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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.

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

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

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)

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

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)

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

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)

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