OK, this has nothing to do with politics, but it deals with something almost as important — Monty Python.
If you know me personally, you know I’m a big Python fan. I’m one of those annoying freaks who knows pretty much the entire script to Holy Grail.
If you’re like me, you’ll be pleased to know that the castle that plays prominently throughout the film is a real castle available for tourists in Scotland!
As CNN reported today, Doune Castle in Scotland receives thousands of visitors each year, many of which arrive simply to enjoy the castle’s role in the famous Python movie.
Apparently, Doune Castle is considered the best-preserved medieval castle in Scotland. It was built at the end of the 14th century by Robert Stewart, the first Duke of Albany.
Of course, Robert Stewart had no way of knowing over 600 years later, a bunch of geeks like me would be trouncing around his creation saying things like, “Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.”
I was particularly pleased to read that George McWilliam, the castle’s manager, is a good sport about the Python fans’ fascination. He even provides visitors with coconut halves so they can imitate the sound made the troupe members in the movie.
McWilliam told CNN that a group of Americans came last year to “re-enact much of the movie and shoot it as a home video.” They even — get this — used a toy coy to recreate the scene in which the French guards hurl a full-size cow at the Knights of the Round Table.
I suddenly have a desire to fly to Glasgow…