Inevitable fate of Stone of Scone

Sir, – As Perth City Hall seems an uneasy fit as a resting place for the Stone of Scone it is likely the eventual winners in the tussle over the stone will be, as Dr Norman Watson amusingly suggests (Letters, January 9), Edinburgh.

When devolution was obtained a golden opportunity was missed in not siting the new Scottish Parliament and seat of power midway between Scotland’s two major cities, in Stirling, but of course at that time nowhere else but Edinburgh was considered.

Since then bad decisions have cost taxpayers millions. An over-priced government building, the tram debacle, and the bailedout Royal Bank of Scotland, for example.

The Forth Bridge became overloaded and a replacement bridge was built in a hurry, largely to serve the airport and routes to Edinburgh. We read (in The Courier of January 9) that the projected numbers of journeys across the Forth are soon to reach six million. How long will it be before there are pleas for another crossing to ease congestion?

A myriad of institutions, many attracting government funding, have flourished in the capital, so it is no surprise house prices have leapt up in Edinburgh.

Recent discoveries in astronomy have found that, in outer space, little can escape the pull of a “black hole”. In a similar way London and the south east exert an influence over England; in Scotland it seems that gravity is stronger south of the Forth. And so it might be with the Stone of Scone.

One small, historical piece of rock that is likely to remain in Edinburgh. Sandy Main. Quarryhill, Kinloch, Blairgowrie.