We’re over the moon to have tartan on TV
Kirk elders tell story of Apollo memento
Alan Bean
The piece of moonlanded tartan mounted with photos
A story linking a Perthshire church with the fourth man to walk on the moon is set to be recounted on a popular TV programme this weekend.
Fowlis Wester Church was the surprise recipient of a well-travelled piece of MacBean tartan in 1969 courtesy of the late astronaut Alan Bean.
A test pilot in the US Navy, Bean was one of 14 trainees selected by NASA in its third group of astronauts in October 1963.
He flew into space twice – first in 1969 as the lunar module pilot on Apollo 12, the second moon landing mission and, secondly, as commander of the a crewed flight to the United States’first space station, Skylab, in July 1973.
Bean, who passed away at the age of 86 in 2018, took a piece of traditional tartan with him on the Apollo mission and sent it to what he referred to as“the Saint Bean Chapel in Scotland”– otherwise known as Fowlis Wester Church, which is dedicated to St Bean.
And the tale is expected to feature in this week’s episode of the Antiques
Roadshow, which airs on BBC One from 7.30pm on Sunday, March 15.
Elder Tim Carmichael explained:“Alan Bean had remembered his family’s stories of where the name came from, despite his family having been removed to the States many generations earlier.
“Enterprising kirk elder John Laing, with his feet firmly on the earth, was intrigued to find out more background to the piece of moon-landed tartan mounted with photos taken on the moon and from space displayed in the vestry of the 11th century church building.
“Myself and John set off for Dundee’s V&A in June last year, the venue for recording of the Antiques Roadshow.
“Once there, surrounded by an eclectic mix of swords, Cairngorm gems and bronze sculptures, we presented the story of the tartan and the rest.”
Meanwhile, congregation members within the Mid-Strathearn parish – which includes Fowlis Wester Church – are hosting an Easter-themed Messy Church activity session from 4-6pm on Sunday, March 28, in Madderty Hall.
It will include crafts, games, stories, songs and refreshments.
For more information, contact Sheena Crawford on 01764 654270.