At the Ormiston Institute ...

The courtly oldster ran his hands through his hair - 

These silver coins would be enough for a centurion's pay for one year he said - perhaps they were - 

We gazed at the shining denarii - I could see, very clearly, the profiles of Emperors and Empresses - 

Each small coin shone, as if immersed in icy water - 

The oldster, the curator of the museum, pointed to a denarius of Commodus - 

There are some bad ones here he chuckled - 

We were in the Corn Exchange, an austere reef of stone, home of the Ormiston Institute - 

One room sufficed to house the museum - 

Inside the Institute's reading room, a sign warned readers not to drink alcohol during Reading Room hours - 

A large pale man emerged from the cavernous jakes - he gestured at a shoal of steamy paperbacks - 

Take any you like he said - 

16.45

Wednesday 1 July 2015

The Ormiston Institute 

The Corn Exchange

Melrose