PRO-independence supporters and anyone who might be considering a Yes vote in the second referendum are invited to attend an innovative event in Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall at 7pm on Wednesday, October 30 called Scotland Moving Forward.
The event organised by the Edinburgh Yes Hub is part rally, part debate, part concert and wholly aimed at energising support for independence among activists and those who may be thinking of voting Yes next time around.
An inspirational panel of speakers has been lined up for the event which is the brainchild of Mike Blackshaw of Edinburgh Yes Hub.
He sees it as a successor to the highly successful event which the Hub held earlier this year.
He explained “I had seen the Nation films made by Lesley Riddoch and offered to help promote Norway, the last of her films.
“At a lunchtime on a Sunday in January we had 661 people in the Queen’s Hall to see the film and hear from Lesley.
“Now I feel with this second event it is time to try something different with a mix of speakers and music.”
National columnist Riddoch is again involved – “she is an inspiration, a Godsend to the Yes movement” said Blackshaw – as is her fellow National columnist Paul Kavanagh along with his Wee Ginger Dug.
Blackshaw approached the SNP for a speaker and was rewarded with Depute Leader Keith Brown volunteering to take part.
The co-leader of the Scottish Greens, Lorna Slater, will be the host for the evening and Colin Fox of the Scottish Socialist Party complete the line-up with all five giving an address and then participating in a question and answer session in which public participation is encouraged.
The entertainment will be proved by the singer-songwriter Amanda Brown – “she’s wonderful and should be a full-time professional” said Blackshaw – who is a familiar face at Yes events, and the ever-popular duo Johnston and Gordon, whose performance of Scottish music is redolent of The Corries.
Blackshaw has called the event Moving Forward for a good reason as the main focus of the evening will be on the future shape of an independent Scotland.
Blackshaw said: “I have asked each of the speakers not to look back or to talk about the bad things that Unionists do and say about the Yes movement, but to give us their ideas about what we are going to do when we are independent.
“Given the timing of the event, I expect Brexit will be mentioned, especially during the question-and-answer session, and I can tell you that in my part of Edinburgh the Brexit chaos has made a big difference to people’s views. But we need to look beyond that and beyond the second independence referendum to our future as an independent nation.”
Under 18s get free entry to the event: “We need them to tell us what we are doing wrong because it’s their world in future,” Blackshaw added.
Tickets are available from the Queen’s Hall Box Office and you can find more details on the website www.edinburghyeshub.info.
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