Remembrance 6: Philanthropy

As a child in Glasgow you spent a long time at Kelvingrove so taking my own children there today was a remembrance festival. The exhibits have changed but many of the items on the display are heartwarmingly familiar - the stuffed animals, eskimo suits, ancient Egyptian displays, the colourists, impressionists and, of course, Dali's Christ of St John on the Cross. Even as an atheist the painting is very powerful.

At another level, museums are stores of memories. Cultural artefacts preserved and passed on through generations.

The central hall in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is lined with the names of the 9,000 or so donors who contributed £12.5million towards the cost of the renovation of the galleries. Most of the money raised from the public appeal came from Glaswegians with fond memories of Kelvingrove. On the walls, they are remembered for their generosity.

After that we went to my mum's. I took some photos of her display cabinet. Although not up to the standards of Kelvingrove, it performs much the same function.

Tricky photographing - the light is low and tripods aren't allowed so this is a blend of two photos - one had the woman walking by but the text wasn't sharp. The other had sharp text but was pretty boring with just the text. Photoshop to the rescue. There's a wee bit where you can see the join.

Update: just done the sums. £12.5m between 9,000 people is nearly £140 each. There must be a lot of corporate and charitable in there. I'd guess mibbe a tenner from your average weegie.