A Man in Assynt..

To celebrate 10 years of devolution, the Scottish Parliament ran a competition to identify a suitable quotation to add to the range of quotations engraved on the parliament's wall. I wrote in suggesting the above, which is taken from the poem "A Man in Assynt" by the late Norman McCaig. I was really delighted that my suggestion was chosen, and here is the photograph to prove it.

Assynt is a beautiful part of the north west highlands in Scotland. Land, particularly in the highlands, has long been a social, cultural and political issue, inspiring poetry and song as well as social and political conflict.

I had the great pleasure of knowing Norman. I hope he would be pleased to find his words carved onto the wall, and hopefully into the soul, of Scotland's parliament.

Who possesses this landscape?
The man who bought it
Or I who am possessed by it?
False questions,
For this landscape is masterless and intractable
In any terms that are human.