THE CLOOTIE WELLS, IF NOTHING ELSE ARE THE SAGE, NODDING HEAD OF ANCIENT WISDOM. THE CELTS AND THE GAELS AND CHRISTIANS AND THE MODERN DAY ORDINARY PEOPLE LIKE ME. THEY OFFER UNDERSTANDING, MORE THAN A CURE. THEY SPEAK INTO THE AGES AND SAY: “I know how you feel. I know your fears, I know your hopes. I know what it is to be in this wilderness you find yourself in. I may not know who you are, but I do know your pain”.

It's a strange thing being the troll (the fairytale type, not the internet type) that lives under the bridge. Stranger still when you live under two bridges. About 17 years ago I was one of them. I lived in the coastal village of North Queensferry in Fife, right on the coast of the Firth of Forth in Scotland; and right between the world renowned Forth Rail Bridge, and the stalwart, recently demoted, Forth Road Bridge.

Living in their shadows for several years, seeing it reflected in windows, on the water, even reflected in our TV screen, seemed to trigger something in me. I started to think about different ways of seeing the bridges, different ways to show people how I saw them; and that was absolutely nothing like the traditional sunset tourist shots which populate every tourist shop in the area.

It all begins with an idea.