Monday 27th July 2009 – A Day in the Library

Today I made my little presentation to the mayor. We had to do it in the dark, in case either of us was compromised

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No, actually I asked the newspaper photographer to take a picture on my camera, and somehow gave it to her on 'manual', so the exposure wrong. I do not seem fated to get any of these pictures.

At breakfast, the mayor – I have breakfast with the mayor – says "you must meet this guy's wife. She know a lot about the history of Glasgow." And, as good as his word, he picks up the phone and phones her. We make a date.

Of course, like all ladies (I don't think she quite met my definition of 'grown-up') in this wonderful country, she wanted to take me upstairs.

In the Lewis Memorial Library, upstairs looks like this:

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There was an almost complete set of the local newspaper, not on microfilm, but the actual newspapers themselves, which is much more satisfying. And any number of books giving details on early Glasgow: one that particularly caught my eye had a picture of what I think is the grandest house in Glasgow

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I photographed it the day I arrived, just looking for the best sights. It turns out that it lacks that ultimate cachet for an American house, it is not 'antebellum'. It dates from 1875, having been built by one James S Thompson, who was on the first city council in 1845, the year Glasgow was incorporated as a city.

My upstairs guide also lives in a very grand house, which is antebellum, but I won't show you a picture of that – one has to be discrete, doesn't one?