The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Ashes of Sir Sean may be scattered in St Andrews
It was where he was said to be at his happiest.
Actor Sean Connery’s ashes are set to be scattered in St Andrews, most likely on a golf course, his son has revealed.
But the pandemic looks to have bunkered performing the ceremony this year.
The Scottish acting legend – best known as the original James Bond – died at his home in the Bahamas in October aged 90.
Jason Connery told STV News the tourist hotspot in Fife was one of Sir Sean’s favourite places, adding that he was at his happiest on a golf course and it would be “very fitting” that his ashes would be scattered on a course.
Sir Sean’s birthday is on August 25 and the family were thinking about doing it this year, but Jason said: “I don’t think there’s any way. It’s still all too much up in the air.”
Asked if St Andrews would be the most fitting resting place, he replied: “Yes I think. He used to go up there and play in various tournaments, and his friend Michael Medwin and he used to play in the Jubilee Vase and all these things and he had great memories.
“I always remember St Andrews being sunny, which I guarantee you it wasn’t always sunny. But for some reason it always seemed to be sunny. We had fantastic times up there.
“He was a member of the R&A (golf ’s governing body in the UK) so I think probably that might be the place.”
Sir Sean’s widow, Micheline Roquebrune, 91, previously didn’t say which course has been chosen to scatter the late actor’s ashes but the ceremony may be at St Andrews’ famous Old Course as he was a member of the prestigious Royal and Ancient Golf Club.
St Andrews councillor, Jane Ann Liston, said the 007 star had close links with the town. She said: “I was working as an usher when he received his honorary degree at the University of St Andrews. He’s had a long connection with the town. It’s a nice tribute to the people that he and his family have had nice memories of their time here.”
Daphne Billouri-Grant, chairwoman of Tourism St Andrews, added: “St Andrews is a very fitting resting place for Sir Sean as he loved golf and was a great Ambassador for the sport and for Scotland. It is testament to the uniqueness of the town that he chose St Andrews as his final resting place.”
Sir Sean first learned to play golf for his role as secret agent James Bond in 1964 movie Goldfinger.
French-Moroccan painter Micheline, who first met Sir Sean at a golf event in 1970 and became his second wife, admitted the first Christmas without him had been “difficult”.
Speaking to STV News as he became a patron of the Scottish Youth Film Foundation, Jason said he’d been besieged by stories about his dad – a milkman in Edinburgh before getting his big screen break – since his death.
He said: “My father was my dad, but to many people he was this big superstar.
“So many people have stories of things he did that I never knew about – and those were really moving to me.
“He went to school with about five million people and he delivered milk to at least five million people.”