WE asked for your end of year reports and they’ve arrived in good numbers. We will get to them all in short order.
We are also looking to the year ahead and if any Yes-supporting group is planning anything in the new year please let us know and we’ll pass on the news.
Jane Phillips and Siobhan Tolland of Dundee & Angus Independence Group jointly wrote to tell us: “When the Dundee & Angus indy group got going at the end of 2017, somewhat tentatively and unsure of how to progress, we had little idea that we were going to grow so significantly in confidence and reach throughout this year.
“It quickly became clear to us that we were not built for the big set pieces: that our focus was on reaching out to communities in Dundee, helping them to think about how their lives would be transformed in an independent Scotland, under the title ‘Imagine Indy’.
“We went into Douglas and Lochee, both areas with more than their fair share of deprivation, putting on family days, which were enlivened by the presence of the Yes Bikers and the Dundee City Pipe Band. We also decided to show solidarity and support for our European citizens in Scotland on Bastille Day, July 14, celebrating their contribution and articulating our heartfelt desire for liberte, egalite and fraternite.
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“Of course, it is important to keep in touch with the wider independence movement across Scotland and to keep ourselves informed, so we also welcomed speakers, including Stewart Hosie, Paul Kavanagh aka The Wee Ginger Dug, Lesley Riddoch, Billy Kay, Greg Moodie, Maggie Chapman, Iain Black, and – in September – Philippa Whitford, who told it like it is, concerning Brexit and the catastrophic effect it will have on our health service.
“Philippa kicked off our health campaign in September – the first of many events that run into the summer of 2019. Working in our local communities again, we were invited by a local community group to do an event and health was the issue. It was a family event with a free cafe, face painting and games. We worked with local health groups, such as Boomerang, the local LGBT group, Scottish Unemployed Workers network, Tayside Cancer Support, Recovery Dundee, and CAB, who set up stalls and provided leaflets about their support.
“We have also just participated in the David Ho and Sandie Knudsen’s YYES – Portraits of a Nation, where some of our local activists are having images with positive independence messages produced. SIF’s generous funding allows us to produce large photo-quality posters of these from our new laser printer and generally to produce flexible high-quality material that can directly speak to our local communities.”
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Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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