Decamber 2025

Sound of Christmas

This is the best time of year with lots of festive assignments coming in. One of my favourites is the RSNO performing the music to The Snowman. This years reading was done by comic Josie Long. She was fab. Its such a Christmas story. Although it was mentioned that in Glasgow the words are changed to Irn Bru. The orchestra come in for the second half in all their Christmas outfits. This year my favourite was Associate Leader Shlomy Dobrinsky with his red nose and antlers on stage with Orchestra leader Maya Iwabuchi  and Second Violin Anna Bunemann (with a banana on her snowman’s outfit.

Jock & The Beanstalk

I was photographing the Pavilion Theatre’s Panto Jock & The Beanstalk. It was hilarious as always. I saw the production again days later as a guest. I can’t believe how many jokes I missed when I was photographing it. I loved this scene with Grado, Stephen Purdon , Craig Glover as the magnificent dame and Liam Dolan. It was hilarious. You kind of know what’s coming and it’s still funny. I think it’s the anticipation.

90 Years Young

I had a lovely evening at a very special concert. It was the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s 90th anniversary concert at The City Halls in Glasgow. Conductor Ryan Wigglesworth was on great form as were the orchestra. A great performance from soloists Beth Taylor, Pumeza Matshikiza , Ashley Riches and John Findon added to the evening. The high point was Sir Stephen Hough. The audience loved him. He had to have a change of one of his musical pieces as it seems a string was broken in the grand piano, so he had to find a one that did not have that note.

A Virtual View From Space

Imagine visiting a museum and being transported to go anywhere and virtually examine artefacts at astonishing proximity and from every possible angle. I was so pleased to be asked along to see The University of Glasgow’s [un]box Virtual Reality kiosk, a self-contained gateway to worlds that were once out of reach. Being a Star Trek fan the thought my picture should be from outer space would get my creative juices flowing. I wanted to take the picture beside the model of the viewing platform on the space station. I  was with Dr Lynn Verschuren of The University of Glasgow Museums in The Metaverse Team and Derek Shirlaw of Glasgow Science Centre. They laughed when I said I had a fear of fear of heights.

225th Burns Supper Anniversary

I am a big fan of haggis and a good Burns Supper cannot be beaten. I was in one of the oldest rooms in the University of Glasgow, the Humanity Lecture Theatre to photograph ‘Your Burns Supper matters’, which is a project to help shape the future of the global and living tradition photo call. The Centre for Robert Burns Studies at the University of Glasgow were launching a new campaign, The Burns Supper at 225 Years: Scottish Tradition, Global Reinvention. Building on nearly six years of pioneering research, the Centre are calling on people worldwide to help create a crowdsourced archive of Burns Suppers events, viewable through an interactive global map to be launched in July next year on the 225th anniversary of the first Burns Supper. It is hoped the archives will feature poems and songs performed at Burns Supper around the world as well as videos, photographs, recipes and dress. I was with Professor Pauline Mackay and Dr Cleo O’Callaghan Yeoman of the Centre for Robert Burns Studies with Burns’ books and a lovely haggis with a rather magnificent whisky sauce.

A Festive City

Buchanan Street is looking very festive at the moment. I always used to do my Christmas shopping pictures for The Herald & Times when I was on shift. There is  always a good telephoto shot looking down towards St Enoch Square, especially now with the Big Wheel. 

There was the usual scattering of buskers singing festive hits but by far my favourite was the Salvation Army brass band. It is an emotional sound, so festive. They were playing outside TGI Friday’s. I did like the picture of the horn player in the window with the cocktails sign in the window.