Latest news with #GlaIKIT
Glasgow Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow plaque 'reveals source' of Barr's Irn Bru's flavour
It claims that founder Robert Barr accidentally spilled his tea on the rocky spot which turned it into a "bright orange liquid" which became the iconic Irn Bru flavouring. The tongue in cheek marker is attached to the fence near Kelvinbridge subway station to mark the site of "Robert Barr's Guid Ore Mine." Passersby can stop and take in the "history" of the "mine" (rail tunnel). The tall-tale of Robert Barr's 'Guid Ore Mine' (Image: Newsquest) READ MORE: IRN-BRU to bring back famous 'Made in Scotland from Girders' tagline in £8m campaign READ MORE: 'It's just great': Japan ambassador tries Irn-Bru on visit to whisky distillery The plaque reads: "In 1863, Robert Barr, the son of a Falkirk cork-maker, was brewing tea on this spot when he accidently knocked over his kettle. "To his surprise, the hot water dissolved some of the rocky outcrop on which he sat, turning it into a bright orange, effervescent liquid. "Out of curiosity, but with much trepidation, Barr tasted the resulting concoction and was surprised to find it had a unique, slightly metallic, and not entirely unpleasant flavour. "Realising the opportunity, Barr borrowed enough money to purchase the land around the outcrop. "He then set to work mining what he called his' guid ore' which he turned into a health tonic he named Iron Brew and advertised as being made in Scotland from 'guid ore': It was an instant hit, and within a matter of months it had made him a millionaire many times over. "By 1890, Barr had extracted all of the guid ore he could and despite an exhaustive search, he couldn't locate another source. "By then he'd stock-piled enough to ensure the continuous production of his Iron Brew (which was rebranded as Irn-Bru in the 1940s) until 2037, but after that date, the company he founded will no longer be able to produce any more. "In 1892, Barr sold the mine to the Caledonian Railway Company, who used it as the basis of a new railway line connecting the west of Glasgow to the city centre via this tunnel. "However, the steam from the engines mixed with the last traces of guid ore' in the rock, creating a distinctive dour which made it unpopular with the more refined residents of Glasgow's fashionable west end and it closed soon after." This is of course, a bit of a fabrication on the truth behind Scotland's favourite drink that's "made from girders." The plaque was erected by the Glasgow Information and Kultural Identity Taskforce (GlaIKIT). It's one of several across the city which GlaIKIT say are their "guide to the interesting (and some would say unbelievable) events which we feel have helped shape the city we call home." For anyone visiting Glasgow for the @UciWorldCycling and who wants to learn a little more about the host city, we have provided a number of informative plaques. They're not remotely not true, but they are informative! #glasgow #glaikit #glasgowhistory #glasgowhumour — Glasgow Information & Kultural Identity Taskforce (@Glaikit_Scot) August 11, 2023 READ MORE: Schoolboy's death 'could possibly have been avoided' says sheriff's FAI report The plaques previously caught people's attention as one at the Duke of Wellington Statue claimed to provide the inside story ofthe 'Ancient Tradition Behind The Cones On Glasgow's Statues'. Others tell tall-tales of "the short-lived prohibition on potatoes" in the city and one famous gig in King Tut's in the city centre, claiming that "the Gallagher brothers only got their big break as the result of a typographic error." Glasgow plaque 'reveals source' of Barr's Irn Bru's flavour (Image: Newsquest) Other humorous plaques detail fierce battles like "The Legendary Bun Fight At The Byres Road Corral." While all the stories are a bit far-fetched, they offer a city wanderer the opportunity to stop and take in the sights around them that they may have overlooked. As for Irn Bru, the secret recipe to its iconic taste still remains a mystery...
Daily Record
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Plaque near iconic Glasgow landmark reveals story behind world famous tradition
The grey plaque outside 100 Queen Street, facing the statue, reveals the 'unbelievable' origin of Glasgow's famous cone tradition. A plaque near one of Glasgow's most iconic landmarks is capturing people's attention online, after claiming to reveal the 'Ancient Tradition Behind The Cones On Glasgow's Statues'. Located just outside 100 Queen Street, directly facing the Duke of Wellington statue, the grey circular sign appears fixed to a black box, and it's not what it seems. The so-called explanation behind the now world-famous tradition of placing traffic cones on the Duke's head is, in fact, an elaborate and hilarious work of street art, Glasgow Live reports. The plaque is the latest creation from the Glasgow Information and Kultural Identity Taskforce, better known as GlaIKIT, a tongue-in-cheek collective of 'rogue historians' responsible for installing similar plaques across the city. Their latest handiwork outlines the bizarre origins of a tradition they call 'Coning', claiming it stretches back 'hundreds, if not thousands, of years to the clans of the Scottish Highlands'. The plaque reads: 'Here, a man seeking to wed a chieftain's daughter would be challenged to place a cone fashioned from the pelt of a haggis on the top of an eighty-foot grease-covered pole while the woman's male relatives sought to stop him. If he succeeded, he'd win her hand in marriage, but if he failed he'd instantly be put to death.' Over time, it explains, the deadly rite evolved into a bizarre Highland sport, where 'hundreds of men, naked except for their sporrans, would fight to be the first to place their cone on the summit of a tall, slippery pole'. When Highlanders began migrating to Glasgow during the 1800s, the sport allegedly took root in the city's working class communities. 'By 1900 onwards, large groups of near-naked Glaswegians could be found across the city competing to place a haggis-skin cone on top of a greasy pole,' it claims. However, the government eventually stepped in, banning Coning poles over concerns about productivity due to the many injuries sustained during the sport. 'But the ever-resourceful locals simply switched to competing to place cones on the heads of public statues instead, many of which depicted the very same politicians who'd tried to eradicate the sport.' According to the plaque, the tradition adapted with the times. 'By the 1950s, plastic traffic cones had replaced the original haggis skin ones,' it continues, 'and in the 2010s, the sport's practitioners, known as coneheads, began a campaign to have Coning recognised and protected under the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.' The plaque concludes saying: 'This was finally granted on the 1st of April 2024 so enshrining in law the right of every drunken Glaswegian to climb a greased-up statue while naked except for a sporran in an attempt to be the first to place a cone on its head.' Visitors are then directed to GlaIKIT's official website, which offers more 'extraordinary tales from Glasgow's rich and vibrant past', stories, they admit, that have been 'overlooked by other historians of the city for far too long simply because there's absolutely no evidence they ever happened'. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Unbothered by such technicalities, GlaIKIT says it proudly 'never let a little thing like the truth get in the way of telling a good story'. 'When we come across a story we feel is particularly interesting, we award it a GlaIKIT Silver Plaque which we then put up in an appropriate location around the city,' their site explains. 'This gives it our official seal of approval, meaning you can be certain it really must be true because of all the detailed drinking, I mean research, that we do.' So far, five GlaIKIT Silver Plaques have popped up across Glasgow, with more promised, just as soon as the team finishes its next round of 'research' in as many local pubs and bars as their budget will allow.
