Tuesday, July 06, 2004

Doctor Coffee Glasgow is the only city in the UK that still owns some of the traditional public Police Boxes which were made famous as the Tardis in the cult BBC science-fiction television series Doctor Who.

The original boxes in Glasgow were painted red, but thanks to the Glasgow Building Preservation Trust and the Doctor Who Society, four of the boxes have been restored as public landmarks and remain a source of interest for residents, Doctor Who fans and visitors to the city.

Earlier this morning on my way in to work, I noticed that the Police Box located on the corner of Great Western Road and Byres Road had been converted into a small coffee outlet, much in the style of the boxes dotted around Edinburgh. (The ones in Edinburgh are wider, and don't carry the same 'Doctor Who' prestige).

I chatted to the propietor, Gavin Wright, and took some photos of his 'Coppuccino' outlet.

It turns out that Gav lives in the same town as me, has frequented the same pub as me for the last 15 years, and is friendly with many people I know - yet we've never managed to bump into each other in all that time.

Gav also has permission to open up similar coffee outlets in other boxes around Glasgow, with various restrictions and clauses - including the guarantee that he would not permanently modify the facade of the boxes.

Here's a photo of Gav dishing out some of his tasty coffee.