We asked the newsroom team – veterans of Glasgow’s big, beautiful, and notoriously hard-to-heat tenement flats – for their top tips on staying warm in winter. We also reached out to our friends at South Seeds, who offer expert energy advice from their hub on Victoria Road.

In July 2024, people from the Roma community living in Govanhill were surveyed on their experiences with housing conditions and the local environment. The study found that basic human rights are not being supported when it comes to housing with the majority of those surveyed saying the conditions of their homes were poor.

Glaswegian poet and novelist, Shane Johnstone reflects on the ties between language and identity in Govanhill, tracing its evolution through Irish diaspora culture to today’s vibrant multilingual community. By exploring how migration shapes belonging while raising questions about preserving and celebrating the area’s rich linguistic diversity.

Sadia Sikander writes about the challenges she faces as a refugee in Scotland, from the emotional toll of societal hostility, systemic barriers, navigating unfamiliar systems and finding employment. Sikander also highlights the need to hold onto hope in the face of overwhelming obstacles.

Tenants often face challenges like unaddressed repairs, damp, and rent increases, compounded by a power imbalance with landlords. This article highlights how Living Rent supports renters through collective action and member defence sessions.

Balfour Reparations 2024-2044, a performance lecture by Farah Saleh, uses a mix of movement, spoken word, and participatory action to confront the UK’s colonial role in Palestine and explores our role in shaping a decolonial future.

Unlike many European countries, Scotland lacks mandatory owners’ associations, leaving tenants and flat owners to navigate the complexities of retrofitting on their own. With legislative changes years away, the question remains, how can communities take action now to green-proof their homes for the future?

We had a chat wit musician Lizy Stirrat, a Royal Conservatoire alumna and the upper brass teaching musician at Big Noise – a music education and social change programme delivered by Sistema Scotland. Lizy shares how her love for music shaped her life and her passion for helping young people discover their musical talents.

Rohese Devereux Taylor and Kate Mackay explore the journey of co-founding the Glasgow Homebirth Support Group, the benefits of birthing at home, and the invaluable resources and networks available to parents in Glasgow, from sling libraries to breastfeeding support.

Gordon Palmer, spent 19 years as a Minister in the South of Scotland, now, he volunteers at The Well. In the latest issue, we spoke with Palmer and learned about what brought him to the Southside and how supports the visitors at The Well.

Aliana Michalewicz si sadne so svojou mamou Sonia, aby sa dozvedela viac o ich fascinujúcom, slávnom rodinnom príbehu zakorenenom v hudbe a tanci, ako to priviedli z Poľska do Glasgowa a ich nádeja do budúcnosti. 

In this issue of Roma News and Views, Aliana Michalewicz sits down with her mum Sonia to learn more about their fascinating, famous family history rooted in music and dance, how they brought this from Poland to Glasgow, and their hopes for the future.

From bank robberies to links to the slave trade, the southside has homed a variety of radical social and political histories. In this piece we explore some of the area’s forgotten heritage and dive deeper to uncover the legacy behind these familiar spots.

Once labelled the ‘worst for fly-tipping in Glasgow’, before the end of last year you would have found Kingarth Lane at Bowman Street full of sofas, mattresses, carpets, fridges and bags of household rubbish. Then in November 2023 the Lane Community group was successful in getting gates erected with the hope that they would bring an end to the endemic fly tipping issue. 

In this series of articles, we hear from resident, Aoife Hutton, who was tired of seeing litter on her street and started taking care of it herself. What started as a solo two-hour morning litter pick has evolved into a monthly Govanhill-wide litter picking group with community groups and residents.

This year, the Nordic Music Days Festival was held in Glasgow for the first ever time, making its Scottish debut. We went along to The Legend of Kuokkamummo, a performance that combined Finnish storytelling and Scottish music.

In this new series, we’re exploring Govanhill’s heritage, street by street – starting with Butterbiggins Road. Once an 18th-century hamlet for travelling communities, Butterbiggins evolved from a rural outpost to an industrial hub, and later into the residential street we know today.

On Novermber, over half of the US population relected Donald Trump as their President for the next four years. The world held it's breathe and watched on as such an important election played out, one which will have a major impact on not just the US but the rest of the world. We asked Govanhill locals hailing from the US for their reactions following his win.

We spoke with photographer Morwenna Kearsley about Apparatus, her first major-scale solo exhibition at Strange Field – the old Dalmarnock print factory on French Street.

We Incite This Meeting is a powerful performance that invites the audience to discuss women’s rights and question: “What remains to be done, and how are we going to do it?”