I’ve a special liking for the work of the Wishaw photographer, Charles Reid whose photographs of animals, both domestic and wild are delightful. This unusual photograph entitled “Gulls” brings to the fore a sight that was at one time very familiar on the river and estuary of the Clyde; the modest hopper. Designed to take the spoil from the dredging of the river and harbour, hoppers were self-propelled and took the place of mud punts that continued in use until the 1880s and beyond. Mud punts had sufficed when the dredged material was used as fill on the river banks, but with the widening of the river, it was necessary to move the material over much greater distances. The first of the hoppers came from the yard of Messrs William Simons & Co., Renfrew, in 1862. The vessel could be filled with spoil and then sail to the dumping ground in deep water where the bottom of the hold opened...