Alex Gray on Glasgow 2014: My City, My Novel
November 2007: Everyone held their breath as it was announced, then a great roar went up: Glasgow had won the bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth
Games!
How many watching that event on television felt just like me, the sense of enormous pride in our city, that tingle down the spine as we all cheered the result?
At the time I had absolutely no thought of writing a novel set against the backdrop of Glasgow 2014 but two years ago I had a wee inkling of what the Commonwealth Games coming to Glasgow might be like when my husband and I we were fortunate enough to buy tickets for several events at the London 2012 Olympics. For us these began right in our own city at Hampden Park, the national football stadium.
The organization from the moment our tickets arrived was excellent. There were hordes of fans in Glasgow Central Station boarding trains to the stadium yet everything ran smoothly. Of course there was a lot of security but there was such an atmosphere of fun and laughter that queuing for a little while became a pleasure. Some (not only youngsters) had dressed up for the occasion and we enjoyed watching folk in bizarre costumes as they began to arrive; even the police horses were in holiday mood, placidly accepting hundreds of pats to their huge necks from the passersby.
Then, after it was all over and we were back home, I had my BIG IDEA! What if some criminal organization were plotting to disrupt our wonderful Games in Glasgow? This dramatic idea took hold of me and soon I was asking my friend, former Lord Provost Liz Cameron, for advice. It did not take long after that for me to visit the headquarters of Glasgow 2014 in Albion Street where David Grevemberg’s team gave me a very helpful introduction to all the venues for the Games. Imagine my excitement in seeing the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and the Emirates Stadium nestling close by the building site that was fast becoming the Commonwealth Village where hundreds of athletes will live during the Games! We are proud of the fact that these houses will become homes for a part of Glasgow where there is a real need for regeneration.
It was at that point that I wrote The Bird That Did Not Sing, the title of my crime novel owing a great deal to the Glasgow coat of arms.
What can I expect this summer? We have volunteers for our Games and I know the Clydesiders (as they are called) will show the world the sort of friendliness and hospitality for which we Glaswegians pride ourselves.
And let’s hope that all those readers who are looking forward to attending the Games or watching from the comfort of their home, find even more drama within the pages of my novel.
The Bird That Did Not Sing is published on 12/03/14.
