We’ve all used them at some point in our lives. The cold seats, the leaking roof, the graffiti on the walls not to mention with the added joy of sitting beside complete strangers and their quirky little ways always make them an interesting, if not enjoyable, experience.. They even struggle to protect you from the rain, wind, sleet (and whatever else is thrown at you in Glasgow these days). It’s all part and parcel of the experience. Camera in one hand, notebook in the other, I decided to hit the streets to find out more about the people that frequent our trusty bus-stops.
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Mother and daughter, Angela and Sarah, had just spent the day on Byres Road window-shopping. Angela is an art student at Glasgow Metropolitan College while Sarah is a former Levi’s Machinist who currently works in various hotels around the city as a chamber-maid. In her spare time, Sarah loves reading a good detective novel and lists Ruth Rendell and P.D. James as two of her favourite authors. They were grabbing the next bus home to the city centre, just in time for tea.
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I met Jun after she said an emotional goodbye to her boyfriend who was heading off to Switzerland for the weekend. They’d both just eaten Chinese dumplings as a send-off lunch for her boyfriend. Jun told me this was part of Chinese tradition as it means that after a quick lunch, it is hoped the person that is leaving will also return home soon. As well as enjoying hiking, she’s also currently working for Shell in Glasgow and is getting things organised for a big party with all her work colleagues later this week.
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Meet Pooja and Neeraj. After meeting two years ago in India, they’re now engaged and have been living in Glasgow for about eight months now. They’re MSc Students at the University of Glasgow and were waiting for a bus home after spending the day in Dundee. Neeraj told me about his love for both classical and Indian music while Pooja shared her love of long car journeys to unknown places as one of her top things to do when she had a day off from studying.
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Margaret and Heather were busy chatting when I stopped to talk with them at the bus stop. I thought initially these two were close friends but as it turned out they had just met for the first time at the bus stop and even happened to live a few streets from each other in Renfrew. Pretty cool I’d say. Margaret had just been to the Western Infirmary visiting relatives while Heather had just had a busy day visiting the Kelvingrove Art Galleries and was heading home for the evening to cook dinner. A keen bowler, Heather also likes to grab a quick round of golf if she has a few hours to spare.
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John had a pretty relaxed day to himself. He told me how he awoke this morning to the sound of his mobile ringing. It was his boss. Thankfully for John though, he was given the day off work as there were no half-shifts available for him. John quickly grabbed his ‘Mrs’ and set off into town with her to get a few messages. He was really pleased to get a day off and said that he used his time wisely and headed to the pub for a pint or two, where he watched the rugby. It was a quick interview though as his bus just arrived as I snapped the photograph.
For more of Jim’s photos go to www.jimwilson.tk
