I read The Autobiography of a Murderer and was most surprised to see that Hugh Collins had been very complimentary about my brother Malcolm in it. My brother was a prison officer in the Special Unit in Barlinnie Prison and Hugh Collins did some time there. Anyway, I thought it would be nice for my mother to get a signed copy of the book so I contacted Hugh Collin's publisher and asked them to get a message to him about this.
If I hadn't been an author myself, I wouldn't have dreamt of doing that, but I got a response and agreed (through his partner, I think) to meet him in Shambles, the name of a pub (now called Hector's) in Stockbridge. He never turned up and I thought fair enough. Then I got another message from his partner saying he'd been standing across the road for a bit and had been too anxious to come over. So another meeting was set up and he showed up this time.
I hardly said a word for the next two hours. He was high on something. I don't know what, but I looked like something I might have liked myself. So he talked and talked and it was great just listening, but I never got him to sign the book which I'd brought along. So outside the pub I thought that was that, and was prepared to go home without the signing, especially since I'd forgotten to bring a pen.
A taxi pulls up outside what's now known as the Stockbridge Tap and this big, big guy gets out of cab and Hugh asks him if he can borrow a pen. So the guy, who has been drinking, has a pen and lends it to Hugh who starts to write something nice about my brother in the book. I says to the guy from the taxi that this is typical Stockbridge, having some author signing a book on the pavement. And the guy asks what the book is called. The Autobiography of a Murderer. Hugh is handing the guy his pen back and the guy jocularly asks if he's a murderer. I got out after serving sixteen years for murder, said Hugh. I'll never forget the look on the taxi guy's face. Loved it.
He wrote some fiction too, at least two crime books. I really enjoyed them, particularly The Licensee was very good. It's about the smack trade in Glasgow, written obviously by someone in the know. Definitely worth a read.
I'm writing this because I read his obituary in The Times today. I dedicated the meditation this evening to him. Real shame to hear about his death. He was the same age as me. Brilliant night in the pub though!!
