Pigeon Power

In Glasgow there is a place in the centre of the city called George Square.

When I was little and lived in Glasgow, my mother used to take me there with bags of corn to feed the birds.

I would sprinkle the seed on my arms and legs and sit with all four limbs outstretched, as the pigeons came and settled onto me to feed and strut about.

Last year I went there with my children. Light of heart and heavy of bag [containing pounds and pounds of corn] I was full of anticipation. I'm not the sort to go all teary-eyed at Christmas but I find the thought of communing with nature and all nature's creatures unbelievably humbling.

But the pigeons were mostly gone and the city itself was almost unrecognisable to me. Yet what hurt the most were not the new unknown shops and buildings that had emerged but the absence of the susurration of beating wings and the loss of the childlike sense of wonder as hundreds of birds flocked to my side for food and admiration.
 
So, come on Glasgow, bring the birds back and let your children have wonder in their souls again.