fayyoung

About Fay

Editor in Chief for Walking Heads, Fay is a blogger, writer and editor with a special interest in what makes cities tick.

Join the Glasgow Chase

How well do you know your city?  Where do you find the best music, art, architecture or cinema in Glasgow?   To test your local knowledge join us for our latest treasure hunt at the Buchanan Street Apple Store at 6pm on Thursday 24 July. Bring your iPhone or iPad and be prepared for some surprises. […]

Spar or spa? Time to pause in Edinburgh’s poetry garden?

Not many people know this. Edinburgh’s poetry garden is hidden in the city centre, in the heart of Scotland’s capital. Take a moment and you will find it in that bright green breathing space between the shops, banks and offices of St Andrew Square. This weekend, poetry works its way in to Spa in the City. […]

Why fly when you can take the Orient Express?

“Surely this cannot be right.”  My travelling companion is not the only one looking doubtful as we emerge from a tunnel in the dark.  We’ve been told the next train to Istanbul is due to arrive but where is it?  More to the point, where is the platform? […]

12 years a slave – are you sitting comfortably?

A moral dilemma as the lights go down for 12 Years A Slave. It doesn’t seem quite right does it, sipping wine and tucking into fine food while you watch the violence and torture of a lifetime in slavery being played out on the giant screen in front of you? […]

Underground playlist on Glasgow Music Tour

Confession. We’ve been sitting on a huge treasure chest of sounds. In just a short walk through the city centre, Glasgow Music Tour meets an astonishing mix of musicians and at least one poet.  […]

Monumental rogues

At last, a chance to look down on that old devil Dundas. Not an altogether likeable chap. Among other misdeeds, Viscount Melville helped to prolong the slave trade by 15 years yet he can be seen towering over Scotland’s capital city for miles. How come? […]

Waterboys rock Glasgow with Fisherman’s Blues Revisited

“In the midst of the Barras crowd my 17-year-old self is singing her heart out, but right there beside her is my current self, drinking it all in, astonished by this music all over again.”  Guest blogger Anna Levin revisits  the past  and rediscovers the present with the Waterboys in Glasgow. […]

Warming the city with music

On a bleak day at the start of the week, a cheering email arrives from People Make Glasgow. Our music tour is included in the December issue of their newsletter, Edit, spreading news of the best events and venues in Glasgow to travel writers and journalists across the UK. And plenty for local people too. […]

What makes a city good to live in?

Glasgow buzzes and crackles with excitement about the new business 2014 seems set to bring, Dundee licks its wounds as Hull scoops the City of Culture title, Edinburgh glows at the top of yet another quality of life listing. […]

Work in progress: street art reveals tension in Mission District

At the end of the alley we stop to watch a work in progress, tubes of paint laid out, ladder propped up against a bold and brilliant mural.  Two street artists turn to watch us watching them: “A donation for materials is always welcome,” says the big one with a smile. […]

Chance encounters on a Saturday afternoon

“Follow me up this dark and narrow alley. Trust me, I know where I’m going.”  That’s Jim Gellatly about to dive down Renfield Lane on his virtual tour of Glasgow Music Scene. And now Tommy promises to lead us up a few more alleys on his live version of the tour. […]

Seeking unknown knowns of Glasgow music scene

Who was the first person to get married at the Barrowland Ballroom? What does it cost to light those neon stars? Which band has played the Barras more than any others? Where would you find a rooftop golf course in Glasgow? […]