IT WAS NOT his usual night at the pub, but one Friday in November 2013, Jim Duncan decided to go out for a drink with his friends.
His daughters were painting his kitchen, so he thought he’d let them get on with it. And it was his 68th birthday, so a couple of drinks seemed in order. Jim headed into town from his home in Castlemilk and met up with his mates at the Clutha Bar.
“My dad’s nights at the pub were only ever Wednesdays and Saturdays, never Fridays,” explains Jim’s daughter, Susan Sims.
She adds, sadly: “That night destroyed my dad. He talked his friends into going. And he lost people that night.
“He never got over that, the guilt stayed with him. Even though everyone told him he couldn’t possibly have known what was going to happen – how could he? How could anyone…?”
She pauses. “Still, he never got over it.”
On November 29, 2013, a police helicopter crashed into the roof of the Clutha, killing all three crew and seven patrons of the pub, and injuring 31 more.
“My dad left the pub minutes before it happened,” says Susan, who is turning Jim’s story into a short movie, to be produced by Heel Films.
Mr D: A Clutha Survivor Story has already attracted international interest and won several screenplay awards.
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“I’m quite flabbergasted by that,” she admits. “It has actually been quite overwhelming.
“I couldn’t believe some of the comments we got online when the news came out. I think people thought I was doing some big disaster movie, or action film about that night, but of course I’m not doing that - I would never do that.
“I have tried to do this as softly, as sensitively as I can and we ran it by the Clutha Trust to make sure they were happy with what we were doing.”
It was her dad who told Susan that she should be the one to tell his story. A keen actor, singer and stand-up, she is well-known locally as a performer and Jim thought she could write a script for a play or a film based on his memories.
“I said I couldn’t, that I wasn’t nearly qualified to do something like that, but he insisted,” she says. “And then, in May 2018, my dad sadly passed away. He was 73.
“His stories about that night, those memories he shared with us - they stayed with me and I decided I would do what he asked me to do and write his story.
“Me and my dad were really close. He used to work as a guard on the railways and he was well-known locally. I miss him a lot.
“I wrote this script then other things got in the way – the pandemic, work, life. Scott at Heel Films and I worked on another project together and he suggested we look at my script again, and make the short film.
“I never ever imagined it would get to this stage.”
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Heel Films, founded by Scott McMillan, is now hoping to raise funds to help cover production costs and plans to hold a screening night at the Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT), with all proceeds going to The Clutha Trust.
“This is not about making money, proceeds will go to the Trust,” says Susan, firmly. “That night will never be forgotten in Glasgow by many people, it affected the whole city. But this is a personal story for me. I don’t name anyone else, I don’t want to upset anyone.
“This is nobody else’s story but my dad’s.”
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