A NEW book about the history of the Gorbals is giving back to the area, by helping to raise money for local causes.

'The Streets of Gorbals Past' was written by Gorbals-born author Danny Gill, 72, who said the book was an homage to the community spirit of the South Side tenements.

Danny said: "I began writing poems every Friday on Facebook and someone said why don't I make it into a book.

"Instead of making a straightforward, perhaps mundane poetry book, I decided to begin and end with a poem and fill the book with street maps and also anecdotes of people who lived there at that time."

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The book, which is Danny's seventh, focuses on the demise of the traditional Gorbals tenements, focusing in on the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

He said: "It's taking people back to the time of the old tenements in places like Thistle Terrace and Cumberland Street.

"The Gorbals is one of the most famous places in Glasgow and had a reputation of being slums and everything else but my upbringing really couldn't have been any better.

"There may have been a rats in the street but all the old wifey's net curtains were always sparkling white and perfectly ironed.

"We had nothing but we had everything."

The book has been a success so far, with over £1500 raised for local causes.

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Danny, who now lives in South London, decided to donate the book profits to the upkeep of the Southern Necropolis in the Gorbals, as well as to the Benny Lynch statue fund.

He said: "The response to the book has been brilliant so far, we've raised a lot for the causes so far.

"I wanted to put something back into Glasgow since I moved away in 1968.

"We need to write these stories down to teach everyone the history of their community, young and old.

"It is still a great place and has a great sense of community, but it's difficult to reach the height of what it was 60 or 70 years ago."

'The Streets of Gorbals Past' is available in paperback on Amazon for £7.99, and in electronic edition on Kindle for £1.99.