A trip to Scotland

 Last week Neil paid a visit to Glasgow for much of the week. Included in the itinerary was a lunch with John Yellowlees, First ScotRail's Community Activities Director at the delightful Franco's in Glasgow Central station. Glasgow Central station is an architectural gem!! Its renovated dark wooden buildings provide all modern facilities whist leaving a huge white floored area for people to circulate and sit!! Airy, clean and spacious! John is a font of all that is going on in Scotland regarding community activities - I40 stations now involved and John knows all the volunteers personally - his tales of what's going on and where are very informative and entertaining! John was generous in his praise of Glossop's Poetry Platform - his own take on this has been a recent poetry train on the Largs' Line and trialling of contemporary poems, in display poster boards, at Wemyss Bay and Largs Stations. Our own Poetry platform compiler, Emma is delighted that the idea has crossed the border! We wish this project every success. Incidentally Emma's next theme is our Industrial Past - ideas, poets and contributions welcomed!!
 The following day Neil revisited Wemyss Bay to renew frienships with Nancy and her team. Another warm welcome and a chance to catch up. Wemyss looked lovely even on a grey day - the bookshop, open every day by Wemyss volunteers is a delight - books, tourist information, local pictures - and Nancy had been busy planting polyanthus too in containers. Clearly a good plant for stations!! Like us a Christmas event is planned for December 8th - see Wemyss Website - a link is there from FOGS - for more details. Whisked back to Glasgow in the quiet comfort of a Class 380 there was much for Neil to reflect on. He thanks, as always, John and Nancy for their kind and warm Scots' hospitality.