Last Autumn friends took part in the 500 Miles march from Portree in Skye to Holyrood in Edinburgh. As though that was not challenge enough, two of them have decided to go back on the road again and march from Holyrood to Westminster. Here is a poem written especially in their honour. Kenny and I caught upwith them in Edinburgh on the 6th October 2018 at the end of their first 500 miles, the photo was taken then.

Karl and Wren, The Ayes of March.

17th March 2019.

They marched five hundred miles before
And now, they’re off again
Not through the highlands’ wild terrain
Nor walking through our glens
They’re marching for our Liberty
Through England’s sleepy towns
Along a more serene terrain
For London, they are bound.

They travel light wi’ hearts afire
And with spirits soaring free
They march with honour and prestige
Representing you and me
Their shelter is a lonely tent
Their only comfort for the night
Where their company is each other
And their cause is Scotland’s rights.

Stinging eyes avert the rain
As incessant winds persist
But the elements, cold and bearing
Don’t stop these activists
Unaided, bar the straggling few,
Friends are seldom seen
But the pride flows from this distant pen
Will, for now, remain unseen.

They are called The Tartan Spartans,
Also known as Karl and Wren
I have only met them briefly, once,
Yet I’m proud to call them friends
Principled? Yes! Determined? Yes!
They walk where others failed
But they are made of sterner stuff
They will not be derailed!

Paul Colvin.
©