Da Vinci Horse Manure

There was a medieval 'fayre' on the grounds of Rosslyn Chapel this afternoon. It's only a couple of miles down the road from where I live. We've had a few weeks of great weather - generally our quota for the year - and we decided to chance it. It was rained-out, of course, and we huddled under umbrellas and queued for a burger and watched the rather sad spectacle of damp folk in period costume pretending to fight with swords. A number of people took refuge over at the Chapel itself with its new Welcome Centre and Souvenir Shop. The Rosslyn Trust has spent a lot of money on the place since 'the film' came out and people are flocking to the site from around the world. Here it is only May and there were already several cars in the parking lot sporting number plates from other countries. It now costs £7 to visit. There were three of us and it seemed a little steep just to stay dry. Members of the Scottish Episcopal congregation which actually meets in Rosslyn Chapel on Sunday mornings were in one of the tents outside running a cake stall - overpowered by the bright colours and heraldry of an adjacent stall with a group pretending to represent the Knights Templar. I didn't see much evidence of communication between them. It was that sort of day.

The owners of the neighbouring farm who share an access with Rosslyn Chapel have presumably had their fill of the esoterica addicts all filing up the lane wearing newly-purchased tartan scarves and announcing proudly that their grandparents were 'Scotch' (or perhaps French and therefore indirectly related to Mary Magdalene). The sign above, which they placed at their gate in full view of the tourists, pretty well sums up the situation.