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The treasures of Athelstaneford

I made my first visit to Athelstaneford's Book Nook yesterday.  I took some books along and came away with one which I am looking forward to reading, once I have finished Donna Tartt's 'The Goldfinch'.  
Every time I drive through Athelstaneford I make a mental note to visit the little building, Hepburn's Doocot, which sits behind the church, housing an exhibition about the Saltire, the Scottish flag.  Having dropped off my books I went to see what goes on in the doocot!  

We have misty grey days at the moment but one of my favourite line of trees was just visible in the gloaming, viewed from the back wall of the churchyard.
To enter the Hepburn Doocot you have to bend in half to get through a tiny door.  
Once inside there was a little gem of an exhibition.  
Press a button and a rich deep Scots voice recounts a local battle which took place in 832 AD.  
The day before the battle, the story goes, there was a cross of white cloud set against a blue sky (without the trickery of aircraft vapour trails in those days) which the Picts saw as a good omen. One thing led to another (read all about it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athelstanefordand we now have the Saltire as Scotland's flag


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