by Helen Halliday
IT WAS A SUNY October afternoon in 2018 and we were standing directly below Edinburgh Castle waiting with thousands and thousands of other enthusiastic supporters to start my first ever Scottish Independence March. As far as I could see ahead there was a sea of blue flags and banners. It was the same behind us. A jovial bubble of excited voices, drums, bagpipes and whistles filled the air creating a carnival atmosphere. All around us were smiling faces, friends, families, students, pensioners, people of all ages. There were Indy dogs dressed in saltires, kids in prams and people dressed up in costumes. I saw a range of flags from different nationalities but everyone was on a mission, united to march for a single purpose.