Operation Megalithic Lift - The Stones and the Stars: Building Scotland's Newest Megalith - page 202

schools, who had been invited to watch, had to be advised accord-
ingly. Wellington boots and protective helmets had to be arranged
for all personnel who would be on the site. Two press conferences,
a reception, and a leaflet issued to the schools were all still in the
planning stage.
The Fire Service representative asked if hoses should be run
up the hillside in advance of the operation. The naval reply was
that apart from the negative psychological effect that would have
on the aircrew, it would be highly dangerous to the aircraft and the
ground crew if the hoses began whipping about in the hurricane-
force downdraught below the rotors.
“But if the machine falls out of the sky…” the fire officer
began, having evidently picked up some naval phraseology.
“I think this is getting out of hand,” said Lt. McBride. “We
can lose a tail rotor blade and stay in the air. We can lose a
main rotor blade and stay in the air. We can even lose one of the
engines and stay in the air… and if anything is going to fall out
of the sky, gentlemen, I regret to inform you that it is going to
be the rock. ”
That was getting a little too close to home, and Lt. Leask and I
exchanged meaningful looks. I had warned him that there was still
a lot of opposition to the operation within the Parks Department
and even, I had been led to believe, within the District Council.
We were being bedeviled by spurious phone messages, coming
from somewhere within Trongate or the City Chambers, trying
to order essential personnel on to other tasks, or saying that the
whole operation had been canceled. There had been no time for
a rational discussion about the question of the central stone, and
if it was reported to management at that stage, I felt sure that it
would be used as an excuse to cancel not just the flight of the last
stone but the entire operation.
Norman and I went around to the base of the hill, and we
stood on the problem item. There was just room for both of us.
“To be honest, it doesn't look that big,” said Norman.
“I don't think it is that big,” I replied. “I've gone over the cal-
culations repeatedly, and I don't see how it can be too big.”
“If you're completely confident of your figures, then we'll fly
it,” said Norman. “But I have to make this clear: if anything goes
wrong, it will be entirely your personal responsibility, not ours.”