Joe Pieri welcomed Umberto Serini, the mayor of the Italian city of Barga, to his home in Bishopbriggs last week.

The 88-year-old Italian-born writer knew Mr Serini's father from their days at the famous Savoy Restaurant, in Glasgow.
Joe said: "The main reason he was over was for the Scotland versus Italy football match, but there was also a concert in Glasgow honouring the bi-centenary of Garibaldi's birth.

"I was invited, but I couldn't make it. So Umberto came to see me. We drank coffee, had a chat . . . it was great."
Joe was born in Barga in the 1920s. When he was only 18-months-old, his family left Italy in search of work.

They moved to Scotland and opened the popular Savoy fish and chip restaurant in Hope Street, in Glasgow.

Life in Glasgow and the colourful characters who frequented the Savoy have featured heavily in many of Joe's books, most notably Tales of the Savoy and The Big Men.