Sunday mornings and Royal Conservatoire Coffee Concerts are a match made in heaven. What an…read moreinspired idea, and at just £10 for coffee, cake and a concert (£7.50 concessions) an absolute bargain! I was lucky enough to make the very first Coffee Concert of the season and it was a useful introduction to the venue and what it might offer to the general public. Coffee and cake was served in the cafe post-concert where the performers and organisers mingled and chatted with an enthusiastic audience. Nice touch. Aside from an varied programme of concerts and performing arts staged by students past and present and visiting world-class talents, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (previously known as RSAMD) has a Box Office and large cafe at its main entrance up those imposing steps. The corridor between the cafe and the Stevenson Hall (where the coffee concert was held) is lined with photos of the college's alumni - a veritable who's who of the arts, music and theatrical world. I was absolutely blown away by the acoustics at the Stephenson Hall which really did justice to the singers and musicians who provided us with a terrific show. The seats in the auditorium were very comfortable with ample leg room but then I'm a bit shorter than the average person! Tip #1: If you need more leg room in the Stevenson Hall then select an end of aisle seat (at the stairway) in one of the blocks of stalls either side of the main block of seating. Hope that makes sense? Tip #2: If you are looking for somewhere very inexpensive to eat, drink and/or meet up in town the cafe here may be just the ticket. Geared mainly for students but also open to the public the daily specials included vegetarian and vegan dishes (hurrah). A generous cup of tea cost 80p and a Dear Green Coffee cost £1.40 (in a lidded cup so you can take it away if you want). Tip #3: Ample sockets available for charging phones and laptops (and possibly free wifi but don't quote me) Pop in and check it out for yourself if you haven't already done so and keep an eye out for their events programme.

Today I had the privilege, along with my fellow rock choir members of singing in the Stevenson…read moreHall, what an experience. We were accompanied by the Scottish Opera Orchastra, wow!! I can honestly say this awesome experience will stay with me for a long time. As for the Conservatoire it's a lovely building. It had a box office, shop and cafe on the main floor.the staff I encountered today were fab.

I attended Aspire for a Mac make-up masterclass. I'd bought a Living Social voucher for it, and it…read morewas a total bargain. If you ever see this deal again, buy it! On arrival, we were offered a glass of bubbly or wine. Given there was already a danger of me coming out like a Picasso painting, I gave it a miss, but some of the other girls elegantly accepted. I think if there were a couple of you going in a wee group, this might be a nice thing to do. There were 9 or so of us in the class, which was a great number, as it meant the tutor Claire could give us individual attention later on, and the group was a nice manageable size. She asked for a volunteer, who was then used as the demonstration subject for the class. The outcome was to create a smokey eyed, sparkly and fancy going out look.Claire was really happy for us to make notes, take photos, and even take videos if we wanted. We started with the eyes, which included false eyelashes and glitter, and Claire also covered how to shape your brows properly - like the HD Brows. We spent a lot of time on the eyes, as that's the key to that particular look, and we then moved on to contouring. Think Kim Kardashian! You've probably seen pictures or videos of it - where you completely shape your face with very dark or very light contouring make up. We learned that! It's amazing. Having Claire demonstrate this on a real person was so helpful - I would never have tried this otherwise. We then finished the face, and she then moved on to some sort of special lip look - I have to confess I sort of missed this bit as my mind was blown by the contouring. Every step of the way, Claire took it slowly, explaining exactly what she was doing, and why, and also letting us in to inside secrets, which were hugely useful. She made it seem really simple, and had diagrams to help. She also had a whole heap of make up and kit, which we were allowed to play with later. After the demo, it was our turn to do our own faces. This was the first time I'd ever tried false eyelashes as I was just too intimidated by them before and didn't want the potential trauma of having one flutter its way into my drink half way during a night out. I still got stuck with them, but Claire helped me out, and I'll definitely try them again on my own now. Best tip of the day was that the £1 ones from Primark are just as good as any posh brand you can buy. We were allowed to do our full faces, with Claire helping when we got stuck, so that really helped to consolidate the learning. Claire also said she will email us some info about stockists and such, which I'm looking forward to receiving. One thing I would mention is that the booking bit was a bit difficult - they were obviously inundated with bookings from the voucher deal. My advice would be don't bother phoning or texting, go straight onto the website, where there's a very basic booking system. If you need to change anything, email. That worked for me (eventually!). This experience put me off a little bit - I was sure what to expect, but when I turned up, I was so pleased, as the standard of tuition was really first class, and Claire was excellent. I'm definitely a bit more confident now, and am looking forward to buying a contouring kit and creating the look again.

extremely disappointed cant recommend as they done very wrong i bought their 3hr make up deal from…read moregroupon website i booked then i send them email for enquiry about diploma didnt receive any rply i had to go on train to town went all the way then i see the building was not open very disappointed came back home then i received their email saying ur booking is not valid we not signed any contract with groupon to readvertise our deal i m very angry i wanted this class then this happend to mednt waste your time on these

One of my very first Glasgae experiences was to be welcomed with open crafty arms at Say It Ain't…read moreSew. Having left London a little broken hearted, forced to kiss goodbye the lovely sewing cafe at the end of my street... my eyes were dried the minute I realised Glasgow had the ultimate trump card: A SEWING PUB! The Hillhead Bookclub is such a fabulous venue and it's a great space for this friendly little group. Tucked in an upstairs nook, the atmospheric lighting makes for weekly needle-threading hilarity! If I could sew within a 5m radius of a cracking bar every night - I'd be a very well dressed alcoholic (with really great curtains). While I'll be honest to say I had originally expected more of a fabric/pattern sewing vibe - as opposed to more crafty-esque sewing projects - it's a stroke of genius to have bright, super fun projects that can be whipped up in great company over the space of a couple of hours. All patterns and supplies are provided (I know, right?!) - absolute beginners are welcomed, you just bring along a smile and willingness to get stuck in. Iona has created something truly remarkable and I still can't quite believe Say It Ain't Sew catch-ups are absolutely free of charge... spreading magic sewing fairy dust to any who may seek it.

I have just passed my driving test and found the lessons I took with Bryan Jack to be first class…read more I recommend this company and instructor to anyone who gets really nervous and wants to build confidence behind the wheel of a car. Excellent service.

Thanks to Johnny I passed on my first try :)…read more Always very helpful, understanding and patient! 100% would recommend to anyone looking to learn!

I'm a singer. But I confess...I know nothing about singing. Gasp! I've been in a band for a while…read morenow and figured it was about time I learnt some tricks to improve my singing and some exercises to strengthen my voice. I found Louise's number on musicteachers.co.uk and her description sounded like exactly what I was looking for and matched my band's genre. (Jazz, blues, swing!) When I phoned Louise to organise a lesson she was so friendly and genuine, I just knew that she was someone I wanted to teach me. So, it was no suprise that I really enjoyed my very first singing lesson! Louise welcomed me to the Academy and asked me questions to start. She was keen to know the history of the band, how it came to be formed, my background in singing and also what I wanted from the lessons. The first thing that she gave me was not a CD of exercises or breathing techniques but rather a list of useful tips on interpretation that I really liked. They were essentially uplifting and useful mantras for singers. This made it clear that comfort and confidence come first and the rest will all come along with that. A nice touch and the list will definitely be pinned to my wall! Louise then taught me some breathing and vocal exercises. Finally, I sang for her at the end. It was nice that I hadn't sang straight away and she made me entirely comfortable and relaxed before doing so. She even gave me some more materials and some useful searches on spotify for vocal exercises I can do at home. I was honest in that I just wanted to build on what I already have and establish better technique with breathing and control and Louise was honest in telling me that a monthly lesson would suffice. I genuinely felt so comfortable with Louise and would recommend the Academy. The Academy were one of the more expensive places that I found online but not by a large amount. I'm definitely glad I choose them! I was let into the building by a man going to the gym in the same building but I think it's procedure just to press the Academy's buzzer. Highly professional and I really did feel like a friend was teaching me!

I learned to drive with Anniesland driving centre when I was a Glasgow uni…read more Driving lessons were fun and I learned quickly, after listening to some of my friends experiences, I realised I had struck lucky when I got a top grade instructor to teach me. I didn't realise that driving instructors are graded like hotels. Alex has a grade 5 (5 star) for the last 20 years so he had plenty of experience. Watch out for unqualified or part trained instructors!!! Trainee instructors have a red badge in the window so watch out you don't get conned!! I passed my driving test first time and would recommend this company to anyone thanks again Suzanne.

This is an absoloutely gorgeous place. We went here recently for a function (ooo how grown up its…read morea function not a party :P) and it was absoloutely brilliant. Ill start with the decor, downstairs is a we shop like the kind you find in a museum which handily enough leads on to the museum of piping. We then go upstairs to a lovely hallway with blue illuminated stain glass windows and through into a large hall complete with tables, fantastic refurbished pillars, gorgeous ceiling designs and of course a stage and dance floor!! We also were treated to a buffet and this was fantastic from the ciabatta rolls stuffed with salad and meaty delights, to the chicken pieces and skewers and down to the cheese board the presentation and taste was fantastic! The only reason this place didnt get a 5 is its my first visit and that the heating was turned up to devil level with no apparent way to control it for the room full of people and that the bar prices were quite steep. But these aside the staff are wonderfully pleasent and welcoming and it will probably get a 5 if i return. Definetely a great place for a small wedding reception, birthday party or any other event that takes your fancy!!

Tucked into this building is the National Piping Center complete with a museum of bagpipes. It's…read moresmall but worth a look if you are curious about bagpipes. There's a little shop which is actually kind of a gift shop but actually kinda a piping shop. They have a host of stuff here including practice chanters and instructional books. The selection is small but a well curated set of two makers McCallum and R. G. Hardie. I bought a Hardie blackwood practice chanter and a book to take back to the States and annoy my neighbors. That said, it's an amazing instrument in its own right, even without the full set of pipes. The folks are friendly and not too knowledgeable on the instruments but twice a week they have a piper in the shop and she answered all my questions. Pretty cool.

It took me an embarrassingly long time to actually visit The Lighthouse, and I'm even more…read moreembarrassed to admit that I *still* haven't been up the top to look at the view over Glasgow! Next time, I promise! The Lighthouse is tucked down Mitchell Lane and has a wonderful gift shop on the ground floor. I am a certified museum-gift-shop addict and this one is nearly as good as the one at GOMA. At the moment, they're selling some great stuff to accompany the "Hello My Name is Paul Smith" exhibition and I couldn't resist getting a couple of the pencils, an eraser as well as a nice card from the range. There's a lot of nice Scottish stuff if you're looking for a gift so it's worth a browse even if you're not planning on going to an exhibition. We were there to see the Paul Smith exhibition which is on the first floor and ticketed at £6 per adult. While I think the price is a little steep, it's a fab exhibition which was really interesting, stimulating and thought-provoking - I think we were only there for half an hour or so, but really enjoyed it. I'll definitely be back sooner rather than later for a visit to the viewing platform so I'll update accordingly! But for now, I'm already a massive fan so I can't expect the rating to change for this lovely gallery.

The Lighthouse is one of Glasgow's wonder free museums/galleries. It was one of the first galleries…read moreI visited when I moved to Glasgow and I've been back a few times since, either for a specific exhibit, a general wander, or to head up the Mackintosh tower for the amazing views over the city. Much of the museum is free to access, including the permanent Charles Rennie Mackintosh exhibits and the tower. Architecture is usually the theme of most of what they're showing off, although design in general is also showcased here, especially when it's by local and Scottish artists. On the ground floor there's a fantastic gift shop with lots of Mackintosh themed gifts. Usually they have items related to other exhibits as well. There's a cafe on level 5 too and although I've not visited it in a while I remember it being light and spacious and selling pretty darn good carrot cake. It's a really cool gallery to learn a little about the history of design and architecture in Glasgow, as well as learning about some more modern themes. It's also a great place for those views from the tower to get your bearings (although it's an awfully long way up a spiral staircase, so if you don't like heights it may not be for you). For me, on a sunny day, it's one of the highlights of the city centre. If you're visiting Glasgow or you have guests in Glasgow and you find yourself in the city centre then I'd say a stop at The Lighthouse is well worth the time. It would be a shame to miss out on such a cool place.