August 2026
Scotties in The City Art Trail
The Scotties in the City Art Trail has been such a big hit this summer Everyone has loved them and have their favourites. This month they came off the streets of Glasgow but there was one last chance to see them. The giant sculptures, as well as 52 smaller ones, came together for one last time for a Farewell Weekend at Bridgeton Bus Garage, home of the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust. The art trail, which was launched by Maggie’s Honorary Patron Kirsty Wark and Glasgow’s Lord Provost Jacqueline McLaren, in June, was live for eight weeks on the streets of Glasgow. Soon they will they off to auction on 10 September. Four year old Astrid was with her favourite with the traffic cone.
Hayley Smith , project manager for the Scotties in The City Art Trail for Maggies cleaned up the Scotties ahead of the farewell weekend at Bridgeton Bus Garage.
Mary Doll Returns
I was photographing The Tall Ship Glenlee’s much-loved figurehead as she was craned back into position following conservation work. The figurehead, affectionately known as “Mary Doll”, one of Glasgow’s most recognisable maritime figures was carefully lifted and reinstated beneath Glenlee’s bowsprit, returning a familiar face to the bow of the 130-year-old Clyde-built sailing ship.
We had a bit of extra fun as Lauren Henning, Learning and Museum Manager put some lipstick on Mary Doll for luck.
Rise & Shine at The Crannog Centre
I has an amazing day at the The Scottish Crannog Centre in Perthshire this month. With the Crannog now finished and looking magnificent. I was at the Rise & Shine Festival which was celebrating its fifth year of collaboration between the Centre and the UNESCO RIELA team. The event brought together artists, craftspeople, musicians, and community organisers from Scotland and around the world to explore themes of climate justice, refugee integration, and sustainable traditions. It was a super day with some amazing people. I was most impressed by a coffee making process that can take nearly four hours.
Returning To Crocodile Rock
I had a visit to Millport this month. I love it there and especially with an ice cream from the Ritz Cafe. I was meeting some scientists from the University of Glasgow for the Project Eisirean at Millport where a new mobile oyster hatchery is based. Analysing original Gaelic and Scots place-names has helped the team of scientists rediscover the locations of important oyster beds on the West Coast of Scotland.
Rediscovering the West Coast oyster beds is the culmination of several years of work undertaken by Project Eisirean, a collaboration between ecology and environment researchers and Gaelic and education experts at the University of Glasgow alongside local community organisations on the west coast of Scotland. The work, funded by grants from UK Research & Innovation, was led by Dr Anna McGregor, an expert in coastal ecology, who had the original idea of locating oysters through traditional place-names and then applying scientific techniques to confirm oyster presence within them.
I thought the best place for the picture would be on the famous Crocodile Rock with some of the oyster shells. Pictured are Dr Anna McGregor, ecologist at the University of Glasgow and Project Eisirean lead with Claire Ramjan from the University’s School of Education and Scottish Songwriter Gillebrìde MacMillan.
Always Time For Golf
Being a golf fan I was delighted to visit Bearsden Golf Club to photograph Robbie Bowie-Cameron who is profoundly deaf. He was representing Scotland for the first time in his career at a competition in Sweden. Competing in the event was made possible from money provided by sponsors, including Glasgow based audiology group The Hearing Clinic UK. He has their name on his cool golf bag which I thought looked great with the Highland Coo head cover. He was a total pro, getting his picture taken in the rain , going voluntarily into a bunker and then off to work. A super guy.
Butterfly Flutter By
With the return of the warm weather I was in the garden watching the cabbage white or cabbage butterfly as it sat on one of our a purple Verbena bonariensis flower. Gardens are alive just now with the summer insects.
