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Got in a wee article from David Thomson about this meeting in Inverness...
Saturday we took a trip to Inverness to join the meeting there of radical groups in favour of Independence. The gathering in the Mercury Caledonian hotel, was well attended, - packed to the door with some workshops full beyond capacity. The morning session ended with music by a gifted radical buskar who had some rare lyrics lampooning the unionist parties and politicians !
There were MSPs who had left the SNP over its commitment to NATO. Most of the groups were against nuclear weapons and want to get away from the English party concensus on permitting the current banking rip-off of the general public; they oppose the SNP wish to stay in the EU; and the policy of making the poorest and most vulnerable in society pay for the austerity measures.
The MSPs who had left the SNP were John Finnie and Jean Urquhart, - both powerful speakers. Also present were Patrick Harvie of the Greens and Miss Cat Boyd, a powerful trade unionist who spoke well. She has flaming red hair and the Daily Mail had named her "The Scarlet Woman" - which only served to amuse her. She also said that the Labour Party had tried to expose her as - (wait for it) - a "dangerous socialist". MSP John Finnie was a splendid speaker. He had been a colleague of both Margo and Jim Sillars. Jim was mentioned several times, and his book "In Place of Fear" was highly recommended.
The other notable speaker was my friend Alastair Mcintosh, - author, academic, poet and activist. He recited with remarkable power and eloquence that thrilled the whole audience, a couple of his poems on Scottish identity and nationhood. Then there were workshops on energy, land ownership and communities. The BBC broadcaster Lesley Riddoch arrived later to lead the workshop on building a new democracy.
It was an eye-opener for me to see the number, variety and strength of the radical groups all working for a YES vote. The unionists simply have no grass roots support to compare with the zeal and commitment of Radical Scotland.
Cheers,
David
Interesting meeting it seems.
Alastair
Saturday we took a trip to Inverness to join the meeting there of radical groups in favour of Independence. The gathering in the Mercury Caledonian hotel, was well attended, - packed to the door with some workshops full beyond capacity. The morning session ended with music by a gifted radical buskar who had some rare lyrics lampooning the unionist parties and politicians !
There were MSPs who had left the SNP over its commitment to NATO. Most of the groups were against nuclear weapons and want to get away from the English party concensus on permitting the current banking rip-off of the general public; they oppose the SNP wish to stay in the EU; and the policy of making the poorest and most vulnerable in society pay for the austerity measures.
The MSPs who had left the SNP were John Finnie and Jean Urquhart, - both powerful speakers. Also present were Patrick Harvie of the Greens and Miss Cat Boyd, a powerful trade unionist who spoke well. She has flaming red hair and the Daily Mail had named her "The Scarlet Woman" - which only served to amuse her. She also said that the Labour Party had tried to expose her as - (wait for it) - a "dangerous socialist". MSP John Finnie was a splendid speaker. He had been a colleague of both Margo and Jim Sillars. Jim was mentioned several times, and his book "In Place of Fear" was highly recommended.
The other notable speaker was my friend Alastair Mcintosh, - author, academic, poet and activist. He recited with remarkable power and eloquence that thrilled the whole audience, a couple of his poems on Scottish identity and nationhood. Then there were workshops on energy, land ownership and communities. The BBC broadcaster Lesley Riddoch arrived later to lead the workshop on building a new democracy.
It was an eye-opener for me to see the number, variety and strength of the radical groups all working for a YES vote. The unionists simply have no grass roots support to compare with the zeal and commitment of Radical Scotland.
Cheers,
David
Interesting meeting it seems.
Alastair
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