It can be a magical place
Douglas Hay, trustee and volunteer guide at the David Livingstone Birthplace Museum loves sharing history with visitors.
Sum up your job in 3 words: 1 Enjoyable 2 Varied 3 Inclusive
M Yday starts with me sorting out my uniform and making sure my shoes are polished. We get a lot of overseas visitors, so I think it’s important for me to look smart.
I’m creating an impression of the museum and, indeed, Scotland for them to take away with them.
It takes me about ten to 15 minutes to drive to work and it can be the best part of my day.
The museum is set along the banks of the Clyde with stunning parkland all around. When the sun is out and trees are in full leaf it can be a magical place.
I do love to see the children enjoying our trails and learning about David Livingstone at the same time, and there are lots of sun traps where I can take my lunch!
When I get to the museum I find out what’s happening on that day.
It’s safe to say that no two days are alike!
We might have small parties of around five or six adults who have booked a guided tour, or a school visit with up to 30 children from the early years or teenagers.
I have to work out how I will pitch the tours to suit them, and I must say one of the things I look forward to is their questions to me.
We have an extensive collection of various personal belongings and artefacts brought back by David or by his African companions after his death.
Quite often I’ll get a question about a specific item, so I have to think on my feet.
That’s half of what makes the job so challenging and exciting.
The other half is not knowing where the day is going.
Like myself, most of the staff are volunteers.
Due to illness or family matters we can be unexpectedly short-staffed so I can find myself suddenly helping with the shop or in the café, or maybe even in the gardens.
We’re always looking for more volunteers so I guess I can be a bit of a recruiting officer as well!
There are quite a few people coming to do research amongst David’s manuscripts and papers and these can expand my own knowledge, which is always enjoyable.
I’m a former maths and science teacher and I lived and worked in Botswana for six years as a teacher serving on behalf of the Council for World Mission (formerly LMS, London Missionary Society).
So I’ve worked and travelled where David did, sometimes following in his footsteps!
I’m also a member and the treasurer of the United Reformed Church in Hamilton where David Livingstone’s father, Neil, was a founder member.
So I have an affinity with and pride and affection for the museum and what it’s trying to do.
I like to think that comes out and our visitors pick that up.
In the evenings I find myself reading or working on church business.
As well as being a volunteer I’m also a trustee of the museum so I can find myself looking at ideas or proposals for that.
So much has changed in the forty years I’ve been helping and we’ve become much more of an interactive museum now.
Before I go to bed, I hang up my uniform to make sure it doesn’t get creased, and check my shoes for scuffs ready to be polished in the morning! ■
Advice I would give my twenty-year-old self:
Treat others the way you would like to be treated!