Wednesday 28th September 2022
Another 4am wake up and tossed around until 6ish. I tried so hard to only think of my crazy dreams so I could trick my brain back into slumber but instead I was planning my tour in Marshalltown.
I think tours and guiding were prominent because today I was going on a tour of Glasgow Central Station. I'd seen these tours advertised on Facebook years ago and had made a mental bucket-list note. So I was quite excited to be going on it at 1.30pm today. It was because of these tour tickets that I've had a mix up with my local bank card. I'd forgotten that I'd bought them and didn't recognise the amount on my statement and queried it not realising that my card would be frozen. Argh! However today my new card arrived and hopefully I will get it all sorted tomorrow.
The tour guide, Jackie, was fabulous. She's passionate about her Station, her city and her country and she had 19 of us captivated with her stories. I'm hoping to remember the tricks I picked up when I get to stand in front of my tour group soon.
Scotland's history is a mystery to me and Jackie told us about the Jacobites, the Highlanders and the small town of Grahamston that was demolished to make way for the station. The rubble was taken away from the town and became reclaimed land that now hosts the Scottish Exhibition Centre which Jackie said 'the town lives on in our music and our dancing..'
The station grew rapidly not only because of the industrial ages demand for coal but because of the people transportation. Today over 1000 trains daily come and go through the station, shifting 35 million people per year. That's a lot of footwork. The station has always tugged at my heart, because I remember as a 5 year old leaving on the train to London with my clan, to emigrate to South Africa. It's got a nice feel about it and after today's tour, that feeling is even stronger.
Comments