Southside Scorcher

Well, the Southside Festival has fairly grown up! It can't be more than 5 years ago I stood with handful of others and a family of ducks on dreich and sodden Saturday afternoon to watch the band play on the back of a lorry in Queens Park.. well not anymore...

The 2012 festival followed hot on the heels of the Southside Film Festival and with it marked what hopefully is the start of the summer. The sweltering hear and blazing sunshine enhanced the colours and atmosphere that the procession of dancers, drummers, musicians. old buses and fire engines not to mention the bloke with his Alsatian, parker jacket and Lidl bag ( it wouldn't have been a true Glasgow festival without him!) brought to the southside of Glasgow at the weekend.

I couldn't help but notice a swarm of people frantically following the Tunnock's van as it ejected caramel wafers at passers by, some of whom were lucky enough to get hit with the fantastic Scottish treat.

The precession looped around Queen's Park and into the main park area, which was filled with live music, food stalls, bouncy castles and dodgems, fencing competitions, face painting.. and tons more. Enough to keep people out in the sun all day until an emergency visit to the Victoria Hospital for 3rd degree burn treatment was required, going by the amount of flesh on display.

Great to see a good turnout for the festival, highlighting the culture which is all too alive and well in the Southside, a far cry from my initial introduction to the festival.