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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.

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

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

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)

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

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)

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

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)

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