Fire

There is no expression for the sorrow everyone in Scotland and indeed the world feels for the devastation caused to Glasgow School of Art in yesterday's fire.

Grown men and women were in tears as they stood and watched flames shooting through the roof and newly refurbished leaded windows of the 110 year old building, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and heralded throughout the architectural world as one of immeasurable importance and beauty.

Inside firemen sought to save archives and irreplaceable objects from the blaze, but rumour has it that the magnificent library with its wood panelling and housing historical documents, including I think the dissertations and every thesis written by countless former students including those of my daughter and her husband, has been destroyed in the fire. If correct, this will be the hardest blow to bear because it was the beating heart of the School.

The good news is that everyone escaped, no one was hurt, and if I know the spirit of the Glaswegians, the damaged part of the building will be rebuilt. I hope so.
At the moment they say that 90% of the building is viable and 70% of the contents safe.

What happened to the work being handed in by students for their degree shows is uncertain, but I imagine anything in that west part of the building will have been destroyed by the fire. That will be a massive headache for tutors and students alike.