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

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)

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

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)

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

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

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