Day at the Parliament

Coincidentally I was in the Scottish Parliament today on this supposedly special day - one year from the referendum vote is apparently an important date. Not as significant I would say as the day the date of the Edinburgh Agreement that paved the way for the referendum, or the day when the date of the vote was announced, or the day, still in the future, when the Scottish Government publish their White Paper that outlines their vision for an independent Scotland. But someone, whether the media or the different campaigning groups, has decided that today is an important day in the campaign.
I was at the Parliament to take another set of MSP portraits and the place was certainly very busy this morning but people weren't queueing to see the political debate later in the day. The queues outside the building were people waiting to see the Scottish Tapestry before it leaves the Parliament at the weekend. Apparently where it goes next has still not been announced or even, in fact. that it will be on display anywhere else, although I find it hard to believe that it won't go on some form of national tour. I was really impressed with it, both as a work of art and as a document describing Scotland's history. It is made of a series of panels, each made by different groups across the country. There were so many interesting and beautiful sections but here are just a couple. The first portrays the Battle of Sheriffmuir. I stopped in front of it and got into conversation with a woman who was equally taken with it. She was impressed with its sense of movement but I was also able to point out how well it captured the confused nature of the battle where both sides' right wings overpowered the opposing left flanks, leading to the circling so wonderfully portrayed in the tapestry.
The other image from the tapestry is a cultural reference from my own lifetime. It refers to a Scottish film that came out in the 1980s and that I first saw while a student in Durham at the Hild-Bede Film Society in Caedmon Hall and was a reminder of life in Scotland while I was living south of the border. I won't give you the name of the film so you can see if you can spot the reference.
The day had started with reminder of another time as I walked down Holyrood Road to get to a nine o'clock meeting, just as I did for several years while living in Forrest Road and working for S&N at Horse Wynd. Much of Holyrood Road is very different these days, with only the old Moray House building and the Dumbiedykes flats still there from when I used to walk down the road, reading my paper as I walked, nodding to the guy that shouted to passers by, 'have you seen my socks'.