| Vicar blames medieval stone for foot-and-mouth crisis |
A Cumbrian vicar says a medieval stone could be to blame for the severity of the foot-and-mouth outbreak.
Rev Kevin Davies launched an attack on the stone which is said to invoke a curse against border raiders.
He says it should be smashed to pieces to stop the spiritual power of the curse.
The text on the stone, which is in Carlisle's Millennium Gallery, dates from the 14th century when the Borders were in the grip of pillaging Reivers.
"This stone, whatever the council's original intent, is a lethal weapon," he wrote in his parish magazine for Scotby and Cotehill with Cumwhinton, reports the News & Star.
"Its spiritual violence will act like a cancer underneath the fabric of society. I don't think anyone in their right mind could argue that this is what Cumbria needs just now.
"Is it a coincidence that the curse was first bandied about in 1999-2000 and now, in 2001, we find that North Cumbria is the worst affected region in the entire country in the foot-and-mouth crisis?
"The land retains what is spoken against it and the violence acted upon it. As to the future of the stone and the curse it brings, they need to be broken, both literally and spiritually, for all time."
Story filed: 19:16 Friday 28th September 2001
 |
YOUR VIEW:
E-mail us if you're caught up in the foot-and-mouth outbreak |
 |
|
