Main Story: The first story is about the veil…the very thin veil between heaven and earth…it’s said that the closest place between heaven and earth is Ionna…in Scotland…in the Hebrides. And…the Scottish people are known as Hibernians. And it’s a combination of two words Iberian and Hebrew and it’s believed that when the Jews were persecuted and they moved on from the Holy Land and through France and settled in the Iberian peninsula. And then eventually travelled out there of the Bay of Biscay up past Ireland and settled in the north western Scotland. Up there on these islands and one of these islands is called the island of Ionna. This is where they believe is the lost tribe of Israel. It’s one of the oldest church settlements in the history of the United Kingdom. And the legends are and the mythology is that they are descended from one of the twelve tribes of Israel and it’s become the closest place on earth between heaven and earth and it’s the thin veil that separates the two.

Background Information: Mark Burnett is my dad. His family is originally from Scotland and he served in the military.

Context of the Performance: The story was performed on the balcony of our house.

My Thoughts on the Piece: I thought this was a fascinating story. What I particularly enjoyed was how many fascinating and different elements it blended together in such a short story. There is an origin story of the name of the Hebrides. There is Christian mythology. There is the lost tribe of Israel.