I thought some of you might be interested to know that a brand new tartan — a woolen cloth woven in one of several patterns of plaid — has been designed called "Apollo 12." Ken MacDonald of Houston's Kiltmakers in Paisley Scotland has a small piece of the MacBean tartan that was taken to the moon by Alan Bean which is held in the archives of the Scottish Tartans Authority. So when I approached him regarding the visit of Dick Gordon to Scotland next month he offered to design a special new tartan in his honour.
The new tartan is various shades of grey to represent Ken's interpretation of the shades on the moon, and there is a little bit of colour taken from the Gordon tartan and some from the Aberdeen tartan as Dick's grandparents came from Aberdeen.
Ken has received permission from the Scottish Tartans Authority to use this design and call it "Apollo 12." Dick was thrilled to receive this honour and said the tartan was stunning.
The story was covered in the Scottish Sunday Mail.