Madonna & Child

A shade over 4 years after I went up in a cherrypicker to photograph its decrepit condition, we heard recently that the restoration of the Mercat Cross has been approved. 

A replacement unicorn will be carved to replace the existing one,  but no final decision has been taken yet as to whether this cartouche - part of the Cross since 1675, and before that probably in the pre-reformation Auld Kirk - will be repaired or replaced.  We've tried unsuccessfully to find drawings of the cartouche from when it was less eroded; in the absence of those, replacement probably looks more likely.