IT is early 1963 and a group of schoolboys are standing on a green hill in Castlemilk, Europe’s largest housing estate, having their photograph taken. They jostle in front of the camera, crowding into the frame, anxious to be in the picture. One stands on tip-toe, leans his chin on another’s shoulder, and stares straight… Read more »
Inside the cold case squad
First published April, 2008 in Scotland On Sunday
COLD case is a term used to refer to a serious crime, principally a murder, which has gone unsolved and some time later is investigated again. But it’s a misnomer. Such cases are rarely cold. Of course, there are murders that took place so long ago everyone connected with the crime is either dead or… Read more »
Stories from the grey area: social work in Scotland
First published February, 2010 in Scotland On Sunday
ON A bitter February morning with snow on the ground and fog in the air, screeching seagulls chase each other round the CCTV cameras outside a tower block. An old man calls up to one of the flats. A young woman sticks her head out. “Jimmy, wait the now,” she shouts. “I’ve got social work… Read more »
The Forth Bridge
First published November, 2011 in Scotland on Sunday
IT is Saturday night, almost Sunday morning, and 150 feet above the chill, black water of the Forth, in a sheet-metal bothy the colour of blood, the men of the bridge are waiting to begin work. “Sweetie?” Someone offers a barley sugar. “That’s what gets you through these shifts. Better than a hip flask.” The… Read more »