IT HAS become one of the most popular features of the Scottish Parliament building. Carved into the grey wall facing on to Edinburgh's Canongate, the quotations from celebrated Scots are established as an attraction in their own right.
Now the search is on for another wordsmith to join the likes of Robert Burns, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Robert Louis Stevenson, Alasdair Gray and Andrew Carnegie by having their words immortalised at Holyrood.
Plans were unveiled yesterday to mark the tenth anniversary of devolution by adding a striking new quote to the 25 already on the Canongate wall.
How about (with apologies to Dante):
Abandon hope all ye who are governed from here
And for a more *Scottish* feel, this from Bahamas' Sean:
There's a lot of fantasy about what Scotland is, and the shortbread tins, parliaments, despotic First Minsters and that sort of thing.
I may have paraphrased.
But my final choice is:
This is a sorry sight.
From Macbeth, of course.
Any more suggestions?
4 comments:
How aboot;
"Gie's peace ya Unionist bore!"
Might I suggest that we honour our incumbent First Minister by inscribing one of the following, so that everyone can appreciate his great insight and prescience?
“The Scottish banks are amongst the most stable financial institutions in the world.” - Alex Salmond (2008)
“The Union whose boasted advantages grow ever more feeble has had its chance. It will not see its 300th anniversary.” - Alex Salmond (1999)
The old favourite from Billy Connolly.
"They know damn fine where I'm coming from. It's entirely their fault, this new racism in Scotland ... There's a viciousness to it now that I really loathe and it's the SNP's fault entirely."
That would look well.
Connolly would never get a quote in a million years vis a vis the parliament. He really hacked off the Scottish establishment in 1994 by dancing outside Parliament House saying
"I am glad its fucking closed! Because the less parliaments, the less politicians, the less patriots, the happier I am!"
He has never really been forgiven in political terms for that.
Particularly after a few years later he was wondering about Ireland going on about the 1916 and Casement at the Old Banner Strand etc.
Connery is a hypocrite, aye. But so is Connolly, as much as I admire him.
For me, maybe a quote from Fletcher of Saltoun again (he already has a quote on the wall - quite appropriate) when he complained a union, particularly an incorporating one would lead to all power and treasure of these islands being drained down to the south-east of England (this was the early 18th century he predicted this) meaning all the important stuff in the UK would be centralised in the first place most easiest to invade from the continent!
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