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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.

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

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)

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

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)

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

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)

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

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)

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