being in Easterhouse
(a response to Jimmy Cauty’s MdZ ESTATE TOUR installation at The Bridge, Easterhouse, Glasgow, June 2021)
Just to get one thing straight Easterhouse Is a scheme, a patchwork, not an E-state Worked here for more than a decade, been great. Frankie Vaughn spoke to my gran She was a lassie then, no a gang. I was helping folk in a writers group make words into art – art happens everywhere – human spirit canny be suppressed Walking roon the fort, through the carpark, Bit windy, we’re up high, high above Glasgow city. Looking oot frae here ye might imagine yur the pope, Or Auld Queen Lizzie. Zip acroass tae Morrison’s, Plenty tae eat in there, If ye can afford to get it oot the door. Wondering: who on earth could possibly own all of this land? What we spend in the shops. The rents shops pay. VAT and other taxes. Where does aw that money go? If it aw was spent in Grier’s Barstaff could be millionaires Crisps n booze free for eternity Everybody happy No just a number, just part a system But part of humanity, living and learning Grapes and champagne eftir the swimming :the fort isny an actual fort ataw It’s an outdoor mall for shoppers handy but lacking fulfilment – shoap tae ye drap – addicted –spend tae ye bend – in debt tae ye gamble – sweat as ye bet Sprawling is what they used say. Glasgow’s sprawling housing schemes. Housing dreams that turned into nightmares. Nae amenities. Unintended consequences. Who would’ve thought?
