Visiting Old Glasgow

On a Saturday of rain, the area around Glasgow Green comes into its own. From the depressing sight of an alcoholic sitting in a puddle outside the second-hand jumble of Paddy's Market - who wants to buy a single trainer? - to the robust patter and sweet doughnutty smell of the Barras, the visitor wanders about hooded and hunched at his peril, for much will be missed. Go shopping for records in Mono and old books on Parnie St; admire the Tolbooth, Tron and mercat cross; ask yourself what the strange old tower by the Argyle St Car park is (it's the remains of Merchant's Hall); seek out St Andrews by the Green, tucked away in a corner; throw down the hood, and walk over the damp, deserted, muddy grass of the Green, thrilling to the thought of James Watt walking these same acres, inventing the seperate condenser and kick-starting the industrial revolution.

And there's always the bar of the 13th Note, the West Brewing Company, or cafe in the People's Palace's Winter Gardens, in which to dry yourself off.