The orchestra taxis us with measured restraint; Gedda, the "plane and me. At the head of the runway it"s already late and the world sleeps. Nicolai begins to rumble, slowly becoming more distinct from the orchestra, rising out of it, shining ever brighter and we begin the long trembling burn down the tarmac. The chorus teases the passengers with hints of the drama we've paid handsomely to be propelled into and we are tense with apprehension and anticipation.

A few bars here and there fall short of a full consummation, though the promise is rich and increasingly irresistible. The pace quickens. The runway is long. There is no going back. We thunder on into the night relentlessly, mercilessly, control given over to the night and our passionate rush into the blackness is guided only by the lights along the edge of the stage. The usherettes fall back and take their seats in readiness for the moment when Nicolai will lift us from the earth, heads spinning, stomachs contracting and relaxing in turn. We wait, wondering how much longer the wheels will have to spin before the momentum and the air and all that inexplicable talent and technology will lift us from the world; how much longer till we can look out and watch below us tangling rows of lights dropping away into the murky humdrum of trashy TV programmes and cups of insipid coffee. Speed multiplies. We feel ourselves pushed back into cushioned seats, especially those of us who have lost the habit of going to concerts, or who are flying for the first time. At last, just as Nicolai reaches that rich, pure note where sense and sound and movement merge, we lift resolutely from the earth.

Satisfaction rolls through our souls and we begin to ride on air, lifting, lifting. The Jumbo shoots ever onwards, gathering moisture as it penetrates the dark mystery we call clouds. No going back now, and full of a new and richer warmth Nicolai relaxes us into a gentle, reassured, glowing melody. We begin to notice the chorus and the orchestra again, which we later realise never went away. In time we sleep and in time we waken to a cold, invisible sun in the awkward company of the stranger beside us, sticky from the heat and action of the night. The cold ocean beneath us runs its course, a concert hall with only the memory of an audience and a band, and looking out we wonder how our souls have ever been raised this high and have ever been filled so full. We step stiffly out of the 'plane onto cold concrete called London.

Glasgow is not the gritty, working-class metropolis of legend. It never was, and there are many attractions and things to do in this Mecca of the North.

Glasgow, in fact, is one of the UK's most visited cities. It hosted the Great Exhibitions of 1888 and 1901, became an industrial powerhouse in the twentieth century, and has returned as a place of culture since the Second World War. The city hosted the popular Glasgow Garden Festival in 1988, and was designated European City of Culture in 1990. In 1996, it hosted a spectacular Festival of Visual Arts. More than two million tourists visit from within the UK and from Europe and more distant areas every year.

The Old and the New

Glasgow is home to many of Scotland's principal performing arts organisations:

• The Scottish Opera
• The Scottish Ballet
• The Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
• The National Youth Orchestra of Scotland
• The Citizen's Theatre

In addition, there are many new small and "experimental" venues and lively pubs and clubs, especially clustering around the Glasgow centers of learning. Since the city's first university was established in 1451, Glasgow has been hailed as a powerful seat of learning. Lord Kelvin, Adam Smith and James Watt are just some of history's great thinkers associated with the city's academic past. Today's educational establishments include:

• The University of Glasgow
• Strathclyde University
• Glasgow Caledonian University
• The Royal Scottish Academy of Music
• Glasgow School of Art
• College of Commerce
• College of Building and Printing
• College of Food Technology
• Glasgow Hotel School (Strathclyde University)

Visitors are often surprised to learn that Glasgow has the largest retail sector outside of London. Residents and visitors from around the UK and overseas are drawn to the city's expanding shopping outlets, which include:

• Shopping malls like the chic and trendy Princes Square, the enormous St Enoch Centre, Sauchiehall Street Centre, Parkhead Forge, the historical Argyle Arcade, and the Buchanan Galleries (opened 1999)
• The main pedestrian shopping thoroughfares of Sauchiehall Street, Buchanan Street and Argyle Street. .
• The unique and colorful Barras weekend street market
• The smaller, character filled outlets of the city's bohemian West End
• A wide range of top class cafés, restaurants, pubs and wine bars

The city of Glasgow is proud of its tough industrial past and current vibrant economy. The city employs City Centre Representatives to help shoppers and visitors around the city, and a comprehensive City Watch close-circuit TV scheme keeping a watchful eye on the streets.