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.
Tommy, Sunny Govan Radio
Mark smoking outside bar, Paisley Road
Father and daughter
On the way to Duncolm
Frank Mahon – fount of local knowledge at Carmyle Fords
Man collecting bottles to pay council tax
Seven guys I met on the path to Duncolm
Jim, Buchanan Street
Young visitors to Crookston Castle
Tony McGee, Steeplejack
At Eglinton Toll
Two men outside bar, Paisley Road West
Jim busking, Buchanan Street
Young guy at Buchanan Street
Feeding the pigeons
Young guy dishing out flyers on Govan Road
Man working in a skip
Brian McQuade
Two men outside bar, Paisley Road West
In the subway
A young guy looking for directions in Kinning Park
Ricky, Buchanan Street
Ricky’s bling and smoking hand
Man waving from car, Saltmarket
Outside Sunny Govan Radio
Two guys posing for a picture in St Enoch’s Square
Andy, George Square
Guy waiting outside Buchanan Street Subway Station
Kerry and Mark kiss and make up
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)
Janitor’s house, Lambhill Street Primary School which I attended in the early 1960s
Harmony Row, Govan
Ornate gate posts at the Govan Road entrance to Elder Park
Donald Dewar statue, Buchanan Street – now on a raised plinth after being vandalised
View from Crookston Castle. Taken shortly before demolition
St Margaret Mary’s School, Stanley Street. The playground was on the roof
Council-sponsored fly-posting sabotage at the Trongate
Water Treatment Plant, Seaward Street, Kinning Park
87A Linthaugh Road, where I lived from November 1966 to October 1977
Ex-Turner and Newall factory, Admiral Street, Kinning Park where my father worked
Cambridge Street Car Park
Scottish Poetry Garden, Queen’s Park
Entrance to Govan Town Hall, now Film City Glasgow
Entrance, St Enoch’s Square
Lyceum cinema, Govan. Surreal reproduction of itself on banner
View from Crookston Castle
Caged CCTV on Shaw Street, Govan
Burrell Museum, Pollok Estate
Demolition near Crookston Castle, Brockburn Road, Pollok
Wine Alley, Govan – the Potheid Building
Govan Bus Station, Govan Cross
Old sign off Paisley Road West
Glasgow SPT Subway train
Site of M74 completion in June 2008
Old light on the Renfrew Street side of the Glasgow Film Theatre
Orkney Street Police Station cells at Wine Alley aka Broomloan Road
Ex Howdens Engineering Works, Scotland Street where my grandmother and mother worked
Scotland Street School. Where my mother attended in the 1940s
Pillar, Lambhill Street Primary School, Kinning Park
Building, Milnpark Street, Kinning Park
The original gatepost at Paisley Road Toll
Pollok Community Centre I once – only once – attended Scottish Country Dancing
Admiral Street, Kinning Park
Ex Gray, Dunn factory, Stanley Street. I used to beg for broken biscuits outside
Dougrie Road, Castlemilk
Grand Ole Opry, Paisley Road Toll. Used to be the Birds and Bees disco in the 1960s
Govan Cross. Due for redevelopment
Stanley Bar, Milnpark Street, Kinning Park
Off Ardencraig Road, Castlemilk. I believe I met Fred West here
On the way to the Barras
Security sign, Seaward Street, Kinning Park
South Rotunda, Govan Road at Paisley Road Toll
Old insignia above ex-TSB bank, now a bookies
The Angel Building, Paisley Road Toll
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)
Renfrew Old Parish Church
Water Tower near Cochno
Boulders at Camphill Earthwork
Railway Bridge at Carmyle Fords
Tombstone, Necropolis
Provan Hall from the gardens
Greenside reservoir near Duncolm
Broken monument, Necropolis
Tower, Cathkin Braes at sunset
Site of Castlemilk House
Gallowflats Mound
Ringwork in the North Wood, Pollok Estate
John Knox Monument, Necropolis
Broken statue at the Necropolis
Argyll Stone and St Conval’s Chariot, off the car park at the Normandy Hotel
Remains of Roman Fort at Antonine Wall
Carron Fords from the Bridge
Detail of entrance to Provan Hall
Sundial on entrance arch to Rutherglen Old Parish Church
The Craw Stane near Eaglesham
Paisley Abbey
Interior, Crookston Castle
Humbie Road at the Devil’s Plantation
Govan Old Parish Church
Crookston Castle
Ross Hall
Castlehill at sunset
Tinto Hill seen from Garf Water
Stanely Castle
Ornate chimney stack, Ross Hall
Duncolm Hill
Woodend Loch looking north – now a SSSI
Bell Tower, Rutherglen Old Parish Church
Carron Fords
Humbie Road
Seraph, Allen Mausoleum, Necropolis
Dunwan Hill Fort
View from Necropolis looking south-west
View from the Tak Ma Doon Road Car Park
Dumbarton Rock from the path to Duncolm and Loch Humphrey
Monument with Egyptian carvings, Necropolis
Carron Bridge near the Fords
Plastic wrapped boulders at the Ringwork, North Wood, Pollok Estate
Tombstone, Renfrew Old Parish Church
Bonnyton Mound aka The Devil’s Plantation
Rutherglen Old Parish Church
Carved tree at the Ringwork, Pollok Estate
Cast iron gravestone, Renfrew
View from Crookston Castle
Rutherglen bell tower
Victorian relief of Christ – ‘It is finished!’
Site of Old Cathcart Castle
Monument, Necropolis
Bonnyton Moor
The top of Tinto Hill – aka – Tintock Top
Dumgoyne
Tinto Hill in alignment with Duncolm
Carmyle Fords
Headless angel, Necropolis
Site of Nether Pollok Castle, Pollok Estate
Necropolis
Indents on Bonnyton Mound
Boulder marking at Camphill Earthwork
View from Cathkin Braes
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)
Pierce Institute, Govan
Detail, Christian Association
Statue of industrialist John Elder, Elderpark
City Chambers, George Square
Elderpark Library. Opened by Andrew Carnegie
Statue of James Watt, George Square
Detail, Pierce Institute, Govan
Schipka Pass, off Gallowgate
Christian Association, St Andrew’s Cross
MacKinnon’s Bar, Gallowgate
Detail, Corinthian Bar, Ingram Street
Angel/cherub on tombstone, Govan Old Parish Church
Detail, Brunswick Street
Derelict shop, London Road
The Castle Bar price list
Detail, ex-British Linen Bank, Govan Road
Cosmo Chicken Bar, Govan Road
Carlton Place
The Mercat Building, Trongate
Old road sign near Tinto Hill
Disused church, Bowling
Detail, Pierce Institute, Govan
Plaque, Trongate
Detail of derelict building, Govan Road
Insignia and motto, Clydebank
ex-Govan Shipyard, Govan Road
Mercury’s head, old Glasgow Herald newspaper offices, Buchanan Street
Val d’Oro chip shop
Sign, Virginia Street
Custom House Bowling
Statue of Lady Elder, Elderpark
Detail, ex-Trustee Savings Bank, Govan Road
Detail, Brunswick Street
Govan Road
Govan Milestone by Helen Denerley
Signs off Tontine Lane, Trongate
Laurieston Bar
Detail above entrance to shipyard offices
Gartloch asylum
Close entrance, 59 Shaw Street, Govan
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
Glasgow Science Centre
The SMG logo as street furniture, off Pacific Quay
New building in New Gorbals
Shields Rd Subway car park, Scotland Street
Farmfoods, Silverburn. Earmarked for closure, along with the Gala Bingo and the Credit Union
The Arc aka The Squinty Bridge, Govan Road. Closed for 6 months due to bad construction
M74 Completion Roadworks – driving its way through south-side Glasgow communities
Side elevation of the SMG/STV Building, Pacific Quay
New houses at Gartloch Village – alien brick arrives in Scotland
Utopia, off Pollokshaws Road. Now available for rent
New apartments on the Clyde – many now to let
A New Gorbals housing development
Side street at Glasgow Fort
Sheriff Court
Clock outside Buchanan Street Bus Station
Detail of a New Gorbals housing development
Rear of News International, Middlesex Street. Conspicuously heavy on security
The SMG timeline runs out at 2007
A new development on Pollokshaws Road
Looking north from the Arc Bridge
Glasgow Fort Junction 10 off the M8
Clyde Auditorium, aka the Armadillo. Generic silver-clad construction now seen in most cities
SMG Building, Pacific Quay, Govan Road
Tait’s Tower recreation – it never worked
Digital Media Centre, Pacific Quay. Subsidised offices for TV/Media companies