WATCH: Bronze Queen Victoria statue restored to former glory amid George Square renovations
The city centre square is undergoing a major redevelopment, which will see a raised lawn, sheltered seating, feature lighting and children's play areas installed.
In May, Glasgow City Council began removing statues from the site as building works get under way.
As part of the plans, the statues will be refurbished by specialist crews.
On Thursday, Glasgow City Council shared behind-the-scenes footage of the restoration of the Queen Victoria statue, which shows the monarch in regalia riding a horse in side saddle. Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council clean Queen Victoria statue Glasgow City Council
Unveiled in 1854, it was designed by Italian sculptor Baron Carlo Marochetti to commemorate Victoria's visit to the city in 1849 and it was Britain's first equestrian statue of a woman.
The statue has been air-blasted, revealing the rich coppery hue of the bronze statue, which usually sits upon a red and grey granite pedestal decorated with bronze reliefs.
The works are due to be completed by August 2026, with the statues set to return to the site from July 2027.
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STV News
an hour ago
- STV News
Balintore Castle restoration brings Victorian landmark back to life
Balintore Castle in Angus was once a magnet for hunting and shooting parties, but decades of neglect left it crumbling into ruin. Now, 18 years after buying the dilapidated building, owner David Johnston is bringing it back to towering turrets stretch into the scenic sky over the Angus Glens, but the scale of the challenge when Mr Johnstone first arrived was immense.'It's become a labour of love,' he told STV News. Mr Johnston added: 'Large sections of roof were missing, large sections of floor were missing, windows were missing, trees were growing on the roof, and part of the building was collapsed as well, so it was pretty near ruination. 'In some rooms, there was ten feet of rubble. This had to all be dug out by hand, so for the first six months all I did was dig out rubble with two buckets, taking them out a couple of buckets at a time.'One of the biggest triumphs so far has been the Great Hall. Once in a state of ruin, it has now been painstakingly restored to its former glory. 'I looked at the Great Hall and thought I'll maybe never restore this in my lifetime,' said Johnston. 'So the fact it's just been completed is beyond my wildest dreams. I'm looking forward to a future where the Great Hall of Balintore can be used once again for public functions and the public can enjoy it.'The A-listed Victorian sporting lodge stood empty for 40 years before Angus Council used compulsory purchase powers in 2007 to save it from collapse. With panoramic views and a picturesque setting, it's easy to see why Mr Johnston was drawn to the castle. But the work is far from complete. Each room requires careful restoration, with what he calls 'a bureaucratic planning challenge' at every step. Finlay Lockie, a historic building renovation expert, said: 'You can't let a thing like this fall into oblivion. 'It's too valuable and it represents so much, not only in the design by the architect, but think of the hundreds of masons chipping away. Every little indent on every block of stone represents a hammer blow of a skilled tradesman. You can't let that stuff disappear.'Mr Johnston is funding the renovation from his life savings, along with donations from members of the public. The total cost and timescale remain unknown. He added: 'It's been the most enormous challenge. The highs are amazingly high, the lows can bring you to the pit of despair. 'I always thought if I restored this castle, life would become one big adventure and guess what, it's been the biggest adventure ever.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
The quiet Scot who revealed some of Hitler's last words
And that, as the conflict in Europe came to an end and the celebrations began, it would be Fife-born Rena who would be given a particularly onerous task; one that required all of her language skills, acute attention to detail and ability to keep a secret. Alongside another young woman who, like her, had studied at St Andrews University before being picked to work at Bletchley Park, Rena's war efforts continued well beyond VE Day. While 80 years ago the nation's focus turned to victory over Japan and VJ Day, she was in Germany, translating interrogations of German intelligence officers and, critically, Hitler's personal will. Bletchley Park, centre of Allied codebreaking during the Second World War Just how a young woman from Fife came to be given the job of translating the final personal will of the architect of the Holocaust was captured in the nick of time, when she finally opened up about her wartime work at the top secret home of the codebreakers, Bletchley Park. However, just a few months after speaking about her work to biographer Victoria Walsh, Rena passed away. She was 100 years old. Rena's memories of working in the German Book Room at Bletchley Park and her role translating Hitler form the basis of a new book that traces her journey from Lundin Links and a childhood 'filled with books, music and Scottish dancing' to the heart of the secret war effort and, later, a pioneering role at the BBC. 'They had the secrecy of their work drummed into them,' says writer Victoria, whose chats with Rena in her final months offer fascinating insight into the camaraderie of the Bletchley Park women, the daily demands made on them and the personal sacrifices they made then and in their later lives. 'She was still incredibly active even though she was 100 years old, and she remembered the war years very well. 'But even though the Official Secrets Act had been lifted and people like Rena were allowed to talk about their work, often they still didn't want to. 'And some would take it to their grave.' (Image: Contributed/Victoria Walsh) Perhaps surprisingly, adds Victoria, often the women who toiled at Bletchley Park, churning through tens of thousands of coded messages and translating snippets of details, didn't even realise the importance of their role. "They knew there was a secrecy aspect," she adds, "but they didn't even think they were doing anything special.' Read more Sandra Dick: Born in the Fife coastal village in 1923, Rena was bright and bookish with a fondness for poetry that blossomed into a love of languages. Determined to choose a career over being a housewife, she studied French and German at St Andrews University. Young Rena Stewart growing up in Fife. Image: Stewart Maclennan 'She was determined not to follow the usual route for women of the times, which was get married, have children or maybe teach," says Victoria. 'She thought studying French and German would open the world up to her. 'She didn't know exactly where it would take her and certainly couldn't have known it would lead her to Bletchley Park.' By the time she began her studies in 1940, Admiral Sir Hugh Sinclair, head of M16, had already taken over the country house near Milton Keynes for use as part of the secret war effort. Rena Stewart studied French and German at St Andrews University during the early years of World War II. Image: Stewart Maclennan Earmarked for the Code and Cypher School and Secret Intelligence Service, it was handy for a supply of bright students from Oxford and Cambridge. Soon, though it was snatching bright young graduates from around the country, many of them young women like Rena who could handle the huge amount of information that flowed through its walls. Recruited in early 1944, she worked in the German Book Room, surrounded by around 40 other women like her rattling away at typewriters, working in German and handling secret German military messages. Rena had a role at Bletchley Park (Image: Stewart Maclennan) 'She would be analysing secret messages, filling in any gaps and making sure they read properly so intelligence analysts could use them to chart the course of the war,' says Victoria. 'They worked all day in shifts, and it was serious work, probably in a smoky room and it would be stressful because they would know how important it was to the outcome of the war. 'But they also made sure they had fun in their spare time.' To keep spirits up and to drown out the constant clatter of typewriter keys, the women sang songs, including one which Rena sang for Victoria as she recalled her war work. Signatures of Bletchley Park women left on a song sheet from May 1945 (Image: Contributed) 'The second and last time I met Rena, in her living room down in London, we were talking about Bletchley Park when all of a sudden, she burst into song,' she recalls. 'She had remembered that she and the 40 women of 'The German Book Room' had made up a song about their time there, toiling away at their typewriters. 'The song went to the tune of My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean and was called The Swan Song of GBR. 'It was all about how fed up they were of typing and how they wished for the war to be over. 'Rena couldn't remember all the words, but it was an unforgettable moment.' Victoria later found Rena shared a typed copy of the song, signed by the German Book Room 'girls' in May 1945, to the museum at Bletchley Park. The end of the war in Europe brought their German Book Room work to a close, but Rena's service was not yet over. Instead of being demobbed, she and some others from the German Book Room were sent to an interrogation centre near Hanover in Germany, where they were given the important task of translating the statements of captured Nazi officers ahead of the Nuremberg Trials. Rena and other women on parade in Germany (Image: Stewart Maclennan)Another role specifically for Rena – known affectionately as Sgt McHaggis – and fellow Bletchley Park colleague and St Andrews alumna, Margery Forges, from Dundee, was even more pressurised. Handed to them by the head of the unit, Major Bill Oughton, they were told to work together on translating a document with the instruction: 'Take as long as you like, but there must be no mistakes, and you must agree on all details'. Hitler had two wills, a political will and a personal will which stated who his executors would be, stating how he had married Eva Braun and who was to inherit his belongings. It had been dictated 24 hours before he killed himself. It had to be perfect and they consulted every dictionary they could to make sure it was absolutely right. Tracking down the two wills had already been something of a saga involving a trio of messengers' efforts to smuggle the documents out of Germany before they were finally seized by the Allies. Sergeant Rena Stewart - affectionately known as Sgt McHaggis - while serving in Germany (Image: Stewart Maclennan) Rena and Margery were trusted with Hitler's personal will: a task Margery's family only discovered by chance, years after her death. Rena was finally demobbed in 1947, but that was just the start of another remarkable chapter. Having refused to settle for marriage and housework and having had a taste of international relations, Rena set sights on becoming a journalist with the BBC. But she was at an immediate disadvantage, says Victoria. Read more Sandra Dick: 'She couldn't say anything about her secret wartime work,' adds Victoria. 'It took her a long time to find a job and there were a lot of people who had been demobbed ahead of her. 'But she was very determined and she became a huge inspiration for younger women.' Having started at the bottom typing scripts and making tea, she rose to become the BBC World Service's first female senior duty editor. Rena Stewart went on to blaze a trail for women at the BBC World Service In her later years she occupied her time with simple tasks: editing the magazine for the church close to her Ealing home, running Scottish country dancing sessions and planning Burns Suppers – all a world away from the pressure of Bletchley Park. 'Rena left Scotland in 1943 and never moved back,' adds Victoria. 'But she was always incredibly proud to be Scottish, and she kept up her love of Scottish culture for a century. 'She deserves to be better known.' The Story of Rena Stewart is published by Pen and Sword Books.
Daily Mirror
21 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Top chef urges barbecue fans to add 'vital' ingredient for perfect cheese burger
As temperatures soar, many of us will be firing up the BBQ - but top chef Jackson Boxer, whose restaurants have included Brunswick House and Orasay, says many people are making a couple of key errors With another weekend of blistering heat approaching, Brits across the nation are dusting off their barbecues. Renowned chef Jackson Boxer, the mastermind behind trendy eateries Brunswick House and Orasay, reckons most folk will be committing a pair of fundamental blunders. Slathering ketchup on a burger"completely destroys" the taste, he argues, whilst particularly condemning those handy pre-cut cheese slices many of us grab during our barbecue shopping. Cheddar should never grace a burger, he tells The Times: "It mostly tastes of emulsified butter fats. Personally I think good beef should already taste of this: rich, buttery, almost cheesy." Instead, he recommends Gorgonzola, the celebrated Italian relative of Stilton, boasting a tender, crumbly consistency and a taste that can prove especially bold and potent in more matured versions. "It's much more rewarding to add a cheese that provides a counterpoint to the beef and allows its particular qualities to come to the fore," Jackson says. "I think that young gorgonzola, with its high sweetness and subtle piquancy, does a much more exciting job of this." He maintains that whilst gherkins have their role, it's absolutely not chopped up and positioned atop the burger itself. You should only place a gherkin "on the side, where I can see it." He's equally scathing about incorporating salad into the equation: "Generally speaking I just want the bun, the cheese-blanketed patty and nothing else," he says. The sole exception Jackson would be prepared to make, he reveals, is a slice of top-quality tomato or perhaps onion. Whilst supermarket aisles are nowadays packed with plant-based burger alternatives, Jackson remains unconvinced by any of them: "I have had exactly one good vegetarian burger in my life, which is the one Brooks makes at Superiority Burger in New York," he reveals. "I believe it's chickpeas, quinoa, alliums and spices, but I've never engaged too seriously in trying to replicate it." He clarifies that, in his view, there's no vegan burger available that matches the taste of falafel, which he describes as "unimprovable." Jackson is a straightforward cooking. When he launched Brunswick House, which has evolved into a sophisticated restaurant and cocktail lounge featuring vintage furnishings and serving a menu of strikingly creative dishes, it began as little more than a sandwich shop. "It was about a year until we got our alcohol licence," he revealed to men's lifestyle publication SL Man. "Once that happened, I did a simple evening menu because I only had a small oven and a hob to work with - homemade sausages and lentils, terrine and toast, grilled sardines on toast and... something else on toast! "I think that was the full extent of the menu in those days," he remembers, "and we charged what we could."
