Events

Scotland Unveiled. A Dutch Eye-View.

Scotland Unveiled: A Dutch Eye-View

GlasgowP4Indy

Scotland Unveiled: A Dutch Eye-View

This is from last year… Sorry, we meant to post it back then but it slipped down our to-do list. And then the link to the film changed, etc etc. But better late than never.

Scotland Unveiled: So early last year a group of young journalists from the Netherlands contact various independence groups asking us to take part in a project. That project was to make a documentary about the independence movement in Scotland. The result was three short videos from their Scottish travels.

Part one is called “The Protest”

They timed their trip to coincide with our Believe in Scotland / Pensioners for Independence March in Glasgow in April. And shucks, Mary McCabe features in it!

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The second part is about Scottish Gaelic.

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And part three is called “The Disappearance of Culture? “

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Always interesting to see yourself as others see you. Thanks Thomas, Leon, and Cathelijn.

Best ways to support Pensioners for Independence

We are passionate supporters of Scottish independence. Currently we are running twice weekly stalls in Glagow City centre, and a fortnightly stall in Milngavie. Our Glasgow and Edinburgh Groups organise regular meetings with guest speakers. Get in touch, we are always happy to see new folk at our stalls and meetings.

Subscribe to our Newletter. You can sign up using the form at the rhs side of this page. And if you’ve enjoyed a post here on the website, please share it, tell your friends and family.

Follow us on Social Media. It all helps to extend our reach and be visible to more people. Just click on the buttons and join our on-line community.

If you can give us a donation, we will put it to good use. You can donate using our PayPal account. Use the button link at the rhs of this page. You don’t need to have a Paypal account yourself to use it.

Europe Day. Scotland Goes to Brussels. Yes4EU

Scotland Goes To Brussels!

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Scotland Goes to Brussels. This week a delegation of Independence supporters went over to the EU Parliament to talk to and lobby MEPs sympathetic to our campaign for independence.

Scotland Goes to Brussels. Scottish IndyPodcasters. Pensioners for Independence.

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The group included Yes4EU, Europe for Scotland, two former MEPs, and the Scottish IndyPodcasters. One of the IndyPodcasters is Marlene Halliday and she made sure she had our Pensioners for Indy T-shirt with her!

There will be much more to say about the outcome of this venture. For the moment let’s just was a very successful trip. So keep a look out in the press and on social media.

And obviously BBC Scotland will be asking Laura Kuennsberg to interview everyone who was there. Not!

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Europe Day, 9th May

But what will definitely happen is a free event in Edinburgh on Europe Day, 9th May, organised by Yes4EU. This year is special as it is the 75th Anniversary of the Schuman Declaration which ultimately led to the formation of the European Union.

The event is called Scotland in Europe: Good for Scotland, Good for the EU It will be an opportunity to hear how an Independent Scotland would be welcome back into the EU family of nations.

Europe Day. Scotland Goes to Europe. Yes4EU

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We will hear messages of support from current MEPs and others, recorded during this week’s fact-finding mission. Former Scottish MEPs Heather Anderson and Alyn Smith joined that trip and they will also be at the Europe Day event.

Yes4EU is aiming for a lively discussion exploring the positive impact of Scotland’s presence in the European Union. And that positive impact is not just for Scotland itself, but for the wider European community. There are opportunities that being part of the EU will bring to Scotland. But let’s remember that will also contribute to the overall prosperity of Europe.

Until 9th May, here are some photos from the Brussels trip

Europe Day. Scotland Goes to Europe. Yes4EU
Europe Day. Scotland Goes to Europe. Yes4EU
Europe Day. Scotland Goes to Europe. Yes4EU
Europe Day. Scotland Goes to Europe. Yes4EU
Europe Day. Scotland Goes to Europe. Yes4EU

One of the people who was contacted for suggestions on how to approach the Scotland Goes to Brussels fact-finding mission over to Brussels was European commentator Kirsty Hughes. Kirsty has been a guest speaker at several our of Edinburgh Group’s meetings.

Best ways to support Pensioners for Independence

We are passionate supporters of Scottish independence. Currently we are running twice weekly stalls in Glagow City centre, and a fortnightly stall in Milngavie. Our Glasgow and Edinburgh Groups organise regular meetings with guest speakers. Get in touch, we are always happy to see new folk at our stalls and meetings.

Subscribe to our Newletter. You can sign up using the form at the rhs side of this page. And if you’ve enjoyed a post here on the website, please share it, tell your friends and family.

Follow us on Social Media. It all helps to extend our reach and be visible to more people. Just click on the buttons and join our on-line community.

If you can give us a donation, we will put it to good use. You can donate using our PayPal account. Use the button link at the rhs of this page. You don’t need to have a Paypal account yourself to use it.

AUOB March & Rally

AUOB March & Rally

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Stories from the March: Glasgow 4th May 2024 – Indypodcasters Fiona and Marlene join the March for Scottish Independence, organised by AUOB.
Here are some stories and opinions from folk they met along the way:
  • 00:30 Jacobites
  • 01:09 Yes 2 and memories
  • 04:18 Big blue flags!
  • 06:42 Solidarity Saltire
  • 07:04 Richie Venton, SSP
  • 07:30 Freedom Come All Ye singalong
  • 09:58 March sets off
  • 16:36 Alex Salmond, Alba
  • 19:03 Refugees are welcome here
  • 20:34 View from the Bridge

Well done to everyone who took part and thanks for stopping to chat with us! Marlene is still chuckling at being mistaken for Val McDermid!

Stories from the March Scottish Independence

You can find the livestream of the whole March & Rally event on the IndependenceLive YouTube channel.

IndyPodcasters have just released an audio podcast of the speeches from the End Pensioner Poverty March for Independence last month. You’ll find them here: Speaking Up for Scotland. Or have a look in their Grassroots Indy Campaign playlist.

Speaking Up for Scotland. Independence Rally

Yes! Speaking Up for Scotland

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April saw the first Independence Rally of the year, organised by Pensioners for Independence and Believe in Scotland. The theme of the event was #EndPensionerPoverty. This podcast brings together the speeches from the independence rally – minus the obligatory comments about how wonderfully sunny the weather was!

Speaking Up for Scotland:

The speakers included writers, trade unionists, poets, anti-nuclear campaigners, film-makers, politicians, activists, musicians, journalists. And one old age pensioner who also happens to be a podcaster. You’ll recognise her!

  • 00:50     Pat Kane (musician and journalist)
  • 06:11     Jane McAllister (film maker)
  • 12:47     Gordon Martin (RMT trade union)
  • 18:47      Ross Greer (Scottish Greens)
  • 23:07      Iona Soper (activist)
  • 28:57      Richie Venton (Scottish Socialist Party)
  • 37:21      Marlene Halliday (Pensioners for Indy – and Indypodcaster!)
  • 43:54      James Robertson (poet and author)
  • 49:50      Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp (Believe in Scotland)
  • 57:20       Humza Yousaf (First Minister)

Scottish Independence Podcasts filmed everyone as the march entered George Square. It’s on their Youtube channel. See if you can spot yourself or your pals: Believers in Scotland March Into George Square . And there is a review of the event in their blog – looking at things like did the message get through? how successful an event was it? any improvements for next time?

The whole march and independence rally was livestreamed by Independence Live and can be seen on their Youtube channel.

Independence Rally. Speaking up for Scotland
End Pensioner Poverty. Glagow March for Independence

Let’s End Pensioner Poverty

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End Pensioner Poverty was the theme of Saturday’s march and rally in Glasgow.

End Pensioner Poverty. Glagow March for Independence

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Pensioners for Indy partnered with Believe in Scotland to put on this event. it was a big jog and we have been involved with the planning of it over the past six months. Members from our Fife, Glasgow, Selkirk and Ayr groups were in the steering group, along with some of the Believe in Scotland team.

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Marlene Halliday, who is Treasurer of our National Coordinating Group as well as a member of the Glasgow Group,was one of the speakers at the rally.

There are two suggestions for action in Marlene’s talk. One is about addressing pensioner poverty by creating a Scottish Pensioners Payment similar to the Scottish Child Payment. The second is about addressing the two thirds of older voters who are still not convinced about independence. She intends writing her speech up for the National and if possible talking to Young Scots for Independence at their conference next month.

Here is her speech:

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Mary McCabe, Co-Convenor of our National Group as well as a member our Greater Glasgow group, has written some more about the day:

Saturday was a glorious day in all senses. Even the sun turned out for the first pro-indy march of 2024. 

This was the first time Pensioners for Indy has been involved at the organisational level of a major demonstration (in partnership with Believe in Scotland) and members from our branches in Edinburgh & Lothians, Selkirk, Dumfries & Galloway, Fife and of course Greater Glasgow all brought their banners to march behind the big horizontal banner we’d commissioned for the occasion. Alan Logue, our National CoConvener, brought his Indy-Trailer to park beside our stall. Thanks also to Sheena Stephen and Neil Querns-Anderson who stayed in George Square looking after the stall while the rest of us were away on the march. 

Speakers included First Minister Humza Yousaf, Iona Soper, James Robertson, Jane McAllister, Pat Kane. Other celebrities who turned out included Martin Compston. Marlene Halliday, our esteemed National Treasurer, made a rousing and informative speech on behalf of Pensioners for Indy. She also got to walk along next to Martin Compston at the head of the March!

End Pensioner Poverty. Pensioners for Indy

We were joined by pro-Gaza marchers who chanted “Freedom for Palestine; Freedom for Scotland; Freedom for Everyone.” 

Our flags and T-shirts and Morag Simpson’s delicious fruit cakes flew off the Glasgow Pensioners for Indy stall. I sold a copy of my novel “Two Closes and a Referendum” and with donations we made £188.60.

Onward and Upward. There are at least a dozen more pro-indy marches planned for 2024 with the first (under the auspices of All Under One Banner) being again in Glasgow in a fortnight’s time, on May 4th.

Unfortunately the recording didn’t pick up Mary’s vote of thanks but it did get her very final words of the day. Let’s not forget them.

If you’d like to know more about how the thinking behind putting on this rally and what its aims are, have a look at our blog post Pensioners on the March!

Turns out Robert Littler of our Glasgow Group videoed all of Mary’s vote of thanks at the end of the Rally. Thank you, Robert!