• Gate on steps at east end: all Owners will be asked Seen from across the Kelvin (TB) to approve the addition of a gate at the top of the steps, subject to planning approval. • Incomplete and defective works: both David Wilson Homes and NHBC have been slow in responding to requests for action. NPM are pursuing this matter. NEWS • AGM: because of ongoing COVID restrictions, it is currently planned to hold the AGM on 1 October 2021. OF THE BOTANICS March-April 2021 MEET A NEIGHBOUR Andrew Stenson and his wife Audrey moved to the

Botanics in September 2017 NEWS is made available, via emails and the publicly- after spending 27 years in accessible part of the Botanics website to residents of The Botanics, on behalf of The Botanics Owners’ Committee. nearby . He Views expressed are not necessarily those of the wasn’t particularly interested Committee. in moving, but when walking Editors: Les Brown & Heidi Catto-Breslin (photo: TB). their dog along the Kelvin, he would often look across to

the construction site thinking CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL (6) that the best plot of the When we headed our May-June 2020 issue: development by far would be the top flat facing the "Coronavirus Special (5)", we didn't expect to be Kelvin in the 3rd block. Months later, when the using that heading a year later. We ken the noo. Botanics had almost sold out, Audrey persuaded The senior citizens among us will mostly have Andrew to attend a viewing of a flat. During that visit received their first jags by now, and some they were informed that another flat had come back optimism is justified, if vaccinations and basic on the market - did they wish to see it? And yes, you’ve guessed it - it was the top floor river-facing flat precautions continue. Let's hope that we won't get at no. 7! And when the next door neighbour told them to Coronavirus Special (7) or more. Stay safe, (during their chat on the balcony) to “just buy it!”, they neighbours, and walk happily (see page 3). paid their deposit there and then, and the rest is Stenson family history! Andrew was brought up in Leven, Fife. He spent nine COMMITTEE NEWS years studying and working in Edinburgh, where he A quick read of the highlights of the latest met Audrey. They moved to in 1988, just Zoom meeting, on 23rd February 2021 before the city’s Garden Festival and its turn (in 1990) as European City of Culture - a fabulous introduction (the Minutes are now distributed directly to Owners, to the delights that Glasgow had to offer: they were and can also be read in full on The Botanics website) won over by Glasgow’s charm offensive! • Landscape enhancement: Owners will be asked to Andrew had studied design and worked in consultancy approve expenditure on a new box hedge around the before joining a fashion retailer as a store designer & grassed area at the vehicular entrance to the project manager. During his 25 years in retail project Gardens. The main reason for this is to discourage management, Andrew opened stores in the UK from dog fouling. Penzance to Lerwick, and in the Middle East, Europe, • Bike-stores: Owners of apartments should use only Libya, Pakistan and China. an equitable share of the space (this varies from block Andrew has always had a passion for art. He regularly to block), and no flammable, combustible or attends life drawing classes throughout Glasgow. He hazardous materials should be stored. Owners at 1 & has exhibited at the Paisley Art Institute Annual 3 Hamilton Gardens will also asked if they want a Exhibition and is involved with open studio events in combination lock added to their bike-store door. Fife, so he and Audrey split their time between there • Window cleaning: Newton Property Management and the Botanics. (NPM) are exploring the possible use of cherry-pickers Cycling is Andrew’s other passion. He participated in a to carry out an occasional 'deep clean' of the coast-to-coast charity cycle across Mexico, followed problematic river-facing window-walls. by Land's End to John O’Groats the following year, • Green algae on brickwork: apartment Owners both times for MacMillan Cancer Support. He has will be asked to approve work to remove, possibly been nominated “Individual Fundraiser of the Year", 6-monthly, the unsightly bloom. and presented with an award at the House of Lords. 1

He continues to cycle around Glasgow with neighbours, with There were at least two paper mills on the river at Dalsholm a common theme of restaurant stops. and Kelvindale. Paper-mill effluent fermented in its passage Recently, he cycled the 355-mile Caledonia Way with down-river, absorbing oxygen, making a foul smell, and neighbours Jack and Gordon (as reported in the NEWS, Nov- rendering the river inhospitable to fish and other marine life. Dec 2020), and has big plans for future trips (post-Covid, of There were at least two, probably more, calico printing works. course). In both of these, filtered water would have been used to The Botanics has been the perfect fit for Andrew and Audrey, prepare cloth for printing and washing out excess dyestuffs, being at the heart of the West End, and yet tucked away just fixing solutions and bleaching agents. The contaminated enough to allow them to enjoy the tranquillity of the Kelvin, water would have been returned to the river. Other pollutants close to their balcony. They both enjoyed meeting new came from the North Woodside Flint Mill which used river neighbours who quickly became close friends, with whom water in the flint grinding process. they look forward to a time - It is in the nature of rivers that they were hopefully soon - when they can until comparatively recent years used to socialise again together on the dispose of human and animal waste, viewing platform, chilled beers in and for surface-water drainage. The use hand. HC-B of the ‘Snow Bridge’ (the first turnpike road bridge at ) to dispose of THE RIVER KELVIN snow from the streets, contaminated with horse waste, is an example of such The River Kelvin is not a large a practice. In the tidal section of the stream except in times of spate, but river, below the first Partick Bridge, it is the largest tributary of the Clyde drainage from the village would have in the vicinity of Glasgow, and it was been supplemented by tidal influx of for many centuries a significant both industrial waste and sewage from location for water-powered and Glasgow, and from vessels using the water-using industries. The Kelvin river. rises in the neighbourhood of After the various polluting sites were Kilsyth, and flows west and then closed in the 1960s and 1970s, the river south, entering the Clyde opposite was gradually cleaned up although . Like most of , there is some indication that there are before the 16th century, travel by remaining contaminants in the river-bed water was preferred to travel by at some locations. (The author land if at all possible. River Kelvin, February 2021 photo: IS acknowledges use of material from the The Kelvin has probably been used Kelvin Biodiversity Network). DMcK for water-borne communication between the Clyde and the upper reaches of the river in prehistoric and early-historic times. But in the last 400-500 GOURMETS, years or so it was an effective power source for water-mills, Gastronomes, epicures, connoisseurs of haut cuisine! using artificial weirs. Another use of the waters of the Kelvin Breaking news for you: John MacLeod, the genius behind was to feed the summit level of the Forth and Clyde Canal uber-smart eatery Crabbshakk in , intends to open after its construction commenced in 1768. Subsequently, it a new place on Vinicombe Street, along from Nando's. Woop! was also used for steam engines, and in paper-making and calico printing. And, regrettably, for the disposal of liquid LOCKDOWN READING #6 waste, including that from people and animals. Despite growing levels of pollution in the 18th and 19th centuries, the In The Midst Of Winter section of the river from Kelvindale to Kelvingrove was much by Isabel Allende appreciated for its scenic beauty. In the lower, tidal, section of Amid the biggest Brooklyn the river, at Partick, it was used for shipbuilding and ship- snowstorm in living memory, an repair, from the 1840s to the 1960s. There was even, for a unexpected friendship time in the 19th century, a rowing-boat ferry across the mouth blossoms between three people of the Kelvin. thrown together by Over the centuries, the most important use of the river for circumstance. A lonely university power was for grain milling. The oldest mills date from the professor in his sixties hits the car 1560s. The Regent Mills were acquired in 1910 by the driven by a young, undocumented Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society, and continued to migrant from Guatemala. But what make their ‘Lofty Peak’ flour until about 1960. In the 18th at first seems an inconvenience takes an unforeseen and century, there was also a snuff mill, in which the stalks of darker turn when the migrant comes to him and his tobacco leaves were ground to make the fine powder that is neighbour desperately seeking help. Sweeping from present- the basis of snuff. The last user of Kelvin water for power was day Brooklyn to Guatemala to turbulent 1970s Chile and the North Woodside Mills, rebuilt in 1846 as a flint grinding Brazil, and woven with Isabel Allende's trademark humanity, mill until it closed around 1960. Remains of mills and weirs passion and storytelling verve, In the Midst of Winter is a survive. The most complete are the weirs for Kelvindale mesmerising story focussing on the horrors of people- Paper Mills at , and for the North Woodside Mills, trafficking, modern day slavery and much more. A gripping below the Queen Margaret Drive road bridge close to the read, just the ticket for a dark winter's afternoon! HC-B Botanics. 2

Lockdown exercise walks from the Ian McLaren adds this option: Botanics Some ideas. This has to be one of my favourite walks as it is not too far away and is usually pretty quiet, particularly once 1. River Kelvin (a) eastwards; surely, everyone who you reach the canal. Apart from the beautiful walk there lives in the West End does this, regularly? That's is an abundance of wildlife on route including foxes, why it's so crowded these days. But it's the goosanders, cormorants, moorhens, swans and herons. pleasantest way to get to Walk 2, glancing up I even spotted my very first kingfisher and have seen it admiringly at our buildings en route. twice now. Once you reach the canal at lock 25 in (b) westwards: slightly less busy, it takes you Maryhill, turn right onto the pathway and keep on through a well-populated area without needing to walking until you reach the canal works at Stockingfield engage with it, because you're at a lower level on Bridge. Take the steps down to the road and take a left the riverside walk. Some interesting bridges on the through the archway. Then cross the road and continue way. The path crosses with the Canal (Walk 3), and up to re-join the canal. Follow the pathway along the you can return that way, or continue through the canal for as long as you like. This is where you should ragged edge of the city and into countryside, if see most of the wildlife. you're feeling fit. As an alternative, for a 2. Kelvingrove Park: take Walk slightly shorter walk, try 1(a), then, after going under walking to Dawsholm the magnificent bridge at Great park. This starts in a Western Road you're into similar way, but rather Glasgow's most popular park, than going up to join the with many paths and gardens, canal pathway, just keep pool, sculptures and a fountain. walking along the Kelvin In better times, there's the Walkway until you reach Museum and Art Gallery too, a small stone pedestrian and assorted cafes, but let's bridge over the river. not delve into the currently Once across, follow the contour of the pathway looking unattainable here.... down at the river and up the steep stairs, circling back 3. Forth & Clyde canal (a) eastwards; it's a bit of a on the pathway once you reach the steps down from the fankle to get to the canal. Take Queen Margaret viewpoint. If you make your way to the centre of the Drive to Maryhill Road, turning right there and park, close to the duck pond you may spot the family of crossing over at the lights. Walk for about 100m and parakeets that are currently residing there. turn left when you see a path winding up from the

road towards a footbridge (to Uni Halls of 4. Park Circus: if you haven't been, you'll enjoy this Residence). Don't take the bridge, turn right and elegant area, mounted on one of the city's many follow the towpath as it twists and turns, providing moraines (post ice-age hillocks) giving good views in long views across the city, and a peep into Firhill most directions. It's where posh folk lived for nearly Park, the home of Partick Thistle FC. You end up 100 years, until after WW2, when dwellings became across the canal from the impressive bulk of Speirs offices. In recent years, the process has reversed, Wharf, a 19th-century multi-storey warehouse that is though the old houses/offices are more likely now to now home to flats and offices. Check out the newish be split into flats. They're still posh, though. deep lock and canal basin at the end of this vestige 5. Great Western Road: if you don't know the work of of what was the Monklands Canal - the rest was architect Alexander "Greek" Thomson (1817-75), removed to make way for the M8. you have treats in store, not least being his (b) westwards: turn left instead of right when you magisterial Greek-revival houses facing, but back join the canal at Maryhill Road. Follow the towpath from, Great Western Road. opposite Julian Avenue. through a mixture of housing, light industry past and It's not far: to get there, turn right on to GWR at the present (Bryant & May matches were made in one of Byres Road lights, and walk about 300m along the the old buildings), and occasional snatches of what path that starts in front of the Hilton Grosvenor could almost be countryside. Before long you reach Hotel. When you reach the Thomson building, you the impressive five flights of Maryhill Locks (built have to climb some steps to the carriageway (the 1790), then the canal crosses the River Kelvin on a best way to describe it) in front. Enjoy the robust aqueduct (built 1787). Keep walking and architecture. Then walk into couthy (the you'll reach , then Clydebank, finally tenement flats there look like any other, but they are Bowling, where the canal connects with the River HUGE) via Hyndland Road, plunge down Gardner Clyde. For many years there was vigorous trade Street, Glasgow's steepest, to Dumbarton Road, from here into the city. Raw materials came in from Partick before turning left and left again into Byres around the world, and manufactured goods went Road and homeward. out. It's more than a walk, it's a history lesson. 3

6. Park: take Queen Margaret Drive to Maryhill Chicken, Mascarpone & Mushroom Gratin Road, cross over to Bilsland Drive, follow the road We can't eat out just now, so here's something very tasty to eat as it ducks under the canal bridge (aqueduct), and IN! (thanks to David McKenzie) turn into the park at the next corner. The park is Ingredients (to serve 4) surprisingly large, well-wooded, with plenty of paths 1 medium ready-to-eat roast chicken winding through. A large artificial mound, topped by 1 x 250g tub mascarpone soft cheese a flagpole (which many of us can see from our north- 225g dark-gilled mushrooms, finely sliced facing windows) provides views across the city, and 50g butter to Ben Lomond and the Campsie Hills. 2 leeks (275 – 350g), trimmed and thickly sliced 7. Partickhill features pleasant late Victorian streets of Grating of nutmeg 50g white bread, crusts removed houses and tenements for the well-to-do. Walk there Zest of 1 lemon via Byres Road, Highburgh Road and Partickhill 1 clove garlic, peeled Road. Afterwards, stroll back home through similarly 1 heaped tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped affluent tree-lined streets in , on the north 1 x 300g tub mushroom sauce side of Highburgh Road. A little sherry (optional) 8. Glasgow Uni: it's a shame that you can't now visit Salt and freshly milled black pepper any of the buildings - the Hunterian Museum, Undercroft, Wellington Church, Mackintosh House and Hunterian Gallery etc., but the huge campus takes in many interesting streets that are worth wandering, and you can peek at the huge new buildings coming up between University Avenue and Dumbarton Road 9. Partick Farmer's Market: 13 & 27 March, 10 & 24 April. Go down Byres Road and turn right. at the end. The Markets are held in Mansfield Park, on the right side of Dumbarton Road. Return via Hyndland Street, noting William Leiper's elegant church (now Cottier's Theatre) at the top of the hill before you reach Highburgh Road

(apologies to long-term Glasgow residents, for whom the above is the equivalent of teaching one's granny to suck eggs -why would anyone do that, I wonder? Please send Method: corrections and suggestions to me via the website, and we'll • You need a dish, measuring approx. 20cm across the base return to this topic in the next NEWS) by 6cm deep to hold a volume of 1.75 litres. Lightly buttered • Preheat oven to 190°C. Remove all the chicken flesh from the carcass and tear into pieces about 5 cm. long. Put them into the dish. • Melt half the butter in a frying pan and sauté the mushrooms the only walk I'm until golden. Remove them to a plate and allow to cool. Add interested in now is to a the rest of the butter to the pan and sauté the leeks for about pub that's open! 5 minutes until they have softened and are tinged golden brown. Remove from the pan and allow to cool. Then add the

LB mushrooms and the leeks to the dish, covering the chicken in an even layer. Season well with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

• For the topping, place the bread, lemon zest, garlic and Down Memory Lane: in our very first NEWS, Nov-Dec 2018, parsley in a food processor and whiz in short bursts until Maggie Cairns (1HG) wrote a splendid, detailed account of a mixed. Next tip the mushroom sauce and mascarpone into a 4-mile circular walk from Hamilton Gardens, inspiring this bowl and whisk them together (you can add a slug of sherry current feature. If you haven't lovingly filed your copy, you can at this point if you are feeling wanton), pour the sauce over see it online, on the Botanics website. the chicken and vegetables and finish off by sprinkling the herby breadcrumbs on top. PS: Keen walkers (and cyclists) will no doubt be aware • Bake, uncovered, for 40 – 45 minutes until it is heated of the various Apps available to assist them find and plot through and the top is crunchy. Serve with brown rice, roasted cherry tomatoes and a fresh green vegetable. new routes. One of the best is the free UK-designed route-planning App Plotaroute. It allows you to view walks that other people have plotted, and add routes Want to comment on any of this edition? that you find interesting. You can do all this on your Please contact the Editors or the Committee phone, and receive information on distance covered, via the Website: timings etc., plus photos and loads more. LB www.botanicsowners.org

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