A sad way for Glasgow to be back in the headlines
The tragic events of last week in Glasgow city centre have touched many.
As has been remarked by many from both near and far, it was a very sad way for Glasgow to be back in the headlines at the end of the year. Just over a year previously, the police helicopter crash onto the Clutha bar claimed 10 lives – including Joe Cusker from Cambuslang.
For Joe’s family, just as for the loved ones of those who sadly lost their lives in the city centre on a busy pre-Christmas shopping day just last week, Christmas and the festive period will be forever associated with loss and grief.
With such terrible news at the forefront of our minds, it is easy to forget the spectacular success that was the Commonwealth Games earlier this year in and around Glasgow (including the mountain biking competition at the Cathkin Braes).
Like many others living in Rutherglen and Cambuslang, from the lottery of the ticket sales, I got to see some sport I would not automatically have chosen – and, again with many others from our area, was one of the 15,000 Gamesmaker volunteers taking part at various venues across the city.
In all three of those events over the last year or so, a triumph between two tragedies, there have been many involved who deserve gratitude and recognition alike. The response to the two sad events just a few hundred yards from each other in the city centre were remarkable for the reaction and response of two groups of people.
Firstly, those who, by coincidence, just happened to be nearby and stepped in to do what they could to assist. It is often