So this is a rather wonderful story. Yesterday morning a story hit Twitter that was almost too good to be true. It began when BBC News journalist Jack Evans tweeted that he and the Spectator's Political Editor, Katy Balls, had made one hell of a discovery.
Me and @katyballs have found the #edstone pic.twitter.com/rtPTh80oBx
— Jack Evans (@jackcevans) May 9, 2017
Could it be true? Had the limestone monolith used to mercilessly mock Ed Miliband in the run up to the last election actually been in the Ivy Chelsea Garden for the past couple of years?
Seems so. And it wasn't just Jack who'd spotted it. BBC TV presenter Ben Fogle - who may well have been dining with Jack or was just at the restaurant at the same time - also tweeted it out:
Look at what I just discovered in a hidden, overgrown corner of Chelsea. Do you want it back @jeremycorbyn #edstone pic.twitter.com/ci9VrzredU
— Ben Fogle (@Benfogle) May 10, 2017
But was this truly the Ed stone? After all the Labour Party had clearly stated that the stone had been destroyed years ago. A news agency contacted Caprice Holdings who confirmed the story, saying; "We bought the stone a couple of years ago at a charity auction. We thought it would be fun to have Ed's Stone, which was such an iconic image of the election, and put it outside in the garden."
If you want to go and visit the stone itself - we've no idea if, similar to the Blarney Stone, kissing it gives you the gift of political eloquence - you can find it at the Ivy Chelsea Garden, 195 -197 King's Rd, Chelsea, London SW3 5EQ
