SOME take the opportunity to make a political statement, others, a fashion statement.
There was no shortage of either as Holyrood's 129 newly-elected parliamentarians stepped forward to be sworn in.
It was a day to forget for SNP newbies Emma Harper and Gillian Martin, who the media were told in advance would be making affirmations in Scots and Doric respectively.
Picture: Ross Greer, the Green MSP, clenched his fist while saying his lines
After speaking first in boring old English, Harper scrambled for the Scots crib sheet to read from. "I need my Scots!" she blurted in a panic, before an apologetic parliamentary staffer whispered "we don't have the Scots". Harper, showing herself to be no Scots speaker after all, mumbled "that's fine, thanks" before swiftly backing out.
Martin meanwhile was perhaps hoping to impress her new constituents in Aberdeenshire with her grasp of the Doric dialect, or maybe distract from the fact that she was making an oath to "Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors", just weeks after it emerged she believed the Royals are "a bunch of inbred dysfunctionals". If she succeeded on the latter count, she failed miserably on the former.
"It's not there!" Martin cried, as it emerged that the Doric cheatsheet had gone missing too, rendering her mute and forcing her into her own hasty escape.
Picture: SNP minister Maureen Watt subtly crosses her fingers while pledging loyalty to the Queen
But she will not find herself lacking company if she wants a fellow Republican to drown sorrows with at the Holyrood bar, with new colleagues lining up to protest at being forced to verbally bend the knee. Nicola Sturgeon said her party pledged allegiance to "the people of Scotland" in a bid to keep her backbenchers in check. Patrick Harvie went further, backing an elected head of state. When Neil Findlay's moment arrived, he said that he considered the people "citizens not subjects" and that his allegiance was to them.
Picture: Angela Constance arrived in an eye-catching yellow dress
Elaine Smith and Mark Ruskell expressed similar sentiments, while Ross Greer, the youngest ever MSP at 21, expressed his contempt for the whole affair with actions rather than words. Fist-clenched, black panther style, he took his oath wearing a Kurdish flag pin badge.
Picture: Humza Yousaf said he wanted to reflect both his Scottish and Asian identities with his clothing
Stewart Stevenson stepped forward in the same suit he wore in 2001, Humza Yousaf went for a snazzy Scots/Asian fusion while Angela Constance shone, quite literally, in bright yellow, claiming the spotlight one final time ahead of her inevitable cabinet demotion next week.
Picture: Fulton MacGregor kept a low profile while seeking election but had no problem drawing attention to himself while taking his oath
But most eye-catching of all was Fulton 'No Show' MacGregor, who became infamous during the election campaign for repeated refusals to face his prospective constituents at hustings. Little explanation was offered at the time, but perhaps No Show was spending those long evenings perfecting his Bonnie Prince Charlie costume. Complete with his white rose, plaid and oversized brooch, the quiet man of the campaign put on the loudest display of all.
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