Glasgow 2020 Stories

Browse through our collection of sample stories to get you started:

Featured Stories

• The Banjo Player’s Porsche by George Anderson

  "It wis the same wi this last lot. They came tae get away fae religious persecution and bigotry. Catch that by the way! They came tae Glasgow tae get away fae bigotry. Changed days eh?"

  According to the banjo player, Glasgow looks and feels a very different place in 2020. Healthier, friendlier and richer - rapid immigration from across the world has helped Glasgow to become a world beating city. The new imports are people, Partick Thistle are the new Barcelona and Banjo players are the new rock stars... read more

• A Tale of Two Cities by Kirsten Anderson

  "Aye, you'll make the effort. Give it all a go. But you know one thing. The day you find yourself drinking frappocios by the Clyde with all those heed the ba' poncey jessies, is the day you'll chuck yourself in front of the nearest water taxi"

  In 2020 Glasgow has been shaped by the tourism industry, celebrity architects, museums and water-taxis. But not everyone's comfortable with it. "A Tale of Two Cities" is an trawl through the mind of a man caught between the perceived simplicity of the past, and some of the uncomfortable possibilities presented by the future... read more

• That Change is Nothing by Ewan Gault

  "Well where have you been for the past decade? Jack didn't think they would believe him."

  When Jack falls asleep on the train he worries he's going to be a little late going home, but never in wildest dreams did he expect to be taken into future. Now 15 years ahead he is trying to make sense of this unknown world, how he got there and how to get back home. Unfortunately for Jack, home is further away then he thinks... read more

• ZedTee by Les Wood

  "And today there was going to be a burning. McGlashen sat in the back of the van and allowed a smile to sneak onto his lips."

  After the Crime and Law revolution of 2015 is passed, Glasgow is declared Scotland's first zero tolerance city. The law is upheld by McGlashen's ruthless "Zed Team" who meet out justice through burnings, beatings and ritual humiliation. But when an innocent old lady is unwittingly caught on the wrong side of the Zed Team's wrath, will McGlashen show compassion?... read more

• Adoption by Katy McAulay

  "Jill felt drunk. Happy. A feeling like warm, clean water rose in her. ‘A family girl,' she echoed. She smiled at the company; stretching her arms out and bringing them back in to point at herself. ‘That’s what I’m going to be.’"

  Jill has sought out a new life for herself, one that will soon involve an addition to her home in Glasgow – but she isn’t joining the repopulation scheme, she’s adopting…... read more

• Frosted Fruits by Eleanor Thom

  "She laughed, just for a second, and slid the key over to the corner of her pocket, where she could no longer feel it. The boy from Section Zero Seven lay in his mud splattered Wellingtons, smiling at the sky."

  Ice and snow has settled all over Glasgow: the big freeze has come. And yet, in the midst of the cold, a little warmth can be found in the whitewashed city when strangers share sugared melons and strawberries… ... read more

• Patience is a Virtual Thing by Allan Radcliffe

  "My granddaughter no more needs a hand sending emails than folk of my generation supposedly need advice on sooking eggs. She’s been a computer whizzkid since she was the height of nonsense."

  The government has introduced free computers for pensioners, and silver surfers are happily enjoying virtual cups of tea with friends, whilst trying to get to grips with the new faces in Glasgow – a more difficult prospect. However, whilst some things have changed, and the world has got faster, children can still be impatient… ... read more

• Get Up Stand Up by Kirsten Anderson

  "She looked at the blank expression on the Councilor’s fat red face. “Surely you know all this? He’s practically been doing the Council’s work for them. Your work. Bridgeton is in your constituency isn’t it?”"

  Through hard work and dedication, a young man takes on the Glasgow behind the new bars and casinos that line its streets and looks instead to the young people on its streets. This is a stirring story of what can happen when you choose to drive change yourself, and how Glasgow has the potential to be the right place at the right time... ... read more

• Year of the Rat by George Anderson

  "Glasgow was probably the only place where it would have worked initially. It was after all one of the few places left in the UK with public houses. People might not be as outgoing as they used to be, but they were still well ahead of the rest of the country."

  It’s Chinese New Year in George Square and an awkward handshake is the beginning of a revolution. With office culture being phased out, meals delivered to your door and virtual friendships the norm, a chance meeting of strangers in Glasgow sets the scene for a new way to interact...... read more

• The Glasgow Gyro by Alastair Sim

  "“You don’t remember Glasgow having islands? I think they’re one of our best features.”"

  Climb aboard Pat Lally’s gyrocoptor and explore a post-evacuation Glasgow: Millionaire’s holiday resort on your left; gondolas on the River Clyde to your right. ‘The Glasgow Gyro’ glides over a carefully controlled Orwellian community, although sometimes even floods can’t wash away the real spirit of a place…... read more

• Home to Glasgow by Ann Burnett

  "Jimmy patted his top pocket. It was nestled in there, beside his ticket, a small green document printed on recycled paper, an anonymous piece of writing for which Jimmy had strived for nearly fourteen years."

  Extreme environmental change has created a very different Glasgow from that of Jimmy’s childhood. As he tries to recapture his affection for the city, he realises that, even when outward appearances seem unfamiliar, there are some things in life that can make you feel at home...... read more

• Death in full view by Sheila O'Hara

  ""The shadows behind the light were still giving the orders – “hands behind your head” “don’t move or we’ll fire”. I told you these guys had seen too many movies. Well, as it happens, so have I, and I knew exactly how to play this particular scene.""

  When computer wunderkind turned retired spoof turned villain notices a stain on his tie en route to a funeral, the all-seeing-eye world he helped develop downs upon him in a very real way.... read more

• In the Year 2020 by D Laverie

  "“Have ye you got any spare happy pills? The wains have nae energy noo that they have been classed as obese an they just smash things tae pieces when they are fed up man!""

  Between pealing off impounded hybrid cars and giving kids happy pills so they don’t smash the place up – the everyday life of a school police-tagged family.... read more

• She wore blue velveteen by Marie-Anne Mancio

  ""Andy Scott eyes up the concourse from his seat in the Po-Mo Café . You can tell the scuffers, the pooros, by their clothes. Only real saddos buy their gear in IKEA. He calls it the Braehead-brain dead syndrome.""

  "Retail generation" pooro-watcher Andy aims for new heights of shallowness in his goal to win over half walmart velveteeness, half ikea shirtwearer, aka a "real saddo".... read more

• Just a Few Little Beeps by Anne Macgregor

  "“Now look what you’ve done,” snapped Suzanne.
  Perpetrator identified as Reid, Philip…
  “Not to worry, everybody gets two at a time,” said Phil, as his voice came out of the computer."

  Sitting at home with the tele hasn't changed, but when government surveillance is as common as air conditioning, even homework can be dangerous, and Suzanne and Phil find their private thoughts beeped out of a little hand held conscience...... read more

• 20/20 Vision by Marc Sherland

  "“It has always been assumed that the next step in evolution for humankind, would be down to the vagaries of nature. Yet now my sponsors, the Piper Corporation, can bring to you that next bold step.”"

  Genetic engineering has rolled out across the world, leaving the non-adjusted worried, and one of its heralds homeless...... read more

• Saturday Afternoon by Harvey Wells and Philip Raines

  "From miles away, Clean Steve can tell that the something-wrong with Saturday afternoon is very wrong indeed. Just across Janefield Street from the Eastern Necropolis, where Parkhead would have been is now a patch of derelict land, the surface dirt puckered and wrinkled like a dog’s arse. The stadium has disappeared."

  The good airship gondola Clean Steve wheezes after a restless stadium, above a city in perpetual flux, trying to decipher the mystery of its movements. Glasgow has never flourished quite like this before... read more

• Allowed, Able and Willing by John Browne

  "‘Aye, Sur, we know democracy works. Is it a privilege though, Sur, or…’ his mind still fixed on the war game, his body shaking and his thumbs going flat out, ‘DIE! DIE! DIE!’ his body slumps back in defeat and he sighs, ‘…or a right, Sur?’"

  Pupils and the googlebox have taken over education. Kids have the vote. Next on the agenda: sectarian reconciliation.... read more

• Revenge is Bitter by JC McCrae

  "Buildings that hadn't been felled in the Big Quake lay split apart or pushed together, lovers leaning on each other. Most of the area was uninhabitable. Which, of course, made it perfect for Jack. And his pursuers too."

  The newest breed of an ancient evil: super-evolved murderous girls. Natural forces have humbled Glasgow's city-scape, and the male population is going the same way. Egos and romance are the losers here. Jack is one of the vigilantes, fighting back whilst showing off his parkour skills...... read more

• A Trip to the River Festival 2020 by Rebecca Stanley

  "my great, great grandpa used to operate that crane and great grandma used to bring his pieces to the bottom of the crane and wait for her daddy to climb down... my family was part of the history of such a great city"

  The Waterfront Regeneration Project is now an expansive success. A long-promised trip to the River Festival is full of history, and inspires thoughts of Glasgow 2050...... read more

• Growing Wild by Jeanette Stafford

  "Andy was a jammy begar and when one commodity lost its scarcity value another one trundled along to provide him with a brand new opportunity"

  Fleeing the woods with just enough ingredients for a game casserole, but no blackberries for pudding, Marion and Jake pick up a dodgy character with a diesel-lined stomach. Unfortunately for him, everyone is connected by their past and Marion isn’t desperately keen to play the Samaritan… ... read more

• Hogmanay's by John Turner

  "While Boab had an air of affability he was also a very hard man, and much respected for his talent in avoiding anything resembling gainful employment."

  Hogmanay comes round again on the eve of 2020, bringing with it reflections on the English, happy memories of Malky the alky and his peers, and the poignancy of all that has gone before in one man's Glasgow... read more

• I'll be back by Christina Byrne

  "'I could kill for a pint,' Eddie said.
  'What's stopping you?'"

  Pensions crises have come to their brutally logical conclusion. Eddie wakes to find his wife has disappeared, and puts his trust in an emergency bundle of cash... read more

• The Icarus Tree by Suhayl Saadi

  "I was there as your dreams began to dance. You turned the dead shopping-malls into living, breathing spaces, you ploughed swords into the swelling concrete and drew them up as orchards, waterwheels and joyous maqamat. "

  Glasgow is filled with skyscrapers and bridges leading from nowhere to nowhere. A silver tree as high as a ninety-nine storey building stands at its centre, while deep underground Leila struggles with dreams, murder, and reality.... read more

• The Prog Rock Cafe by Alan Bisset

  "She’d soon realise she needed a career, that she would have to ‘stick in’ and ‘play the game’ and start ‘looking out for herself’. And Flo couldn’t blame her. So this snotty little punk kid with all her spirit and defiance, would soon be lost into the guts of the machine like everyone else."

  Against a background of war and corporate domination, can teenage and elderly DIY-workers resist becoming another brick in the wall?... read more

• Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow by Laura Marney

  "‘What can we do for you then?’
  ‘Actually, I’m here to change your life. Here’s my card.’
  "

  In the years to come, Glasgow’s status as a major metropolis will be transformed by innovative beauty technology. The latest innovative comes from the hands of Tam with his Biocell E-Z 2-PAY. Tam offers Sarah and Jean, two well-established figures in the field of physical and mental wellbeing, the opportunity to, once again, be ahead of the game by buying this product, which promises to not only transform one’s hairstyle in matter of minutes but will also equip people with a fibre-optic hairstyle that comes fully integrated with email, internet access and the newest in hands-free technology. In a city where “things have a chance of beginning,” do the ladies decide to take Tam up on his offer?... read more

• Glasgow Pants by Anne Donovan

  "“You had tae hand it tae Shuggie, he was never one tae let truth get in the way of a good business opportunity. So the first ever Glasgow’s Pants minibreak was arranged.”
  "

  Trying to regenerate a city is never an easy task. It requires a city to find a way to make itself uniquely different from its contemporaries. In the case of Glasgow, Edinburgh, a city that’s “all show, nae substance” has long cast a shadow over its Scottish neighbour with its established summer festival. This is all to change in the years to come when three men and one vision come together to regenerate Glasgow literally by the seat of its pants.... read more

More Stories

• The Imagineers by Julie Bertagna

• Intervention by Ruaridh Nicoll

• My Story by Philip Harley

• Hogmanay 2019 by John Turner

• It Can Only Get Better by Ruth McGregor

• 2020 by James McGinley

• Scotland the Brave by Carole Hamilton

• Caterpillars and Butterflies by Lorna Callery

• A Hot Saturday Afternoon by Jeannie Fletcher

• Waiting for Amber by Margaret Boyce

• In the Year 2020 by Douglas Laverie

• World's Most Exciting City by Phil McCusker

• My Citadel by Sandra Lang

• Glasgow 2020 by Brian Horne

• Plastic Houses, Floating Mansions by Michael McGinlay

• Glasgow - 2020 by Miss G Silvers

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