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

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)

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

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)

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

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)

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

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)

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