While the results continue to be announced, the early enthusiasm that gripped the pro-independence campaign in the Scotland's capital Edinburgh appear to be fading along with the Yes vote's prospects.
What had begun as a vibrant street party was taking on a more sinister aspect even before the vote count had begun. As the crowd got increasingly boisterous, with beer and bubbly flowing freely, the jovial atmosphere turned. Instead of patriotic renditions of "Flower of Scotland," we were treated to angry tirades against the BBC for its perceived lack of impartiality.
As the group began to disperse into the night a few hangers on lingered outside of the Scottish Parliament building. But with disappointing results, particularly the shock No vote from Clackmannanshire, spirits (and flags) fell. A sizeable police presence seemed almost as disappointed by the modest turnout as they wondered through a mostly docile gathering.
Those who headed back into town to continue the evening's entertainment discovered that promises of pubs open all night proved less reliable than hoped. Presumably in frustration some took to antagonizing each other with one such incident leading to a fistfight breaking out over face paint.
The blow-out on referendum night was always at risk of peaking too soon, with the first results not announced till two. Those waking up tomorrow nursing the hangover from the night before will be hoping against hope that their discomfort isn't compounded by what now looks to be a likely loss for the Yes campaign.
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