John Gibson: Glass, and you can see through him
Talking about the eye-catching dot on the Dundas Street map, Glass & Thompson, the deli/coffee shop launched by Russell Glass and his then wife Sue Thompson in 1994.
Architects, they met in London. Russell, 54, has come a long way. From his native New Zealand. “We got the idea in New York for this place, a former print shop, and we opened with three tables. I adore Georgian architecture and my ambition was to live and work in the New Town, so I’m well happy with Glass & Thompson.
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Hide Ad“I could be happier, and wealthier, without the four big supermarket chains’ stranglehold that, it’s well known, is putting the bite on small operators and the corner shops. I’d enthusiastically support a statutory £20 or £30 fee from customers who use their car parks.
“Times are tight but we have a loyal clientele here,” he adds. He has this truly, madly, deep passion for Edinburgh’s architecture. It’s a bit like Wellington’s, he reckons.
This love-struck twice-married Kiwi invariably wears a bow tie to work and has his staff don shirt and tie. No jeans.
Would he marry again? “Who knows! Life is full of surprises.”
Afterwords . .
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Hide Adgleaned from Gloria Hunniford, having celebrated her 71st birthday in the south of France: “Personally I find exercise has to be enjoyable, otherwise I’m not going to do it. I ride the bike while watching television, which helps. If I need something to snack on in the afternoon I have fruit or seeds.”