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

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)

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

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)

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

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)

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

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)

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