in the dark of night, kissing him like he wanted to drink him whole. Was it religion he found, looking deeply into his all seeing eyes?

He found Omari was stuck just as much as Jesse felt. Bound to his father's pub, living a life not his own. It was easy then, to leave it behind. Move to Scotland with him, open up their own pub in Glasgow.

Jesse would sing in the evenings, drawing in clients with an easy grin and a little flirting while Omari kept the drinks coming. Their nights were lively, filled with song and laughter and drinks, kissing in clubs on nights out and then going back home. Climbing the backstairs from the pub they built to the comfort of the only true home he'd ever had; to the only person that truly knew him.

Being known, naked under the light of someone's gaze, didn't seem so bad when it was Omari's. Perhaps that is why he accepted the necklace, as a gift, as a promise. Perhaps the only way he could take it. It hung around his neck, always close to his heart.

Engaged, Omari said. Married to everyone who cared to look, just a silent grin when anyone asked Jesse.

He had always been unruly though; wandering mind and restless heart. Too close and he felt the draw of the night, the need to get away, never satisfied, never happy, always needing. Closeness, distance.

Close off and slip away.

The drinks kept coming, the men kept flirting and the nights never ended (he never wanted them to). The fights were just a good excuse. Disappointment hurt a lot more when it came from someone who thought the world of you.

It was better to leave than be left (right?). Everything ends Jesse his father sometimes said, he was ruining it already, better wrap it up before love turned to hate.

Jesse kept the night, kept the wandering hands and feet and mind, he kept himself. Omari kept the city, the pub, his heart.

Jesse lost everything. Everything but the bitter memory of a promise he made, the necklace he wore.

It was all too easy to take the call, answer to the song and leave it all behind. He had never bothered to put down roots that would need ripping out. Who would truly miss him? (Friends? Lovers? Marks who would swear he was the love of their lives?) He left it all behind, wandering again from one place to the next with just smoke from his cigarette as a reminder left behind.

It would be fine, as long as he didn't look back, as long as he didn't let the memories swallow him, as long as he didn't remember what the stone still hanging from his neck meant. As long as he didn't shine a light through the cracks he left in his wake... As long as he kept his eyes forward, it would be okay.

Jesse came to camp with no intention of finding a new home. He had no idea of everything he would still lose. What he might have left to ruin...

[theweeowlart]

Last night at the City Halls Glasgow, with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Baroque Inspirations with their incredibly exciting young conductor Maxim Emelyanychev, long may he reign. A program of baroque and music inspired by the baroque period, concert kicked off with Vaughan Williams' stunningly beautiful Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis.

A busy hall and lovely to see a young audience. I don't know what's bringing young people back to classical music but I'm so happy to see it. Maybe it's the effect Maxim has!

A great night and much needed. Recently we have been in a better place, things were very tough for a few years, personally and financially, but we are beginning to feel more like us again. I hope everything can stay like this for a while. Everyone needs to just leave us alone now! *fingers crossed

[royalpain16]

Queen Elizabeth II in 1953

City Chambers in Glasgow during a Coronation Tour of Scotland. Next to her is the Lord Provost of Glasgow, Thomas Kerr

[aimeedaisies]

“Had the absolute honour and privilege to have been asked to compose a piece and play it for HRH the princess royal last week. The nerves were definitely present! 😅 📸~ Craig Watson”

- Ruiridh Mackay

Princess Anne, as Patron of the Royal Celtic Society, attending a Reception at Glasgow City Chambers on 14th November 2023.