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