[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL] Formerly Paisley College[EBOLD][PARA]Paisley, to the west of Glasgow, is a town [ITAL]in manufacturing decline, but business growth [EITAL]- long gone are those 18th and 19th century days when, it had a great weaving industry. The town used to produce so many shawls, that it even invented its own pattern - the now familiar 'paisley' that appears on millions of Tie Rack ties, MandS boxer shorts, and Prince. Spread around the centre of town is the University campus, mostly a set of concrete blocks, joined by walkways, [ITAL]scoring zero on the eyeability scale, [EITAL]but also including lecture halls in converted churches. The education faculty's in Ayr, about 30 miles away.[HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA]1/2 the students are in the Faculty of Engineering (including Computing Science and Technology and Management).[ITAL] In [EITAL][PUSH]push[EPUSH] [ITAL]94 we made a few gentle jibes at Paisley engineers, suggesting that, perhaps, they're not at the cutting edge of grooviness, and that their, well, geekiness, tends to influence the social tone. This drew a few cries of protest from certain members of the student body. 'Don't call us nerds!' they snarled. 'Why not? Aren't you?' we responded. Pause. 'That's not the point!' they squealed, and went off for a cup of cocoa, and a spot of advanced calculus. [EITAL][PUSH]push[EPUSH] [ITAL]rests its case. The general attitude is that Paisley is a place to get a degree, and you get a degree to get a job, rather than a life-enhancing experience. If you share this attitude, you'll have a great time.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]PAISLEY:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Population: 100,000 [BULL] London: 371miles [BULL] Glasgow: 7miles [BULL] Edinburgh: 51miles[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA][ITAL]You can't spend centuries, making fine swirling shapes without a fair amount of artiness rubbing off on you. And indeed, despite everything else, Paisley remains a thriving arts centre. [EITAL]Right opposite the University are the town's museum and art gallery. Along with shops, banks and the like, there are other attractions such as Paisley Abbey (parts of which date back to the 12th century), the Coats Observatory and the Weaver's Cottage, [ITAL]but Paisley isn't one of Scotland's tourist draws.[EITAL][HDNG]THE CITY:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Population: 654,542 [BULL] London: 367miles [BULL] Edinburgh: 52miles[ESTAT][PARA]The Clyde flows out to sea from Glasgow to its Firth and towards the Isle of Arran. Inland, the city is surrounded by the rolling hills of Strathclyde. It used to be a centre for shipping and steel, before the city dropped into a recession as deep as a saying by Confucius. [ITAL]With enormous effort in recent years, Glasgow has been dragging itself up from the gutter, and has shown itself to be a thoroughly cultural, modern European city. [EITAL]In fact, in 1990, it was declared Cultural Capital of Europe ([ITAL]more by way of encouragement than appreciation[EITAL]). [ITAL]Glasgow is again beginning to deserve the pride that its people never lost. [EITAL] In the city centre ([ITAL]ignore the outskirts which are still fairly depressing[EITAL]), there is some [ITAL]magnificent [EITAL]architecture (with many buildings designed by home-grown Charles Rennie Mackintosh) and there are 35 museums and art galleries, including [ITAL]notably [EITAL]the Art Gallery and Museum in Kelvingrove Park, the Burrell Collection, the McLellan Galleries, the Tobacco Lords House and many National Trust properties. You might expect a city of this size to have loads of shops, public amenities and stuff like that - you wouldn't be wrong. [ITAL]Fed up with the sniping about Glasgow being miles better, the new catchphrase is 'Glasgow's Alive'. Crass, but true.[EITAL] [ITAL]In the under-belly of Glasgow life, there is a massive amount of drug abuse with both hard and soft drugs easily available. There is a considerable problem with related crime. [EITAL][HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] The nearest mainline station is a 5min walk to Gilmour St. It has a regular direct service to Glasgow (ú2.50 return) with the last train at night at 11.46pm. Other services around Ayrshire.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] Served nationally by Scottish Citylink, via Glasgow.[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] The M8 is 1 mile from the town, also the A737 and A726.[PARA][BOLD]Taxis: [EBOLD]Relatively cheap; there's a huge rank by the station.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Generally not recommended[EITAL].[PARA][BOLD]Local:[EBOLD] Local buses allow easy access to surrounding areas. A single bus fare to Glasgow at 85p is cheaper than the train and is available till 3am.[PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Quite hilly [EITAL]and nowhere to store bikes on campus, but quite a few students give it a go.[HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Books: 117,000 [BULL] Periodicals: 1,250 [BULL] Study places: 420 [BULL] Computer workstations: 2,116[ESTAT][HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 2full/3part [BULL] Unemployed after 6mths (1993): 33%[ESTAT][HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]If you're late for lectures, reckon on being locked out.[HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]Gavin Hastings (Rugby international).[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Undergrad, postgrad, part-time prospectuses.[PARA][PARA]
