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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.

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

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)

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

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

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

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