Views of Scotland: Scone Palace
This is Scone Palace, home of the Earl of Mansfield, who was a minister in Thatcher's government.
Scone was also the coronation site of the kings of Scotland. Here is a replica of the Stone of Scone, upon which the kings were crowned.
The real Stone of Scone (or perhaps a copy, who knows?) was stolen by Edward I of England in 1296 and placed in Westminster Abbey, from where it was stolen again by some student pranksters in 1950. According to Glasgow University folklore, the stone which the police eventually recovered was not the real Stone of Scone (or even the copy that Longshanks stole) but a copy (or yet another copy) and the real Stone (or the copy that Longshanks stole) is hidden somewhere in the Glasgow University Union. In 1996, on the seven hundredth anniversary of the theft of the Stone (or its copy) by Longshanks, the Conservative government returned the Stone (or the copy that Longshanks stole, or the copy that the police recovered in 1951) to Scotland, where it now resides in Edinburgh Castle.
Imagine having a graveyard in your garden. Creepy, isn't it?
Here are some of the wildlife that wander the grounds of Scone Palace.
Here is a song about the Stone of Scone.
The Wee Magic Stane
Tune: "The Auld Orange Flute", Words: John McEvoy
O the Dean o' Westminster wis a powerful man,
He held a' the strings o' the State in his hand
And a' this great power it flustered him nane
Til some rogues ran away wi' his wee magic stane.
Wi a tooreli ooreli ooreli ay etc
Noo the stane had great powers tha could dae such a thing
For without it it seemed we'd be wantin' a king.
So he called in the polis and gave this decree
Go and hunt oot the stane and return it tae me.
So the polis went keekling way up tae the north
They hunted the Clyde and they hunted the Forth,
But the wild folk up yonder just pitied them a'
For they didnae believe it wis magic at a'.
Noo the Provost o' Glesga Sir Victor by name
He was very pit oot when he heard o' the stane,
So he offered the statues that stand in George Square
That the High Churches might mak a few mair.
When the Dean of Westminster with this wis acquent
He sent for Sir Victor and made him a saint.
'But it's no use you sending your statues down heah'
Said the Dean, 'but you've given me a jolly good idea'.
So he quarried a stane o' the very sane stuff
And he dressed it all up till it looked like enough,
Then he sent for the press and announced that the stane
Had been found and returned tae Westminster again.
When the thieves found out what Westminster had done
They ran aboot diggin' up stane by the ton
And for each one they finished they entered the claim
That this wis the real and original Stane.
But the cream o' the joke still remains tae be tellt
Fur the bloke that wis turnin' them aff on the belt
At the peak o' production wis sae sorely pressed
That the real yin got bunged in along wi' the rest.
So if ever ye come on a Stane wi' a ring
Just sit yersel' doon and proclaim yersel' King.
For there's nane wid be able tae challenge yer claim
That ye'd crowned yersel' King on the Destiny Stane.
