aQlog
During our recent European trip we had an opportunity to visit Rosslyn Chapel in the beautiful village of Rosslin, Scotland. We
took the Number 15 city bus from in front of the Sir Walter Scott monument on Princes Street in Edinburgh. The fare was one-pound sterling. About 35 minutes later, we hopped off in the village. You’ll note that the village name is not spelled the same as the chapel’s name. This is obviously part of the Freemason or Templar plot to confuse and throw off seekers of The Holy Grail! The Rosslyn Chapel was built over a forty-year period in the mid 15th century. The chapel was commissioned by Sir William Sinclair (St. Clair) – who was indeed a member of the Knights Templar.
The architecture and the craftsmanship are awe-inspiring. Most of the chapel’s walls and columns are carved and sculpted with incredible intricacy. No wonder it took over 40 years to complete! Each sculpture or carving told a story or recounted a popular myth from one of several cultures. Even without The Da Vinci Code kerfuffel there is so much meaning, so many stories and so many symbols and icons built into the walls of Rosslyn that it would indeed be relevant and resonate with the people of that era.
It was about three in the afternoon when we were back on Princes Street in Eddie-boro as I now call it. Great city. We were beyond hungry as we walked along the busy retail street. Lots of stores, but no bistros. I spotted a familiar color scheme up Castle Street and said “why not?” So where did we eat our lunch in the brave heart of Scotland? You guessed it. T.G.I. Fridays! The Castle Street location of this American chain of roadhouse restaurants was open for late lunch and it was great! We knew what to expect and we knew approximately what it was going to cost. And we needed to EAT! Like most world cities now, Edinburgh has Starbucks all over, Pizza Huts, Burger Kings and of course, the Golden Arches. But TGIF’s? What’s next? Cracker Barrel? Anyway, we were seated close to the entrance of the restaurant. And our orders were taken and served quickly. To our right was a wall of music album covers from the 1970’s: Simon and Garfunkel, Paul McCartney, The Jackson Five, James Taylor, Bette Midler, Leo Sayer and The Bee Gees. My wife and I are chronologically mature enough to remember owning, playing and most importantly, enjoying those artists and albums.
Lots of memories connected to those visuals. And not surprisingly, the piped-in restaurant soundtrack featured all of the very same recording artists.
We sat in a red retro-esque roadhouse diner booth. Looming over the table and attached to the wall paneling was a three-dimensional 1960-70’s pop culture collage. There was a USA Interstate 65 road sign, a Grandpa Munster Halloween mask, a fabulous photo of Marilyn Monroe, a Blues Brothers concert poster, a C3PO head from Star Wars and of course, a large Harley-Davidson logo complete with spread-winged bald eagle.
So for three hours inside the Rosslyn Chapel I gazed in wonder at the sculpted craftsmanship on all the walls, pillars and ceilings. I had to read the placards posted close to the most interesting features that explained what those images must have meant to visitors back in the 1400’s. Obviously I must brush up on my Old Testament stories and my Greek mythology.
And then being surrounded by memorabilia from my teenage years. History. Icons. Symbols. Meaning. All on display for people to enjoy and reflect on. All while enjoying a free refill of Coca-Cola soda pop and a basket of chicken fingers.
How will the archeologist and the anthropologist of the future interpret the TGIF dig in 500 years? How will our culture be judged and what hidden clues might be hidden in the TGIF décor?
Now we do know that the second TGIF location was opened in Memphis, Tennessee in 1970. We also know that this American city was named for Memphis of ancient Egyptian Old Kingdom fame and the site of many of the pharaohs’ pyramids. Huge structures built under the direction of the master masons such as Hiram Abif… hey, wait a minute, masons? Pyramids? The US dollar bill has a pyramid with a strange looking eyeball connected to it. The Knights of the Templar and the Freemasons seem to be connected! At least nine signers of the Declaration of Independence were Freemasons including George Washington! TGIF is all about American culture… stranger things have happened haven’t they?
I have to look up Dan Brown on facebook and get him looped in on this. I sense another bestseller could be in the works!
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