The Finnieston Crane

This massive crane (believed by me throughout my childhood to be the biggest in Europe) stands near the former docks on the River Clyde in Glasgow. My early years were spent in its shadow and for me it's the most evocative of all the Glasgow landmarks. It now stands in splendid isolation surrounded by new build, the media technology park, the Science Centre and the Scottish Exhibition Centre.

When I captured it in black and white today when I visited the SEC, it made me think that was pretty much how Glasgow was in the 1950s - black and white and grey. Today this particular neighbourhood has lots of chrome and silver and glass, but the crane stands there as if it has watched it all come and could just as well watch it all go again....

(The arch spanning the lower part of the picture is the newly opened ''Squinty Bridge', so called because it forms a diagonal crossing of the river. I can't find anyone who knows its real name!)