Nope. I saw that too. Then saw Police report that just went up, where they say '"“City of Edinburgh Council estimate that 20,000 people took part in the march from Johnston Terrace to Holyrood Park."
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Events, rides etc.
OT - Internationalist March this Saturday
(59 posts)-
Posted 6 years ago #
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I had the impression that the anti-Trump march was very big = biggest I've seen in Edinburgh. How did it compare?
Posted 6 years ago # -
Well that was genial. Folk just laughing at the thirty fascists who gathered at St Giles to shout at us through a bullhorn.
Front of march reached Holyrood before we set off from Castle Terrace so big, very big, the biggest. Chatted to a lady from Corsica and a gent from Brittany who were intrigued by my tricoleur. Also grannies in blue bonnets, kids of all colours and adults from every social class.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Spotted the motorcyclists just there ripping thru Balerno. Large saltire of the nationalist persuasion on protuberant flag pole off the back.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I think I spotted Edinburgh Cycle Camera also but crowd too dense to approach. Black helmet with red stripe on the back?
Posted 6 years ago # -
@Rosie this felt bigger than the Trump march to me, but it was far more spread out to start with and ended in a far larger area. I got the impression that more people hung around after the Trump march proportionately. I'd say that the Make Poverty History march in the mid 2000s was possibly the biggest march that I have taken part in. That was far bigger than either.
Posted 6 years ago # -
It was clear that people had come from all over for this march whereas the Trump one felt very Edinburgh-centric; I spotted many people that I knew at the Trump march but I only ran into one group that I knew by the end today.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@jdanielp - Yeah - I saw quite a few people I knew at the Trump rally. I didn't go to the march but turned up at the Meadows and it took ages for the last people on the march to arrive.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Makes sense. Edinburgh the most international place in Scotland so possibly also the least nationalist place in Scotland? Alex Salmond (remember him) used to be good mates with Trump?
Do not get me wrong, I will vote for independence if the sensible and lovely Nicola S calls it.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Planned to go with number 3 son then found the memsahib was going to town for lunch so I had to watch the boys. As it turned out I had to go pick her up from town as there was an incident on the line at Easterhouse and the trains were off.
I watched this on the BFI web page instead:
Posted 6 years ago # -
@wfb
Great film. Ich weiß jetzt, was kein Engel weiß.
Posted 6 years ago # -
On the brief R4 top-of-the-hour news bulletin at 8pm, alongside Kavanaugh and something about GP appointments.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@sallyhinch, was it that people are keen to have an appointment with their GP and up to 14 other people?
Posted 6 years ago # -
That was the one
Posted 6 years ago # -
BBC at least mentioned it with an estimates of 20,000.
Pro 'Union for Good' counter demo was around 20 whatever.
Unionists could say their minimal demo was a good example of efficient manpower? Social media from their side suggested it was an angry demo - not true.I saw EdinburghCycleCam but at other side of crowd. We were joined by customer recently moved up from south of island. She found it less threatening than demos in London and enjoyed seeing the many dogs for yes.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I joined at The Tron probably just after the first lot arrived at Holyrood.
At that point the march was 45 minutes old, and some people were still static at Johnstone Terrace (according to twitter reports).
I have been on many marches/rallies and large sporting crowds - this was much larger than the 20000 someone stated.
AUOB have already got further dates and venues scheduled. I imagine the voices may grow in number again if the fiasco of Brexit continues to unspool.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@Nelly do you think AUOB will apply correctly to Historic Scotland for their future marches? I guess from their point of view they will be turned down on the political angle? But at least it will not look like a fiasco? AlternAtively the anti-trump rally ending at the meadows seemed to be better organised? Again, I am saying this as someone who will vote for independence in a second referendum. Nor do I wish to rain on the parade, it looked like a nice day out.
From the little I know of this it had a slight tinge of the - We do not need to follow your rules as we will do what we want to do as we have right on our side / the will of the people etc.if this is accurate at all, I do not like it.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I was minded to come and watch, just to see what was what and how many people might turn up, but I wasn't much for cycling because my arm is sore, so took the motorbike. I had the bright idea to head in from the east and swing past Holyrood. After all, it all sounded quite low key; if it wasn't for CCE I wouldn't have known about it at all.
Roadworks at Duddingston Road West meant a massive tailback and took ages to get through.
Roadworks on Willowbrae Road meant massive tailbacks; I was able to filter past most of it but had to go around Piershill.
Got to Meadowbank and Arthur's Seat, but the Police had closed the bottom end of Queen's Drive, so I went towards Abbeyhill, but they'd closed that too. Ended up back on London Road, so headed towards the east end. Massive tailback on Regent Road too, for no reason other than a big Rabbie's tour bus blocking the whole road just before St Andrew's House. Filtered past all that and got to the east end, but saw they'd closed North Bridge as well, so in the end I gave up.
Rode down Leith Street for Queen Street, picked up the A90 and went to South Queensferry to look at the bridges.
When I was coming back into town on the A71 I saw a whole bunch of motorbikes, one of which had two big flags attached to the back, one Saltire*, one Lion Rampant.
* It might equally have been a Yes banner. It was blue and white anyway.
Posted 6 years ago # -
if it wasn't for CCE I wouldn't have known about it at all
Newspapers, television and radio only grudgingly report these events. They do not announce them.
I notice from the front page of Scotland On Sunday that the march was to 'put Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP on notice' but no one I spoke to thought they were doing any such thing. It's all very odd.
I wondered about riding a motorbike with a fishing pole and two flags strapped to the back. Don't fancy it myself, not at the national speed limit anyway.
Posted 6 years ago # -
we want to do as we have right on our side / the will of the people etc
Yes that is an awkward aspect to the thing. Most people would have been quite unaware of any controversy. It's just a park after all, even if Her Britannic Majesty does claim to own it for some reason.
In the current scheme of abuses of power and imposition of wills I was willing to let it go this time as a rounding error, but I will attempt to suggest that future events be run by people with greater willingness to engage with municipal regulations.
Posted 6 years ago # -
...and the collapse of the peace process. To be clear, that's murder and death on UK steets.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Cyclingmollie - the more detailed results are even madder than reported. Brexit supporters are happy to see conflict in Northern Ireland and the break-up of the UK, but effectively want UK policy to remain in line with that of the EU on a wide range of issues after Brexit.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@gembo intrigued that you have changed your position on indyref. did i miss this in the indyref thread??
Posted 6 years ago # -
That rather startling survey surely puts the meaning of the word 'Tory' into flux. These are in some way anarchists, and not in the Spanish civil war anarcho-syndicalist sense, more like Russian anarcho-nihilists?
Maybe a political scientist is watching and can help?
Posted 6 years ago # -
@gembo - good question re application to HES for Holyrood.
It turned into a bit of "He said she said" for me.
What I know for sure is that, even if it was canned next year by HES and/or the police,all the people that arrived there could easily wander around together in Holyrood without "political stalls" set up.
Bit of a storm in a teacup, but it could have been resolved - and in a more elegant manner.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@nelly not a big deal the application saga. Meadows is a better venue than Holyrood park tho. I would like a march through the Queen's Park up to the meadows but Queenie won't agree that one. Would like madge' spark to have no traffic, but that is just me.
@srd, changed to Yes for Scottish independence post the Brexit vote. Keen to live in a country that is part of Europe. Alex Salmond being out the picture also helps.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@gembo couldn't agree more.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I think I'm agreeing with gembo. I want Scotland in both the UK and Europe. But given the way UK is currently acting, ie it looks like it is being run by spoilt brats. I think given a choice I would currently swing towards independence. However if such independence wasn't tied to a serious attempt to rejoin the EU I would have a lot harder time thinking about it.
Posted 6 years ago # -
In the park on the day, there was a strange 2-center feel to the rally. All the booths, stalls, music stage etc were set up at the far end of the parade ground, St Margaret's Loch end, but later arrivals just seemed to be stopping at the car park by the roundabout nearer the palace. That seemed to me to be the larger group, spreading out on the hillside and centred around the ice cream van. They even had their own speakers and sing-song going on.
I left around 3.30 back up the Mile and at that point there were still people marching down, but it was obviously near the end. Lots of people were leaving then so it was a good natured clash of currents on the Royal Mile.
Posted 6 years ago #
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