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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.

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

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)

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

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)

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

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)

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

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)

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