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JUNE2012
A Close-Up Look at the Edinburgh launch of the 'Yes Scotland9 Referendum
DINBURGH - I didn't notice the tiny letters 'VIP' on the bottom of my pass and was consequently surprised when an eagle-eyed young usher with 'YES' emblazoned on his T-shirt led me from the position I was engineering at the back of the cinema to a seat in the second row.
My new perch was a lot less relaxing than my original one and left me little time to wonder how I had qualified for the VIP distinction in the first place.
Just to my right there was a huge bank of photographers and television cameras, close enough that it seemed likely I would be caught in the periphery. Better smooth the hair down and try to look intelligent.
The primary focus was Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond and, beside him, the Scottish actor Alan Cumming (most recently the lawyer Eli Gold in the CBS series The Good Wife). Their every movement was greeted by a flurry of flashbulbs.
The occasion was the launch of the 'Yes Scotland' referendum campaign in one of the theatres in Edinburgh's Fountain Park Cineworld complex. The fact that it was in the Fountainbridge area of the city had many in the crowd convinced that we were about to see Sir Sean Connery, a long-time supporter of Scottish independence.
By HARRY McGRATH
The great man was born within a few hundred yards of where we were sitting but I had ma doots, as they say over here, concerning his imminent appearance. A few months ago I was in touch with the Connery camp on behalf of Simon Fraser University's Centre for Scottish Studies and was told that he was no longer making public appearances.
And so it proved. The first person to the microphone was a young Scottish actor called Martin Compston (Ewan Brodie in Monarch of the Glen) who brought salutations from Sir Sean.
The absence of 007, however, did little to dim the spectacle that followed. A procession of kenspeckle Scots crossed the stage.
Brian Cox (X-men, Braveheart, Rushmore, Rob Roy, etc., etc.) regaled
the crowd with his journey from Labour Party activist to SNP supporter, national poet Liz Lochhead read from Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off and the ubiquitous Dougie MacLean sang Caledonia.
There were several speeches including one by trade unionist Tommy Brennan who led the resistance to the closure of the Ravenscraig Steelworks and another by Green Party leader Patrick Harvie.
Filmed messages of support ranged from Sir George Mathewson, former CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland, to the Proclaimers.
Afterwards it was difficult to know what to make of it all. As often happens with the independence issue, the views that most people expressed after the launch were essentially the same ones they had before it.
There were certain risks associated with running an event like this in a cinema and the usual media cynics made some sport of the fact that the "currently showing" list included a movie called "The Dictator" and another that carried the descriptor "the search for our beginning could lead to our end."
The already converted, however, drew their own symbolic deduction from the fact that they entered the cinema under a chilly Edinburgh cloud and emerged into glorious warm sunshine.
There were more serious concerns. Some felt that the launch was more style than substance and gave no real indication of what an independent Scotland would look like and the national and international policies it would pursue.
Others countered that it wasn't supposed to be about policy and that, any-
THE LAUNCH of the official Yes campaign for the 2014 Scottish independence referendum took place in Edinburgh on May 25. The campaign included politicians and Scottish celebrities who outlined their visions of an Independent Scotland
'Scotland's future in Scotland's hands
way, a closer listen to Salmond, Cox, Brennan, Mathewson and Harvie provided a general outline of what an independent Scotland would be: inclusive, green, left of centre, protective of the vulnerable, but flexible enough to promote business and growth.
For a few days after the launch I did some elementary editing on the transcript of a soon to be published book by my friend Stephen Maxwell. Sadly, Stephen died in April.
He was the best of men as anyone who benefited from his long tenure as the Associate Director of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations will attest.
Stephen was also "the principal intellectual force" behind the SNP for many years though did not always agree with party policy.
His book Arguing for Independence is a remarkable synthesis of the many ideas he had for an independent Scotland and covers the democratic, social, cultural, economic, international and
environmental cases for independence.
Reading it reminded me of a simple but often overlooked point: that SNP policy and independence are not necessarily synonymous and that Scotland is voting for or against independence not for or against the policies of one particular party.
Not everyone who supports an independent Scotland agrees with every detail of the SNP's vision for it - the financier sitting beside me at the launch clearly disagreed with much of what was said - but they all agree on one thing and have signed up to it: "Scotland's future in Scotland's hands."
My worst fears came true while watching the BBC evening news a few hours after the launch. Sure enough, there I was just to the side of all the action.
The hair smoothing had worked well enough but the look of intelligence and deep thought had somehow come off as a glaikit stare. If only I had sought some acting advice from someone in the row in front of me!
Alex Salmond: Scots affection for Queen remains 'undiminished and strong'
EDINBURGH - Alex Salmond has said affection for the Queen in Scotland is "undiminished" and "strong," despite comparatively muted Jubilee celebrations. The first minister said the difference in the intensity of celebrations in Scotland reflected a "different style."
Salmond also said Scots should adopt the Lion Rampant flag to mark the Ju-
bilee rather than the saltire.
He made the comments ahead of attending a thanksgiving service at London's St. Paul's Cathedral.
Speaking to BBC Scotland, Salmond said Scots would have the opportunity to show their affection for the Queen during Royal Week in July.
IN PERTH, more than 1,000 people took part in one of the world's biggest ever kilted-runs. The Kilt Run, along an eight kilometre route beside the Tay, failed to beat the previous record, set by the Canadian town of Perth, Ontario.
"Maybe there's a different style in Scotland from elsewhere, but certainly our affection for the Queen is undiminished and just as strong," he said.
"We get another chance with this, maybe another two chances - during Royal Week in July when the Queen is in Scotland and then again with the Jubilee Tattoo at the castle in August.
"Maybe there's just a difference in the way people celebrate things in Scotland, but our deep affection for Elizabeth, Queen of Scots, is nonetheless very powerful and very strong."
Salmond said the Queen would continue to reign over Scotland should voters opt for independence in the upcoming referendum.
He said, "Clearly for people, Scottish identity is becoming more and more powerful. There's no conflict between that and having respect for Her Majesty, because Her Majesty will be Queen of Scots after independence and there's no difficulty in that."
The first minister said that adopting the Lion Rampant to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee would be more appropriate.
A 21-GUN royal salute was fired at Edinburgh Castle at noon on June 2 by the 105th Regiment Royal Artillery to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen's coronation.
He said, "Obviously people are very proud of the saltire but the flag that should be flown in Scotland, in my view, is the Royal Standard, which is the Lion Rampant, which is very much in many senses the people's flag as well as the monarch's flag in Scotland."
The four-day holiday for the Diamond Jubilee brought a string of events in Scotland to mark the Queen's 60-year
reign, including street parties, other local community activities and a21-gun royal salute at Edinburgh Castle.
Beacons were also lit on hilltops across Scotland, including one on the peak of Ben Nevis on Monday, June 4. They were part of 4,000 beacons to be lit across the world in honour of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.