There’s an historic vote coming up: the Scottish Referendum on independence.
On September 18, 2014, Scottish voters will decide whether Scotland becomes an independent country (vote = YES), or remains part of the United Kingdom (vote = NO).
Polls have consistently shown voters leaning NO (against independence), though the gap has narrowed in recent weeks.
I recently did an illustration on the Referendum for London-based Diplomat Magazine. The concept: competing bagpipes.
The one on the left shows the Flag of Scotland, with the pipes spelling out YES for independence. The one on the right shows the Union Jack, with the pipes saying NO, preferring to remain in the British Union.
I submitted several other ideas that weren’t selected. One was based on the uniquely Scottish sporting event called the caber toss, in which competitors toss a long wooden beam.
How on earth did this sport originate? One interesting theory: from the need to toss logs across chasms, in order to walk over them.
I was surprised to learn that distance thrown is not important in the caber toss. Rather, it’s a matter of finesse: the objective is to flip the caber end over end, so that it lands on its head and falls away from the tosser.
I don’t know if the guy on the left below is a member of the Armstrong Clan, but he should be.
And of course I had to do something with good ol’ Nellie, the Loch Ness Monster, who seems to be keeping a low profile these days.
Hmm. She appears undecided at this point. She’ll certainly cause a sensation if she shows up at the polls on September 18th.
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Are you familiar with the referendum? Would you care to share your thoughts on this complex issue?
Are you a fan of bagpipe music? Any pipers in our reading audience?
Have you ever tossed a caber, and were there any fatalities??
Hope you’ll leave a comment.
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