ON A recent Wednesday, the bell of the Trades Hall, Glasgow,
rang out on one of the only two occasions it is rung each year. It
marked the day when the former Bishop of Glasgow &
Galloway, the Rt Revd Idris Jones (left), became
Deacon Convener of the Trades Hall, a position he will hold until
October next year.
Looking more like a mayor than a bishop - he was Primus of
Scotland 2006-09 - he is now the Third Citizen of Glasgow. He will
support the Deacon Convener for the next year. Keith Brown
(right), a retired stockbroker and investment banker, is
also Collector, and they oversee the Trades House finances and its
extensive charitable works.
For 400 years, the Trades House and its 14 incorporated Crafts
have fostered the trade and industries of Glasgow, and, from the
beginning, it has been benevolent to its charities. Managing funds
of more than £18 million, it makes donations of more than £600,000
each year to a wide range of charities - particularly to do with
education, but also helping children, pensioners, families, and
individuals in Glasgow.
Overseeing the distribution of such largesse must be an enviable
position for a retired bishop.