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Naidheachd
Bequest! The hunt is on to find Robbie Burns’ buried love token
26th April 2009
Somewhere in Scotland, a £10,000 gold and diamond mouse is buried, a love token seemingly hidden by Robbie Burns for his lover, ‘Clarinda’. Letters and a painting that give clues as to its whereabouts are published on a web site. The race is on to solve the bard’s cryptic billet doux and unearth the precious jewel!
According to the creators of ‘Bequest’, Robbie Burns was given the keepsake by an unnamed Scottish Earl. During a journey around Scotland he hid it for the benefit of Agnes McLehose, the subject of his unconsummated love - the ‘Clarinda’ he wrote to as her ‘Sylvander’. The letters, giving the clues as to where it was buried, were intercepted by Burns’ wife Jean, and hidden. They have recently emerged from her armoire, bought at a furniture sale.
Whether the story is fact or fantasy, the mouse is a reality. In order to find it, treasure seekers must log on to a web site http://www.burnsbequest.co.uk, pay a nominal £10 fee and make their deductions from the letters published there by story creator John Keiller from Cromarty, who designs web sites when he isn’t reading Burns. Alongside the letters on the web site is a painting by Ross-shire pop artist Michael Forbes. The painting also contains clues which come and go during the life of the web site.
Bequest has been put together by Joe Gibbs, co-promoter of Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival (7th & 8th August 2009), a whacky, independent festival of music and performing arts in the Highlands (Beauly, Inverness-shire), now in its sixth year. This year’s festival goers will get an advantage over other Bequest treasure hunters, as the final clues and version of the painting will be unveiled at the festival 72 hours before they appear on the web site.
“I have long been an admirer of Kit Williams’ 1970s book-based hunt for a golden hare – ‘Masquerade ‘ – and decided the current economic circumstances were auspicious to launch a web-based treasure hunt,’ said Joe Gibbs. “We decided on a Burns theme because of John’s interest in the subject and because it is one of the major themes of Homecoming Scotland.”
The jewelled mouse is in fact the work of Highland jeweller and goldsmith Susan Plowman from Achnasheen and Fortrose. The Bequest team are keen to point out that the mouse is not buried in any public or private garden or the grounds of any building. It is also accessible without threat to personal safety!
“If you decide to start excavating your way across Scotland you will have to shoulder the responsibility if you are digging someone’s garden up,” said John Keiller. “Of course, if it’s a vegetable patch, the owner may be quite happy, but we wouldn’t bank on it.” Keiller says the puzzle could be solved by anyone over the age of 13.
Award-winning, all-ages Belladrum Festival and Bequest have received backing from EventScotland and The Highland Council. Belladrum is also part of the Homecoming Scotland 2009 events programme. The festival has just announced headliners Editors and Ocean Colour Scene plus a raft of other acts including: The Saw Doctors; Shed Seven; British Sea Power; Seth Lakeman; Alabama 3; Sons & Daughters; Glen Tilbrook & The Fluffers; The Peatbog Faeries; Lau; Treacherous Orchestra; Transglobal Underground; Tommy Reilly; De Votchka; The Phantom Band; 3 Daft Monkeys; Edward II; The Wallbirds; Kid Carpet; Sam Isaac; The Lost Brothers; and Scooty & The Skyhooks.
Belladrum 2009 takes place in the beautiful Highland surroundings of Belladrum Estate, near Beauly in Inverness-shire. The independent festival has built a reputation for its eclectic line-ups, its off-beat non-musical entertainments and its all-ages approach. Capacity will remain what it was in 2008 at 12,000. At the UK Festival Awards Ceremony in October – the festival industry’s ‘oscars’ - Bella was awarded the Grassroots Festival Award.
This year the festival is supported by Homecoming Scotland 2009, EventScotland and Highland Council. Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer at EventScotland, said: “Belladrum is one of Scotland’s leading family-friendly festivals and the addition of Bequest will be another great draw to the event. With 2009 being Scotland’s year of Homecoming, there is a huge emphasis on all things Burns related and Bequest adds yet another way in which people of all ages, both locals and visitors, can engage with Scotland’s heritage, take in some of Scotland’s spectacular scenery and enjoy the competition.”
Advance adult weekend tickets have been held at 2008 prices and are £80 and adult Saturday tickets will cost £50. Both include parking and camping. As in previous years, tickets for children 12 & under are free. Tickets are available from The Ironworks (http://www.ironworksvenue.com), The Booth (http://www.thebooth.co.uk), Ticketmaster (http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk), Ticketline (http://www.ticketline.co.uk ), Tickets Scotland (http://www.tickets-scotland.com) and Skiddle (http://www.skiddle.com). Tickets are also available from TicketScotland in Edinburgh and Glasgow, Ripping in Edinburgh, One-Up in Aberdeen, The Ironworks, Mania, Hootenanny’s and Eden Court in Inverness; and Below The Waterfall in Dingwall.
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For further information, contact:
Joe Gibbs
01463 741366
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
BEQUEST & Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival have been supported by The Highland Council http://www.highlandeventsandfestivals.com and also by EventScotland http://www.eventscotland.org; Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival has been supported by Homecoming Scotland 2009 http://www.homecomingscotland2009.com
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