IT is a picturesque village nestled in the foothills of the Guilleries and Montseny mountains in the northern Catalan county of Osona – and Viladrau turned tartan at the weekend as The National came to town.

The Estelada and the Lion Rampant shared the town hall balcony with the village flag as locals gathered in the square for an event organised by the Committee for the Defence of the Republic (CDR).

It is a regular gathering designed to keep people informed about the latest developments in the Catalan independence campaign and the fight to free the political prisoners, one of whom – former interior minister Joaquim Forn – hails from Viladrau.

The National took pride of place at the gathering, with several of our front-page stories distributed to visitors.

Viladrau’s mayor, Margarida Feliu, told us she wanted to see existing links with Scotland strengthened as independence maintains its place at the top of our joint agendas.

“The link between Scotland and Catalonia already exists because of our desire for independence and I’d like it to get stronger over the next few years as we both become independent and have more commercial and popular interchanges,” she said.

“People from the CDR are putting up the stands to help inform people about what is happening between Catalonia and Spain and with any news on the prisoners.”

Feliu said articles from The National had been translated into Catalan along with images of some of our front pages.

There is still bitterness over the events of last October 1 – known as 1-O – the day Spain’s National Police beat up would-be voters with riot batons, leaving more than 1000 people injured.

Albert Roquet, who was in Viladrau helping to organise and take part in a mountain bike race, said the images – which went worldwide – had impacted his business, a language school he runs from Barcelona.

Roquet, a member of the Catalan business group FemCAT, said: “We have two types of clients. People come from Barcelona and want to learn French, German, Italian or English – both children and adults.

“Other students come from around the world and come to Barcelona to learn Spanish.

“At the beginning of September our figures showed an increase of 20% for the year, but by November 1 the figure had decreased by 25%. We lost the advantage from the rise and lost 30% more in two months.

“The number of clients rose slightly in December and at the beginning of this year, but we had lost the earlier advantage.”

He said that overall, the fallout from the referendum did not adversely affect Catalonia’s gross domestic product (GDP), except in the service sector.

“In September and October in general, service companies lost about 30% to 40% of their custom. At that time, I was getting up in the mornings and checking WhatsApp and all the news channels on radio and TV to find out what was happening and it all got a little bit crazy.”

Roquet’s office is close to the Catalan economy ministry building where leading indy figures the two Jordis (Sanchez and Cuixart) stood up to the Guardia Civil.

“All the pictures you saw from then were taken from the balcony of my school and for three days it was closed because it was impossible to get in, so my client numbers dropped.”

To try to regain his lost clients, Roquet sent out emails to educational establishments around the world, showing the peaceful streets of Barcelona and the area outside his school under normal conditions.

He added: “I want an independent Catalonia and if this is the price, I will pay it.”

Back in the town square, pieces of Scottish and Catalan music played alternately through the PA system from afternoon into evening, when opera took over.

Although independence was the overwhelming theme, the preponderance of yellow ribbons, T-shirts and flags was an indication of solidarity with the jailed political prisoners.

Maria Marti Masvidal, Forn’s mother-in-law, said he was managing to cope with his incarceration.

“He is an intelligent and peaceful man, so he accepts how things are and spends his time reading,” she said.

“But it is hard for the families who try to carry on but don’t know when they’re going to see him again.”

Mike Thom, who is originally from Leith, lives in Barcelona with his wife Kirsty and their three children, and they are regulars in Viladrau.

He said: “People here love what The National is doing – taking the story of their support for independence and telling a wider audience far outside Spain.

“Many people here remember all too well the days of Franco. The events of October 1 brought back some terrible memories for them and they have no desire to re-enter the dark days of the dictatorship.”