Buddie Walk of Fame

Members from Kilbarchan group recently joined 2 guided walks around Paisley (Scotland’s largest town and home to the famous Paisley pattern) to learn more about Phase One of the recently launched “Buddie Walk of Fame”- a Buddie is a local term for a native of Paisley. They discovered that there are many famous (and not so famous but interesting nonetheless) sons and daughters of Paisley to learn about. Among the famous names are Tom Conti, David Tennant, Paulo Nutini, Gerry Rafferty, Fulton Mackay & Phyllis Logan who now have their names on brass and marble plaques set into the pavement around the town. If you are ever visiting Glasgow or the west coast of Scotland do consider stopping off in Paisley and taking in some of the Buddie Walk of Fame.

A famous Buddie -John Byrne.
_{Read more about him at the end of the post}
_{©Paisley First}

Magnificent former Coates Church _{(built by the wealthy cotton thread family) now an events/ wedding venue}

Paulo Nutini’s plaque outside his parent’s shop

Phase One of the walk centres around 10 famous Buddies and also 10 famous landmark buildings – too many to show here but they include The Coates’ Observatory (currently undergoing a refurbishment) and the
wonderful Russell Institute – see below.

_{Gerry Rafferty’s plaque outside a venue he often played}

The Russell Institute –_{a building gifted to the town by a Miss Russell who in inherited a large fortune after losing both of her brothers in WW1}

_{The imposing Paisley Cenotaph unveiled in 1924- a Grade A listed building.} _{It features a bronze group}
_{atop a 25ft rectangular stone plinth.}

John Byrne was also a Paisley Buddie. Born in 1940 he is a celebrated Scottish playwright , screenwriter, artist, illustrator and designer. He became a member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 2007 with several of his paintings hanging in The Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh.