Prophet Without a Ticket

Edward Pearson was arrested on December 4, 1978, for riding on a train without a ticket. When he appeared in court in Perth, Scotland, he was described as "an unemployed Welsh prophet," and there, he explained to the judge that he was trying to get to London to warn the minister of the environment of an earthquake that was going to hit Glasgow.

Earthquakes are extremely rare in the British Isles and Mr. Pearson's story, recorded faithfully by the court reporter, was covered in Dundee's Courier & Advertiser on December 6^th, under the derogatory title, "Prophet Didn't Have a Ticket."

Three weeks later, earthquakes rocked the region, damaging buildings in Glasgow, as well as other parts of Scotland.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009