In reply to Natalie Berry - UKC:
I'd love to hear John's spoken word, even if the quality isn't great.
Thanks for a really fascinating article. I guess most journalists would be shocked by the lack of editorial overview, but in this context to have John Cullen's words more or less verbatim was greatly compelling - so much of the Glasgow in them - and bringing especially the photographs to life.
I'd echo Sean Kelly's point: this account is particularly valuable because the possibility for new first hand tellings of this era is almost over. My partner's grandfather, who died a few years back, warmed his spirit by the Craigallian Fire in the 30s. Though a camper and a walker rather than a climber, he knew Jock Nimlin and so may perhaps have known John Cullen, though older than him. I wish now I had recorded his stories of the old days, because his flow of words and frequent changes of focus, coupled with the loud TV and other conversation in his Alexandria flat, made it hard for me - used to slower, quieter tellings and the ticking of clocks - to retain his stories.
If anyone else knows someone alive from those days -please do what Natalie has done and record their words before the first hand experience of this seminal epoch in Scottish outdoor culture disappears forever.