0:00:02 > 0:00:05This programme contains some strong language.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08Glasgow. A city made famous by its heavy industry
0:00:08 > 0:00:10and even heavier drinking.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14A city of hard men and even harder women.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17If you think these guys look tough, you should meet their mammies.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23A dear, green place where the skies are 50 shades of grey.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28A lot of people from Greece are looking at this and going,
0:00:28 > 0:00:32- "That would be a lovely place to stay!" - SHE LAUGHS
0:00:32 > 0:00:35This year, with the eyes of the world on Clydeside,
0:00:35 > 0:00:40four of us Glaswegians explore what it means to belong to Glasgow.
0:00:40 > 0:00:41Whoo!
0:00:41 > 0:00:45My name is Elaine Constance Smith. Bet you didnae know that.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50I've been an actor and comedienne for over 30 years,
0:00:50 > 0:00:52and I've made my name playing Glasgow women.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58A lot of people think I come from Glasgow, but actually,
0:00:58 > 0:01:01I was brought up in a wee mining village just outside the city...
0:01:01 > 0:01:03And my brolly! Fuck off!
0:01:04 > 0:01:08Glasgow for me was this place away in the distance,
0:01:08 > 0:01:10a fairyland, full of sophistication
0:01:10 > 0:01:12and I was desperate to be a part of it.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17I think Glasgow's a city built on the shoulders of its great women,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20but you don't often see them celebrated
0:01:20 > 0:01:23in the way that we do our city fathers.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26You don't see Glasgow women put on any pedestals.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29So I want to show you a different Glasgow.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31A Glasgow made by its women.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Scotland is the place that I was born into,
0:01:36 > 0:01:38but Glasgow is the place that made me,
0:01:38 > 0:01:42so I suppose you could say, I Belong to Glasgow.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44MUSIC HALL ORGAN PLAYS "I BELONG TO GLASGOW"
0:02:02 > 0:02:06# Well, when I get a couple O' drinks on a Saturday
0:02:06 > 0:02:10# Glasgow belongs to me. #
0:02:16 > 0:02:18Oh!
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Could I get a single to Glasgow, please?
0:02:21 > 0:02:24It's been years since I've been on a bus,
0:02:24 > 0:02:27and this particular route is a trip down memory lane.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30Coming from Newarthill, just outside Motherwell,
0:02:30 > 0:02:34there was only one way to make the 12-mile trip.
0:02:34 > 0:02:35And the bus would be full of women,
0:02:35 > 0:02:37dolled up for a day's shopping in the city.
0:02:39 > 0:02:45Coming into Glasgow with my mum was a really big adventure.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Going shopping was really a full-day affair.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52The excitement you had about a day in Glasgow.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55It wasn't quite as luxurious as this, I have to say.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59And of course people smoked on buses then, as well.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03What's wonderful here is that there's a mix of nationalities
0:03:03 > 0:03:06that would never have existed all those years ago.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10The Glasgow I was coming into in the early '70s
0:03:10 > 0:03:14was all black buildings and heavy industry.
0:03:14 > 0:03:15But I didn't see that.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18My Glasgow in the '70s was the bright lights
0:03:18 > 0:03:22of the big department stores and their gallus Glasgow glamour.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24One of the weirdest bus journeys,
0:03:24 > 0:03:29I ended up in court, believe it or not, because the bus driver
0:03:29 > 0:03:34got out his cab and head-butted a passenger for being cheeky!
0:03:34 > 0:03:38I gave my evidence of what had happened. The wee guy who
0:03:38 > 0:03:42had been huckled and all that came up to me afterwards and went,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44"Thanks very much for that, hen.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47"I don't even remember getting hame that night!"
0:03:47 > 0:03:49SHE CACKLES
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Sorry, disrupting your journey here, girls.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54Thank you, thanks very much. Bye-bye!
0:04:03 > 0:04:05And this is where it started - the shopping.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08How are you?
0:04:08 > 0:04:10Thank you very much. Pleasure to meet you, by the way.
0:04:10 > 0:04:11You're an absolute legend!
0:04:11 > 0:04:16"There's her, what's her name again, Dorothy Paul?!"
0:04:16 > 0:04:19This bit really should have been called the Argyle Street Triangle.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21Look!
0:04:21 > 0:04:23Fraser's.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Arnott Simpson's.
0:04:27 > 0:04:28Lewis's.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Shopping heaven.
0:04:30 > 0:04:31You could be lost for days here.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35It was on those shopping trips with my mum
0:04:35 > 0:04:37that I really noticed the women in their glad rags
0:04:37 > 0:04:40and the men with swaggers that could dry a washing.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44Even to this day, Glasgow's women are dressed up and on show.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46And why not?
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Glasgow's always been a city to be seen in.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Now it's staking its reputation on being
0:04:51 > 0:04:54the most fashionable shopping district in the UK.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58We're bold, we're brash, and we don't care what other people think.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01I think Glasgow has a different style to the rest of the UK.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04I think it's more Scandinavian and Northern.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06It's very artsy, very eclectic, very different, yeah.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09You can sort of dress the way you want here.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Most people, like me, obviously, have got the confidence
0:05:12 > 0:05:14to wear what they want.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18- I tell you what it is, it's all about the accessories.- Uh-huh.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20A good handbag.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22- And a decent scarf. - Uh-huh.
0:05:22 > 0:05:23And a nice wee bit of jewellery.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25I think Glasgow's one of the only places in the world
0:05:25 > 0:05:28that you can wear shorts on a winter's day
0:05:28 > 0:05:29and that's appropriate.
0:05:31 > 0:05:32That's a nice one.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39So maybe it's not what you wear, at all, it's how you wear it.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43- Hi, how are you?- Hi!
0:05:43 > 0:05:45Someone who should know all about Glasgow style
0:05:45 > 0:05:49is fashion historian Mairi MacKenzie at Glasgow School of Art.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53Her research looks at identity through fashion.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56What Glasgow does is it puts together its look really well.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58It's about the way people style themselves here.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00It's not about what's designed here.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02Your outfit might only be Primark or wherever...
0:06:02 > 0:06:06- But putting it all together... - Putting the whole thing together will really matter.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08People in Glasgow really dress up.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Much higher concentration of designer clothing.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Glaswegians wear their money.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Yes, Versace opened its only store outside of London,
0:06:16 > 0:06:20Ichi Ni San, all of these shops did incredibly well.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Now, this gaff is a different kettle of raw fish aw thegether.
0:06:23 > 0:06:29This is Ichi Ni San in the heart of Glasgow's trendy Merchant City.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Ichi Ni San's Japanese, by the way,
0:06:31 > 0:06:33don't know what it means in English.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36- Probably What Every Women Wants. - SHE LAUGHS
0:06:36 > 0:06:38That'd be a laugh, eh?!
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Where is the need to make the effort? Where does that come from?
0:06:41 > 0:06:45There's real pleasure to be had in the simple act of dressing up.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47I think it can be denigrated,
0:06:47 > 0:06:50and fashion is often equated with shopping, and it's seen as frivolous.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52But I think it's a really powerful tool
0:06:52 > 0:06:55in the creation of your self-identity.
0:06:55 > 0:06:56Identity?
0:06:56 > 0:06:58Identity crisis, more like.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01That was my Chrissie Hynde phase, by the way.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05The example of Glasgow's women gave me the freedom
0:07:05 > 0:07:07to express myself.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10And express myself I certainly did.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13MUSIC: "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder
0:07:13 > 0:07:16In 1976, as a trendy drama student,
0:07:16 > 0:07:18I moved to Glasgow's West End.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22# Very superstitious... #
0:07:22 > 0:07:25I started to really know what it was to be a Glasgow woman,
0:07:25 > 0:07:30working shifts as a barmaid and singing in the city's smoky clubs.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33This was my introduction to the hard, macho drinking culture that
0:07:33 > 0:07:36I'd heard about, and later became famous for acting in.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Haw, BT?
0:07:40 > 0:07:42Any chance of a full glass roon' here?
0:07:42 > 0:07:44I'm off to relive those days,
0:07:44 > 0:07:49for a drink in one of Glasgow's oldest pubs with someone who remembers the dark days
0:07:49 > 0:07:53when a women at the bar was as rare as a teetotal journalist.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Famous Weegie hack, Jack MacLean.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Sir Jack MacLean, I believe it's you.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Elaine, how are you? Great to see you.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04I'm very well. I'll buy you a drink. What do you want?
0:08:04 > 0:08:05I'll have a small brandy.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08Tell me about this place, the history of this place.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11This is traditionally what you might call a wee man's shop.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13Had you to be wee to get in?
0:08:13 > 0:08:15Well, I am!
0:08:15 > 0:08:18The most basic thing of course was that women could come in
0:08:18 > 0:08:19but they often didn't.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22I was brought up in a house where my dad didn't drink at all,
0:08:22 > 0:08:27so therefore, pubs for me had this romantic, mystical quality.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31In some of the pubs I remember there was a hatch where the drinks
0:08:31 > 0:08:33were put through into the snug, for the women.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36They used to go in and actually try and buy a pint of beer
0:08:36 > 0:08:40but they were always refused. They could have it in two half-pints.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44When I first started going into pubs, I do have to say
0:08:44 > 0:08:49I felt intimidated walking in to a bar, and I worked in the Doublet.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51- You felt intimidated?! - Yes, I did!
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Believe it or not. That's where I learnt my skills, if you like.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57And working in pubs I was able to come back
0:08:57 > 0:08:59and be a smartarse, or whatever.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Men can show their weaknesses in a pub
0:09:01 > 0:09:04that they'll no' show in their own house.
0:09:04 > 0:09:09Did you prefer it being a man's shop? Tell the truth.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12I will tell you the absolute truth, and I'm a bit ashamed of this,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16- I always preferred women coming into they shops.- Did you?
0:09:16 > 0:09:19I've frankly always preferred the company of women
0:09:19 > 0:09:20to the company of men.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22So why would you drink in here, then?
0:09:22 > 0:09:24Waiting for the women to come in and chat me up,
0:09:24 > 0:09:27- just like you, baby!- Hey!
0:09:27 > 0:09:30How would you say that the drinking culture in Glasgow has changed?
0:09:30 > 0:09:32There has been an enormous change.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37Perhaps in some ways there's been a feminisation, as healthy in society.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39There's been that in some of the pubs.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43Old-fashioned pubs like this, I think, are a thing of the past.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48But it was in these male-dominated, smoky bolt holes
0:09:48 > 0:09:51that I learned to be the woman I am today.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54So, when were the ladies' lavvies put in, then?
0:09:54 > 0:09:57We did create one in June, 1996.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00June 1996! I mean, that isn't that long ago.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02It was embarrassing for some of the ladies
0:10:02 > 0:10:04having to use the facilities next door.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Is that what they did, they went down to the pub down there?
0:10:06 > 0:10:09Or sometimes their boyfriend would do "edgie" for them
0:10:09 > 0:10:10and watch at the gents.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13- Who was the first to use it? - I was the first!
0:10:13 > 0:10:14- Are you kidding?- No!
0:10:14 > 0:10:17- How did you do that? - Standing up, of course!
0:10:17 > 0:10:18ELAINE CHORTLES
0:10:18 > 0:10:20Aye, would ye!
0:10:22 > 0:10:25So there you have it - women are more welcome in pubs
0:10:25 > 0:10:28and look at the progress, we've even got our own lavvy!
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Pubs taught me how to handle myself,
0:10:33 > 0:10:36And that served me well when I threw myself
0:10:36 > 0:10:38into another male-dominated world - comedy.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43By the 1980s I was starring alongside
0:10:43 > 0:10:44the cream of Scotland's talent
0:10:44 > 0:10:48in hit TV shows like Naked Video and City Lights.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51- Have you got a girlfriend? - Sorry?
0:10:51 > 0:10:56Being a woman in the industry has been difficult.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58Have you got a girlfriend?
0:10:58 > 0:11:01I was the wife, the mother, the nurse, the daughter.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03You don't get to be named
0:11:03 > 0:11:07And generally the tag-lines would be given to the men.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Ah, for God's sake, woman!
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Oh, thanks!
0:11:12 > 0:11:13TRAIN HORN SOUNDS
0:11:13 > 0:11:16And then, if you were a singer that could act
0:11:16 > 0:11:18and I was lucky I had a big chest,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22so if you've got a big chest you get to play dames and older women!
0:11:22 > 0:11:24It was playing an older character
0:11:24 > 0:11:27when I really turned to the women of Glasgow for inspiration.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31I was Dolly in the original Wildcat Theatre production
0:11:31 > 0:11:35of The Steamie - a play inspired by the city's working-class ladies.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38LAUGHTER
0:11:39 > 0:11:43Most plays were all men with a token woman.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46This was all women with a token man.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49You want to ask what I should do with a Yankee?
0:11:49 > 0:11:52It was a play about life, hardship
0:11:52 > 0:11:55and a celebration of what it was to be a Glasgow woman in the 1950s.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59- Can YOU dae it, Andy, eh? - Oh, aye.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03One thing that's hard to believe is, it was written by a man!
0:12:03 > 0:12:05My old pal Tony Roper.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10- Smudger! - Sir Anthony Roper, I believe!
0:12:10 > 0:12:14I wanted it to be the way I thought that women
0:12:14 > 0:12:17communicated with each other. Because it's different from men.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20I remember you said, "Smudger, I've written this play.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22"You're a feminist. Naebody wants to put it on.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24"Gonnae have a wee read at it?"
0:12:24 > 0:12:28I'd love to say I went, "Yes, it will be a massive hit",
0:12:28 > 0:12:29and the hit that it became.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32I didn't. I just thought it was about women, I thought
0:12:32 > 0:12:36it was really funny, I thought the characters were fantastic.
0:12:36 > 0:12:42I tell you what I thought was, until you did Dolly in The Steamie,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46I didn't realise that you were a very, very good actress.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50And I still think that you were so good in that.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54Oh, thanks, hen. This'll save me washing my feet the night!
0:12:54 > 0:12:56I couldn't have been that good, cos when they made
0:12:56 > 0:12:59the TV version, they cast Eileen McCallum as Dolly.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04Truth be told, I was playing a part 40 years older than me,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08and Eileen's performance was pure dead brilliant.
0:13:08 > 0:13:09Televisions, tae!
0:13:09 > 0:13:13See when that television's on? Naebody talks.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16- God, that wouldnae suit you, Dolly.- Naw, naw!
0:13:16 > 0:13:19So, one of my favourite songs in the whole thing,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22eventually, was Doreen singing "Dreams Come True".
0:13:22 > 0:13:27# Dreams come true... #
0:13:27 > 0:13:29I loved the laugh that came from the audience
0:13:29 > 0:13:33when she was singing about it, because they knew the irony of it.
0:13:33 > 0:13:34The laugh was, "I'll get it eventually.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36"I've put my name down for a hoose in Drumchapel!"
0:13:36 > 0:13:41The hope in the 1950s of what a hoose in Drumchapel would be.
0:13:41 > 0:13:47# Me and John will get a new
0:13:48 > 0:13:51# Hoose in Drumchapel
0:13:51 > 0:13:59# Where dreams come true. #
0:14:02 > 0:14:04Drumchapel, eh?
0:14:04 > 0:14:07"Hullo, Drumchapel 3776?"
0:14:07 > 0:14:11Tony's play really captured the reality of life at that time
0:14:11 > 0:14:15for those working-class women, and finally gave them a voice.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18I am her maid!
0:14:18 > 0:14:21Did your mum have an influence on the play at all?
0:14:21 > 0:14:23Yeah, she went to the steamies in Glasgow.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25So although she wasn't in rehearsals,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28was there a sort of nod to your mother in that?
0:14:28 > 0:14:33Oh, definitely. Oh, I adored my ma, absolutely adored her.
0:14:33 > 0:14:34In fact, if I go on, I'll greet.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37- I know, I'll greet too, don't make me greet!- So we'll stop.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39Aye, we'll stop there, yeah, yeah.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45The play's success has gone way beyond Glasgow.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47The warmth of the characters has touched the hearts of people
0:14:47 > 0:14:50from all different backgrounds all over the world.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53The Glasgow wummin had landed.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56It became a sort of phenomenon.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00I had never experienced a reaction or an audience like that.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02The entire audience stood up.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06Something happened between us and the audience that went,
0:15:06 > 0:15:07it was like that.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11I never, in my wildest dreams, did I ever think that
0:15:11 > 0:15:16if I did write something, it would have lasted for as long as it has.
0:15:16 > 0:15:17And will go on.
0:15:21 > 0:15:22Govan please, driver!
0:15:24 > 0:15:27I'm really proud that I was a part of bringing
0:15:27 > 0:15:28that piece of Glasgow women's history
0:15:28 > 0:15:30to audiences all over the world.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34"I had a fantastic year touring with The Steamie,
0:15:34 > 0:15:39but for over 20 years, my career was dedicated to playing
0:15:39 > 0:15:42another, more infamous Glasgow woman.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Hey, Mary! Get your arse in here a wee minute, hen!
0:15:45 > 0:15:47'Mrs Mary Doll Nesbitt.'
0:15:47 > 0:15:48Is that you?
0:15:48 > 0:15:53That's me hen, that's that. It's official! That is me, pure mental!
0:15:53 > 0:15:58Pure mental! Oh, Rab, I'm that pleased for ye!
0:15:58 > 0:16:01'I remember a woman coming up on Buchanan Street
0:16:01 > 0:16:03'and she said, "You're that lassie aff the telly"
0:16:03 > 0:16:07and I was like, "Yeah, yeah," chuffed I was being recognised.
0:16:07 > 0:16:12She says, "See that Glasgow wummin, hen? Naebody does it like ye."
0:16:12 > 0:16:14And that was like the best compliment
0:16:14 > 0:16:17I could ever have had, because they were believing it.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20Here, Rab, I brung your pieces, you forgot them.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23He'll no' have time to eat those, he's got far too much work to do.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25'It was really important for me'
0:16:25 > 0:16:28that it really offended the middle classes!
0:16:28 > 0:16:31"That's a terrible image to give of Glasgow!"
0:16:31 > 0:16:34- I wouldn't even attempt to argue with you.- Good.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38No, instead I'll get right doon tae it and gie ye the severe malky!
0:16:40 > 0:16:44But in fact, it's another Mary from Govan that is one of my heroes.
0:16:46 > 0:16:47Mary Barbour.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53I was in my early 20s before I discovered that Glasgow's history
0:16:53 > 0:16:55wasn't built on men alone, and that
0:16:55 > 0:16:58many of the city's revolutionary figures were actually women.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04One of these great women was Govan housewife Mary Barbour.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08In 1915, she led one of the largest rent strikes
0:17:08 > 0:17:09in political history.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12MUSIC: "Happy" by Pharrell Williams
0:17:12 > 0:17:16# It might seem crazy What I'm 'bout to say... #
0:17:16 > 0:17:20So, let's see in today's Govan, which Mary is better known.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22Thanks, driver.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26Could I speak to you for a wee minute?
0:17:26 > 0:17:29Oh, no!
0:17:29 > 0:17:31Does anybody in Govan know who Mary Barbour was?
0:17:31 > 0:17:33Hello!
0:17:33 > 0:17:35- Do you know who Mary Barbour was? - No.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38- Do you know who Mary Doll is, Mary Nesbitt?- Aye, you.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41- Do you know who Mary Barbour was? - What you doing here?
0:17:41 > 0:17:44I'm doing a documentary about my Glasgow, if you like.
0:17:44 > 0:17:45You're looking well.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47Thank you darling, no' bad for an old bint.
0:17:47 > 0:17:48I've always watched you.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52- Do you know who Mary Barbour was? - Don't have a clue.- See?
0:17:52 > 0:17:54Do you know who Mary Barbour was?
0:17:54 > 0:17:56- That Mary Doll?- No!
0:17:56 > 0:17:57Mary Doll is the only Mary we know!
0:17:57 > 0:17:59THEY LAUGH
0:17:59 > 0:18:01# Laugh along if you feel that... #
0:18:01 > 0:18:05Thankfully, I've found someone in Govan that does know
0:18:05 > 0:18:07who Mary Barbour is - former Labour MP, Maria Fyffe.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11This area here has changed out of all recognition.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15Maria is a chairwoman of a campaign to raise the profile
0:18:15 > 0:18:18of Glasgow's greatest unsung hero.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22Mary Barbour was a woman who achieved something fantastic.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26A Govan housewife who led 20,000 tenants to victory
0:18:26 > 0:18:30and created a change in the law that affected the whole of Britain.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36In 1915, when Glasgow's men were off fighting for their country,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39greedy landlords took advantage of a housing shortage
0:18:39 > 0:18:42and pushed up rents.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44It was Mary Barbour
0:18:44 > 0:18:47that led the women in a fight back against the factors,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50organising protests and preventing evictions.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54When a particular tenant got conned by the factor
0:18:54 > 0:18:56into paying the extra rent...
0:18:56 > 0:19:00He had lied to her and said the other tenants where paying up,
0:19:00 > 0:19:01and when Mary found out
0:19:01 > 0:19:06she marched down to the shipyards, spoke to the shop stewards
0:19:06 > 0:19:09and got them to come out with her to go to the factor's office
0:19:09 > 0:19:12where they demanded that he pay the money back!
0:19:12 > 0:19:14So she knew about protection!
0:19:14 > 0:19:15THEY LAUGH
0:19:15 > 0:19:19# Mrs Barbour's army swept through Glesga like the plague... #
0:19:19 > 0:19:22There's a wonderful photograph saying
0:19:22 > 0:19:25"God help the sheriff that tries to get into this!"
0:19:25 > 0:19:26# While oor menfolk Fight the Kaiser
0:19:26 > 0:19:29# We'll stay hame and fight the war
0:19:29 > 0:19:33# Against the greedy bastards who Keep grindin' doon the poor... #
0:19:35 > 0:19:38Some of the landlords took 18 tenants to court
0:19:38 > 0:19:42and on that day, Mary Barbour organised a huge march
0:19:42 > 0:19:44through the city of Glasgow.
0:19:44 > 0:19:4620,000 apparently turned out in that march
0:19:46 > 0:19:49but the men also came out the shipyards.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51In the Sheriff court that day, they were in a panic
0:19:51 > 0:19:54because the men were feeling really ferocious about it
0:19:54 > 0:19:57and threatening to pull the city apart!
0:19:57 > 0:20:00They said, "What will we do?" and they phoned Lloyd George,
0:20:00 > 0:20:04who was Munitions Minister then, and he said "Let the tenants go"
0:20:04 > 0:20:08and before the month was out, he got a law passed
0:20:08 > 0:20:11to say the rents would be restricted.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14So that was legislation new of its kind in the whole of Europe.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16So it's a fantastic achievement.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22It's almost like their history been ignored.
0:20:22 > 0:20:23What do you think about that?
0:20:23 > 0:20:27I grew up in a family where we knew about Keir Hardy
0:20:27 > 0:20:32and about John Maclean but knew nothing about Mary Barbour
0:20:32 > 0:20:35until many years later, and I thought, why is this?
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Someone that was an inspirational figure.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42If they could do that in those days, with living in poverty,
0:20:42 > 0:20:46leaving school at 14, if they could do all that, what's stopping us?
0:20:46 > 0:20:47Absolutely.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51What is the campaign about, then? What do you want to achieve?
0:20:51 > 0:20:55I want to see a statue of Mary Barbour in Govan.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58I am sure she would feel very honoured by that.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01And about high bloody time, I think!
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Well, Maria, you've got my full support.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12There are loads of statues all over this city.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15If Maria's campaign is successful, it will bring
0:21:15 > 0:21:19the number of public statues of women in Glasgow to a grand total of
0:21:19 > 0:21:20four.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23Aye, there she is.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26Here, in Govan, is one of them.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30Lady Elder, Glasgow philanthropist.
0:21:30 > 0:21:35But what I can't bear is, on the statue, it's not even her own name!
0:21:35 > 0:21:39It's "Mrs John Elder". That's ridiculous!
0:21:42 > 0:21:46And this tribute to a Spanish civil war leader is number two.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48La Pasionara.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54And number three is apparently somewhere here in George Square.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56Right, guy.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Who's up there? Definitely a guy.
0:22:00 > 0:22:01Guy,
0:22:01 > 0:22:03guy, guy,
0:22:03 > 0:22:06guy, guy on a horse.
0:22:06 > 0:22:07Another guy there.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Ah! A wummin!
0:22:11 > 0:22:13A wummin!
0:22:13 > 0:22:14Queen Victoria!
0:22:14 > 0:22:17The only woman in George Square.
0:22:17 > 0:22:2212 statues, 11 of them are men, one's a woman.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24We are not bloody amused!
0:22:29 > 0:22:31I've got a list as long as my arm
0:22:31 > 0:22:33of women that I think deserve a statue.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37Women that have done something for this city, like Eilish Angiolini,
0:22:37 > 0:22:41another Govan girl and first female Lord Advocate of Scotland.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Or Jessie Campbell, pioneer of education for women
0:22:44 > 0:22:49or founder of the Special Needs In Pregnancy Unit, Dr Mary Hepburn.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51I could go on and on.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55But what about the Glasgow women of the future?
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Do our modern-day lassies have what it takes to carry
0:22:58 > 0:23:01the strong, female fighting spirit on?
0:23:01 > 0:23:03Well, I'm off to meet a group of friends
0:23:03 > 0:23:05who live in the west of the city.
0:23:05 > 0:23:06# We are the Glasgow girls
0:23:06 > 0:23:08# We show them how to do it
0:23:08 > 0:23:11# We'll show the world how to Get up and do it... #
0:23:11 > 0:23:16In 2005, this bold bunch of teenagers from Drumchapel High
0:23:16 > 0:23:19took on the immigration services after their friend Agnesa
0:23:19 > 0:23:21and her family were removed from their home.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23to be deported back to Kosovo.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26This is our home!
0:23:26 > 0:23:29In true Glasgow style, the pals caused a giant stooshie
0:23:29 > 0:23:33and started a campaign against the removal of children in dawn raids
0:23:33 > 0:23:35that went all the way to the parliament.
0:23:35 > 0:23:40So I'm here with the gorgeous Glasgow Girls, I've joined you now.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42So, you must have been incredibly shocked.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45One of our best friends, she phoned me
0:23:45 > 0:23:49and she said, "Amal, look. Agnesa's been taken away in a dawn raid.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51And I was like, "What's that mean? What does a dawn raid mean?"
0:23:51 > 0:23:54And she explained to me that 14 officials went to her house
0:23:54 > 0:23:56on a Sunday morning, seven o'clock,
0:23:56 > 0:23:59and basically put them in a detention, like, vans, and drove them
0:23:59 > 0:24:02to England, and it's a detention centre, which is like a jail.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Everybody was really supportive of the cause.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Even people you would think maybe spoke out against asylum seekers
0:24:08 > 0:24:09and believed all the myths.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11They were coming out in support of it and saying,
0:24:11 > 0:24:15"Actually, it's not good that children are being taken form their bed during the night."
0:24:15 > 0:24:17Asylum seekers come to the UK because there is safety here
0:24:17 > 0:24:21because they are fleeing persecution and war, and so many other reasons.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23If they knew they were going to be treated like that, you know,
0:24:23 > 0:24:25they would not bother coming here.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28I was very shocked and surprised.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32For me, watching it, as someone living in the city,
0:24:32 > 0:24:36it was your youth, your exuberance,
0:24:36 > 0:24:40your determination to make something happen, but it was also
0:24:40 > 0:24:42that you were all mixed races - you were Scots, you were from
0:24:42 > 0:24:45all over the place. Where are you from originally?
0:24:45 > 0:24:46North of Iraq, I'm Kurdish.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49- Kurdish, and where are you from? - Somalia.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51Somalia. So it seems to me you have adopted
0:24:51 > 0:24:55a complete Glaswegian woman's sort of sensibility!
0:24:55 > 0:24:58I think that's what it is about the spirit in Glasgow.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00Such a community place, such a socialist place
0:25:00 > 0:25:04and you know, when something is wrong, we will come together
0:25:04 > 0:25:08and we will fight against it. SCREAMING
0:25:08 > 0:25:11In a victory for the girls, Agnesa and her family
0:25:11 > 0:25:14were returned to Glasgow after three weeks.
0:25:16 > 0:25:17You guys won, as well.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20There was a lot of, like, we won, as you say.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24That our friend came back, and our campaign started that way.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27It actually also changed lots of people's attitude as well.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29What, to immigration?
0:25:29 > 0:25:31To immigration and to asylum seekers.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35But this was just the start of their fight.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39I want to welcome the young people in the gallery this morning.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42These Glasgow gals took their campaign to the Scottish Parliament
0:25:42 > 0:25:45and then all the way to the Home Office in London.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48I think it's outrageous that people are being treated like this.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Their campaign led to a UK-wide review
0:25:51 > 0:25:53of the asylum seeker removal system.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57And they even got to meet Darius. Remember him?
0:25:57 > 0:25:59- We're the Glasgow Girls! - I know you are!
0:25:59 > 0:26:00CHATTER
0:26:00 > 0:26:03Has the whole experience changed you?
0:26:03 > 0:26:05I mean, who are you today?
0:26:05 > 0:26:06After the campaigning,
0:26:06 > 0:26:10I went and studied law and politics and I graduated.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Now I work at Radio Scotland.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16I'm studying a Masters in Human Rights and International Politics.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19- She's a high flyer! - She obviously is!
0:26:19 > 0:26:21You know, the root of this is,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24because you did it out of compassion for a friend.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26And a sense that this wasn't just.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29See, that for me, that's Glasgow.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31Right, let's go and get pished!
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Just like the long line of tough Glasgow women before them,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40these modern-day Mary Barbours are fighting for change.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43That's the Glasgow spirit I knew back in the 1970s
0:26:43 > 0:26:46and it's the spirit I can still see today.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Right, rant alert.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53It's time Glasgow did more to recognise its women.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56But if we wait on the city fathers getting off their Archibalds,
0:26:56 > 0:26:58well, we'll be waiting till the cows come home.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02So, I'm starting a fund to raise money for more statues of women.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04And where better to begin than
0:27:04 > 0:27:07with a wee song for all the Glasgow wummin?
0:27:10 > 0:27:15# In the second city of the Empire
0:27:15 > 0:27:21# Mother Glasgow Watches all her weans
0:27:21 > 0:27:26# In trying hard to feed her Little starlings
0:27:26 > 0:27:31# Unconsciously She clips their little wings
0:27:32 > 0:27:37# And Mother Glasgow's Succour is perpetual
0:27:37 > 0:27:42# Nestling the Billy and the Tim
0:27:43 > 0:27:49# I dreamed I took a dander with St Mungo
0:27:49 > 0:27:53# To try to catch a fish That couldnae swim
0:27:55 > 0:28:01# And Mother Glasgow's Succour is perpetual
0:28:01 > 0:28:06# Nestling the Billy and the Tim
0:28:06 > 0:28:09# I dreamed I took a dander With St Mungo... #
0:28:09 > 0:28:12Glasgow has been so good to me.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15The people of this city have given me
0:28:15 > 0:28:17my comic timing, more than anything else,
0:28:17 > 0:28:21and to make a Glasgow audience laugh
0:28:21 > 0:28:24is one of the best things that could even happen to you.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26Making them greet as well is good, too.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30I like making them greet, not always intentionally!
0:28:30 > 0:28:38# Let Glasgow flourish! #
0:28:38 > 0:28:40APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:28:40 > 0:28:42Thank you very much.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Look, I've even made money, that's brilliant!
0:28:45 > 0:28:47Right, I'm going hame for my tea now.
0:28:47 > 0:28:48SHE LAUGHS
0:28:48 > 0:28:49I'm exhausted!