Political Passions

First off, I’d like to say that the only reason you’re getting these pictures now (after the voting is over) is because for some reason (wifi? wordpress?) I could not upload them in real time. And even though the referendum has been decided, I thought you still might like to see what the atmosphere in Edinburgh was like on voting day.

On our way to Edinburgh castle we passed a group of reporters who just seemed to be waiting for people to go crazy.

We also passed a nearly unprecedented number of street-bagpipers.

And lots of people wearing shirts, holding signs, or waving flags to indicate which decision they advocated.

This person is waving a flag with lion on it. It’s something like the crest of Scotland; not currently an official flag, but used quite often in-country.

Here, someone waves the Basque separatists’ flag. Basque, Italy, Catalan, Spain, and Flanders, Belgium all have their own separatist/independence movements, and many came to support the Scottish and encourage people to vote “Yes.”

Below, supporters of Scottish independence have laid out candles in the shape of the unofficial flag of Catalan, Spain (left) and the flag of Scotland (right).

Graffiti was scrawled in chalk all over the stone city; “Yes”es and “No”s warring for supremacy, and occasionally responding to prior writers’ opinions.

This group celebrates with a bundle of “Yes” balloons in the colors of the Scottish flag.

Although the shop is empty, the owner or workmen have hung “Yes” posters inside the front window.