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Our church Men's Group had a tour of the newly-restored Kelvin Hall on Tuesday.

The original Kelvin Hall was built in 1918 of wood, as as was the way of these things, burnt down in 1925. It was rebuilt between 1926-27 and over the years since has been an exhibition centre, a sports venue, a factory (during the war), a venue for the annual Christmas circus and carnival (went to these many a time as a child), a location for counting votes at elections and referenda and, for a while, housed the Glasgow Museum of Transport. Its last major use before closing for refurbishment was as an accreditation centre for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. (I remember going there to collect my volunteer's uniform and various accessories at the time.)

About 40% of the building has now been totally refurbished and has a modern bright interior. It houses the film and moving image archives of the National Library of Scotland, collections from the Glasgow University Hunterian Museum, some of the Glasgow Museums' collections, lecture and meeting rooms and studios, as well as extensive sports and fitness facilities for members of Glasgow Life.

We were shown the gym and some of the fitness facilities on our tour, but settled for a visit to the cafe instead.