A bridge too far

James Watt has always believed that an artist has to know his subject, and as his subject is the Clyde, his ships and those who lived and worked there, getting to know about it involved sailing with crews on the puffers, with permission from Ross and Marshall who, at that time, had the biggest fleet of puffers on the Clyde.

He remembers the day when he really noticed a puffer in the East India Harbour in Greenock, now home to the Beacon. "I knew I had found my catalyst, my icon, the thing that could pull my work together." And so it was.

One of the regular routes on which he sailed was the Paisley-Islay run, taking barley from Paisley Harbour to the island distilleries and returning with casks of mature whisky.

This shot was taken today at that Paisley Harbour starting point. No puffers casting off today, but the residents of the modern flats nearby were out enjoying the sun by the river.

This bridge, now derelict, is the last image of the harbour as a turning point.

One of the drama classes coming to the workshops is going to be creating a presentation about the puffermen. That class is coming from Kirkintilloch, where many of the puffers were made.

Full circle.