The Gallery: Can you tell what it is yet?

Date: 14 July 2010 09:00:30

For this week's Gallery (week 19), hosted as ever by Tara at Sticky Fingers, the theme is the legendary Rolf Harris-inspired catchphrase Can you tell what it is yet? This photo isn't actually that difficult, but I enjoyed getting close up (and actually this is a much better picture than any of my pictures from a distance). Can you tell what it is yet?

I think the most surprising thing for me with this picture is how flimsy it looks. In case you can't tell yet, it is a block of flats in the process of demolition. A lot of Glasgow's high rises have been demolished already (I think the aim is to get rid of the majority of them and replace them with better housing). A couple of years ago I watched Stirlingfauld Place being demolished (flickr set here), and must admit that seeing the huge blocks levelled in just a few seconds was really quite a sight. I remember at the time musing on the idea of home, and how many memories those levelled walls must hold, if only they could talk. The flats in these photos are not far from where I work (I can see them from the entrance way to my office), near to Ibrox football stadium, and rather than being filled with dynamite and then blown up in a few seconds, these are being taken down bit by bit. I suspect this is because they are so close to the M77 motorway and a railway line (not to mention a petrol station) that blowing them up probably wouldn't be a very good idea. There were originally three blocks, one is now no more, and this picture is from the second which is about half-way taken down now. They are such big old solid looking things that it was quite a surprise to me looking at this picture how flimsy and thin the walls and floors look - it almost looks like it was made of cardboard. It's quite sobering to think that these funny cubicles were real homes, and how despite the many social problems associated with these high rises, for many people they were a step up and represented a real community. I wonder what tales this building could tell.

I've added a couple of pictures below to show a wider view.