1Good morning, and welcome to the museum -
2one with a remarkable range of exhibits, which I'm sure you'll enjoy.
3My name's Greg, and I'll tell you about the various collections as we go around.
4But before we go, let me just give you a taste of what we have here.
5Well, for one thing, we have a fine collection of twentieth and twenty-first century paintings,
6many by very well-known artists.
7I'm sure you'll recognise several of the paintings.
8This is the gallery that attracts the largest number of visitors,
9so it's best to go in early in the day, before the crowds arrive.
10Then there are the nineteenth century paintings.
11The museum was opened in the middle of that century,
12and several of the artists each donated one work - to get the museum started, as it were.
13So they're of special interest to us -
14we feel closer to them than to other works.
15The sculpture gallery has a number of fine exhibits,
16but I'm afraid it's currently closed for refurbishment.
17You'll need to come back next year to see it properly,
18but a number of the sculptures have been moved to other parts of the museum.
19'Around the world' is a temporary exhibition -
20you've probably seen something about it on TV or in the newspapers.
21It's created a great deal of interest, because it presents objects from every continent and many countries,
22and provides information about their social context - why they were made, who for, and so on.
23Then there's the collection of coins.
24This is what you might call a focused, specialist collection,
25because all the coins come from this country,
26and were produced between two thousand and a thousand years ago.
27And many of them were discovered by ordinary people digging their gardens and donated to the museum!
28All our porcelain and glass was left to the museum by its founder, when he died in 1878.
29And in the terms of his will, we're not allowed to add anything to that collection:
30he believed it was perfect in itself, and we don't see any reason to disagree!
31OK, that was something about the collections,
32and now here's some more practical information, in case you need it.
33Most of the museum facilities are downstairs, in the basement,
34so you go down the stairs here.
35When you reach the bottom of the stairs, you'll find yourself in a sitting area,
36with comfortable chairs and sofas
37where you can have a rest before continuing your exploration of the museum.
38We have a very good restaurant, which serves excellent food all day, in a relaxing atmosphere.
39To reach it, when you get to the bottom of the stairs, go straight ahead to the far side of the sitting area,
40then turn right into the corridor.
41You'll see the door of the restaurant facing you.
42If you just want a snack, or if you'd like to eat somewhere with facilities for children,
43we also have a café.
44When you reach the bottom of the stairs, you'll need to go straight ahead,
45turn right into the corridor, and the café is immediately on the right.
46And talking about children, there are baby-changing facilities downstairs:
47cross the sitting area, continue straight ahead along the corridor on the left
48and you and your baby will find the facilities on the left-hand side.
49The cloakroom where you should leave coats, umbrellas and any large bags,
50is on the left hand side of the sitting area.
51It's through the last door before you come to the corridor.
52There are toilets on every floor,
53but in the basement they're the first rooms on the left when you get down there.
54OK, now if you've got anything to leave in the cloakroom,
55please do that now, and then we'll start our tour.