#12. Small stoneware mug with brown and blue painted floral decoration under a pale glaze belonging to Indy Lennartsson (H 7.5cm; D 6.5cm; no stamp mark, painted inscription 'Con Soc S.O.S.'). This rather humble early era mug has a deep story behind it and the key to this is the inscription. Con Soc S.O.S. = the Scottish Conservation Society “Save Our Scotland!” In the late 1970s the British government came up with the idea to drill a deep hole into the granite core of Mullwharchar, a peak in the heart of Scotland’s Southern Uplands; one of the most untouched natural beauty spots in the country. The proposal was to use this as a tipping ground for highly toxic nuclear waste, some with a half-life of up to a million years. The hope was that none if this material would ever make its way back to the surface - ‘out of sight, out of mind’. A long campaign ensued lead by local activists such as Kathleen Millar, Kenneth Dalbrae and Alastair Warren and drawing on the political support of the Scottish National Party and exposure through the columns of the Glasgow Herald. The cup was made as a contribution to a fund raising campaign. The local population were galvanised in their abhorrence of the idea and a petition expressing this opinion was sent to the Queen with over 100,000 signatures. Following a public enquiry the will of the people was upheld the and Mullwharchar still stands as it has for millions of years, scarred by ancient ice flows but not by toxic horror or the whims of modern political desperation. This is not a party-political story as such, but on the eve of an potentially era-defining British General Election, maybe this a moment not to focus only on dramatic near-term events, but also to step back and consider what sort of country, what sort of world we want to create for the future...
