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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.

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

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)

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

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)

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

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

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)

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