I’ve taken a picture of every beach I’ve been to, for the last 10 years or so. I was never sure why, but once I started I kept going.
No beach looks particularly significant at the time, but when you see a few together, each one stands out in a different way.
I wasn’t sure what to do with these photos, but now I’m stuck at home (far from a beach) they have been really comforting to look at.
Perhaps this is what it was all for.
I’m not sure if any city is as proud of its coat of arms as Glasgow. You are never far from one – old or new, carved, engraved, painted, high or low – they are everywhere. Glasgow Coat of Arms started collecting them on Twitter @GlasgowCoA, and the crowdsourced results are currently on show at Glasgow City Heritage Trust in Bell Street until 6 Feb.
The story of St Mungo (Glasgow’s patron saint) and the book, the bell, the fish and the tree certainly caught my imagination at school, particularly the part about the salmon and the ring thrown into the river by the queen’s lover. That seemed a bit racey for primary school, particularly a Catholic one, but it did make saints seem cool.
I’m pleased to have contributed this wee St Mungo door knocker found on Easdale Island, 120-odd miles away from home. The collection is also on Instagram at instagram/GlasgowCoA and is growing all the time.
Alishia Farnan, a graduate of Glasgow School of Art specialises in photographing (empty) social spaces. Her series Social State documents social clubs in the West of Scotland.
Her collection, What I Think About When I Think About the Sea moves on to seaside cafes and pavilions (found via Iain Sarjeant on Twitter).
I finally made it to End of the Line: Photographs of Glasgow’s Industrial Past, an exhibition of archive photographs of industrial buildings in Glasgow, by John R. Hume, organised by Glasgow City Heritage Trust.
Now Chief Inspector of the Royal Commission on the Ancient Historical Monuments of Scotland, John R. Hume travelled round Glasgow by bike, documenting factories and warehouses all over the city. You might think these things have a fairly limited appeal, but the exhibition space (an imposing former Inland Revenue building in North Frederick Street) was busy for a wet Wednesday, and there was a lively commentary from visitors who could remember the buildings as they were. The exhibition runs to the 5 September (or 7 September according to some info), and photos are also available on Canmore.
Fans of this sort of thing may also enjoy the work of Peter Mitchell, who scoured Leeds for disappearing buildings. His Instagram account is a real treat.
I can’t walk past an old Open (or Closed) sign without taking a photo.
There is something wonderful about Urban Goals. A nationwide survey of goalposts, both planned and handmade, by Liverpool photographer Michael Kirkham.
Also very enjoyable on Twitter @urbangoals.
Joyful photo series of Tokyo’s oldest shop owners, by Lee Chapman in the Guardian.
Nothing To See Here
£6.99
Northern Delights
£6.99
Way Out West
£6.99
