The Stone of Destiny

The Stone of Destiny

Author: Simone Whitlow December 19, 2023 Duration: 27:51
Happy Holidays all! This week we travel to Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1950. It’s four in the morning when a policeman comes across a young couple huddled together in their car. Like another young couple a few millennia before, they tell him they have come to town, only to find no room left at the inn. Little does the officer know, but he’d stumbled across a theft hundreds of years in the making.    Sources Include:  As I couldn’t find any books for this one, there were quite a few online articles - including.  A copy of a news report two days after the theft.  This ‘The National’ article on the Battle of Culloden, and the genocide that followed, by Hamish McPherson This Smithsonian overview of the Scottish Independence movement by Meilan Solly A Britannica entry on the Stone of Scone A BBC Article (no author listed) on Alexander III of Scotland. The Stone of Destiny (History UK) by Ben Johnson A My Heritage page listing Tea Tephi This ‘Tomorrow’s World’ article on the Prophet Jeremiah and his alleged arrival in Ireland.   This University of Glasgow article on Ian Hamilton and the Removal of the Stone of Scone Another religious article (author not mentioned) about Jacob’s Ladder, his pillow, and his stupid claim God promised him Gaza. This BBC article by Steven Brocklehurst about the Removal of the Stone of Scone This Royal UK piece on James II Support the show on Patreon for $2 US a month and get access to exclusive content, or Try our 7 Day Free Trial.  Please leave Tales a like and a review wherever you listen. The best way you can support us is to share an episode with a friend - Creative works grow best by word of mouth. I post episodes fortnightly, Wednesdays.   Tales of History and Imagination is on  | Facebook | Twitter | TikTok | Threads | Instagram | YouTube |    Music, writing, narration, mixing yours truly.     Visit Simone’s  | About Me | Twitter | 

Simone Whitlow hosts Tales of History and Imagination, a podcast dedicated to unearthing those peculiar, overlooked stories that conventional history books often skip. Each episode feels like a conversation about a fascinating secret, whether it's delving into the life of an obscure figure who tried to alter our very concept of time or examining the panic caused by a legendary beast in eighteenth-century France. You'll encounter the clever pranksters and the enigmatic side characters-the individuals who played brief but unforgettable cameo roles on the world's stage. Rather than re-treading well-worn narratives, this show seeks out perspectives rarely considered, finding the extraordinary within the ordinary march of events. Listening to this podcast is an exercise in curiosity, where major historical moments are often reframed through a surprising, human lens. It’s for anyone who suspects the past is far weirder and more wonderful than they were taught, blending rigorous research with a storyteller's sense of wonder. The result is a consistently engaging mix that sits at the crossroads of history, culture, and sheer human imagination.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Tales of History and Imagination
Podcast Episodes
The Murder of William Desmond Taylor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:42
This week, Part Three of our Hollywood Trilogy - we discuss the Feb 1st 1922 murder of pioneering film director William Desmond Taylor, and the Pandora’s Box flung open in his wake. Sources this week include:(Sorry all,…
Shorts: What Ended Mabel Normand’s Career? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:45
Hey everyone the following is a quick addendum to the episode on William Desmond Taylor. Just what happened to Norma Desmond to finally ruin her career? I glossed over it in the episode so… here it is. Support the show o…
The Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle Incident [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:10
This week, part two of our Hollywood Trilogy - we discuss the Fatty Arbuckle/ Virginia Rappe case. How did a mysterious death during a boozy Labour Day party change the public’s perception of Hollywood forever? Hit play…
Olive Thomas: The Poisoned Chalice [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:25
For the next three episodes Tales of History and Imagination is going Hollywood, with three related - but separate Tales. In 1919, many of the folks who brought America Prohibition of alcohol turned their sights on a new…
Railway War! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:36
This week, we’re going to ride the rails, in Colorado, USA - the year 1878. In the midst of a Railway boom in the USA, two tycoons go to war over narrow, twenty mile mountain pass. This week we’re examining the Royal Gor…
The Diaspora [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:54
This week, three short tales of Medieval and Ancient people who - through circumstances way beyond their control - found themselves transported beyond the furthest extent of (to them at least) the known world. This episo…
Mussolini’s Hat - How the Mob Came to America [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:37
This week’s all about presidents, dictators, more mobsters, islands and how the theft of a hat was taken just a little too seriously. Last fortnight we discussed the Black Hand, this episode we follow up and discuss why…
The Black Hand [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:16
Death threats, child kidnappings, fire-bombings… A naked man in a barrel? This week I discuss the shadowy practice that came to be known as The Black Hand, and detective Joseph Petrosino. Sources this week include: Five…
Roxelana [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:03
This week, we travel to the court of the tenth Ottoman Emperor - though this tale is only tangentially about Suleiman the Magnificent. It’s a bit of an old cliche to say behind every great man is a great woman - but it i…
The Island [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:44
First discovered on New Year’s Day 1739, and situated 1,600 Kilometres from the nearest trade route, Bouvet Island is the most remote island on Earth. Uninhabitable, windswept and dangerous - it has, all the same, accrue…