Doon the Clyde

I was in Greenock today for a meeting relating to the work of the late George Wyllie.
This is a view with which George would have been very familiar. It's at Custom House Quay where the new Beacon Arts Centre is now to be found, alongside the refurbished Custom House.
Before he became a full time artist in his late 50s, George - who lived for almost 50 years in nearby Gourock - worked in Customs and Excise. The Custom House was one of the places where he plied his trade.
I never tire of the view down here at the waterfront. This shows the scene looking south towards the Titan Crane and Port Glasgow.
Last August, thousands of paper boats made by school pupils involved in the George Wyllie Education Initiative were launched from this spot.
One of George's most famous artworks was a giant Paper Boat which he launched in Glasgow with much fanfare - a band playing and a choir belting out his self-penned Paper Boat song. The boat travelled to Liverpool, London, Antwerp, New York and back to Scotland, where it was eventually taken to a breakers' yard in Inverkeithing in Fife.
It was recycled as a truce goose which went to fight a conservation battle on the island of Islay.
It was a very moving occasion as the water cannons sent jets out over the Firth of Clyde and the horns sounded as the origami fleet of tiny boats sank without trace.