Scone

Scone is pronounced "Skoon" when referring to last Saturday's activities, as opposed to "Skonn," a round, baked bit of pastry served with butter or cheese or jam and cream, and otherwise known as a "baking powder biscuit" in the US or a "Skoan" by people who don't know any better, but who think it is the people who call it a "skonn" who need a little more social polish; and also as opposed to a real "Skoan," a bit of fried dough otherwise known as a vetkoek in South Africa or the bread part of a Navajo taco in the western United States. I have done my best with that introductory sentence and sincerely believe that you must agree that the semi-colon in the middle confers a degree of legitimacy on the rest of it, even if you do not agree with all the opinions  expressed. 

Certainly some opinions, upsetting or otherwise, were expressed at Scone on Saturday.  Firstly, whoever decorated the palace (Scone is a palace - did we mention?) displayed a poster in plain view in the basement, indicating that Shakespeare was either a dirty rotten liar or was labouring under some misapprehensions when he wrote the sad tale of Macbeth. Macbeth, claimed the poster, did not murder Duncan in order to gain the throne. Rather, Duncan was killed in battle when he attacked Macbeth, and Macbeth was then acclaimed as the rightful successor to the throne and ruled Scotland, peacefully and well for 17 years until he too was killed in battle. The poster and Shakespeare's play, however both fail to mention one scurrilous piece of gossip suggesting that Macbeth was not entirely innocent of engineering the death of one Gruoch's husband, a short time before Gruoch became Lady Macbeth. I have Wikipedia's authority for that, in case you're interested.

Scone is where Macbeth was crowned king, as were numerous other kings of Scotland. The Stone of Scone (Pronounced Skoon, remember) was involved in the coronations - the kings sat on it - until Edward I of England stole it around 700 years ago (the guide assured us that he only borrowed it, but what do you call it when somebody "borrows" something without permission and then keeps it for 700 years?  The English took it to Westminster Abbey, where it sat under the throne, so the king or queen could be crowned on the Stone of Scone and thus be the lawful ruler of Scotland?

Anyway, in Westminster Abbey it stayed until some Scottish students stole it back in 1955. It was retrieved by England and after some years of negotiation officially returned to Scotland, but to Edinburgh castle instead of its rightful home at the Palace of Scone. This gives rise to some feelings and opinions.  There, is that enough opinion for one post?

We saw a movie at the palace, which, by the way, is not a ruin but an ancient, large and extremely luxurious home where the Earl of Mansfield and his family still reside. We were very interested to see some of the things one hears of, like Sevres and Meissen crockery and Dresden china figurines and Ormolu cabinets. The house was quite full of these rare and precious things which it is fun to admire and which in our humble opinions would be miserable to own and have to take care of. There was one very striking set of green-hued crockery, a colour which could only be achieved at the time by using generous quantities of arsenic. However the guide book assured us that the china was well glazed and the plates were probably safe to eat off. The house was stately, and you will have to take our word for it because we were not allowed to take photos.

We peacefully and happily wandered among many flower beds with flowers that we (or at least Louise) could identify and a bunch that we couldn't, but all were soothing to the eye and calming to the soul.

Maze image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Centre of the maze

The grounds were enormous and beautifully tended. They had a pentagonal maze, which we happily rambled through. Eight-foot high hedges and multiple possible paths through the maze. It wasn't very challenging, especially as they had a map at the entrance so you could plan a strategy before going in. We did find the centre and we did find our way out

We got a glimpse of real live Highland "Coo's" and also saw a snow white peacock.




One of the most awe-inspiring sights of the visit was a tree and its offspring right near the main gate. It created a most beautiful woodland dell, the sort of place one can imagine Robin Hood living, or the fairy queen, and where children could play all day.

Linden Tree

You could raise a family under this tree

Moot chapel and Scone Stone

Near the main palace buildings is a chapel on a 'moot hill' where the stone traditionally stood and where a replica still stands. Scottish kings have been crowned here since Scotland was created as a kingdom in the ninth century. The mound or moot is about four feet high and half an acre in area. This is significant because legend has it that it was created by Scottish chieftains coming to visit the king and emptying out their boots of the sand of their own home and thus, over time created the mound. This means there were either a lot of them or they had very big ill-fitting boots. A variant of the legend says they brought their own soil to contribute to the building of the moot in a symbolic gesture of union.

Talking of legends, the Stone of Scone is reputed to have been brought from the Holy Land, but geological research says it isn't, which immediately sparked another legend that there is another stone still in hiding and the one the English stole was a dummy. Another legend says the real stone of Scone is the same stone that Jacob rested his head upon when he left home and saw angels at Jacob's ladder. There is no reliable evidence for any of these legends or their variants, but it is fun.

In true palatial style a flock of peacocks wander the ground. There as not much special in that, since they seem to be a common feature of great houses. Scone Palace does boast one unusual sight--an albino peacock. Other than its unusual colouration it didn't seem different from its multi-hued brethren.

Moot chapel

The chapel itself is a private burial place for the family of the Earl and is well decorated and cared for inside. It was not open for tourists, and why should it be, but it was possible to peek through the door and see the carvings.

We had a lovely visit. We don't know if the Earl admits paying visitors through generosity or necessity but either way we thoroughly enjoyed touring his home and extensive gardens.