Several items in today’s Wall Street Journal were interesting in that they posed 2 sides of an ongoing discussion, leaving the outcomes something to ponder about. To do them justice, I’ll separate the articles into different postings.

(Taking a break here to exchange hugs with Sitka, my cat.)

On page one is an article entitled “Uri Geller’s Mind-Bender: Egyptian Loot in Scotland” by James Hookway. I’m not sure why it made the front page of the Journal. Perhaps for its entertainment appeal? Geller was famous in the 1970’s for his ability to bend spoons.  It seems he bought an island off Scotland’s eastern coast a couple of years ago for $46,000 and “Today, the 63-year old paranormalist says he now understands why he bought the uninhabited, 100 yard-by-50 yard Lamb Island. Buried inside, he says, is an Egyptian treasure including relics supposedly brought there by a pharaoh’s daughter some 3,500 years ago.” According to tales connecting Scotland to ancient Egypt “King Tutankhamen’s half-sister, Princess Scota, fell out with her family and fled to Ireland and then Scotland, thereby giving the country its name. Some say the alignment of the Lamb and two nearby islands closely mirrors the layout of the pyramids at Giza, near Cairo, not to mention the three main stars in the Orion’s Belt constellation.”  Historians, like Edinburgh-based Stuart McHardy, explain that the Egyptian connection evolved to provide Scotland an equally compelling identity as “English invaders…claiming the whole British Isles were named after Brutus, a Roman consul supposedly descended from the Trojan hero Aeneas.” 

 The locals in nearby North Berwick are baffled by Geller’s claims. Graham Kinniburgh who manages a wine and whiskey shop says it ” ‘isn’t even an old fisherman’s tale’, ” while 55-year-old Drew McAdam, a native of North Berwick, claims  ” ‘Before Uri came along I don’t think anybody had ever heard of all this Egyptian stuff,’ .” McAdam, a fan of Geller’s since viewing his exploits on a 1973 BBC program, now travels Britain and Europe performing similar feats. His countrymen weren’t as keen on English resident Geller who claimed “to determine the outcome of a Scotland versus England soccer match in 1996 by using his telekinetic powers to nudge the ball just as Scotland’s captain was about to strike a penalty kick. Scotland lost the game. ‘I received around 11,000 hate mails for that.’  Mr. Geller says.”

Since becoming the “best-known landowner in this corner of Scotland, 26 miles east of the capital, Edinburgh,” Geller has worked diligently toward improving his reputation. Already the locals are capitalizing. “Some boat operators, for instance, take tourists around the Lamb and recount folklore surrounding the island.  ” ‘A wee bit of bulls–doesn’t hurt anybody,’ says Dougie Ferguson, a 52-year-old skipper. Another skipper, Cameron Small, says Mr. Geller’s purchase has generated enough interest for him to advertise trips around ‘Uri Geller’s Lamb Island.’ ” 

Geller, meanwhile plans to use the dowsing technique to help find Lamb’s buried Egyptian treasure. He’d previously used it to locate oil deposits in the Gulf of Mexico. “And if there wasn’t any treasure on the Lamb before, there is now. Mr. Geller says he has strengthened the island’s mystical powers by burying a crystal orb that once belonged to Albert Einstein.”

I’m very curious to learn if Geller is correct in his paranormal assumption, or if the Scots know their history better as natives of the land. It’s difficult to discount Geller’s claim since not too long ago a man found centuries-old artifacts in England’s countryside, valued in the millions. I wonder how long before we know if the Isle of Lamb’s Egyptian treasure is fact, or fiction.

interesting connection, if there is one…hugmamma.