THE success of White Rose Day on Saturday, which saw people across Scotland make quiet protests against our removal from the European Union against the will of the Scottish people, have led to suggestions that nationwide demonstrations should take place if or when Brexit actually occurs.
The National has learned that several groups of activists are considering “flash” demonstrations on the day Brexit happens, whether that is April 12, May 22, or whenever Theresa May – or her successor – can actually lead the UK out of the EU.
Since Saturday, The National has been inundated with pictures and stories of White Rose protests by individuals and groups. As well as those mentioned in the Sunday National yesterday, there was a concerted effort in Stirling to distribute white roses and the poem by Hugh MacDiarmid that sparked the idea, The Little White Rose of Scotland.
Alford in Aberdeenshire saw white roses pinned in the village centre, while Yes Midlothian in Dalkeith held the first street stall of the re-established group, all sporting hand-made white roses.
Yes Berwickshire were out in Duns, while the poet Robert Fergusson’s statue on the Canongate in Edinburgh was decorated with a rose and a leaflet explaining the event.
Dunoon saw the white rose and Saltire displayed, while Yes Marchmont and Morningside took their roses and message to the Meadows in the capital.
Lillian MacLeod climbed to the top of Temptation Hill on the Isle of Raasay to show off her spray of white roses, while Laura MacPherson Zieger, her adopted granny and close family friend Erica Jakobs showed their international solidarity in Findhorn and many more.
Ian Richmond, of the day’s originators Dumfries and Galloway Pensioners for Independence, frankly admits that he doesn’t know how the real Brexit day should be marked.
“It is all up in the air,” he said, “and there are so many permutations ahead, so we need to wait and see and have a wee think about it.”
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