No Mean Glasgow: Revelations of a Gorbals Guy

by Colin Macfarlane, Alex Norton (Foreword by)

In his last book, The Real Gorbals Story , Colin Macfarlane detailed how he witnessed a once great area inhabited by wonderful characters and buildings disappear before his very own eyes. By the time Macfarlane’s Gorbals slum was knocked down in the early 1970s, it was time for him to leave the roughest school in Glasgow and move to a new home in another part of the city. He also had to find an occupation. In an attempt to extradite himself from his Gorbals gang days, he took a job as an apprentice chef at one of Glasgow’s top restaurants, but soon discovered that his co-workers were just as insane as those he had mixed with on the rough Gorbals streets. Meanwhile, Macfarlane struggled to integrate smoothly into an area that was considered to be affluent and soon found himself on the run in London with some of the most notorious men in Scotland. Here, Macfarlane charts his eventful, fun-packed passage from Gorbals street boy to grown man. He describes his adventures with a mixture of humor, sadness, and delight. It is a book for those people living all over the world who remember :Old Glasgow"—a city teeming with warmth, passion, patter, and characters who could brighten up even the dullest of situations.

274 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2008

Reviews

[Steven Vinnicombe · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting sometimes sad , funny journey of the author and his many adventures.
From the early days in the Gorbals the numerous characters he met good and bad .
His working life in various places like Oban . His time in London Dublin Cardiff and Paris very funny and the different stories full of jokes and laughter, also sadness.
An extremely interesting read.

[colette kerlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I love this authors books.
I grew up in Glasgow at the same time as Colin and the books being back many memories.

[Sarah V Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read.

Brings back a lot of memories for this Glasgow girl who spent her summers working in Oban



Thank you Colin

[Peter Houston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love Glasgow and love books about Glasgow but found this book, excellent in parts, a bit of a cliche. Worth reading, though.

[Rank1n77 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love books about Glasgow & this one did not disappoint. 3.5 stars.