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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.

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

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)

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

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)

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

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)

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

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