Pirate’s Grave.

Mrs TD turned all religious on me today, so we did a tour of the Moray ecclesiastical establishments - starting with Elgin Cathedral before moving on to Pluscarden Abbey. We’ve done the cathedral before, but there is plenty of new stuff to see with a new exhibition of the stone masons’ craft in the towers – provided that you don’t suffer from vertigo. Herself spent some considerable time examining an effigy displaying his meat and two veg.
 
I amused myself by wandering around reading the tombstones with most of them detailing the artisan skills of the incumbents; however, they were too polite to mention that the rascal beneath this memorial was obviously a pirate*.
 
The incumbents at the abbey have a daily ritual of seven services, according to the timetable posted – with a few extra sessions thrown in on Sundays. This must leave the monks with very little time for healthy pursuits (such as gardening?) so they employ the main attraction – a robotic lawn mower that wanders aimlessly around the grounds, bumping into things and clipping the tops off any bits of vegetation that dare to poke their heads above the virtual parapet. Maybe it was these irreligious thoughts that provoked a bumble bee into chasing and stinging me. Mrs TD admonished me for not having my bee keeping first aid kit with its adrenaline syringe and antihistamine pills, but that was taken out of the car to make way for her sewing machine. By the time we reached Elgin, 20 minutes later, the venom was beginning to have an effect, though not as serious as a shot of honey bee venom and, a couple of piriton later, all symptoms had disappeared
 
·       *     All stories linking the skull and crossbones to the graves of masons, knights templar and pirates are, apparently, figments of a deranged imagination. They are merely reminders of our mortality – as is most of the imagery on the stone. However, during the 18th century, there was a fashion for pirates to sport the Jolly Roger which is also the subject of much exaggeration.