Museums to remain open on Mondays

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Museums to remain open on Mondays

Postby JayKay » Mon Apr 10, 2006 11:47 am

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/News/mondayopeningsformuseums.htm

A property developer steps up with a £270k donation...how very public spirted.

Wonder what's inside the mouth of this lovely gift horse... :wink:
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Re: Museums to remain open on Mondays

Postby red_kola » Mon Apr 10, 2006 11:59 am

JayKay wrote:http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/News/mondayopeningsformuseums.htm

A property developer steps up with a £270k donation...how very public spirted.

Wonder what's inside the mouth of this lovely gift horse... :wink:

Ahem.
I'll be keeping a close eye on who gets hold of, say, the Kelvin Hall/Transport Museum site.

<edit> Er... I mean Wonderful news for Glasgow, of course...</edit>
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Postby Pripyat » Mon Apr 10, 2006 12:08 pm

A bit of good news for a change :) Even though it was
from an outside source. I'm not going to start on that
one, would require its own forum :evil:
"The nose of a mob is its imagination. By this, at any time, it can be quietly led." - Edgar Allan Poe
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Postby Alex Glass » Mon Apr 10, 2006 1:07 pm

This has come about because someone was concerned that the closure of most museums on a Monday as planned by the Council would have an adverse impact on tourism.

They have made a donation to the Friends of Glasgow Museums and the Council has agreed to use this money to keep museums open on a Monday.

Its not the first time a private donation has given for museums. The Kelvingrove improvements are part funded through private donations.
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Re: Museums to remain open on Mondays

Postby Fat Cat » Mon Apr 10, 2006 1:18 pm

red_kola wrote:
JayKay wrote:http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/News/mondayopeningsformuseums.htm

A property developer steps up with a £270k donation...how very public spirted.

Wonder what's inside the mouth of this lovely gift horse... :wink:

Ahem.
I'll be keeping a close eye on who gets hold of, say, the Kelvin Hall/Transport Museum site.

<edit> Er... I mean Wonderful news for Glasgow, of course...</edit>


Indeed. No such thing as a "free lunch".
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Postby Apollo » Mon Apr 10, 2006 4:53 pm

Cynicism's understandable, but just because there known cases of what might be called at the least 'favours' it doesn't follow that every case of donation or assitance where an individual steps in to 'right a wrong' has an underhand motive, (unless you want to include the 'free'publicity they gain as a result).

We'd be well short of a public library or two if one Mr Carnegie hadn't dipped into his pocket a few years ago, and he didn't even bother to come over and have look at what he'd provided.

Tarring all donations with such a brush could lead to them drying up in the future, as those who are benevolent are also likely to withdraw their support if they feel they're likely to be criticised for their generosity.
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Postby Pripyat » Mon Apr 10, 2006 5:06 pm

Apollo wrote:Tarring all donations with such a brush could lead to them drying up in the future, as those who are benevolent are also likely to withdraw their support if they feel they're likely to be criticised for their generosity.


If I had that sort of spare cash lying around, would make
several donations to good causes. Yet I don't see why we
have to donate to a situation that is already being supported
by our own tax contributions.

Mmmh perhaps the European Social Fund allocation is
drying up :wink:
"The nose of a mob is its imagination. By this, at any time, it can be quietly led." - Edgar Allan Poe
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Postby escotregen » Mon Apr 10, 2006 7:12 pm

Jeez - just maybe this is a pretty decent guy doing what he says - 'I've done well in Glasgow so I want to do a bit for it'.

Somehow you know, it doesn't make me feel very good to learn that this guy has now got at least a few Glaswegians watching and scrutinising his every move because he's given something worthwhile to the city :cry:
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Postby Apollo » Mon Apr 10, 2006 10:42 pm

I'm also uneasy, but my reason is that the council withdrew the facility and it's been restored by someone who will clearly already be propping up the council's tax take and the governments with a sizeable personal and business tax bill.

To me, this is different from a 'one-off' project, such as a fountian restoration winning public support by subscription or donation, and may be the beginning of a precedent, where they can withdraw 'non-essential' items, and shall we say 'invite' contributions form the public/community if they are interested or wish to continue to have them.

The council in Highlands and Islands have done something similar. While acknowledging that their museum's archive has been instrumental in attracting tourists (and their cash) from abroad as a result of the growing interest in genealogy, and wishing to visit places where their families originated, they have announced that posts relating to the archival services will not be renewed when the present staff retire. They've gone further and upset the personel by suggesting that their work can probably be done by the remaining staff, who were never involved in the work.

Maybe they're hoping someone will step in and rescue the archives.
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Postby escotregen » Tue Apr 11, 2006 8:29 am

Apollo I appreciate where you are coming and I too share the unease about the lack of public funding for core services.

But this is a product of the public that wants it cake and not to pay for it (i.e. through tax). Politicians can only work with what they can fund from the tax revenue base. I was bemused to see a recent thread where the very idea of paying taxes in a post-industrial society like the U.K. was being questioned - I'm presuming that this maybe was all irony; something I'm not good at picking up on and am anyway suspicious of.

Even allowing for our shared concerns about core funding; here is a guy who is willing to pay some of his money for the public good being 'got at' for the very reason that he is giving :? Can I suggest that some folks have maybe got the wrong target? (of course not you and me :wink: ).

If there are any similar minded affluent benefactors out there, please don't be put off - I can give you a range of public service providers in Glasgow who would be delighted to use private donations to excellent public benefit, so please do get in touch :!:
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Postby job78989 » Tue Apr 11, 2006 9:45 am

A wonderful post industrial idea, lets get the begging bowls out again and we could always get funding from government sources to run training course to teach every one how to show proper deference. We could run certificated courses in:

Tugging forelocks, doffing caps, curtsying, averting gaze so as not to offend etc.

Come on guys, lets get real we live in one of the wealthiest nations on this planet, we can afford to pay for proper and adequate public services and should of course do so.

Glasgow City council, choose not to increase it council tax this year resulting in the need to reduce services, this is just wrong! I accept that the Glasgow Council Tax Payer has a problem in funding all of the services in such a large city particularly on the arts and culture issue.

Glasgow is a metropolitan area an many of the surrounding councils offer a much lower level of council tax because they don't need to provide such extensive services as the metropolitan city. The Scottish Parliament with some form of metropolitan council tax should rectify this matter ensuring that the City can deal with its metropolitan responsibilities.

The good will of willing givers should not of course be thrown back in their faces, but rather than see such good hearted gestures misused personally, I would rather see such giving used in a much more humanitarian way. Water in the third world, medical research etc.

Yes we should encourage giving but not where we can afford to pay our selves. I am one of the strongest critics on this board of Glasgow City Council as it could and should do much more. I for one am more than willing to put my hand in my pocket and pay for better services.

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Postby Apollo » Tue Apr 11, 2006 9:52 am

Agreed.

To refer to the original item, my worry remains with the council's tactics, if I might quote from their own web article:
The savings from this are being used to enable all Glasgow school pupils to have at least one museum visit and theatre experience every year.

Here we have a case that really just equates to covert blackmail to get public (and I use the term broadly) funding for a council service. The council could have just said they could not provide funds for Monday museum opening, or could have said it was no longer able to fund visits to museums for shool pupils. Instead, it chose to 'spin' the two together, implying they were being 'good guys' for giving the kiddies an educational day out, at the expense of a few tourists.

ok, I may be being unfair, it's only a personal view based on other events, but it will be interesting to keep a watch in future and see if more examples along similar lines surface.

They could still do themselves more good by funding their core services with the cash they have, instead of sending councillors overseas to look at projects in countries with vastly different climates than ours, and coming back with daft ideas and funding research into things like Bullet Trains. The museum donation is £270,000 for 2 years opening. Wonder what the 'Transport Czar' will receive over that period? I suspect over that time, he'll only deliver paper (reports and feasability studies) and expenses in terms of visits to inspect other transport systems. :roll:
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Postby job78989 » Tue Apr 11, 2006 10:13 am

Agreed.

If the council truely want to provide quality services, then do it. What we the wider public want is quality honestly and openness. Alex Glass is a great example here. As a councillor he takes onboard issues that people express. He like the rest of us when we run off at the mouth get our heids kicked in. No bad thing (in the verbal context of course) it gives us a reality check. Much of what I have been pushing in terms of my own thinking on this board is to do with the unseen reality of life for large sections of the City.

For example the entire City of Kulture event, was an excellent acolade to this city but many in the housing schemes could not even afford the bus fare into town let alone to participate in the events. Poverty is still a very real problem in this city and yes I know the council do make some efforts. The point being we could do much much more if the political will is there.

The guy who wants to fund the opening of the museums is great, he sees glasgow as a good place to live and would I am sure be more than willing to pay increased taxes to see it become an even better place. He is not saying omg they are closing the museums on mondays so, they might increase tax I had better get the hell out of here. he is staying he is putting his hand in his pocket and investing in the city great. so should we all by paying the taxes that are needed, according to the ability to pay!

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Postby escotregen » Tue Apr 11, 2006 10:51 am

Yes... emm.. all this is again all very well, and I wouldn't be disagreeing.. but I still hold to the point that this guy should not be decried and used as some sort of whipping boy because he has given to the city of Glasgow.

But it's good to see that the thread has moved onto what I would say are more appropriate and relevant targets.

One of my concerns for example, is the way that the Government has increasingly moved towards the Bush agenda of public grant giving to so-called 'faith based' organisations and drawing them into public service delivery in education, community work and health. Kids should be educated at the public expense; not subjected to mumbo jumbo creationism dressed up as intelligent design and paid for out of (diminishing) public funds.
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Postby Alex Glass » Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:13 pm

I have taken time to read all the views expressed on this subject and feel that this is has demomstrated why this site is so good. Everyone is free to express their own personal view. I welcome the opinions expressed and although do not agree with everything there is merit in the arguments put forward.

However, I would like to point out that the Council set its budget for the coming year in February after months of planning and review. As a supporter of free entry to Glasgow's Museums, the decision to close some on a Monday was hard for me to exept, but when balanced against the other commitments and the pressure to bring Glasgow's Council Tax into line with the other local authorities I beleive it was the right decision to take at that time. Given that the Scottish Executive has yet to recognise the metropolitan status of Glasgow and the additional cost incurred by Glasgow's Council Tax payiers, that benifit those authorities on Glasgow's border, we rightly in my opinion held the Council Tax at last years level.

I welcome the contribution made by Adrian Pocock. It is his decision and his alown to make this gesture. Throught this the Council ensure that our museums remain open on Monday for the benefit of those who chose to visit on that day. Whether he would be willing to contribute more in taxation is mear speculation. The fact that his donation will be used in the way that he has asked would not be possible through addtional taxation. As has been pointed out by others there are more pressing concerns that require to be addressed and priorities attended to.

This donation has been made in the full glare of the public and as witnessed here a full debate has been possible. Not everyone will agree with the decisions taken by the Council within the budget process and there are opportunities for people to express their opinion if they choose to take up the offer.

We may not always get it right. I hope that we get more right than wrong but again that would be a matter of conjecture.
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