"There shall be a Scottish Parliament."

- Backblip -

"Through long years, those words were first a hope, then a belief, then a promise. Now they are a reality. This is a moment anchored in our history."
Quotation from Donald Dewar's speech at the Opening of the Scottish Parliament 1 July 1999.

Our first visit to the building, and I have chosen to Blip one of the artworks. "Travelling the Distance", created in 2006 by Shauna McMullan, this piece contains 100 handwritten sentences made of porcelain. These were collected by the artist from 100 woman on a journey around Scotland. Each was asked to write about another woman who had made a significant contribution to life, culture or democracy in Scotland. The blend of English and Gaelic is a theme throughout the building. "She lost her country and her head for her beliefs her love and politics." is a quotation referring to Mary Stuart, Mary Queen of Scots.

I was on the lookout for photography, and did spot works by Thomas Joshua Cooper and Peter Cattrell.

I had arranged an audience with Lady Findhorn today, and had a very hard decision to make. Liz and Phil are currently in residence at the Palace of Holyrood, and as we left the Parliament, a wee rumour spread among a small crowd that they were about to come out into the Park. We waited for about twenty minutes, and were then told she could be at least another half hour. So I gave up the chance of an HRH Blip for a Lord and Lady instead. I hope I won't loose my head!!

I met Her Ladyship at the pre-arranged secret meeting point, and enjoyed a blether on the patio of the Dower House .... until a Peer of the Realm decided to perform right in front of our eyes. I had read Lady F's rants on the subject in her journal, and could not believe I was seeing this for myself. However, it did not spoil our afternoon in the sunshine.

A pleasure as always to meet you today Lady Findhorn.