On this day in history : 25th December 1950 – The ‘Stone of Scone’ – also known as the ‘Stone of Destiny’ – is stolen by Scottish Nationalists from Westminster Abbey – where it had been for 650 years….
Coronation Chair with the Stone of Scone, Westminster Abbey – Cornell University Library via Flickr
The oblong block of red sandstone, weighing 458lb (208kg) is said to have been captured by King Edward I as ‘spoils of war’ in 1296…. He took the stone from Scone, near to Perth…. The stone, a powerful, ancient symbol of the Scottish monarchy had been used in the coronation of Scotland’s kings for centuries…. Edward I had it taken to Westminster Abbey – and incorporated into his own throne…. Most British sovereigns have been crowned upon it ever since….
On Christmas Day 1950 four Scottish students – Ian Hamilton, Gavin Vernon, Kay Matheson and Alan Stuart – removed the stone from the Abbey….during the process the stone broke into two pieces…. They buried the larger piece in a field in Kent….but a few days later dug it up again and took it back to Scotland…. A short while later they also brought back the smaller section and the two pieces were given to a senior Scottish politician who had the stone professionally repaired, by stonemason Robert Gray….
Replica of the Stone of Scone at Scone Palace – Aaron Bradley CC BY-SA 2.0
Meanwhile, the British government had launched a major search for the stone but were unsuccessful in discovering its whereabouts…. On the 11th of April 1951 the Stone of Scone was left for safekeeping by the Church of Scotland on the altar of Arbroath Abbey…. The police in London were informed – and the stone was returned to Westminster Abbey…. At the time it was rumoured that a copy had been made and the one returned was not the original….
In 1996 it was decided that the Stone of Scone should be returned to Scotland…. It now resides alongside Scotland’s Crown Jewels – the ‘Honours of Scotland’…. The only time the stone will ever leave Scotland now is when it is needed for the coronation of future kings and queens of the United Kingdom….
Illustration of the Stone of Scone in the Coronation Chair at Westminster Abbey, 1855 – Anonymous engraver – public domain
On this day in history : 24th December 1922 – The BBC broadcasts ‘The Truth About Father Christmas’ – the first play to be written for British radio….
Image via Pinterest
The play was for the BBC’s ‘Children’s Hour’ and was broadcast from Newcastle with radio ‘auntie’ Phyllis M Twigg….
Children’s Hour was aimed at children between the ages of 5-15 years and was extremely popular…. It was on the radio between 5pm and 6pm every evening and ran from 1922 to 1964…. Some of the favourites listened to over the years included:- ‘Just So Stories’, ‘Worzel Gummidge’, ‘Toytown’, ‘Nature Parliament’, ‘Winnie the Pooh’, ‘Journey into Space’, ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and ‘Jennings at School’….
However, by 1963 listener numbers had fallen dramatically to just 25,000 – as children preferred to watch television…. Those who were listening were in fact middle aged and elderly ladies nostalgic for their childhood days…. In 1964 it was decided Children’s Hour should come to an end….
On this day in history : 23rd December 1992 – A national newspaper publishes the Queen’s speech – scheduled to be aired on BBC television two days later, on Christmas Day….
Queen’s Speech, 1992 – ‘annus horribilis’ – Image : The BBC – fair use
The source of the leak was never found – but the text for the five minute broadcast, which had been recorded at Sandringham, was spread – virtually word for word – across the centre pages of The Sun…. The newspaper insisted it had done nothing wrong and had come by the story by ‘good old-fashioned techniques’….
“1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure”…. – Her Majesty the Queen….
1992 was a difficult year for the Royal Family…. It was the year of the catastrophic fire at Windsor Castle – and the breakdown of the marriages of both Prince Charles and Prince Andrew…. From the speech came the infamous phrase used by the Queen to describe the year…. “annus horribilis”….
Image via You Tube
Her Majesty sued The Sun and was awarded £200,000 in damages – which was immediately donated to charity…. In the following years certain changes were made surrounding the annual Christmas Queen’s Speech…. The venue was changed from Sandringham to Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace – and the media received no information as to the speech contents until late on Christmas Eve…. In 1997 the BBC’s monopoly to televising the speech was ended by Buckingham Palace – and became shared on a yearly rotating basis with ITV…. Some believe it was a snub to the BBC – over their interview with Princess Diana in 1995…. Nowadays the King’s Speech can even be viewed live on social media….
On this day in history: 22nd December 1716 – Britain’s first pantomime is staged at Lincoln’s Inn Fields Theatre….
The Theatre Royal, Portugal Street, Lincoln’s Inn Fields – Image copyright : Victoria and Albert Museum, London
There was at the time much rivalry between theatres and two days later a pantomime with a similar name opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London…. Pantomime, or ‘Panto’, dates back to the Middle Ages….although we think of it as a British institution its origins actually come from the Italian ‘Commedia dell’arte’…. Blend it with British music hall and we get the quirky, slapstick, flamboyant, fun entertainment that we know and love today….
Commedia dell’arte was a popular form of professional theatre during the 16th to 18th centuries….with many touring troupes across Europe – particularly Italy and France…. Very often performances would have been put on at markets and fairs – and told the story of Pantalone, his beautiful daughter Columbine, the clown Pierrot and the mischievous servant Artecchino…. It was in the late 1600s that these characters began to appear in English comedy plays – but with a slight British twist of course….
Commedia dell’arte scene in an Italian landscape by Peeter van Bredael – Public domain
It was John Rich, an important director and theatre manager of the 18th century, who first brought us Pantomime…. It was also he who opened the New Theatre at Lincoln’s Inn Fields – and later the Theatre Royal at Covent Garden…. Under his stage name of ‘Lun’ he played the part of Harlequin – his version of Artecchino, the servant in the Commedia dell’arte…. These performances became known as ‘Harlequinades’….
John Rich as Harlequin c.1720 – Public domain
The story of the Harlequinade involved five main characters:- Harlequin, who falls in love with the beautiful Columbine – but her father, the foolish and greedy Pantaloon, tries to keep them apart – with the help of the Clown and the servant Pierrot….
Harlequin had magical powers – and carried a wooden sword which could either be a magic wand – or weapon…. The sword was made with a special hinged flap, so when it was struck against something it made a loud ‘slapping’ sound…. This is where we get the term ‘slapstick’ from….
Example of Harlequin complete with slapstick sword – Maurice Sand – Public domain
By the Victorian era Panto had become a fixed part of the Christmas festivities…. It was at the height of music hall popularity that the Harlequinade format began to change…. Song and dance began to influence performances more….and other popular storylines were introduced…. Gradually the original story with Harlequin began to die out….the last performance was staged in London, at the Lyceum Theatre, in 1939….
The Christmas Pantomime colour lithograph book cover, 1890 – showing harlequinade characters – Wetman on en. Wikipedia – Public domain
The Payne Brothers as Clown and Harlequin c.1875 – Public domain
Paul Legrand as Pierrot circa 1855 – Photograph by Nadar – Public domain
Nowadays, the plot is usually based on a well-known children’s story:- Cinderella, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Puss in Boots, Snow White, Peter Pan, Jack and the Beanstalk, are a few we are all familiar with…. Most towns hold a Panto in some form or other….and venues range from village halls to top-end theatres….
The story usually involves a girl dressed as a boy in the principal male role – and ‘he’ always gets the girl…. There is nearly always a fairy Godmother….there are ‘goodies’ and ‘baddies’ – and sometimes performances involve animals, either real or of the Pantomime horse variety…. There is slapstick and comedy, song and dance and audience participation…. Oh!….and of course – the Pantomime dame….
Actor with Pantomime horse, circa 1869/70 – Weir Collection jpg – National Library of Scotland CCO
The most famous Harlequinade clown was Joseph Grimaldi – who made his first appearance in 1800…. So popular were his performances that people would flock to Drury Lane and Sadlers Wells to see him…. To this day clowns are often called ‘Joeys’, in his memory…. One of his characters was Queen Rondabellyana – where he dressed as a woman….and so, gave us the Pantomime dame….
Grimaldi as ‘Joey’ the Clown – George Cruikshank – Public domain
“He’s behind you!” ~ “Oh no he’s not”….”Oh yes he is”….
On this day in history : 21st December 1988 – A Pan American jumbo jet is blown out of the sky by a terrorist bomb – crashing onto the town of Lockerbie in Scotland…. All 259 passengers and crew are killed and 11 people on the ground….
The jumbo jet – named N739PA, the Clipper Maid of the Seas – at Frankfurt International Airport in 1986 – Kambui CC BY 2.0
Pan Am flight 103 was flying transatlantic from Frankfurt to Detroit via London and New York…. On board were 248 passengers and 11 crew…. The Boeing 747 left London Heathrow at around 6pm bound for New York JFK Airport….it exploded 38 minutes after takeoff….
Debris from the aircraft scattered over 845 square miles….many of the larger sections hitting residential areas of Lockerbie…. Eleven people died in one street, Sherwood Crescent…. A wing section hit No.13 at a speed of more than 500mph….the house exploded and was completely destroyed – leaving a 47m crater…. The bodies of occupants Dora and Maurice Henry were never found….
Several other nearby houses were also destroyed (and a further 21 later had to be demolished)…. Four family members at No.15 Sherwood Crescent were killed, Jack and Rosalind Somerville and their two children, Paul (13) and Lyndsey (10) – the bodies of the children were never found…. At No.16, Kathleen and Thomas Flannigan were killed – along with their 10-year-old daughter, Joanne…. Their 14-year-old son, Steven, witnessed the fireball that engulfed his home from a garage, where he was mending his sister’s bicycle…. Two other residents of Sherwood Crescent also died….elderly widows Mary Lancaster and Joan Murray….
The fireball rose above the houses and moved towards the A74 – a dual carriageway….cars were scorched and set on fire…. Initially people thought the nearby Chapelcross nuclear power station had gone into meltdown…. The impact of the explosion reached 1.6 on the Richter scale….
Remains of the forward section of the aircraft on Tundergarth Hill, Lockerbie – Image : Air Accident Investigation Branch – OGL 2
Two men, accused of being Libyan intelligence agents, were eventually charged with the bombing…. Abdelbaset ali Mohmed al-Megrahi was jailed for life in January 2001…. His alleged accomplice, Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah was found not guilty…. In August 2009 Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was released on compassionate grounds – as he was suffering from prostate cancer and had been given just a few months to live…. He returned to Libya and lived for another three years – dying in May 2012….
He was the only person to have been convicted – and always claimed his innocence…. Some, even members of the victims’ families doubted whether he was guilty – the thought being he could never have organised the bombing alone…. Many questions still remain unanswered….
Lockerbie Disaster Memorial at Lockerbie Cemetery – StaraBlazkova via Wikimedia
Cottage Capers 