I read today that Kelvingrove Museum was Scotland's most visited attraction. It was always my favourite. When my children were growing up we went there regularly. I looked forward with anticipation to its re-opening and as soon as I could, paid a visit. I was disappointed. Perhaps it's me, I thought. Perhaps I cling too fiercely to the "old" museum.
I was back in Glasgow last month and again paid a visit, this time with my daughter, who, at age 22, was visiting the newly revamped museum for the first time, carrying with her fond memories of numerous visits right up until its closure. She, too, was disappointed. Let's face it, the place has been dumbed down.
The final straw for me was the Ghost Shirt. The story of the shirt itself is a great one, of how it came to be here, and of how it went home, which speaks volumes about Glasgow and shines a light on a forgotten outrage, the massacre at Wounded Knee. I asked why it had fallen so low in the museum's priority, from having a room to itself, complete with filmshow and the whole story, to being stuck off almost as an aside, with no information other than that it was a replica, the original having been sent back. I was told it was because the original was no longer there. Such thinking is just so wrong.
The only thing they got right was opening up the basement. Tom McIver, Encinitas, San Diego, California.
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