Rosslyn Chapel

Mom, I got to Rosslyn. Just a short bus ride from Edinburgh at 3 pounds round trip for both of us. Here is the view from the chapel. Beautiful Scottish countryside.
Are these currants? These trees are full of bunches right now.
Lunch at the Rosslyn Hotel.
Hey, how did my car get here?
Rosslyn chapel of Knights Templar and Freemason fame is covered with a metal roof to help it dry out enough to rid the building of the green algae inside. So no pretty pics of the exterior. Here is a carving of a Mason tyler holding his trowel and sword. The tyler acts as a kind of a Masonic temple recommend taker, only letting in "real" Masons. I think it's interesting that the apprentice pillar is the one that is more difficult to execute. The chapel is full of Biblical and Masonic symbolism but what I loved were the 110 greenman carvings scattered around. The St. Clair family were Norse before they were Norman, then Scottish when they fell out of favor with William the Conqueror in 1066. The Greenman is a pre-Christian symbol of fertility and rebirth. I got to talk to two Freemasons from both Sweden and Panama. The secret brotherhood (patriarchal hierarchy) is still alive and well in the world. They hold considerable wealth in stockholdings and give millions of dollars in aid to children and the elderly. Anyway the crypt below is nothing like Dan Brown's movie but there is a HUGE vault (unopened) underneath the chapel where the Grail is supposed to be. There are St. Clair ancestors burried down there but the present St. Clair won't allow anyone in the vault to see what else is there. One thing I love is on an architrave--it's supposedly a quote from Darius when some men listed their idea of what was the strongest thing. The quote is carved, "Wine is strong. The king is stronger. Women are stronger still, but the truth conquers all." (This is in Lombardic Latin--I know from my medieval art history course at BYU that Lombardy (No. Italy) was where masons came from who took Roman architecture north to Europe, beginning Romanesque then Gothic cathedral architecture.) Ultimately though, I agree with theoretically American modes of authority--it is gained by people based on their individual merits, not because of who they are related to, even if it is Jesus and Mary Magdalen (Meritocracy vs Aristocracy) and definitely not because they possess a cool object even if it is the Grail, or the Stone of Scone, or the crown jewels or a really cool outfit, or a cool sphere to hold in their hand. Legitimate power comes from proper use of talents to improve another's reality, to build/preserve/grow things of value (it can be any and every person's destiny), not from being from a particular bloodline nor a certain group label. Maybe some family groups are better at teaching this than others, but leaders should be chosen by the governed based on the candidates qualities discerned by open debate. Freemasons did/do a good job at making sure leaders are mindful of ethics, but a group that excludes certain religions and females (some freemasons do, some don't) can't represent all humanity.

ANYWAY, ok so I went downstairs to get a snack for us while Soren finished Math, and ended up having a drink with a British couple in their 70's. They were a hoot. Soldiers were mentioned and she said that when the American soldiers were over here during the war (WWII) the joke with British soldiers went something like this: "Do you know what the problem with American soldiers is? They're overpaid, oversexed, and. . .over here." Haha. Hard for the British to take that they needed our help, I guess. She spent alot of time here in Edinburgh since her mother was Scottish but she says the city now is all "tartan and tack." I mentioned I wanted to see the new parliament building that everyone here is proud of. She said, "Scots are supposed to be blatantly nationalistic, but then they hired a Spanish architect. Don't bother seeing it." Me:"Why, what's wrong with it?" She says: "It's new." I pray for a conversation like this once a day while I am here.