G.I. Bride, Partick

This sculpture in Partick Station is a tribute to the Scottish cartoonist Bud Neill (born in Partick)  whose work attained worldwide cult status after his death in 1970. His wry humour focused on local wartime attitudes, and tapped into the rich resource of the Glasgow patter - just as comic actor Stanley Baxter did with his 'Parliamo Glasgow' sketches.
The G.I. Bride, frequently featured in Neill's pocket cartoons, is married to a Yank and has moved with him to Arizona.  But she is still a  wee down-to-earth roly poly Glasgow wifie. The sculpture shows her standing with her "wean" (child) in her arms, trying to thumb a lift.  A typical Bud Neill caption would read "Ony o' youse blokes goin' the length o' Pertick?" - meaning 'Anybody going a reasonable distance?"  The bronze sculpture was created by Ranald MacColl.

On the day when the world reels in horror at the murder of the French cartoonists in their office, let's hope cartoonists continue poking fun at the ridiculous, bizarre or extreme.