[MR] BBC: Stone of Scone, Chip Off The Old Block

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Scotland's ancient coronation stone, the Stone of Destiny (aka the "Stone
of Scone"), is back in the news at the center of a raging controversy, or a
tempest in a teapot, depending on your point of view.

So let's go waaaay back to set the stage. In 1296 the Stone of Scone was
stolen by English king Edward I and incorporated into England's Coronation
Chair in Westminster Abbey. Since then every English monarch has been
crowned over the stone, to the irritation of many Scots. Fast forward to
1950, when some determined Scots patriots decided to steal the stone to
highlight Scotland's growing independence movement. On Christmas Day, 1950,
four university students snuck into the unlocked abbey after closing and
"liberated" the Stone of Scone. During the raid, the stone broke along a
previously unknown fault line, supposedly into two pieces, but actually
there were three. A mason secretly rejoined the two larger pieces, but the
third disappeared. The stone was later placed on an altar at the ruined
Dunfermline Abbey, covered by Scotland's national flag, and the police were
notified. When the thieves were finally identified, rather than make
martyrs of them, none were charged.

And the third piece? The backer of the raid and founder of the Scottish
National Party (SNP), John MacCormick, secretly kept the fragment. In 2008
his son, Professor Neil MacCormick, turned the chip over to Scotland's
First Minister Alex Salmond. Apparently the fragment was put in a cabinet
at SNP headquarters and forgotten.

Recently the chip was rediscovered. Amid lots of finger pointing by the
loyal opposition, the chip was subjected to scientific tests and determined
to be the real deal. Now the Scots are arguing about what should have been
done with the chip, and what will be done with it in the future. Likely the
chip will be reunited with the rest of the Stone of Scone, which is now the
centerpiece of the new Perth Museum in . . . you guessed it . . . Perth.

The BBC story is at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c72pvlmqnz2o . While
reading the story take note of the photo showing the Stone of
Scone's 1996 return to Scotland, escorted by members of Scotland's Royal
Company of Archers, yew longbows, uniforms, medals and all. Detail freaks
(such as myself) might also note that the middle man on the right has the
feather in his bonnet on the wrong side, unless this is some sort of rank
thing.

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
Continuing a crusade to keep Merry Rose relevant and in business.