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The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Inside the rich history of Glasgow's Barras Market
In the late 18th century, traders often congregated in Glasgow's East End, hawking bric a brac and other sundries. The word 'Barras', short for wheelbarrows, refers to the carts traders would pull around the city and sell their wares from. The Barras' iconic gates have long stood watch over the shops below. (Image: Newsquest) The story as we know it begins with Ayrshire-born Maggie McIver, born in 1880 in Galston. She moved with her mother to Glasgow as a child, settling in Bridgeton. In 1902, she married fruit seller James McIver. In 1921, now in middle age, the couple founded The Barras Market on the corner of Kent and Moncur Streets, providing traders with a base from which to hawk goods, as well as a place to rent barrows. Five years later, weeks of heavy rain forced the McIvers to build an open shed to keep traders and customers dry. By 1928, the shed was enclosed on all sides. After James McIver died in 1930, Maggie ran the business for the next three decades. As historian Peter Mortimer told The Herald in 2021: 'Maggie was burdened with capital gains debts, nine children and a business to run. James dying put additional strain on her. 'But she was a resolute woman. She had the market, where it used to be said you could get 'anything from a needle to an anchor,' as well as the ballroom. Shoppers throng in front of stalls at The Barras in 1955. Of course, Mortimer is referring to the Barrowlands, the renowned music venue which has hosted everyone from David Bowie and The Proclaimers to Oasis and Snoop Dogg over the years. As the story goes, Maggie hosted an annual Christmas meal for the hawkers selling wares out of The Barras in the local St Mungo's Halls. In 1934, she discovered the venue was already booked, so she built her own - the Barrowlands Ballroom, which opened on Christmas Eve. A revamp in the 1960s after a disastrous fire saw the ballroom rebuilt. Twenty years later, the venue was fitted with its iconic neon sign, subsequently playing host to generations of music legends. Scottish icon Jon Fratelli told The Herald about the mystique the Barrowlands held for him as a young musician. In 2022, he said: 'I think we would probably all agree that when you're 19 years old the idea of playing the Barrowlands is the summit. 'Anybody that you saw that was playing in a stadium, somewhere huge, it didn't seem attainable, it was unreal. It was something that only happened on TV. But playing the [[Barrowlands]]. There was something more concrete and solid about that.' 'I think musicians and anybody creative in general, actually, have this streak of self-doubt. When you play the Barrowlands and people really start hearing your music, you retain that first rush if you're lucky enough to get it. It dampens down, but it never really goes away. It's still the top for me.' The Barrowlands has hosted scores of up and coming musicians. (Image: Archive) Of course, time waits for no one, and Maggie McIver, dubbed the 'Barras Queen', died in 1958. Her children assumed control of the McIver market empire and marched on into the second half of the 20th century. Actor Gavin Mitchell, aka Boaby the Barman from Still Game, grew up in Glasgow during the 1960s and 70s. He told The Herald in 2022 that The Barras is his favourite place in the city. Mitchell said: 'I've got a wee dog, so we walk a lot. One of my favourite things to do is wander down The Barras'. 'I still love popping by Danny's Hot Donuts. I think the markets are the heart and soul of Glasgow. It takes things back to who you are. I used to go to the market with my granny on a Saturday. I notice when I still go down there, the way people talk, it's heartfelt and it's real and I love that.' Fond childhood memories aside, by the late 1990s, footfall had declined and stalls were emptying as police began to crack down on unscrupulous traders. In 1997, a series of raids uncovered £8m in stolen and counterfeit goods at the market, and 28 people were arrested in one of the largest raids in Strathclyde Police history. This was eclipsed a year later in November 1998, when 43 people were picked up on suspicion of dealing in stolen or fake items. £14m in goods was recovered, including £12.4m of counterfeit CDs, £17,000 of stolen cigarettes, rip-off Armani and Ralph Lauren clothing. Hard times for The Barras in the early 2000s. At the time, Chief Superintendent Danny Donnelly said: ''By cracking down on the middlemen, we hope to reduce the opportunities for thieves and housebreakers to profit from the goods they have stolen. 'This particular operation was planned as part of the force-wide efforts against housebreakers who prey on private households and businesses. Our efforts against these criminals are continuous.'' Raids continued throughout the early 2000s, and in 2009, it was reported that Barras traders had appealed to the council for support amidst criminal gangs who had moved into the area. In 2016, police seized an estimated £30m in counterfeit goods, arresting 100 people in a series of raids dubbed 'Operation Salang.' Read more: Yet, a decade later, things are on the upswing. Despite concerns over the future of the venue, the early 2020s have seen a renaissance at the market, as young traders peddling sustainable fashion and trendy food options have set up shop among the stalls of older generations. From Hong Kong waffles and fresh pressed juice to record shops and vintage cowboy boots, The Barras has something for everyone. More than one hundred years after it was founded by the McIvers, the market continues to be a popular destination for local residents, students, and visitors from across the world. Let's see what the next hundred years hold.
The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Stop putting old folk out of their 'forever homes'
Balmanno House has been sold off to a property company and trumpeted as a 'windfall for charities' but the voices of the 60-plus residents are not heard ("Sale of Glasgow west end care home nets £1m for charity", The Herald, July 23). It looked like a wonderful "home" to be happy in for the rest of your days. The residents would probably have sold their original homes to fund their "forever home" but the rug has literally been pulled away from under them. This is happening over and over again because local councils are refusing to subsidise care but handing it over to the private sector. Old folk are sinking to the bottom of the priority heap. No amount of charity windfall can make up for people's right to spend their last days in a home of their choice. Susan Martin, Rutherglen. A curious lack of doctors I recently spent much of a weekend and a weekday at our local hospital's Urgent Care day unit. The care and attention I received from dialling 111 to eventual discharge from Urgent Care was consistently first class. From receptionists to support staff to students to the nurses, all were polite, helpful, patient, caring and good at their jobs. They acted like this to myself and from my observation, to everyone in the unit. One interesting thing I noticedm though. Over several hours on each of the three days I saw no doctor on the ward. Nurses were in charge. As far as I could see, no doctor was called in to visit any patient whilst I was there. On discharge, I was advised by the nurse in charge of my case that she had phoned a doctor to ask advice regarding my diagnosis and care plan. That was it. I wonder if having no doctors visible in the Urgent Care unit is policy or is it due to a shortage? Lyn McLean, Falkirk. Read more letters A Tiger or a Golden Bear? Watching Scottie Scheffler stroll to a superb Open victory on Sunday (July 20) I would have to agree that it was not 'exciting', but for us golf nuts it was watching a masterclass in strategy and execution. Of course, no sooner had the last putt dropped than there were claims that he was the next Tiger destined to dominate the game for a generation. To his credit Scheffler himself said this was 'silly" given Tiger's record. For my own I part was dismayed that there was not one mention of Jack Nicklaus's 18 majors and utter dominance of the game through three decades, although Tiger himself judged his achievements against Jack's. For those of us who witnessed Nicklaus in his prime there are some striking similarities to Scheffler's approach and style of play: essentially don't do anything stupid and let the opposition make mistakes. Nicklaus, aka the Golden Bear, has said that on any given day he had 25% of the field beaten before he had even started. Scheffler plays the same way. So, while it is early days I think the better comparison is with Nicklaus rather than Tiger. Sadly, we will have to wait nearly nine months to read the next chapter. Keith Swinley, Ayr. Avenues? What avenues? Improvements to the quality of road surfaces and structures that make up the public realm of Glasgow's main thoroughfares are to be welcomed ('First look at substantial transformation plans for Argyle Street in Glasgow", [[The Herald]], July 17). However, on viewing the picture of the proposed improvements to Argyle Street I query the use of the term 'avenue'. The Oxford Dictionary describes an avenue as 'a broad road in a town or city, typically having trees at regular intervals along its sides'. With this definition in mind, it is disappointing to see so few trees proposed, never mind any 'avenue' of trees. Stephen Downs, Falkirk. Jack Nicklaus, also known as the Golden Bear (Image: Newsquest) So Scotland wanted Brexit? I refer to the pending visit to Scotland of President Trump ("Swinney insists Trump costs will be met", The Herald, July 23). During a previous visit to Scotland he was here at the time of the Brexit vote. He made the following observation: "Just arrived in Scotland. Place is going wild over the vote. They took their country back, just like we will take America back." Like many of his remarks and commentaries, it did not quite square with reality. Scotland voted against Brexit. Ian W Thomson, Lenzie. Amn't I correct? David Miller's impression that posh people are more likely to make grammatical blunders than us proles (Letters, July 19) isn't merely fanciful. This is probably because a commonly-made error often comes to sound better than the correct form after a while. Would-be posh people (mostly English speakers of English – Scots and Irish are more careful) invariably use the absurd contradiction "aren't I?" instead of the correct "amn't I?" This kind of observation isn't new. In Book I of Paradise Lost, in addressing Beezlebub, Satan uses the wrong personal pronoun, presumably because such exalted personages prefer sonorous-sounding solecism to commonplace correctness. I join Peter McKerrel (Letters, July 21) in congratulating Mr Miller, this time for his now-rare correct use of the gerund ("My raising the matter....") but I suppose that none of us are – sorry none (not one) of us is – consistently faultless. Is we? Robin Dow, Rothesay. Giving cause for concern Further to Isobel McEwan's letter (July 23) about expressions used in schools: Having recently retired from secondary teaching, I was amazed up until the end of my career, to hear even English teachers speaking about "giving (someone) into trouble." Is this appalling, ungrammatical expression confined solely to the west of Scotland? M Carr, Glasgow. Thanks for Ze answer Thanks are due to H Shearer (Letters, July 23) for pointing out the existence of " ze" as a gender-neutral pronoun. My cornflakes taste better as I imagine the looks I may receive if daring to use the word in tomorrow's chat at the golf club. "Ze" may, however, be popular in Scrabble, being worth, I believe, 11 points. David Miller, Milngavie.
The Herald Scotland
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
What I found when I revisited the Barras after decades away
And there were swaggers of young men, hair slick and wavy with Brylcreem, brimming with attitude in their white sports coats, their chiselled jaws forged not in gyms but in coalmines, steelworks and shipyards. And arm-in-arm with last night's lumber. This is where we would come on Sunday afternoons in the advent weeks running up to Christmas. Where else could a single modest wage help Santa fulfil his annual responsibilities to five young children? It didn't matter that the toys' shelf-life was shorter than the wrapping paper in which they came, but that they out-lasted the school holidays. Read More: It was amidst this throng between wooden barrows laden with garments and jewellery and 'fancy goods' where I first got lost. I still recall that initial terror that comes with being marooned among strangers beyond the protective gaze of mum and dad. And then being rescued by an elderly woman with a black shawl and brown, leathery features who spoke kindly to me in a funny accent full of zs and ks and sat me down beside her stall; experience telling her that my parents would soon retrace their steps and find me here. And now, for the first time in many decades I'm back here at the invitation of Sarah Campbell, The Herald's Food and Drink specialist. Ms Campbell is telling me about the recent 'street food' and 'artisan' vibe that has begun to curl around this old place. She's a full generation younger than me, but knows these alleyways well and all their culinary vestibules. And the stallholders all seem to know her. I'm impressed. Anything billed as 'artisan' often induces a nameless terror in me: of pony-tailed and red corduroyed hipsters frenchifying comestibles you can pick up in Lidl and charging an extra fiver for it; of soy lattes and other formless elixirs served by the barista elites. Perhaps, she's sensed my initial reticence and so perhaps that's why she's chosen a wee outlet called Colombian Bites to commence our culinary peregrination through the Barras market. Colombian Bites at the Barras (Image: Robert Perry) It's about the size of a garden shed and is squeezed in between wider and louder emporiums on Moncur Street, but the queue that has begun to form there hints at the treats to come. It's owned by Ana Orsino and Andres Moya whose Facebook page tells me that that this is their love letter to Colombia and the Latin spirit which lives in both of us. They specialise in Arepas and Empanadas, which I may have tasted once or twice in Tex Mex … or maybe that's me wretchedly indulging in an ethno-gastro form of profiling. Empanadas, I've heard of, but if I have previously eaten one it wasn't like this. I'd have remembered this. Ms Campbell has recommended a chicken empanada. You're tempted to describe its casing as a 'wrap' as though it's one of those tuna preparations you get in a Tesco meal-deal and in which you could wrap spanners. This one though, is as fine as tissue paper so that it doesn't detract from the layers of meat. You want to describe it as 'tightly-packed', but it's too delicate for that. One of them is just about enough; two at a single sitting would be disrespectful. And then we delve into the Barras' old, thin, busy boulevards and the stalls and the barrows of my youth still laden with Aladdin's cast-offs. I can't resist telling Ms Campbell about this wider neighbourhood and all of its connectedness to my family. She listens politely, but when I get like this I'm like a two-bob tour guide and so I give her leave to shut me up at any moment. I was baptised just up the road from here at St Anne's in Dennistoun, where my mum's side of the family all lived when they'd got off then boat from Ireland. I recount a night in the Barrowland ballroom at a Pogues concert where my brothers and cousins and their friends defended the honour of a young female in their company with extreme prejudice when a drunken suitor and his psycho pals were coming the wide men. The Barras (Image: Newsquest) And I tell her about my daughter, a sustainable gashio designer who had a studio in the middle of the Barras and how proud I was that she had restored a family link to this neighbourhood stretching back five generations. Ms Campbell isn't having any of the gentrification stuff. 'You can't really gentrify a place like this,' she says. 'The street food is real and it's of a high quality made by people who know what they're doing. But the Barras will always be the Barras.' Read More: She's right, of course. The sights and sounds rising up from these wynds come from a dozen different cultures, but this is nothing new. This place once provided sanctuary and safe spaces for my people and their alien culture and now it's doing so again. The food is an extension of these groups, their gifts to us, in which they've placed something of themselves and their lands. Later, we head for Ho Lee Fook, the Hong Kong street food shack directly opposite the Barrowland Ballroom on the corner of MacFarlane Street and the Gallowgate. The literal translation of Ho Lee Fook is 'Good, wealth and luck.' It's also my inward response when I bite into one of their pork burgers. I want to ask if they'd consider opening sister outlets called 'Mon Tae' and 'Take a Runnin', but these might not have a direct Chinese translation. Ms Campbell believes this place offers just about the best street food in the city. 'You'd be amazed how far people will travel to visit this place,' she says. I've not come from very far away, but Ho Lee Fook is the main reason why I make a return solo visit the following week. Ho Lee Fook (Image: Robert Perry) I also want to take a more leisurely wander through the old Barras. These streets were absolutely rammed with people when I'd walked round with Ms Campbell and even more so on my return visit. I turn right at Kent Street just beside Mexica Express and across from the Saracen Head tavern. Many years ago, en route to a Celtic game, I'd watched a barman pour White Lightning cocktails directly into the mouths of a row of punters, this being their first drink of the day and thus the one that would stiffen their shaky hands. Just inside the first lane there's a wee old boy with a fez and a beard, looking like he's just taken the long route back from a Grateful Dead concert in 1969. There's a stall selling Polish dumplings. I have to forgo these delights though as I need to leave some room for those Ho Lee Fookin bang bang prawns and crispy katsu chicken. The local vernacular is at full ramming speed today. 'You alright, ma man,' I'm asked by the Gallowgate Hippie. 'Aye, it's all good,' I say, and we chat about how great the atmosphere is. 'Nice talkin' to you, bud,' he says. 'Lookin' good, princess,' he says to a handsome woman looking for baby clothes across the way. She giggles and then he winks at me. A young couple walk by, speaking French. 'Are youze from Germany,' another old chap asks them. 'Do you know ma mate Klaus, he used to live up the Garngad. Some team that Bayern Munich, by the way. In every nook, there are tables selling collectable vinyls and picture discs. Bob Marley is singing 'Exodus, movement of Ja People.' The elderly woman behind the table next to me is wearing what appears to be her wedding dress from the last century and I feel a tenderness for her that I can't quite explain. In small wooden kiosks and pavilions there are old coins, old hats, old mirrors, old cards. You wouldn't use this place as a backdrop to a movie location; you'd use the movie as a backdrop to the Barras. The Barras (Image: Newsquest) I walk down to Colombian Bites and this time the queue is nudging the opposite side of the street. Today is Colombian Independence Day and along with his tostadas and his empanadas and his arepas, Andres is providing a free Salsa dance lesson. Some couples are taking him up on his kind offer, sashaying and swaying in the Glasgow sunshine. 'One, two three ... five, six, seven, Clap your hands, side to side.' Ms Campbell should be glad she's not here, because I'd have been up there like a shot. Round the corner and there's your luxury dog's chocolates. A human couple appears to be tasting the goods somewhat, which is top, top marketing. And there's your Monster Munchies, billed as 'The Barras Hutch for good food'. Under a sign that reads 'F*** the Diet' there's lively bill of fayre: Irn Bru chilli; loaded salt and chilli fries, Monster Munchie Box And look, here's a pavilion selling holy pictures and statues and crucifixes. I purchase a statue of Padre Pio, the old saint who had the gift of being in two places at the one time. It sparks another childhood memory: of my old school football coach, Charlie Higgins and his lifelong devotion to Padre Pio. When I'd told him that the Italian holy man would have been decent at football with a gift like that, Mr Higgins had become cross. 'You could be in six places at the one time, McKenna and you'd still never be anywhere near the flamin' ball." It's owned by Rebecca and Sandra. I tell them it's great to see the Barras jumping again. 'This place is vital to the local community,' says Sandra. 'It helps young entrepreneurs to get a wee shot at running their own businesses without having to pay the expensive High Street rents. 'Rebecca's dad died two years ago and both she and I have found solace here. It's been an escape. You can't not be happy among these people.'
The Herald Scotland
12 hours ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
How The Barras became Glasgow's most exciting foodie destination
But elsewhere, thanks to a team who have invested time and effort into curating a line-up of street food vendors unlike any other, The Barras has slowly but surely evolved into one of the city's most exciting foodie destinations. As part of our Barras Reborn series, The Herald sat down with market manager Chris Butler to discuss the influx of independent culinary talent now based in the East End and how this contributes to the shifting identity of a 104-year-old cultural landmark. Pictured: The Pizza Cult at The Barras (Image: Robert Perry) 'I took on the role about a year ago, and one of the first things that I really wanted to change was the area where most of our food places are now,' Butler says. 'Before that, it was a sort of dead space and a real thorn in my side. 'I would go over there and think there's so much potential here, it was crying out for some sort of injection of life.' Before joining the Barras team, Butler spent 10 years employed as a funeral director, but found himself searching for a change after the death of his wife. Considering a career path that would utilise previous experience in the retail and food industries, he fondly remembered working in the bar at The Barrowland Ballroom during his younger years as some of 'the happiest times he'd had'. A conversation with friend and long-term Barras manager, Tom Joyes, followed, and when Butler was offered a new role, their attention quickly turned to the market's food and drink offerings. Pictured: A dish from Colombian Bites, one of The Barras latest foodie vendors (Image: Robert Perry) 'We have a great team of people to work with who have new ideas all the time, especially Tom, who has been here for 40 years,' Butler continues. 'He knows the place inside out, but even he is still learning as he goes because back in the day, The Barras was a totally different beast to what it is now. 'After I started here, we pretty much ripped everything out and began from scratch. 'Christian from our multimedia socials team and I put together a database for businesses applying for spaces here. 'A lot of the interest we were getting was from people who hadn't been to The Barras in a long time, so we made sure to get them down for site visits and share our vision. 'Traders like the Ceylon Cartel got involved after pop-up events. I just liked what they did, all the blades flashing and things while they prepped and thought they'd be a good fit. 'And there's Alan McCurdy, the Crumbleologist, who has thousands of followers on TikTok now. 'He pitched me the idea, and even though I didn't have a space at the time, we knew it would be great, so we got him set up in a stall. As soon as one of the red huts became free, he was relocated there.' When it comes to delivering a market that's full of unexpected foodie surprises from authentic Colombian empanadas to freshly pressed green juice or Neapolitan-style pizza, Butler says it's imperative to maintain a firm understanding of what each unit and stall has to offer. 'We wouldn't have somewhere that just does chips and nothing else,' he says. 'And these days, people want more than just a cheap burger van. 'Every place has to have its own angle to stand out so that no one is serving the same thing. 'We are really diligent about what we want, and I think that's what stops us from becoming another bland food spot. 'It's a real melting pot of styles and nationalities that we've got here.' In an era of TikTok reviews and foodie bloggers, the team also strives to stay ahead of the game by closely monitoring trends and searching for emerging talent that could be a perfect fit for The Barras. 'We can tell what's trending on TikTok through the people that are applying to set up here,' Butler says. 'You'll get five people in a day saying, 'I've got this brilliant idea for a baked potato stall' as if we've not heard that before. 'And when The Great British Bake Off is on, we'll get people saying I want to do this specific type of pastry and just think yeah, ok, join the line. 'But you do have to be social media savvy, because if people can catch onto the right trends and find to deliver them with a sense of credibility and longevity, then it can work really well.' While Butler accepts that The Barras has not traditionally been considered a 'foodie' market, these recent developments clearly demonstrate the power that a diverse and well-thought-out selection of vendors can wield in attracting new demographics. 'We're not stopping here,' he confirms when asked if there are plans to expand the current list of more than 20 food and drink businesses on their books. 'We're thinking about getting a couple of containers over on the spare ground, and we're looking at getting some really good Indian food and a Chinese food stall over on that corner. 'It actually won't be called the spare ground, London Road or D Section anymore. We've decided on a moniker of 'Glasgow Place'. 'It will have its own identity so that whenever we talk about it on social media or anything, people will know exactly what it is. 'There's also talk of a toilet block which will make the place more like a wee food village, and we'll need to find a way to get more electricity for it all. 'We're not resting on the reputation we've built; we're going to keep pushing and pushing for more.' With yet more exciting transformations to come, Butler describes working in an area so important to Glasgow's heritage as something of a 'double-edged sword' as they strive to honour the legacy of The Barras while looking towards a bold new future. 'You're always going to have people who don't understand what you're doing, or object to it because they feel that too much is changing," he says. 'But I wake up every day looking forward to coming into my job because you know that no two days are going to be the same, and you have a chance to make a difference. 'I've just come back from a week off, and no word of a lie, there were well over 100 email applications in my inbox for people requesting stalls. 'Now, not all of them will be relevant to what we're after, but it's all about finding that wee nugget of something that seems like a great idea, then figuring out how to develop that and run with it. 'Especially with our food guys. I know that soon some of them will outgrow us, and that's ok because then we'll have the exciting job of finding someone new to take over. "I just hope that when they do move on, they'll say to people: ''I got my start at The Barras, and I'm where I am today because of it.''
The Herald Scotland
12 hours ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Is Trump good for Turnberry and Scottish tourism industry?
There are certainly many people within Scottish tourism, golf and wider society who will find Mr Trump's ownership of Turnberry, one of the country's prized sporting and hospitality assets, and his hotel and golf resort on the Menie Estate hard to stomach. The brand of populist politics he espouses, which seems expressly designed to sow outrage and division, means many people would simply not countenance a visit to any of his properties. No matter how popular the courses are within Scotland's golfing community, or how impressive the quality of the hotels, the fact they are owned by Mr Trump will be a turn-off. Some people will not have forgotten the unedifying public battle that took place between the Trump organisation and Menie residents as he sought to progress his plans on land that opponents said had protected environmental status. Mr Trump, of course, could not give two hoots about anyone who stands in the way of his developments. He will doubtless be of the firm belief that the investments made by his business have greatly enhanced the sporting and hospitality landscape of Scotland, and are better than anything else around. And moreover, it would be categorically wrong to say that Mr Trump and his family's resorts do not have their admirers. There are plenty of people in Scotland, perhaps including those with leanings to the political right, who like what they see as his non-nonsense, straight-taking approach. They may well like his apparent ability for doing a deal, and welcome the investment the Trump business group has made in Scotland. Read more: And there is certainly no shortage of golfers who like what Mr Trump has done with Turnberry, which continues to remain off The Open rota, despite recent representations by the President's family. In an interview with The Herald's Nick Rodger back in 2016, the golf course architect tasked with re-designing the fabled Aisla course, Martin Ebert, said the investment made by Mr Trump had saved its Open Championship future, highlighting the work undertaken to revive what had been a 'fading jewel'. Mr Ebert was not to know, of course, that the R&A would announce five years later that The Open would not be returning to Turnberry while Mr Trump was associated with it, but the warm feelings towards the course remain. Leading US player Bryson DeChambeau expressed his support for The Open returning to the Aisla links just last week. 'I look at it as a golf course,' he said. 'It's one of the best golf courses in the world, and I'd love for it to be a part of the rotation. Albeit I haven't played it, I've heard so many great things about it, and anytime you get to play a special historical golf course like that, I think it's worthy of it for sure.' A similar view may be held by golf fans old enough to remember the famous 'Duel in the Sun' that took place at Turnberry in 1977, when Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus went head-to-head for the Open title. Equally, there appears to a lot of love in the golfing world for the Trump International Golf Links on the Menie Estate, which will host the Scottish Championship, a DP World Tour event, from August 7 to 10. Beyond the golfing world, the Trump camp will likely proclaim that its investments have boosted the Scottish tourism offer more generally, and point to the jobs that are provided by the Ayrshire and [[Aberdeen]]shire resorts and the visitors they attract. Granted, the look and feel of the Trump properties will not be attractive to everyone. But some will very much like the cut of their jib. Marc Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said there is a case for separating the resorts from their ownership as he emphasised the importance of destinations like Turnberry to the overall tourism offer in Scotland. This would seem to be a pertinent point as the sector strives to keep international visitors coming to Scotland in an era when pressure from costs is making it difficult for hotel owners and other tourism businesses to re-invest in their properties. 'There is no doubt that Turnberry remains one of Scotland's most iconic and internationally recognised golf resorts, and the quality of the product and experience it delivers has made a positive contribution to Scotland's global tourism reputation,' Mr Crothall told The Herald. 'As with any world-class tourism asset, for many visitors, the focus will be on the destination and the experience it offers rather than its owner. 'Continued investment in Scotland's tourism product is vital, particularly in our rural economies; it supports jobs, skills, the local supply chain and brings significant benefits to those communities, while also maintaining Scotland's competitive edge in the global luxury market. 'Turnberry is a prime example of how Scotland continues to attract global visitors seeking premium experiences rooted in heritage and sport, which showcase our world-renowned natural assets. Our growing reputation as a world-class golf destination is further strengthened by the development of other resorts, such as Trump International in Aberdeenshire, which has bolstered the north-east's visitor economy.' Mr Crothall added: 'Scotland's tourism industry aspires to achieve its national strategic ambition of being a world leader in 21st-century tourism, as outlined in the Scotland Outlook 2030 strategy. Investment is critical if this vision is to be realised, and it should be welcomed, whether from an independent owner-operator, a global organisation or the public sector; all investment is investment in Scotland's wider tourism offering and both the national and local economy.' Not everyone will agree with Mr Crothall. As we will perhaps see in the coming days if protestors turn up to 'greet' Mr Trump when he lands in Scotland, the President's money will not be welcomed by all. But we can all agree that there will be no shortage of headlines, as usual, when the President comes to town.
