Politicians welcome start of Lewis Chessmen tour
THE official launch of the Lewis Chessmen tour across Scotland has been welcomed today by Western Isles MSP, Alasdair Allan.
The tour will see the Lewis chessmen temporarily exhibited in the Western Isles from April to September 2011.
Alasdair Allan commented: "The Lewis Chessmen were found in Uig in Lewis in 1831 and I warmly welcome the news that they will once more be returning to Lewis, if only temporarily as part of this tour.
"It is in large part thanks to funding and support by the Scottish Government that this exhibition of huge local and cultural importance to the Western Isles, and national important to Scotland, are able to be displayed across Scotland.
"The Scottish Government is maintaining negotiations with the British Museum with the aim of ensuring that the chessmen return to Scotland permanently. I believe such a deal should include an exhibition of some of the pieces in Lewis."
The MSP added that for the moment, however, this represents real progress, and the British Museum, the National Museum of Scotland, and the Scottish Government are all to be congratulated for ensuring that the chessmen will be here during the Year of Island Culture.
"Historic artefacts always mean a hundred times more in context, and the Lewis Chessmen have always been a symbol for the islands. I look forward to seeing them in Lewis," Dr Allan pointed out.
His comments were echoed by another long time campaigner for the return of the Lewis Chessmen, Western Isles MP, Angus Macneil. Mr Macneil along with the SNP Councillor for Sgire Uig and Ceann a Tuath Na Loch, Annie Macdonald will attend a reception tonight in Edinburgh to commemorate the beginning of the Lewis Chessmen tour, showcasing 30 of the Lewis chess pieces which were found in Uig, Lewis in 1831.
The historic launch event will see 30 pieces of Lewis chess set off for exhibition at four venues in Scotland, beginning in Edinburgh, then moving on to Aberdeen and Shetland, and rounding off the exhibition in Stornoway between April and September 2011.Commenting Angus MacNeil said: "This will be a huge opportunity for many people in Scotland who have never seen the Lewis chessmen now to see them on their doorstep.
"In a parliamentary debate in the House of Commons earlier this year, I argued the case that the Lewis chessmen should be returned to their rightful home on the Isle of Lewis, but the then Labour Minister informed me that this would not happen.
"Since then, there were attempts to move an Anglo Saxon horde found in the West Midlands to the British Museum, but a local campaign ensured that it would remain in the area where it was found. Which was the correct thing to do."
He commented that if the Lewis Chess pieces had been found over the past few years, there is no doubt that they would have remained in Lewis, and one can only surmise what the economic worth of this would be to the Island of Lewis.
Councillor Annie Macdonald added: "As the Councillor for the area the where the chessmen were discovered, I am pleased to see them being exhibited in Scotland, and I along with many others will be delighted when they visit Stornoway next year."
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Weather for Stornoway
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 19 C
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