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some i met

On the streets of Glasgow often I meet people who ask me what and why I’m photographing. Some assume I’m from TV. Others accuse me of terrorist activity. Mostly I listen while they tell me their life stories. Here are some of those people.

Brian McQuade
Ricky’s bling and smoking hand
Andy, George Square
Man working in a skip
Two guys posing for a picture in St Enoch’s Square
Ricky, Buchanan Street
Guy waiting outside Buchanan Street Subway Station
Man waving from car, Saltmarket
Tony McGee, Steeplejack
On the way to Duncolm
A young guy looking for directions in Kinning Park
Two men outside bar, Paisley Road West
Outside Sunny Govan Radio
Mark smoking outside bar, Paisley Road
Father and daughter
Kerry and Mark kiss and make up
Man collecting bottles to pay council tax
At Eglinton Toll
Jim, Buchanan Street
Seven guys I met on the path to Duncolm
Young visitors to Crookston Castle
Young guy at Buchanan Street
Two men outside bar, Paisley Road West
Feeding the pigeons
In the subway
Tommy, Sunny Govan Radio
Frank Mahon – fount of local knowledge at Carmyle Fords
Young guy dishing out flyers on Govan Road
Jim busking, Buchanan Street

my places

Glasgow is where I was born and raised. Sadly all of the places I lived, studied and worked in have been demolished or altered beyond recogition. Never has a city shapeshifted more. (back to top)

On the way to the Barras
Orkney Street Police Station cells at Wine Alley aka Broomloan Road
View from Crookston Castle
Site of M74 completion in June 2008
Ex-Turner and Newall factory, Admiral Street, Kinning Park where my father worked
Harmony Row, Govan
Stanley Bar, Milnpark Street, Kinning Park
Water Treatment Plant, Seaward Street, Kinning Park
Old sign off Paisley Road West
Demolition near Crookston Castle, Brockburn Road, Pollok
87A Linthaugh Road, where I lived from November 1966 to October 1977
South Rotunda, Govan Road at Paisley Road Toll
Security sign, Seaward Street, Kinning Park
Admiral Street, Kinning Park
Council-sponsored fly-posting sabotage at the Trongate
The Angel Building, Paisley Road Toll
Glasgow SPT Subway train
Scotland Street School. Where my mother attended in the 1940s
Lyceum cinema, Govan. Surreal reproduction of itself on banner
Donald Dewar statue, Buchanan Street – now on a raised plinth after being vandalised
Entrance to Govan Town Hall, now Film City Glasgow
Pollok Community Centre I once – only once – attended Scottish Country Dancing
Govan Bus Station, Govan Cross
Caged CCTV on Shaw Street, Govan
Janitor’s house, Lambhill Street Primary School which I attended in the early 1960s
Building, Milnpark Street, Kinning Park
Off Ardencraig Road, Castlemilk. I believe I met Fred West here
Burrell Museum, Pollok Estate
Scottish Poetry Garden, Queen’s Park
Ex Gray, Dunn factory, Stanley Street. I used to beg for broken biscuits outside
Old insignia above ex-TSB bank, now a bookies
Entrance, St Enoch’s Square
St Margaret Mary’s School, Stanley Street. The playground was on the roof
Ex Howdens Engineering Works, Scotland Street where my grandmother and mother worked
The original gatepost at Paisley Road Toll
Wine Alley, Govan – the Potheid Building
Ornate gate posts at the Govan Road entrance to Elder Park
Grand Ole Opry, Paisley Road Toll. Used to be the Birds and Bees disco in the 1960s
Cambridge Street Car Park
Old light on the Renfrew Street side of the Glasgow Film Theatre
Govan Cross. Due for redevelopment
View from Crookston Castle. Taken shortly before demolition
Pillar, Lambhill Street Primary School, Kinning Park
Dougrie Road, Castlemilk

harry’s places

A writer and lay archaeologist, Harry Bell was my inspiration. I followed in his footsteps in search of the many sites mentioned in his book, Glasgow’s Secret Geometry: The City’s Oldest Mystery. (back to top)

Humbie Road
View from Necropolis looking south-west
Tinto Hill seen from Garf Water
Dunwan Hill Fort
Renfrew Old Parish Church
Seraph, Allen Mausoleum, Necropolis
Castlehill at sunset
Provan Hall from the gardens
Indents on Bonnyton Mound
Site of Nether Pollok Castle, Pollok Estate
Monument, Necropolis
Bonnyton Mound aka The Devil’s Plantation
The Craw Stane near Eaglesham
Tinto Hill in alignment with Duncolm
Carved tree at the Ringwork, Pollok Estate
Necropolis
Humbie Road at the Devil’s Plantation
Sundial on entrance arch to Rutherglen Old Parish Church
Ross Hall
Plastic wrapped boulders at the Ringwork, North Wood, Pollok Estate
Govan Old Parish Church
Paisley Abbey
Site of Castlemilk House
Bell Tower, Rutherglen Old Parish Church
Carmyle Fords
Ringwork in the North Wood, Pollok Estate
Remains of Roman Fort at Antonine Wall
Tower, Cathkin Braes at sunset
Monument with Egyptian carvings, Necropolis
Broken monument, Necropolis
Carron Fords from the Bridge
Ornate chimney stack, Ross Hall
Site of Old Cathcart Castle
Gallowflats Mound
Greenside reservoir near Duncolm
Headless angel, Necropolis
Railway Bridge at Carmyle Fords
View from Cathkin Braes
Tombstone, Necropolis
Woodend Loch looking north – now a SSSI
Carron Fords
Dumgoyne
Broken statue at the Necropolis
Victorian relief of Christ – ‘It is finished!’
Rutherglen Old Parish Church
Interior, Crookston Castle
Stanely Castle
Argyll Stone and St Conval’s Chariot, off the car park at the Normandy Hotel
Boulder marking at Camphill Earthwork
Detail of entrance to Provan Hall
Duncolm Hill
Cast iron gravestone, Renfrew
Crookston Castle
View from Crookston Castle
Boulders at Camphill Earthwork
Carron Bridge near the Fords
Water Tower near Cochno
Rutherglen bell tower
Dumbarton Rock from the path to Duncolm and Loch Humphrey
Bonnyton Moor
View from the Tak Ma Doon Road Car Park
Tombstone, Renfrew Old Parish Church
John Knox Monument, Necropolis
The top of Tinto Hill – aka – Tintock Top

old places

Glasgow – the dear green place – has a habit of disappearing. Here are a few of the old places photographed on my travels – some of which have since been demolished. (back to top)

Insignia and motto, Clydebank
Cosmo Chicken Bar, Govan Road
Disused church, Bowling
Detail, Brunswick Street
Detail, Pierce Institute, Govan
Detail above entrance to shipyard offices
Statue of industrialist John Elder, Elderpark
Custom House Bowling
Detail, Corinthian Bar, Ingram Street
Angel/cherub on tombstone, Govan Old Parish Church
Sign, Virginia Street
Carlton Place
ex-Govan Shipyard, Govan Road
The Mercat Building, Trongate
Govan Milestone by Helen Denerley
The Castle Bar price list
Detail, Christian Association
Mercury’s head, old Glasgow Herald newspaper offices, Buchanan Street
Pierce Institute, Govan
Detail, ex-British Linen Bank, Govan Road
Plaque, Trongate
Statue of Lady Elder, Elderpark
Govan Road
Val d’Oro chip shop
Laurieston Bar
Detail, ex-Trustee Savings Bank, Govan Road
Detail of derelict building, Govan Road
Old road sign near Tinto Hill
MacKinnon’s Bar, Gallowgate
City Chambers, George Square
Signs off Tontine Lane, Trongate
Detail, Pierce Institute, Govan
Schipka Pass, off Gallowgate
Detail, Brunswick Street
Elderpark Library. Opened by Andrew Carnegie
Gartloch asylum
Derelict shop, London Road
Close entrance, 59 Shaw Street, Govan
Christian Association, St Andrew’s Cross
Statue of James Watt, George Square

new places

Glasgow is a work-in-progress, not all of it progressive. Gone is the red and blonde sandstone, replaced by brick, glass and steel. (back to top)

Glasgow Fort Junction 10 off the M8
A New Gorbals housing development
New apartments on the Clyde – many now to let
Side elevation of the SMG/STV Building, Pacific Quay
Sheriff Court
New building in New Gorbals
The SMG logo as street furniture, off Pacific Quay
Shields Rd Subway car park, Scotland Street
Digital Media Centre, Pacific Quay. Subsidised offices for TV/Media companies
A new development on Pollokshaws Road
Rear of News International, Middlesex Street. Conspicuously heavy on security
Another New Gorbals housing development
The Arc aka The Squinty Bridge, Govan Road. Closed for 6 months due to bad construction
Clock outside Buchanan Street Bus Station
Utopia, off Pollokshaws Road. Now available for rent
Farmfoods, Silverburn. Earmarked for closure, along with the Gala Bingo and the Credit Union
Glasgow Science Centre
Side street at Glasgow Fort
Clyde Auditorium, aka the Armadillo. Generic silver-clad construction now seen in most cities
Looking north from the Arc Bridge
New houses at Gartloch Village – alien brick arrives in Scotland
Silverburn Shopping Centre, Pollok
Detail of a New Gorbals housing development
The SMG timeline runs out at 2007
M74 Completion Roadworks – driving its way through south-side Glasgow communities
SMG Building, Pacific Quay, Govan Road
Tait’s Tower recreation – it never worked
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