“How long does it take the average visitor to mention Tony Blair?” I asked the teacher at Fettes College who accompanied me a couple of weeks ago on my portrait shoot with student Iona Haig.

“About as long as it took you…” she said, before listing a number of prominent – and more recent -scientists and businesspeople who had attended the exclusive boarding school in Edinburgh. “He wasn’t even here that long.”

Iona spoke to Melanie Reid about the ubiquity of climate change in modern education, so it was important to have at least some hint to the environment. Time for a moody sky (isn’t it always?)

————————————————————————

The first job of this week took me to a busy roundabout just outside Glasgow Airport where a huddle of BA cabin crew stood in the wind and rain saluting those drivers who beeped. If you were left in any doubt by the placard as to their feelings toward BA chairman Willie Walsh, a Hitler moustache cleared this up.

  ————————————————————————
 

 

Next – Ian Wilmut, who cloned Dolly the Sheep and is a pioneer in stem cell research. It can be a bit intimidating to have someone like Ian – Professor Sir Ian Wilmut I should say – under your control for a few minutes. Especially since the reporter warned me he didn’t like to be photographed. It’s hard to justify your profession when that happens to be taking pretty pictures to a man whose daily work involves attempting to cure life-threatening and life-ruining diseases. However, he kindly gave me half an hour and – as he’s a keen photographer – we chatted about image stabilisers and f-stops. 

————————————————————————

David Blunkett was in town to promote US-style yellow school buses and posed with some children who, surprise surprise, decided to start pulling faces. It was probably best for all involved that they were nice kids and weren’t tempted to make the gestures too rude.

————————————————————————

The following day – more strikes, this time PCS union outside the Scottish Parliament. Again, just a handful of people.

 

As Alastair Darling announced his public spending plans to the nation, Julie the barber in Morningside allowed me to take a few pictures of her making some cuts of her own.

Meanwhile, some presentable young chaps from the Scottish Conservatives did the decent thing and posed in Darling masks with cardboard briefcases.

————————————————————————

Where Beryl Leatherland lives you can smell the sea as soon as you get out of the car. The portrait of her had to be a sombre one because Beryl was being featured in a financial article because she feels her pension has been unfairly reduced by the government.

————————————————————————

And then came the assignment of the week – a Special General Meeting of the Law Society of Scotland. Nothing excites a photographer like the notion of a hundred suited men in a room. On top of this I was kicked out after five minutes by an over-cautious PR adviser. The debate got quite heated and involved the kind of language one doesn’t usually expect from lawyers.

Two key protagonists from opposite sides of the complicated argument posed facing in different directions and we pieced together a montage from a visually very dull event.

————————————————————————

The Independent was sold to a Russian oligarch for a pound, so I did some business pictures.

 
————————————————————————

In a Glasgow auction house last weekend, risque works by former war artist Peter Howson sat next to the arguably more tranquil work of John Bellany, who is losing his sight.

————————————————————————

The third political story of the week was that Prescott was in town. Despite being told in colourful terms by an equally colourful Edinburgher that he wasn’t welcome in the Scottish capital, no fists were thrown.

————————————————————————

On Sunday I went to the beautiful Grey Mare’s Tail, near Moffat in the Borders, to get some photographs to go with a Spring Walks 2010 feature. I like to go hillwalking in my spare time and almost always leave the cameras at home. It may sound banal, but somehow I feel my relationship with the landscape changes when I’m trying to frame it in a soaking wet 24-70mm lens.

Luckily there were two nice young junior doctors (pictured below having a break) willing to have their walk interrupted for a picture. So I stayed with them for 20 minutes before trundling down to get dry.

————————————————————————

james.glossop@thetimes.co.uk