A bloggee who was impressed by Professor Harriet Archbold's 'fascinating insight' re Kubla Khan writes "
It is also not generally known that Kubla's cousin Ghengis may have visited the Borders on a liaison visit to the Rievers. Ghengis was a sort of mediaevel Usama bin Laden and had heard of the Riever's reputation as good fighters. Apparently he wanted to recruit a few for his training camps in what is now Afghanistan. History is silent on how he got on but he is said to have enjoyed a family holiday in "Olde Paxton and environs" on a subsequent visit. Ghengis had a pet tiger ' Sher Khan' (later immortalised by Kipling in his political diatribe: 'The Just So Stories' ) He may have brought it with him on his jaunts to Europe-quarantine regulations were laxer then. Sadly Sher's only pup was run over in a traffic accident in Paris and although not killed was badly disabled-henceits subsequent nickname 'Sher Badluck' Huttonian cannot vouch for the accuracy of all this but passes it on as there is not much else going on this evening.
