Midside Maggie’s Girdle in the Museum of Scotland.   Unfortunately it was hard to get a decent photo of the silver belt because of the lighting.  (The other things are silver thistle pots)
It’s a fascinating true story of how Maggie got the girdle.  She and her husband, Thomas Hardie, lived at about 360 metres (c1200 feet) high up in the bleak Lammermuir hills in the 17th century.   One year a severe snowstorm destroyed their sheep and with very little income, they were unable to pay their rent.  Maggie pleaded with their landlord, the Earl of Thirlestane, to allow them more time.  He told her that as snow was so plentiful in the hills he would let them off if she brought him a snowball in June.  Without telling her husband she collected a large amount of snow and put it deep in a hole covering it with a great amount of vegetation and went regularly to check it until it was time to pay the rent again, whereupon she collected her snowball and walked the eight miles to Thirlestane Castle to remind the Earl of his promise.  He was very surprised but let them off the rent. 
 Shortly afterwards Civil War broke out and as a Royalist, the Earl was taken prisoner in 1651 and remained in prison for nine years until the King was restored.  Meanwhile the Hardies saved their rent, unlike many local farmers who lived rent free while the Earl was in prison.  Realising that the Earl would have no income Maggie decided to help him and knew that during the long walk to London it would not be safe to carry money.  She baked a bannock which is a sort of bread and hid the gold coins inside and they set off and on reaching London Tower she sang a local ballard outside.  Recognising the song, the Earl asked to see her and was very surprised to see what she had brought him.  The money enabled him to get more comfort and then go to Holland until it was safe to return to Scotland. 
In gratitude, he gave Maggie the silver belt and allowed the family to live rent free.  The girdle was handed down through the family to those called Thomas until it was gifted to the museum in the late 19th century. The decendents emigrated to Canada. A pub in the local village of Lauder is called ‘The Golden Bannock’ commemorating Maggie’s ingenuity.
(Extra) Yesterday we decided to see where Maggie had lived at Tollishill Farm.   I think the ruins in the photo might be the remains of Maggie’s house. Probably it is not as bleak now with the coniferous plantation behind sheltering the present farm from the cold north and easterly winds which sweep over the moorland with not another house in sight but it must have been very hard trying to make a living there nearly four hundred years ago.