Just before I go off on my Sunday run, I thought I would tell you how the AUOB Rally went yesterday.
There has been a concerted effort to dampen any attempted by the Scottish people to hold rallies in support of independence, Nicola Sturgeon’s government can not stop the marches but she can make it as difficult as possible to hold them as displayed this weekend.
All Under One Banner had submitted their proposed route from Carlton Hill in Edinburgh to the Parliament Building at Holyrood, as long ago as last January. At the last minute the route was rejected, a second proposed route was rejected, again by Edinburgh Council, even although it was acceptable by Police Scotland. All this was taking place only hours before the march was due to start. The final meeting by the Edinburgh Council was held behind closed doors, no public, and no press present, they did finally grant permission for a march, not through the streets of Edinburgh, but form the Commonwealth Pool through the great park below Arthur’s Seat and in by the back door of Holyrood.
Now we hear that approval has been sot asking the Westminster government to rule against any political gathering outside the Holyrood Parliament Building.
Oor, Nicola will of course wash her hands in public. It was not me; it was Edinburgh Council that made that decision, not me. It was the body that looks after the Parliament Estate that submitted the request (to a foreign power) for rallies and political gatherings not to be held outside the Scottish Parliament, not me
“My hands are clean” Aye right.
Sorry, Nicola, that will not wash, you are the First Minister of Scotland, what influence have you brought to bear in stopping this request, to a foreign power, to take away the freedoms of the Scottish people. And since the SNP make up almost half the councillors in the Edinburgh Council, Well Miss Sturgeon, the air is filled with the smells of rotten fish, and as Lenin said
“There is no profit in last week’s fish”.
Despite all the log jams, despite the real fears still hanging over us from coronavirus (3,261 cases reported in the UK on Saturday), yet still, they came. The numbers were small, in comparison with the 200 thousand that marched AUOB before lockdown, I estimated a little over two thousand, but still significant. This was especially telling when other independent marches were taking place across Scotland on the same day, a sign, that coronavirus is having an impact, ‘small is beautiful. I saw on the internet today that five thousand had watched the march on U-Tube or Facebook.
I stayed for the speeches outside the parliament building (and the music) they were passionate from activists of all colours, and yes, an MP from the Alba Party, good on you for sticking your head above the parapet.
Stay safe.
The Grand Tour: Fife and Beyond 
I didn’t realise there was a march on yesterday. I saw it when I read your article yesterday. I’ve signed up for the all under one banner emails now and won’t miss the next one.
On the subject of spiking the AUOB marches. The authorities seem to be doing that every time. The arrests of Gary Kelly and Manny Singh are part of that tactic. Change the route at the last minute to limit the impact of the event with the aim of diminishing it in the public eye with the added bonus if the organisers haven’t quickly got their paperwork in order for the new route in time they can be arrested and charged.
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A growing number of Independence supporters are being arrested. How far will they go?
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yes, the independence campaign has become almost like an underground organisation, all done online so if you are not in the loop you will miss out. This is bad for democracy when you have hostile press, backing a hostile First Minister. not allowing the public to really know what is going on in our country. The truth behind the Alex Salmond arrest. The online (so-called) conference by the First Minister on the day of the Alba Conference. asking Pitel to endorse a ban on gathering outside the Scottish Parliament Building. A referendum in three years time – just in time for the run-up to the general election, vote for me for a strong mandate on independence, a carrot hanging at the noses of gullible voters who have been kept in the dark. Thankfully we did not all come up the Clyde on a bike. There is a tidal wave about to hit Scotland and it will not be pretty for the incumbent Scottish government. stay safe.
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We are being had in a hundred ways.
Do you expect the punters are realising they’ve been had or are you referring to something else?
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I live in a sheltered housing complex, I know of only one couple that actively supports Scottish independence, One or two that may be sympathetic, but most are still Unionists, none that I know of are following events on Facebook, multiply that across the country. this is just one section of the community, that really know nothing of politics other than what they read in the papers, it will take a big campaign to get the message out there and as yet I see no movement towards such a campaign. Certainly, it will not happen from the mainstream political parties, the national press, so where does that leave us? The movement will have to come from the grassroots themself.
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