Postcards from Futsol — Glasgow
We head to the chilly streets of Glasgow with model and stylist Leon Cerrone.
Where to eat: Outlier, Big Counter, Langside Cafe, Cibo
Where to drink: Queens Park Cafe, Cafe Buena Vida, The Rose Reilly
What to do: Watch Pollok FC, Head to the Barras Market
If you told me a few years ago my life would have taken me across the border to Glasgow I'd have laughed or probably said something a little more colourful. But here we are. I now call Glasgow home, and I'm starting to fall in love with all its quirks and character.
It’s a well-worn cliche that "people make Glasgow". When I first told people me and my partner were moving to Glasgow (my wife is originally from Aberlour) people raised their eyebrows. But after being here for three years I can firmly say the people here are friendly, salt of the earth and really do make the city what it is.
You're more than likely to follow one of the big two teams here in Glasgow and we all know who they are, but I've actually been to watch Pollok FC play more than Celtic and Rangers.
Pollok compete in the West of Scotland Football League in tier six of the Scottish football pyramid. The ground is right in the middle of the up and coming Southside of Glasgow and they regularly get a crowd of around 700 for a Saturday game. They currently sit 8th in the league, which Clydebank are running away with this year.
The last game I saw them play was against 3rd-placed Drumchapel, who have Ally McCoist's son, Argyll McCoist up front for them. The thing I love about Pollok is how close you can get to the pitch and hear everything that's said between both sets of players and managers, plus it's just a great mix of people that go week in week out.
The Langside cafe has been open since 1920, and is perfect for a pre match fry up or roll and sausage, and if you're lucky enough and the sun is shining towards the end of or the beginning of the season— an ice cream.
With the southside becoming a cooler up and coming part of town and one of the most sought after places to live, the array of characters in this quirky little cafe is really mixed.
If you're in town I'd recommend a visit to Outlier, a great spot for brunch cakes and coffee. I help lead a run club from there so if you are around early enough on a Saturday morning you might see up to 90 keen runners. They have now started opening Friday and Saturday nights for evening service. A five minute walk from Outlier is the famous Barras market.
The Barras has been open since 1921 and is a bit of an institution here, especially with the more colourful locals. You cannot mention the Barras without mentioning the Barrowland ballroom, which is one of the most famous gig venues in the UK.
Cibo is one of my favorite spots in the Southside and is a great little Italian cafe/Deli. It's one of the first places I visited after we got here. I have Italian heritage, so one of the first things I look for when visiting a new place is an Italian deli. The first time I went in I got speaking to the owner Michael who told me he played football for Sora, a small town just outside of Rome where my father’s family are from. Michael and his family come from Rome so are huge Roma fans.
If you want something a little more fancy to eat you have Big Counter - a restaurant a little further along the Victoria Road. Their steak is unreal. They also have a sister place called Errol's pizza on the same road.
I tend to frequent three watering holes not too far away from the Pollok ground. The Queens Park Cafe is an old school boozer with locals who have drunk there for years mixing with the students and trendies who have now become a mainstay of the Southside. It still has a U shaped bar and little lounge at the back and the Guiness is top notch. It's a big Celtic pub and on matchdays the place is pumping.
Cafe Buena Vida is across the road from the Queens Park Cafe and is a local independent internet radio station where I have a show once a month. They now have an alcohol licence if you want something a little more out there from an independent brewery. The last time I was in there I was sipping on an Iron Brew beer.
Last but not least is the Rose Reilly pub named after Rose Reilly who was born in Stewarton a town just outside of Glasgow. She is and probably will be the only ever Scottish player to win a World Cup.
Rose started playing for Stewarton boys after cutting her hair short and going by the name of Ross as there were no girls teams at the time. She played in the first ever women's Scotland vs England match in 1972. After 10 caps she was mysteriously banned by the Scottish football Association. She moved to Italy and played for AC Milan, Napoli, Bari and earned 14 caps for the Italy national squad and a World Cup winners medal in 1984. The Rose Reilly pub is frequented by more of the Southsides cooler crowd - it's a great place for a beer.
I was born in Birmingham and spent 15 years in London, which I probably still class as home. But Glasgow and its people have definitely taken a piece of my heart.
