The first time I ever visited Glasgow was when I was 7 or 8. We went to the old Transport Museum in the Kelvin Hall then on the Subway for a full circuit. I visited every so often in the years that followed, sometimes for shopping, sometimes just to visit museums. When I ended up going on weekly day trips, Glasgow was a place I came to at least once a month. I always felt comfortable here and when we ended up moving, just under three years ago, it was far easier than it could have been because it was fairly familiar. It was a big adjustment from living by the sea to being in sight and sound of the motorway but it was in other ways too. There was a choice of everything, from takeaways to doctor’s surgeries, and it took a wee while to find my way.
Three years have passed and things are all right. There is a lot I desperately want to make happen but that’s what a lifetime is for. Glasgow is home and it’s not changing any time soon, thankfully. I love living here. This city is endlessly fascinating and with each passing week, I find out something new about it. And I find something new to love, like these things.
The day we moved, I was working in East Lothian. I left one house in the morning then went home to another at night. Over the months that followed, I had a split existence, spending part of the week here and part of the week working in East Lothian. Every Saturday, I finished work in Dunbar then went for the bus. A couple of hours later, as the bus hit the home straight and the city centre was in sight, I put on Etta James’s ‘At Last’, because I knew I was home and in the right place.
Glasgow has become more than my home. It is where I have been able to make incredible strides towards being the kind of person I want to be. I have been able to make friends and do some incredible things. And it isn’t over yet. I will be here for a long time. Not forever since I hanker for retiring by the sea but there’s a long time to go. That isn’t so bad.
