Glasgow – Matthew McKinnon's Blog

A Tribute to Daddy!

Well, not many children today use the term ‘daddy’, but back in the nineteen thirties and forties me and my siblings, and all my pals called their Mother – ‘mammy’, and their Father, ‘daddy’. Today is the anniversary of his death in 1978, so I was looking at some old photos, and recalling many happy childhood and life memories.

Dad was born at Wolesley Street in Glasgow in 1895; these were the days of horse drawn trams, and stage coaches, and when ‘horse and carts’ were the main means of transporting goods as the photo below illustrates. The family moved to the Ibrox area of Glasgow when he was still a child, and there he attended the ‘Band of Hope’, a child’s club at the local church. One night they taught the children a new song, ‘Jesus wants me for a sunbeam’. On arriving back home he found the house empty as his mammy was at a neighbour’s house and daddy was out. So he tells how he knelt at the black fire grate and prayed “Jesus if you want me for a sunbeam, I’ll be a sunbeam for you‘. You might think that a bit crazy, childish and simplistic, but Jesus loves the children as the Gospels tell us, and the truth is my daddy spent the rest of his 83 years as an ardent follower of Jesus, and always put that down to his early childhood prayer!

With countless others he lived through two world wars and the great depresssion. He had trained and worked as an engineer, but during ‘the great depression’ he managed to get some work as a welding company van driver. These were the days of community ‘soup kitchens’ and great hardship, but somehow by the grace of God, there was always food on the table. He was an inspector at Rolls Royce during much of my lifetime and worked long hours Monday to Saturday in aid ot the war effort during WWII. He had met Mary Smiith at the Bethel Mission in Kinning Park and they married in 1927. They had a family of six children. The youngest one in the pram, is not named ‘Boris’ but Matthew 🙂

Most of my earliest memories were after we moved from Ibrox to a new council flat in Shawlands. There we were enrolled in due time at the local schools and at Church Sunday school. The boys also joined the local Boys Brigade, and were regulars at our own church in Pollokshaws, who held a weekly Children’s hour packed to the door with kids. No TV in these days!! History in someways repeated itself, as just after one such children’s hour, where they were serialising the story of John Bunyon’s best selling book ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ accompanied by ‘Lantern Slides’, we arrived back home and our daddy was asked, how can you be sure you will go to heaven when you die? He explaianed to us in childlike terms, the amazing story of God’s love for us, and how Jesus died in our place, and rose from the dead, so we can be forgiven. Then me and my three brothers prayed the ‘Sorry’, ‘Thank you’, ‘Please’ prayer to Jesus. Sorry for my sin, thank you for dying in my place, please come into my life and be my Saviour and friend. So that’s when and how our life as Christians began.

We were a family with a love for the great outdoors, and before the days of cars, we walked for miles on Saturday afternoons after daddy came home from work. Our parents always managed to take us on holiday at the ‘Glasgow Fair’ each year, usually to a place on the Clyde Coast but occasionally further afield. Here are some photos.

My Father gave us all lots of good advice throughout life, and led by example in key areas of honesty, integrity, consistency and commitment to his word. He was a man of sincere faith and prayer, with many down to earth examples on practical living in the home and workplace, and also in love and faithfulness within marriage. One piece of advice he gave me that stands out above the rest, and has stood the test of time, was from the book of Proverbs chapter 3:5,6. It reads

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

I know of course that not everyone has good memories of their father, which is very sad. Of course no earthly father is perfect, and neither was mine, but we do have a Heavenly Father who is, and who loves us beyond measure, and we can come to Him in complete confidence and trust. He already knows all about us, our mistakes, our troubles, joys and sorrows, so we can speak openly and honestly to Him in the Name of Jesus. Perhaps a simple Sorry, Please, and Thankyou prayer to start with?

Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam – Children’s hymn lyrics

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, To shine for him each day; In ev’ry way try to please him, At home, at school, at play.
Chorus: A sunbeam, a sunbeam, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam. A sunbeam, a sunbeam, I’ll be a sunbeam for him.
Jesus wants me to be loving, And kind to all I see, Showing how pleasant and happy His little one can be.

Blessings as you prepare to celebrate Christmas.

Matthew

My photographic Review of 2021

Another year of travel restrictions due to Covid has resulted in us spending almost all of the year at home, so most of the photographs this year have been taken locally or on ‘day trips’ from Glasgow. However as we look back on 2021 it’s amazing to remember all the interesting places we visited, some for the very first time, and the joy and peace we had in doing that. So here’s a picture or two per month!

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Reflection: This year started with some optimism as vaccines were being rolled out, and the slogan ‘we will beat this together’ sounded more plausible, but then along came the variants!

Thankfully the latest Omicron variant is reported to be less severe than those that have gone before, so we pray that this downward trend will continue in 2022. A visit to Glasgow city centre just before Christmas told its own story. Gone was the sound of laughter and the bustling Christmas market in George Square. No ‘big wheel’, ‘flying chairs’, ‘helter skelter’or ice rink, fun and joviality had given way to just a few families with kids who had come to see the lights and the nativity scene, plus some folks handing out food and drink to the poor and homeless.

But hold on a minute, is ‘families with kids who had come to see the lights and the nativity scene, plus some folks handing out food and drink to the poor and homeless‘ more in keeping with the Christmas story, than a ‘lets eat and drink and be merry‘ lifestyle, especially in the current circumstances? The British Prime Minister caused outrage recently when it was disclosed that last winter some government departments were partying while people were self isolating and others mourning the loss of family and friends to Covid 19.

This Christmas I was caused to stop and think again about the reason for Christmas, which this new carol, so beautfully sung, challenges us to do. Take a minute to listen!

I hope you enjoy the photographs, and like me are challenged by the new carol.

Hope to see you again in the New Year. Every blessing to you and yours.

Matthew

“The Queer Folk O’ the Shaws”

Pollokshaws Townhouse (1803) and the Memorial to James McIndoe the poet

Pollokshaws is a district on the southside of Glasgow (A Burgh in its own right until 1912) and was our home for 23 years, and is still the lifelong home of our church in Leckie Street. This blog will recall past and recent memories of life here, and the huge changes that have taken place throughout my lifetime. There is a poem on a plaque in the old part of the ‘Shaws, which always brings a smile to my face, but please don’t take the words too seriously! 🙂 The poem on the plaque reads:

The ‘Queer folk’ O’ the Shaws – “Wha’ ne’er untae the Shaws has been – Has surely missed a treat – For wonders there are to be seen – Which nothing else can beat. – The folks are green, it’s aft been said, – Of that you’ll find no trace; – There’s seasoned wood in every head – And brass in every face. – Look smart and keep your eyes about – Their tricks will make you grin; – The Barrhead bus will take you out -The folks will take you in. Thank you James McIndoe, that poem still makes me laugh!

Pollokshaws has a history going back to the 17th century, but ‘The ‘Queer Folk’ was the name first given to some Flemish weavers brought to the Shaws by the Maxwell family in the 1800’s, and over time became a ‘byeword’ for all those living in the area. (‘Queer’ in the poem had the meaning of ‘strange’ or ‘odd’) McIndoe the poet, it has been said liked making fun of folks, and it says something of Pollokshaws people that they chose to remember him by this ‘cheeky’ poem in the ‘town square’. Being able to ‘laugh at ourselves’ is surely a special virtue.

The changes that have taken place in the Pollokshaws landscape in my lifetime have been quite phenomenal! In the 40’s and 50’s it still had that close community, working class, yet small town / village atmosphere. It has to be said however, that the housing was basic, and in some parts quite deplorable and rightly described as a slum. But development was coming! (See on-line – ‘Pollokshaws – Wikipedia’ for some amazing resources)

View from our window in Harriet Street 1958

In the 60’s Pollokshaws was designated as a redevelopment area, and in due time we were given the sum of £1.00 in exchange for our two apartment flat in Harriet Street, plus the keys to a brand new flat in the Shawholm Cresent tower block, with a rent payable to Glasgow Housing Department. Wow, were we pleased? YES we were! The up and downstairs apartment had underfloor central heating, two bedrooms, bathroom, a lounge with a verandah, a fitted kitchen, and our own lock-up garage. Pollok Park was just across the road, the neighbours were great, together we polished the communal corridor and as the proverbial saying goes ‘you could have eaten your dinner off the floor’ it was so clean.

We had many happy days at Shawholm Crescent, but life moves on, and as the family grew we too moved on. But now we look back and wonder why all those hopes and dreams that the new revitalised Pollokshaws brought, would within our lifetime come to ruin and decay? The many factories and businesses in the area also closed over that period of time.

But another revitalised Pollokshaws is arising from the ashes, so time will tell if it is more successful than the last redevelopment effort. I am surprised however that expensive new houses are being built, whilst it seems little effort is going into preserving and maintaining landmark buildings, monuments and the once attractive river bank.

Our Church at Greenview.

Greenview Church, was established by some men in the Shaws away back in 1873, as they were keen to introduce to people a simple form of Christian worship. They met to pray, study the Bible, have fellowship with one another as believers and hold communion. They were also keen to share the good news about Jesus with their fellow citizens in Pollokshaws. First they met in a rented hall off the Main Street, then built a wooden hall in Wodrow Street, (Wodrow Street ran from Cogan Street past what is now Pollokshaws Parish Church – The tree now standing in the ground near the Parish Church was in the grounds of the Hall) before moving to Greenbank Street and finally to Leckie Street, where they have been since 1933. The building there has been changed and extended on umpteen occasions.

The Church from its beginnings had a strong missionary interest, and Norman MacRae one of the founding fathers, went out in 1876 to Narsapur in the Godaveri Delta, India. Up until today a long line of men and women from Greenview Church have followed Jesus’ command to ‘go into all the world to preach the gospel’ both by word and deed. I remember as a youngster the Pollokshaws Burgh Hall being packed to the door for ‘Farewell Meetings’ followed by trips to the Central Station where we waved off our friends as they made their way to Tilbury Dock in London, before sailing to Africa and South America. Many country names come to mind – Northern Rhodesia, Argentina, Brazil, East Pakistan, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania and other nations in the Middle East. Alex Simpson of Pollokshaws died in Brazil, and an orphanage there is called after him. Men and women with a wide variety of skills from the Shaws have left our shores and used their gifts and skills to help folks around the world, and to build, plant and support the Church.

No space here to expand on all the activities of the Church over the years – suffice to say they have been exhaustive. Not including the main Sunday morning and evening services, there has been Bible studies and weekly prayer meetings, Summer ‘Tent’ Campaigns, Choirs singing at Churches around Scotland’s Central belt, Christian conferences, Sunday Schools (Pollokshaws and Thornliebank) with summer trips and children’s prizegivings, Childrens meetings galore, Christian Youth Centre during and after the war, with 2 week summer camps around Scotland and winter craft making and games nights, Youth Bible Classes and special weekends away, Womens tea meetings, Sewing classes, mens meetings, a football team, white water rafting, golf outings, and much more. Some Greenview pics from the ancient past, and from more recent times follow.

During the pandemic the church services were on-line with the help of Zoom, but that gave the opportuniy to upgrade the church building and its fittings. Now services are back in church, and whilst we practice social distancing and wear masks, it’s great having the live band for our singing, and to see friends old and new in person.

Life has changed dramatically in Pollokshaws in my lifetime, and our church too has had to deal with many changes. But thankfully God does not change and the good news of Jesus does not change. In fact the Bible says of Jesus, that He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. An anchor to our souls in our increasingly chaotic world. Our community cafe has started again on Wednesday and Friday mornings, and many have already come to enjoy the friendly welcome and excellent food and coffee. Tot’s and Co. on Tuesday and Thursday mornings are seeing lots of local mums making friends and finding support there, and our ‘Christians Against Poverty’ Centre is up and running, helping folks escape the debt trap. We also have a programme in partnership with ‘Hope for Glasgow’ that deals with those who have destroying addictions. Sunday School runs in parallel with our morning service at 11am, and there is a thriving Youth Group.

If you are coming to Glasgow we would love to see you, and of course if you stay in Pollokshaws there is always a welcome awaiting you!

We look forward to following the ongoing development of Pollokshaws and its Churches, so with this picture of the Burgh Hall, I wish all my fellow bloggers and my Pollokshaws friends at home and abroad a ‘Happy Christmas and God’s blessing in the New Year!’

Matthew

2020 LOCKDOWN ESCAPES to the great outdoors!

It’s easy to look back on 2020 and think of all the restrictions that we lived under, but my photographic record seems to tell a different story. We did in fact enjoy some beautiful weather, and made many escapes to the great outdoors – either in the garden, the local vicinity or further afield. I’ve picked a photograph for each month as a review of the year, that tries to sum up our outdoor activities.

In early January we headed for Arrochar at the top of Loch Long

Arrochar is the ‘half way’ point in a popular drive from Glasgow, known as the ‘The Three Lochs’. Loch Lomond, Loch Long and the Gareloch. It’s a great place for a picnic, and we often stop here before travelling on to other destinations such as, Invergarry or Dunoon.

Irvine is our nearest point to the sea, so hardly a month goes by without us being here, either for a walk on the beach or for a read in the car if the weather is inclement! In my ‘boyish imagination’I think looking at this photo, that I’m standing on the deck of a submarine as it heads out to sea from the clyde 🙂

In March, just before lockdown we visited Balquidder on a stormy sleety March day. This is the Churchyard where another popular Scottish folk hero is buried, Rob Roy MacGregor, known as the ‘Robin Hood’ of Scotland.

Stay Safe, stay local, so we did! This is the housing estate where we live

The weather in April was amazing for this time of year, so almost every day we walked around enjoying the budding trees and hedgerows. We now know more of our local area than ever before!

May – Apple Blossom in the garden, daffodils and tulips in decline, YES! summer is around the corner

The garden and greenhouse played a major part in our outdoor activities this year, and it was a real blessing to have them.

In June daytime in Scotland extends to 11pm and beyond, so it was nice to drive around the area close to home one summer evening. There I spotted this unusual cross on top of a Presbyterian Church, which seemed to me to still have the ‘crown of thorns’ hanging on the cross. With the moon in the background it was for me a very emotive scene, hence the photo and the text.

Girvan beach and ‘Ailsa Craig’ on a warm summer July evening!

In July restrictions were eased, so having already cancelled our holidays, we made most of the opportunity to make day trips here, there and everywhere!

With lots of sunshine and much care and attention the greenhouse produced a bumper harvest this year, and we are still enjoying the benefits of it yet, from the freezer!

September saw us having a short autumn break in the Scottish Highlands at Inverness. We have many memories of beaches, castles, battlefields and memorials. One of our finest memories was walking on the beach at Dornoch on a glorious sunny day.

October we were back at church with social distancing, no singing and a maximum of fifty persons. It was great to be there again, for although zoom has been an alternative and a blessing, nothing beats meeting together with fellow Christians to worship and praise God, in the quietness the church building provides.

Glasgao Necropolis – Glasgow Cathedral in the background

November we visited the famous Glasgow Necropolis for the first time, to view the grandoise tombstones of the past, and to enjoy amazing views over old Glasgow, and also Glasgow’s ancient Cathedral

December and the first signs of ice on the local pond!

Yes, winter is here, lockdown is back to level four, and on a few mornings this last week we have been scraping the ice from the car windows. But the central heating is on, and we have every comfort, and the good news is that a vaccine has been developed for Covid 19. So we are thankful for everything we have enjoyed in 2020 and look forward with faith and hope to 2021.

Matthew

The Bookcase – it’s dangerous to go there!

I confess that looking in my bookcase is not something I do very often these days, as I now find it easier reading from my ‘Kindle’ due to print size, back lighting, and the ability to carry your whole library around with you. However I was searching in my bookcase yesterday for a particular book, and in the process was distracted by two other books that caught my eye! Books have power 🙂

One of the books I picked up and browsed was Tom Lennie’s ‘Land of Many Revivals’ – Scotland’s extraordinary Legacy of Christian revivals over four centuries 1527 – 1857, published in 2015. What an amazing amount of research has gone into this book. Many people will know, and have read of the Lewis Revival (1949-52) and perhaps have heard people speak about it at an event or on TV or You Tube. But I guess most Scots are oblivious to the fact that this whole phenomena of Christian revival goes a long way back in Scottish history.

Being a Glasgow boy I looked for ‘Glasgow’ in the index, and read with interest of George Whitefield’s visit in 1741 and of his subsequent visits. Even by 1751 Whitefield recorded that he was speaking to ten thousand souls every day, with people leaving their homes early in the morning to walk into the city to hear him. Countless numbers of people came to put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, claiming Him to be their Saviour and Lord.

Pictures of Tiree

Since my ancestors came from the Isle of Tiree, that was where I next looked. I was interested to read that revival commenced there in the Congregational Church at the end of 1839, and spread to the Baptist Church. In the late 1830’s the Baptist pastor there, a Duncan MacDougal lamented – ‘sunk too much into formality, and we almost despair of prosperity’. By the end of 1840 MacDougal was exclaiming ’Our winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the time of the singing of birds has come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land’! There were frequent baptisms, one in April 1840 records 300-400 people on the edge of the loch witnessing the baptism of another six candidates. As I read that I wondered, was one of my ancestors among them?

The other book that ‘caught my eye’ was ‘Covenanting Pilgrimages and Studies ‘ by A B Todd published in 1911. It was a kind of ‘Eureka’ moment when I put my hands on it. I had forgotten that I had it, and in recent months we have been visiting some of the many Covenanter monuments that are scattered around this area of East Renfrewshire, and throughout the South West of Scotland. In fact I recently made a short video on this subject, (see below). As an aside, the book is special because it originally was given to James Wands as a Bible Class prize in Glasgow. Jim Wands was one of my leaders as a teenager at our Christian Youth Centre, and later became my friend. I received the book from his library on his death.

Today it seems that in society at large, much of Scotland’s Christian heritage is ignored and set aside. But it’s also encouraging to read of the many exciting things happening within churches of various denominations up and down the land, and the impact many are making in their communities. My own Church is always packed out on a Sunday, and every day throughout the week a busy programme is in operation.

Perhaps it is time to start praying again for ‘Revival’, as our nation and world seem in such chaos, and many individual lives are broken and in despair! May God again bless the people of Scotland!

And yes, I eventually found the book I was looking for!

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: