Chapter 252 – Acorns Sewn Deep

With the Dunbartonshire faithful now satisfied and the association football acorn sowed deep into the Vale, I return to Glasgow in my carriage. David Wotherspoon and I finalise what is required to organise the game against England.

Through my rugby friends, I have heard there is a plan for a Glasgow District v Edinburgh District match in November at Burnbank. This match will be the first time the two cities have played each other at rugby, and is another sporting first for our city and the world. These events create countless opportunities in both the footballing and business world.

I peer out of the carriage window into the Glasgow night, where shadows stretch across the cobbles, clouds of smoke billow across the tenement roofs, and David Mackintosh cuts through the veil of darkness at impressive speed.

I ponder how my long-term plans are now careering along their final mile. The Glasgow Southside map will enter its final stages tomorrow – we have made up time and, more importantly, changed some of the critical elements. I have ensured only Margaret and her trusted lieutenants know their details. The final map must be at our printworks by 2nd November 1872 to make the St Andrew’s Day deadline.

I stretch out across the carriage chair and sleep the final yards back to Moray Place.