Bolting Doors, Mending Fences 

“It was coming up to Christmas… So the first year I put up some lights up in the close...in the second year I thought let’s do Santa in the garden.  So the next year I thought lets do something better again”

Alex moved with his family from Pollok in Glasgow to Renfrew, a town to the west of Glasgow near to Paisley and recounts how he has refurbished and improved his house and his garden with the help of local children.  

Watch the film.

He also describes Christmas events he has organised, including ‘Santa in the garden’ and ‘Santa on the sleigh’. In describing his experiences in Renfrew Alex touches on how adults relate to children and how children need to be respected and allowed to play.  

“I do see a decline in kids out on the street…Weans are not coming in with sore legs or ‘I’ve come off my bike look at my knee or look at my elbow.’ It’s a ‘I broke my phone now.  I’m on my laptop. I’m on Facebook talking to my pals at school.’…. We’ve got to let kids be kids.  We should get the weans back out onto the streets to carry on…chap on people’s doors and run away.” 

Related Understanding Glasgow themes: social capitalcommunity safety and mindset.

A subtitled version of this video is available on the GCPH YouTube channel.  

You can also view a transcript here.