![July 6th: Freshers' Ball [Party Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3305/3550043851_96b6c6f26b_s.jpg)
![July 7th: Ceilidh [Party Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3657/3550082601_b4d1b9dcbd_s.jpg)
![July 8th: Revolution at Qudos [Party Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3367/3550969112_8149601155_s.jpg)
![July 9th: Daft Friday [Party Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3619/3550061093_ea1fb35957_s.jpg)
![July 10th: Cheesy Pop [Party Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3369/3550163951_a16ddf8206_s.jpg)
![July 11th: Chicane at Daft Friday [Party Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3626/3560468765_7279248a5d_s.jpg)
![July 12th: School Disco at The Hive [Party Week]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2458/3550046253_28c8c2682a_s.jpg)
![July 20th: The Hunterian Museum [Museum Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3568/3550927126_20c9285ed4_s.jpg)
![July 21st: The Skull of Robert the Bruce [Museum Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3354/3550119981_818512513c_s.jpg)
![July 23rd: Cross-Section of a Human Brain [Museum Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3615/3550929406_d6dcfdfb28_s.jpg)
![July 24th: Mesolite Crystals on Basalt [Museum Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3066/3577170315_f8079a9f4f_s.jpg)
![July 25th: Deformed Boar Thingamabob [Museum Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3633/3550936492_195dfaa12a_s.jpg)
![July 26th: Hunterian Zoology Museum [Museum Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3316/3550941504_bc0b0e8cda_s.jpg)
Windows and Clouds
Friday, and let’s kick off the shoes and relax a bit. What building on campus do you think this cloudy reflection is from? Give it a go in the comments below.
Give up? Here’s the answer.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
A Window at the Glasgow University Union
If you look closely, you’ll notice three names on the window above: Bishop Turnbull, James II, and Lord Hamilton, along with a year that joins these three individuals, 1451.
The year 1451 was the year the University of Glasgow was founded, in large by these three individuals. King James II suggested the founding of a second University in Scotland some 40 years after the founding of St Andrews. William Turnbull, the Bishop of Glasgow from 1448 to 1454, worked with King James II to found the University in the Glasgow Cathedral buildings, becoming the University’s first Chancellor between 1451 and his death in 1454. Sir James Hamilton, the 1st Baron Hamilton, was instrumental in the early survival and expansion of the University by gifting a tenement of buildings and some ground to the University in an area that remained the site of the main campus until its move to the West End in 1870.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Fraser Building and Glasgow University Library
The structures on campus which were built in the late 1880s preferred a Neo-Gothic, spirery* look to the buildings, with ornate decorations on all sides.
In the 1950s and 1960s the (unfortunately) preferred look to the buildings was a brutalist use of concrete and brick.
Towards the end of the century and into the next, glass, an aesthetically pleasing material, has thankfully become predominant around the Glasgow University campus.
Pictured here, in shades of blue and green, are the new Fraser Building which opened for students halfway between the 2008/2009 academic year, and the building in the back is the University Library, which hit quite a few branches of the ugly tree on it’s way down, but was mercifully saved from absolute ridicule by having one side be largely made out of glass.
[*spirery -adjective. to possess several spires, typically on the top corners of buildings. Yeah, I made it up.]
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
100th Anniversary of the First Powered Flight in Scotland
Today, July 28th 2009, marks the 100th Anniversary of the first powered flight in Scotland, by Frank and Harold Barnwell. Frank Barnwell graduated from Glasgow University in 1905 with a BSc in Naval Architecture and Engineering. Although it was Harold (not related to Glasgow University) who actually flew the biplane 80 yards in 1909, let’s give Frank half the credit and call this a University of Glasgow achievement, ok?
This one caught me off guard and I figured it’s important enough to change my preplanned posting order, but, unfortunately I don’t have a single photograph related to Glasgow University and Flight/Planes/Frank Barnwell/etc in my archives, so I decided to mix two similar subjects in one.
So, um, why the Moon?
Well, yeah, I used a photo of the Moon, as it’s the only celestial or flight related object around the University that I had a photo of, but it is related to Glasgow University as the ornament in the way is the top part of one of the spires of the Main Building of the University.
The link between the Moon and Glasgow University is calendar-wise July 20th 1969, the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon (which was last week), and a 2006 project at Glasgow University to study the maths and feasibility of using a kind of a slingshot to fling materials and supplies to the Moon. No, seriously.
You can read the entire press release about this 100th anniversary of the first powered flight in Scotland from the Glasgow University website.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
University Tower Reflected on the Wolfson Medical School Building
This week I’ll try to focus on windows and reflections to contrast the numerous old and new brick and concrete buildings. The abundance of glass around the campus on the buildings is a welcome contrast to the 19th century neo-gothic architecture and the 1960′s brutalist concrete buildings like the Boyd Orr Building, visible just to the right side there.
A few things to note about this photo. First, this was taken on September 22nd 2008, on my way to the very first lecture of my academic career at the University of Glasgow (Sociology, Anthropology and Applied Sciences 1A, in the Joseph Black Building). Secondly, the University Tower is reflected on the side of the Wolfson Medical School Building. Running across this photo in my archives I noticed that I haven’t attempted at playing with taking photos of reflections and whatnot with this building at all, besides this building.
Note to self: Take camera to Wolfson Medical School Building, play with reflections, attempt to get some great shots.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Hunterian Zoology Museum [Museum Week]
Stepping out of the Main Building and the main Hunterian Museum, we have the Graham Kerr Building close by. Sir John Graham Kerr was named Regius Professor of Natural History at the University of Glasgow in 1902. This title was renamed Regius Professor of Zoology the following year.
The Zoology wing of the Hunterian Museum is located within the Graham Kerr Building, which is open to the public. In addition, the students of Zoology use the museum space for research and teaching, as well as independent study, as you can tell by the photo (taken a few weeks before spring exams last academic year).
More information on the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery can be found at http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/, as well as its supplementary Facebook Page, Flickr Group, and on Twitter.
This post is a part of Museum Week (July 20th – 26th)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Deformed Boar Thingamabob [Museum Week]
Or, according to the part of the base which is visible in the photo, its a [Something] Asymmetrus Pig. Although the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery is composed of William Hunter’s extensive book and coin collections, among much much more, he was first and foremost an anatomist, which leads to some, frankly, interesting specimens in the collections, such as the pig above with 4 legs, 3 arms, 2 tails, and a head. The collections also include conjoined deer twins, a fetus in a uterus preserved in vinegar or such, and other interests to tweak your curiosity or churn your stomach.
More information on the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery can be found at http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/, as well as its supplementary Facebook Page, Flickr Group, and on Twitter.
This post is a part of Museum Week (July 20th – 26th)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Mesolite Crystals on Basalt [Museum Week]
![Mesolite Crystals on Basalt [Museum Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3066/3577170315_f8079a9f4f.jpg)
Amongst the collections of the Hunterian Museum at Glasgow University, next to the dinosaur bones, fossils, buddha statues and egyptian artefacts, lies a collection of geological wonders and other specimens, such as this piece of mesolite with a “radiating spray of terminated crystals” on basalt, all the way from Bombay, India.
More information on the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery can be found at http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/, as well as its supplementary Facebook Page, Flickr Group, and on Twitter.
This post is a part of Museum Week (July 20th – 26th)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Cross-Section of a Human Brain [Museum Week]
SECTION 1″ POSTERIOR TO THE AURICULO-BREGMATIC PLANE.
That’s about as much as information I can give you on the above photo. If anyone wishes to fill me in on more information about this cross-section of a brain, do so in the comments.
The above is from the anatomical collections of the Hunterian Museum, usually hidden away from public in the Anatomy Museum in the Thompson Building, usually only admissable to students of anatomy for teaching and research. Now worries, there is now a permanent exhibition at the main Hunterian Museum called ‘A Healing Passion: Medicine in Glasgow Past and Present’ which incorporates items from the Anatomy Museum.
More information on the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery can be found at http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/, as well as its supplementary Facebook Page, Flickr Group, and on Twitter.
This post is a part of Museum Week (July 20th – 26th)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
World’s Smallest Dinosaur Footprint [Museum Week]
Can you see it?
This is the world’s smallest dinosaur footprint and has been officially recognized by the book of Guinness World Records in 2006. The Hunterian’s curator of fossils discovered it by chance in 2005 while examining a larger footprint on the surface of the same rock. The smaller one was found between its toes. The dinosaur that made this tiny footprint was no bigger that a blackbird. The footprint is from the Middle Jurassic Period (170 million years old).
The fossilized footprint, the bigger one which is about 10cm long, was found in Trotternish, Isle of Skye, Scotland. The smaller footprint, within the larger one, is a mere 1.78cm long.
So, assuming you can’t see it in the pic above, you can find a few better shots, showing the tiny tiny footprint in the Hunterian Collections Catalogue at http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk. (The link directs you to the tiny footprint page.)
More information on the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery can be found at http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/, as well as its supplementary Facebook Page, Flickr Group, and on Twitter.
This post is a part of Museum Week (July 20th – 26th)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
The Skull of Robert the Bruce [Museum Week]
![The Skull of Robert the Bruce [Museum Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3354/3550119981_818512513c.jpg)
The skull above is the skull of Robert the Bruce, otherwise known as Robert I, King of the Scots (reigned 1306-1329).
Well, kinda.
It’s actually a plaster cast of the skull of Robert the Bruce, which sits on display in the Hunterian Museum, in the Main Building of the University of Glasgow. His actual skull, along with his body, lies in the Dunfermline Abbey in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. His heart, on the other hand, is buried at Melrose Abbey, encased in lead.
The Hunterian Museum is a public museum (Scotland’s oldest), and as such is open to the public and admission is free in the main Hunterian Museum, the Art Gallery, and the Zoology Museum. The Mackintosh House has a £3/£2 entrance fee, although it is free for students and staff of the University. The Anatomy Museum is open only by appointment, although I’ve heard that there are times when it is freely open to students and staff.
Photography is actually permitted in certain areas of the main Hunterian Museum and the Zoology Museum, although one must ask a member of staff before taking any photos and the use of a tripod or flash are not permitted in any circumstances. The Art Gallery, the Mackintosh House, and the Anatomy Museum only grant permission to photograph in exceptional circumstances and permission must be sought in advance and in writing.
You reckon that maintaining a photo blog about the University of Glasgow would be considered an exceptional circumstance? =)
More information on the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery can be found at http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/, as well as its supplementary Facebook Page, Flickr Group, and on Twitter.
This post is a part of Museum Week (July 20th – 26th)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery [Museum Week]
![The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery [Museum Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3568/3550927126_20c9285ed4.jpg)
The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, Scotland’s oldest public museum, first opened its doors in 1807 as a part of the University of Glasgow. Borrowing from a paragraph in Wikipedia:
In 1783 William Hunter bequeathed his substantial and varied collections to the University of Glasgow. (Hunter, writing to Dr William Cullen) They were ‘to be well and carefully packed up and safely conveyed to Glasgow and delivered to the Principal and Faculty of the College of Glasgow to whom I give and bequeath the same to be kept and preserved by them and their successors for ever…. in such sort, way, manner and form as …. shall seem most fit and most conducive to the improvement of the students of the said University of Glasgow.’ [Wikipedia]
The Hunterian Museum initially opened in a purpose-built facility in Glasgow’s High Street, where the University was situated at the time, moving with it to Gilmorehill in the late 1800s. Today, the collections of the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery (which have grown over the years) have been split and scattered around the campus of the University. The main part of the Hunterian Museum is located in the large halls of the Gilbert Scott Building (the Main Building), as seen above in the photo. The rest of the collections have been divided into the Zoology Museum (Graham Kerr Building), the Hunterian Art Gallery, and the Mackintosh House, with some parts of the collection housed in the University Library and in the Anatomy Museum in the Thompson Building.
Oh, and the statue taking up almost a third of this photo? That’ll be of James Watt (1736-1819), from 1830.
More information on the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery can be found at http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/, as well as its supplementary Facebook Page, Flickr Group, and on Twitter.
This post is a part of Museum Week (July 20th – 26th)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
The University at Night
The area just outside the Library and the Fraser Building is a fantastic place to spend a few minutes, just sitting around on a nice (not rainy) evening, appreciating the view. The benches are always full of students when the sun comes out, but come nightfall, the only people you’ll find here are some students having a smoke break from their library sessions, or me crouched in a corner taking photographs. I have once witnessed someone taking a nap on one of the dissection table benches, at 1am! The rain that fell soon afterwards woke him up. (Probably sobered him up a bit as well.)
Tomorrow will kick off another Theme Week as we dive into some of the museums around Glasgow University.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Joseph Black M.D.
This large plaque, the Joseph Black Memorial Tablet from 1953, which sits on the northern wall of the Joseph Black Building, on University Place, reads:
Pioneer of Modern Chemistry, he was Lecturer in Chemistry 1756-1566, Professor of Anatomy and Botany 1756-1757, Professor of Practice of Medicine 1757-1766 in this University.
Joseph Black is known for his discoveries of latent heat, specific heat, and the discovery of carbon dioxide (CO2). His most important works are associated with the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, which have both named their Chemistry buildings after him.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
At Least This Is Not The English Language Department
As the title says, at least this wasn’t on the wall of the English Language Department. No, mercifully this was inside the Wolfson Medical School Building, a part of an art installation of little paintings.
I said was because the mistake has been fixed and the doctors of tomorrow are now saved from the humiliation.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
A Bend In The Avenue
Sometimes a shot or series of shots just doesn’t work in the way you intended, but regardless ends up as an interesting result.
The above panorama is shot from the corner of Kelvin Way and University Avenue, with most of the University campus sitting up the road to the left. The two other buildings most visible in the panorama are the Glasgow University Union in the middle, and Gilmorehill Centre on the right. That church looking building. Yeah, the church without a spire. It’s actually a part of the University and houses the Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Round Reading Room
The Round Reading Room was built in 1939 and sits on the north side of University Avenue, directly across from the Memorial Gate and the North Front of the Main Building. The building is now a Category A listed building and contains a large array of computers for student use inside it.
Finally, a little feature I’ll call What If?. What if things were different? What if different plans had been undertaken during the expansions of the University’s Gilmorehill campus?
The Reading Room was meant to be the centrepiece of a new quadrangle on the north side of University Avenue. The quadrangle was supposed to incorporate a simple clocktower and was to house the new library. As you can tell, the quadrangle was never built.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Stained-Glass Windows at the Glasgow University Chapel
The Glasgow University Chapel, also known as the War Memorial Chapel, was built in 1929 as a memorial to the 755 members of staff, students and others associated with the University of Glasgow who were killed in the First World War.
The stained glass windows above, known as the Benedicite Window, were installed in 1962, and can also be seen from the West Quadrangle of the Main Building. Below them sits a statue of, you guessed it, St Mungo.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Miller, the Adam Smith Cat
The above cat is not just any random cat, wondering around the university campus. No, this cat is a minor celebrity at Glasgow University, having even spurned his own appreciation group on Facebook AND his own LOLCat!
Miller is commonly known as the Adam Smith Cat (or the Adam Smith Building Cat, depending on who you ask), as he is most often seen hanging within the vicinity of the Adam Smith Building, or inside the building warming up next to the radiators. During the colder months he has been spotted (and photographed) sitting on the hoods of cars in the morning, next to the radiators in the stairwell of the Adam Smith Building, and wondering around the halls of the building, walking into tutorials and the offices.
During the warmer month(s), Miller can be found wondering around the campus, but remaining close to the Adam Smith Building and the Library, which is where he is enjoying a warm April day.
You could go as far as saying that Miller is the unofficial mascot of the Law, Business and Social Studies (LBSS) Faculty, as the Adam Smith Building contains most of the Social Sciences Departments. If you’re ever close to the Adam Smith Building and see a familiar looking cat walking around or sitting next to a radiator, don’t be afraid to pet Miller and say hi. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.
Credit for this photo goes to my girlfriend Nora, who has spend a lot of time and adjusted some of her walking routes around campus in an effort to possibly run into Miller as often as possible.
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
School Disco at The Hive [Party Week]
![School Disco at The Hive [Party Week]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2458/3550046253_28c8c2682a.jpg)
To finish with Party Week, a view from the Glasgow University Union’s The Hive, taken at a School Disco-themed party on the last day of Freshers’ Week 2008.
The Hive is the Glasgow University Union’s main club, located in the extension building of the Union, built in 1965. The Hive is typically open on a Thursday (Thursday Night Hive), Friday (Back To Basics) and Saturday (Mischief) until 2am, with several larger, themed, parties throughout the academic year.
P.S. See why the club is called The Hive?
This post is a part of Party Week (July 6th – 12th)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Chicane on Daft Friday [Party Week]
![Chicane at Daft Friday [Party Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3626/3560468765_7279248a5d.jpg)
As alluded to on Thursday (July 9th), the headliner at the 99th Annual Daft Friday at the GUU on December 19th 2008, was Chicane (of Offshore and Saltwater fame).
Today’s photo is from the second floor of the Glasgow University Union’s Debates Chamber during Chicane’s gig. Normally the Debates Chamber plays host to actual debates (which the GUU is known for), but many artists and comedians take the stage during the year.
As I said a few days ago, the 2009 Daft Friday will be the 100th anniversary of the event, so I expect the lineup to be, well, impressive. The event is usually sold out, and tickets (2008 prces) go for £30 (single) and £55 (double).
This post is a part of Party Week (July 6th – 12th)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Cheesy Pop [Party Week]
![Cheesy Pop [Party Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3369/3550163951_a16ddf8206.jpg)
Friday nights at the Queen Margaret Union is Cheesy Pop. Oh, and yes, the music at Cheesy Pop consists of cheesy pop songs (among others). From the QMU website:
Every Friday night without fail, come join DJ Toast as he spins the virtual wheels with everything ranging from the latest Indie and Chart hits to more obscure tracks like the Ghostbusters theme tune and maybe even a Gloria Gaynor number thrown in for good measure.
Not the easiest trick to get a shot of the dance floor that’s in focus, without the use of flash. The movement visible gives testament to the good time everyone is having. Well, except for the only stationary person.
This post is a part of Party Week (July 6th – 12th)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
Daft Friday [Party Week]
![Daft Friday [Party Week]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3619/3550061093_ea1fb35957.jpg)
The last day of the fall term at the Glasgow University Union (GUU), the highlight of the GUU’s social calendar, is a black-tie ball called Daft Friday. For one night (until 8am) the entire union is decorated and themed a particular theme, with many acts and festivities available to students.
The year 2009 will be the 100th anniversary of Daft Friday at the GUU. The 99th Daft Friday, held on Friday December 19th 2008, was themed after video games, hence the heading above the mural, PlayUnion. The theme itself is every year a closely guarded secret, revealed to attendees only upon arrival on the big night.
The festivities included a ceilidh, a string quartet, a swing band, indoor laserquest, a flair bar, a casino, a raffle (main prize was a Wii), a drinks reception, with music provided by the Freemasons and Radio 1′s Reggie Yates, and a big name headliner, which I will post a photo of on Saturday (July 11th).
This post is a part of Party Week (July 6th – 12th)
[Poll #2: What is your connection to Glasgow University?] Click on the photo above for a larger version. © 2009 GlasgowUniPhoto.com
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