where the glasshouse was extensively restored and reglazed, and the gardens tidied. In January 2019 both the People's Palace and Winter Gardens closed again, with rare plants moved to alternative homes after the site was ruled structurally unsafe. However images of the derelict interior led to criticism of Glasgow City Council from Glasgow MP, Paul Sweeney who described it in The Times as an "appalling act of civic vandalism". The People's Palace section reopened in June 2019 after a £350,000 refurbishment which saw the relocation of the fire exits away from the Winter Gardens. The venue then suffered an extensive closure during the pandemic from March 2020 before reopening two days a week from June 2021. The Winter Gardens remained closed throughout as the sealant used to attach the glass to the glasshouse frame was considered to be at 'end of life' after its 1998 refurbishment. The SNP-led Glasgow City Council, and its culture and sports subsidiary Glasgow Life, which is chaired by the council's deputy leader, did not have sufficient funds to afford the renovations, estimated between £5–7.5M, with 81 of its 191 venues still remaining closed in November 2021. Glasgow Life's troubles were exacerbated by lost revenue during the Covid-19 pandemic in Scotland led to concerns the venue, along with others, would never reopen, which in turn sparked protests. As of January 2022 there was no published plan or timetable for the Winter Gardens to reopen. Restoration As part of the restoration the artist Ken Currie was commissioned to create a series of paintings for the ceiling dome of the museum. The eight panels mark the 200th anniversary of the Calton weavers Massacre of 1787 and depict the history of Glasgow's workers from that point to the present day. In 2005 was extensively refurbished and moved to its present position in front of the museum. At 46 feet high and 70 feet across at its base, it is the largest terracotta fountain in the world. It was originally gifted to the city in 1888 after the International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry by Sir Henry Doulton to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, and is decorated with a figure of the Queen and groups from Canada, Australia, India and South Africa representing Britain's Empire. The People's Palace cat During the 1980s, a cat called Smudge gained local fame when she became a member of the General, Municipal, Boilermakers