Round Ma Bit: The Gallowgate Twins 

I was one of the last tenants in the Whitevale block. My walls were blighted with furry damp mould and the place was absolutely freezing in winter. I lived there during the really bad winter of around 2009-2010 when temperatures were dropping as low as -20C. There were serious problems with the water supply in the final years and I often went without any supply for a day or two. The block only had one stairwell as well; a veritable death trap in the event of a major fire. There was really no way to save the buildings as they were badly designed in the first place. I watched them be slowly dismantled from the flat I moved to in Townhead. I can't say I had any sentimental attachment to what was probably the worst tenancy I ever possessed.

Fantastically put together program, it should be shown on BBC Scotland. Congratulations on making it.

My Granda lived in one of these. Although it's clear to me now that it was very rough, the memories I have are a special time spent with my Granda of which there were few. Sitting in front of the telly with my dad and his, munching muscles and watching the Glasgow Rangers getting skelpt no doubt. I often still turn to look for them as I pass and just like my Granda, it's a sombre reminder they are gone.

This has happened here in Canada as well. In Vancouver there are luxury condominiums on the East side of the city. The owners literally look down and see poor homeless people below them. I live in a small city in Ontario. I am a senior on a fixed income. My rent for 2 tiny rooms in a basement cost 60 per cent of my income. I am just so grateful to have a roof over my head. It was 40 below zero here for weeks at a time last winter. Something needs to be done to help the poor. Decent housing, food , clothes, education and jobs are human rights. The rich get richer and become greedier with each passing year. I feel so sorry for the young people. They deserve better. We all do.

I used to live just off Duke Street and would walk past these every day. Broke my heart to watch them being taken down literally brick by brick. Every day a wee bit more would be gone. Given how many homeless people there are across Glasgow, Scotland and the UK as a whole, it makes no sense to get rid of these buildings. Same goes for the Red Road flats . And what with the war in Ukraine, buildings like these could easily have served as refuge housing.

My Grandparents stayed in these flats from the day they opened until the early 90’s. I was born & bred in the Eastend (Haghill) & have NEVER once heard the flat called ‘the gallowgate twins’ 🤔🤔

22:27 Alasdair Gray is talking about the people that gathered at my mum’s (Janette McGinn) garden in Rutherglen to oppose the Poll Tax warrant sales. I wish he had said her name as she was proud of that! Brilliant documentary.

The east end of glasgow has beautiful architecture. I actually live in shettleston which has the lowest life expectancy in glasgow with a life expectancy of 52 though all I seem to see is pensioners but maybe they're just rough looking twenty year olds

I really enjoyed that Video. I was born in Duke St Hospital and lived at 36 Annfield Street just off the Gallowgate until being rehoused in Easterhouse in 1958.

Excellent film makers . Only just found this . Extremely compelling viewing. I'd love to watch more of your work .

Really enjoyed this. Spent a lot of my youth in Gallowgate, Calton and Duke St. great seeing the twins again, brilliantly done 🎨👍🏻

Really, REALLY enjoyed this informative doc. Lots of heart and history, thanks for posting!

Born in Glasgow but brought up down south, these being back happy School holiday memories of staying with my Auntie & Cousins in the flats on Millerston Street underneath the shadow of these flats, I could always find my way back as you could see the flats for miles. Also evokes memories of the General Wolfe pub and Terry’s Tattoo Parlour!

Born & bred in Haghill & have never heard anyone local call whitevale flats “gallowgate twins”. Great doc though.

Fantastic, well done to all involved. A really heartfelt exploration of the East End and its problems.

I used to go to the swimming in whitevale,three times a week,it was the only way to keep clean as our house had no bathroom,played football on the car park at the flats every Sunday,my pal who was only 40 died in one of the flats,alcohol related,I moved away in 76 and have never lived in the east end since,love a weekend in Glesga but would never consider moving back.

Just watching him look over that walkway edge makes me feel dizzy

What a gem of a film!

People who left these houses would most probably have been rehoused in schemes like Easterhouse or Ruchazie, where the living conditions, or even the flats themselves wouldn't be much of an improvement. Glasgow City Council claim the reason for demolishment was that it would cost more to renovate them than it would to demolish them and rehouse tenants in the afore mentioned areas. I think this is far from true; yes renovation would have been costly, but I think a large part of it comes down to the outside perspective - I'll admit they're not the most attrctive of buildings, and over the last 20 years areas surrounding Bluevale and Whitevale have become more prosperous; for example a lot of Dennistoun is now housing middle class professionals, the upward-socially-mobile, and students... that is, people who look at the buildings every day and consider them an eyesore, yet have never stepped foot in them or ever spoken to anyone who lives in them. I think it came from protests of this type of person that GCC listened to and therefore demolished them... a sorry excuse for a solution to something that wasn't really a problem. Flats should've been invested in as part of the Commonwealth regeneration programme. .

What a fantastic wee film, thoroughly enjoyed it and made extra special by the appearance of both James Kelman and Alasdair Gray - what a man! Love him!

In the mid 1970s I worked in Barrowfield and often walked past these flats on my way to and from Duke Street station. Immediately opposite the towers on the other side of Millerston Street was a foundry whose chimney was less than half the height of the flats. When the wind came in from the east the blocks were shrouded in thick, acrid, grey fumes that seemed to cling to the structures. Just walking through this cloud left me spluttering and coughing: god knows what it was like for the tenants. The decision by Glasgow City Council to build these flats so close to a works producing large amounts of noxious fumes illustrates how little thought was given to the welfare of the people who would be housed there.

Watched this a few times and it is very well made, bbc quality

That was fantastic that video! Gutted that they've pulled down Scotland's tallest buildings to date! The red road flats second to that. Glasgow is starting to look like a pancake! Fantastic video though I must say!

The old Bin Towers. Needed pulled doon decades before they were. Should do a doc on that Bellgrove “Hotel”. How in this day and age that is still a thing is a stain on oor city.

Really well done. Thank you.

I passed by there the other day. The twins are away, and the other flats are all boarded up now

For regeneration read "Modern day clearances"

Well presented and informative programme .

11:52 that space has now been filled with new houses

Great film and points well made. Where are the real people these days?

Well made documentary - learned much.

I played wae a ouija board one night in those flats. I'm a total sceptic but i will say it was a fucking interesting night.

great film

Last shot was excellent foreshadowing with the 2 towers, from the view of the necropolis amongst the tombstones.

Great video.

Great documentary! Are there more of these from the same film crew?

Regeneration great social gesture but in reality they never prevented homelessness from occurring.

Brilliant video that

Used to stay 22 up in bluevale street.

If the red road flats were still standing then bluevale were not the highrst in scotland because red road were 30 to 32 high

I always picture these flats when I think of the twins in game of thrones

they should of just done the old houses up - Victor McDaid

All the players were 30 miles from celtic park. Bobby Lennox was fae Saltcoats

hahaha on yersel wullie. i can just imagine irene shouting in the lift

Good man Liam,great video,being going over to Glasgow since the mid 90's mostly to CELTIC games.............the place is unrecognizable ,from the first times we went over.......Brian Hogan,CSC,Nenagh Co.TIPPERARY.............

Isnt it funny how whether it's private housing schemes of tick tack boxes built on flood plains, or tearing down and breaking up communities, private landowners and developers always come out of it with their pockets well lined? I'm told that some of the houses being built in my area win' last twenty years. We' ve got houses being built on flood plains of the Firth of Forth and on top of mines, but no one's talking about how we can't get doctors just now, how much of our countryside gets built over, and whether our roads can cope. We will get some public art though. Who needs doctors or jobs when we'll have more sculptures? Good luck to the folk who have the Forth in their living room in ten years' time.

Loved the program, the walkway was so dangerous! I found the music a bit overpowering and the sound too low. Older people have problems with competing sounds! Great job, more please!

Its a disgrace what the council did to Mrs Jaconneli - they robbed the woman blind while happy enough to line the pockets of well known Glasgow business men with their dodgy wink wink deals

very good film and its so true about how many people from the east end will use the sporting facilities built for the commonwealth games?

Should do an updated one mate

I didn't realise they were slightly taller than the Red Road Flats.

nice on liam ever thought of civil servicde job and being tv presenter !!

Wonderful film Liam. Could I share a link to a short drama I made set in the Bluevale flats. The Pigeon

I enjoyed this video as it looks like America is heading into socialism. This is what we will get. You have to listen closely to understand what is being said.

Jack a I’d like to know what your thoughts are on wiping out a generation? The kids born on late 60s 70s ? & housing split the community up without thought! & given all new builds to European culture folk it seems! But they live in there lavish community’s ! Even the housing officers got residents to join the committee! So it looks as if the community agreed with plans! Fact is they were hoodwinked with a free trip to glen eagles hotel expenses paid ! No meeting to vote! Just railroaded! & if questions well locals were on board with committee! We’re are the majority of these local kids of the 80s ? Silent bomb the drugs wich no one wants to discuss!

i always thought that the 32 storey red road flats were the tallest

who knows what is in that dust.........

Omg I'm the boy what went past at 2:00 minutes in

They high flats are gone now

one by one scotland are tearing down iconic buildings, its sad

"but, still at the same time I think there was an attempt to house people who didn't have a lot of money." As always, socialists have never understood economics, all the government intervention drove costs through the roof, including the private sector and then after socialists create that problem they then act like they weren't the culprits, so then act as the saviour where they try to justify the failure. Here we have the prime example, he starts off by saying: "and a lot of it wasn't very good in terms of its architecture and design and building quality..." As always, when it comes to socialism, there follows the "but". It's picture perfect of the socialist pish like the NHS, there is always the 'but,' because to accept the truth is to accept that it's a disaster. Just like the NHS, it's always "but look at American..." the American healthcare system is not capitalist. Just like this, there's always the but. This is the price you pay for public ownership. The major fault of public ownership is that it's propped up, it is subsidised, so there's never an incentive to look after it because it is guaranteed funding, whereas, with private ownership there is the economic reality that your property can appreciate or depreciate in value and you individually are left to pay the brunt of that if the property devalues. Which is why there is the incentive for the individual property owner to look after their own property. Public ownership is absent from this, people just think: "Oh, I don't need to bother, other people pay for it." So what you end up seeing with public housing is that the quality deteriorates over time because it is subsidised, it's paid for by the taxpayer of the private sector. Mind you, this was a large reason our economy was in such shit state, the taxpayer was being bled dry and for what? Substandard, ugly, piss poor quality like that? Classic example of economic central planning, it never works.

BIG JOCK FUCKIN KNEW

Sad why they got demolished =(((

8 like it

GAve yae a sub bud

I was enjoying this until you started waffling on about Celtic, then I gave up and switched it off Not everything has to be about THEM you know

Well put together , forget to mention big jock knowing though

big jock knew

9:21 You can see the Stadium of Scotland's most successful team. 👍🏻

That fucking accent man 😂😂😂

Good riddance to these so called housing blocks damp box living

Hate that place

ask donald duck about thAt