So glad I could get along to the #EdinburghSeesSyria vigil at the Parliament. Asylum and refugee issues are an issue I care about, and at work we care about. Proud we’ve cared about it for years, before anyone else cared. Proud that many of our Scottish team were out in George Square or Holyrood. My colleague Amal Azzudin, of Glasgow Girls fame addressed the Glasgow crowd ahead of a humanitarian visit she is making to Lesvos late this month.

We weren’t able to be there this afternoon for the mass rally but somehow it seemed more intimate to visit, see, hear and feel in the dark, where literally outwith the candle light it wasn’t possible to see the colours of skin, only to feel the safe presence of like minded humans.

With the election of Jeremy Corbyn it’s apparently a new politics. It’s not so new here, but this encapsulates it. Two kids, one who I heard had been there for hours, assisting another child to light a candle in the dark, observed by someone recording events on a smartphone for social media. Solidarity, authenticity, citizen media and instant sharing. Brave New World.

Let’s say #RefugeesWelcome and embrace the future compassionately.

*Technical note – shot with the wrong lense…had to use the one on the camera…f4 meant some very high ISOs, 12800 for the dark shots.