By: Thomas Yan
Robert Louis Stevenson is said to have drawn inspiration for Treasure Island from his childhood visits to Fidra, an island off North Berwick off Scotland’s east coast that consists of three rocky outcrops.
Just over a mile (1.9km) east of Stevenson’s island is Lamb Island, reputed to harbor myths, legends, and mysteries. Kayakers, birdwatchers, and wildlife volunteers are the only ones to pay attention to it. However, it has the potential to become a treasure island in and of itself.
Uri Geller, the most famous spoon bender and legendary “psychic,” dangles that possibility to the world. Lamb’s status has been elevated from a private Scottish island to that of a country by Geller, a master of grand gestures.
Following his exploration of buying the barony title with the territory that included the island, Geller was inspired to turn Lamb into a micronation. The previous Baron of Dirleton, an Orthodox Jewish Portuguese-Brazilian entrepreneur, who had inherited the title of the prior holder, bequeathed Lamb to Geller when he sold it to Geller.
It’s getting smaller than its relative giant neighbor while Scotland debates its independent path.
Since the 19th century, dozens of micronations have been declared, some serious, many not. Lamb Island is not the first. Stamps, currencies, and citizenships have been issued by some micronations.
“A willingness to live in harmony with fellow Lamb compatriots” is the only criterion for membership, he claims. Only puffins, guillemots, and other seabirds inhabit the island.
“Lamb deserves its own identity,” says Geller, speaking from his home in Old Jaffa, Israel.
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