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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.

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

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

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)

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

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

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