There was a continuous and significant amount of press, radio and television coverage of what I was doing. One young girl wrote to the local newspaper to ask why other parts of the town were getting art works but not where she lived. I used the local newspaper as a tool to develop and extend an interest and an understanding of the work. While it was never a 'rubber stamp' for the work, often it would report controversies and ask the tired question, 'wouldn't the money be better spent on....' in general terms the editor was very supportive. The Sunday Times, The Observer, The South China Morning Post, The Scotsman, The Guardian among many others carried articles. In the case of The Guardian, a full page was devoted to a well-researched and incisive article by Graham Hancock. I hope it has no bearing on it, but he is now infamous among historians and archaeologists for his books and television programmes and his assertions regarding the function of the pyramids, the existence of underwater cities of lost civilisations and the links between the ancient civilisations of all the continents. It is maybe significant that a few sentences from his article duly appeared in 'Pseud's Corner' in Private Eye. Articles also appeared in a number of magazines mainly architectural, planning and landscaping. Not much appeared in art magazines. It simply was not the kind of work that interested contemporary art writers. In 1970 the BBC Scotland writer and producer, W. Gordon Smith, made a fifteen minute film on the work for his weekly arts programme, "Scope." Again, regrettably, it was early days and the work had not yet evolved and matured. Although the work was covered often on TV news items and a few other programmes were mooted, particularly by London producers, (it seemed that the 400 miles was too much; had the work been in Harlow or Stevenage it would have been no trouble at all) no other serious documentary was made. However Dave Allen, the wry comedian, appeared with his research assistant and spent a day with me. He was doing a series on unusual people and what they were about. They were looking for eccentrics!

After six years in the job I was keen to find out what was going on in other countries in the field of art and architecture to see if I could find any situations in which artists were being employed in a similar situation as myself. Through the support of Bill Buchanan, Visual Art Director of The Scottish Arts Council, I was funded to make research visits to Spain, France, Holland and the USA during 1975-76. (later I was to work fruitfully with Bill at Glasgow School of Art). I found no equivalents to my own position but was enormously stimulated by the artists I met and the work that I saw. I visited architectural practices as well as artists and artist groups; the extraordinary buildings of the unique architectural practice, the Taller de Bofill, in Barcelona, Sitges, Calpe and elsewhere; the artist Bernard Lassus in Paris and particularly his work on his ideas of 'les habitants paysagistes, (see above) had a profound effect on me; the social and political artwork of the 'Provos' in Holland; the community mural groups in the USA, particularly those in Chicago and Los Angeles. In the USA I combined my research with lectures at various institutions in New England, Chicago and Los Angeles. In LA I addressed the elaborately monikered, 'The First West Coast Mural Graffiti Conference'. I made many friends on this trip with whom I still remain in contact. All of this material and experience formed the basis of a small book I wrote and illustrated which the SAC published in 1976, entitled 'Artists and Buildings.'

Over the years the nature of my work changed from the object sculpture to a more fluid and more conceptual practice. To begin with, although it was not contained in my job description, I had a firm conviction that I should try in some way to involve the people of the town in making their own contribution to their own physical and cultural environment. I continued to pursue this 'social inclusion' in parallel with my 'own work' so that the two elements were fused. It must be made clear that the majority of my work was in new developments. There were no existing resident populations in the new housing developments and certainly none in new shopping centres and industrial estates. It was only when I was able to work in the older areas of the town that I could involve residents in the work. The tenants choosing the colours for their own front doors was one such work. This was such a simple way of creating a greater sense of ownership and individuality for tenant occupiers. The New Towns were in general good landlords but tenants were still tenants.

In the early years I had not been too concerned about the overall finishes on buildings. Latterly I did become involved. Most of the architects believed in a certain formalism in their housing designs. They married that to attempts to reproduce the white, harled, roughcast finishes of Scottish fishing villages. But white cement-based roughcast becomes over time dull grey and, with the uniformity of mass housing, they could never achieve the effect they were after. Coupled with the climate of Scotland the aspect of the town, with its lack of mature trees, was bleak indeed. I argued vehemently for colour, warm earth colours specifically, and in several new housing developments these colours were used. However two other proposals I made did not go ahead. The land for a new housing development was criss-crossed by dry stone walls. I proposed that as many sections of these as possible should be kept so that they would appear in the gaps between houses, on the edge of pavements and in public spaces. Also there was a natural spring in the middle of the site and I proposed that this should be retained along with existing trees and bushes. The second was for an industrial building with a vast blank wall that was about to be built. I proposed that the bricklayers should be supplied with piles of different coloured bricks and that they should decide which colours to use. The idea was to produce a rich, random configuration over the whole wall. Neither of these went ahead.

Inevitably I was in touch with other activist artists and groups in the UK. In Edinburgh I became associated with 'Edinburgh Theatre Workshop' and its then director, Neil Cameron. Neil had attracted a vigorous, creative staff around him among whom was the American Ken Wolverton. Through them I came into touch with Helen Crummy founder of the Craigmillar Festival Society; still the most radical and successful example of a community in a council housing estate taking over responsibility for social and cultural development. Through them I also came into contact with Jimmy Boyle. It seemed to me at the time that everyone and his dog in the art world were beating a track to the Special Unit in Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow to meet Boyle. Joyce Laing the well-known art-therapist had got Jimmy started making art work. Richard Demarco followed and began to take all his important visitors to meet Jimmy the high point of which was the visit of Joseph Beuys who subsequently made an art work about Jimmy and his predicament. When Neil urged me to arrange to visit Jimmy I was very reluctant indeed. It just seemed the fashionable thing to do, like part of the cultural tourist map. Jimmy had been commissioned to design a sculpture for Craigmillar. He came up with a proposal for a giant Gulliver figure strapped to the ground. It was built by local labour and officially opened by Billy Connelly. Jimmy made a secret visit to Craigmillar to see his work. One day my phone rang. It was Jimmy asking me to come to visit him. I relented. I was able to phone him directly in prison and he could phone me - a quite unbelievable concession to the prisoners in the 'Special Unit.' It had been set up by a remarkable prison service decision to adopt an entirely radical method of dealing with the most notorious prisoners in Scotland. Instead of locking them up in cages, in solitary confinement and with the constant aggression that this created between prisoners and prison officers, a secure special unit was set up within which there existed the freedom to run the place together. There were extensive visiting arrangements, inmates arranged their own menus and cooked their own food and all day was spent in the communal spaces or workshops. The prison staff were volunteers and were paid a higher rate for this 'most dangerous' work. However some could not stand the pressure of being familiar and friendly with the inmates and begged to be moved back into the normal system! I was profoundly moved by the visit. Jimmy welcomed me to the Special Unit, showed me around and in the kitchen picked up a large kitchen knife to set about preparing lunch. This was a symbolic gesture. No threat existed. After lunch I gave a slide talk on public art to several of the inmates. As Jimmy saw me out of the Special Unit I was hit by a very strange, but I suppose obvious, feeling; I could go out but he could not. I made further visits, met other artists there and became something of a friend.