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| Everything has changed |
For what seems a lifetime we have been campaigning for
something that will be over in (as I write) 24 hours or so.
Tomorrow will be a busy day, and there will be little
opportunity to blog, so I guess this is it until tomorrow night and it’s all
over bar the counting.
It’s been a fascinating experience, this referendum
campaign. Particularly in the last months, and most of all in the last few
weeks when people who normally don’t interest themselves in politics, finally got
involved and the place started to buzz.
I’ve written before that I have been astounded by the way
that for the first time in my lifetime, people have become engaged in the
political process. What we may have thought was a thing of the past, something
that belonged to a time before television, has been reborn. Town hall…village
hall …church hall meetings have been convened, as speaker after speaker toured
the country. People from politics, from show business, from trades unions and
from nowhere in particular have drawn packed houses on warm summer nights.
Unheard of.
This may be because the BBC and STV have been one-sided in
their coverage, and although that is a terrible thing for democracy, or what
passes for democracy in the UK, the grassroots meetings have, in their turn, been
a marvellous thing for that democracy.
You see, we find a way.
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| We have a handsome capital city |
And well over 90% of people eligible to vote have registered
to do so. An amazing statistic in this amazing referendum campaign.
People have said that the independence question has split
the country, but the truth is that all that it has done is show the divisions
that were already there. We’ve talked about them, and we’ve energised around
40% of the population that has never been energised before. That’s good for
democracy. There will be some politicians who will wish that it had not
happened.
And no matter what happens tomorrow, all of that has changed
Scotland. And changed it for the good. Whatever happens tomorrow and whatever Westminster
thinks, it won’t be the same on the 19th.
So, it’s no secret how I will vote. I’m not an emotional patriotic
sort of guy. That patriotism is the last vestige of the scoundrel isn’t far from
right. Send people to war with
inadequate kit and hardware and then cry over “our boys” as they come home in
coffins with a union flag draped over them, killed by bullets manufactured in
their own country and sold for profit to a dictator. Get misty eyed over a
monarch and centuries old English traditions, Nope, none of that is my cup of tea.
Scotland’s a fine place; it’s got fantastic mountains and
streams, and some great folk. But I’ve travelled a bit and I’ve seen beautiful
scenery and met warm kind decent people all over the world.
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| Career politicians in a seat for life because of a corrupt voting system. |
A country is about the way that it treats its people. And my
desire for self determination has always been about the fact that I don’t much
care for the way our country is run. I don’t like the fact that we value bombs
over hungry kids, or palaces over council houses. I don’t like that money is
the raison d’être for everything. That there’s nothing that can’t be bought and
sold… and run by seedy spivs.
There’s a place for that, but it isn’t in health or
education. It isn’t in care of the elderly or looking after children. It’s got
no place in prisons and policing or in providing the necessities of life like
water and electricity and gas.
But Britain will never change. Maybe people thought it had
after the Second World War. And it did for a while. But since the 1980s, it has
reverted to type. Class. The pretence of a democracy in which we all know money
and connections buy you what you need to make sure you never queue at supermarket,
never mind a food bank.
Being born to go to Eton and Oxford and then to find a niche
in a government, voted in possibly for life by an undemocratic system, with the
inevitable seat in a chamber of aristocrats, placement and churchmen at the end
of it. It belongs in the 19th century at the latest.
Britain won’t change. It probably doesn’t want to. But
Scotland probably does, and it surely could.
A new Scotland is possible. A Scotland where our foreign
minister could say, as the Danish one did recently… “There’s no one really poor
in my country… mind you, there’s no one really rich either”.
If we vote no, we will have agreed that the UK is OK. And it’s
not. Not by a very long way. But unless we force change on them, they will
never change, because it’s more than OK for THEM.
There’s so much more I could say, but there’s a thousand
other bloggers writing this stuff tonight and you won’t want to read Munguin till
bed time.
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| She worked so hard for this. |
So let’s vote tomorrow for a Scotland we can be proud of,
where the old don’t have to choose between heating and eating; where people who
are able to work can find work that pays enough for them to live a decent life,
and where folk who genuinely can’t work, can have access to a decent benefit
system. One that doesn’t make them feel like scroungers.
And here’s a wee suggestion. Let’s think for a second or two as we vote, of Margo MacDonald and of people like her, who fought hard for this
moment, sometimes all their lives, but just missed taking part in it.
**********
I've just noticed that over at Wee Ginger Dog, Paul has pointed out that there are strict laws regarding publishing material on polling days. It is illegal to publish any kind of exit poll or anything that could be so construed. I'm not sure to what extent blogs like this are included in the legislation, but i want to take no risks.
I'm not sure how to suspend comments on the blog and I'm not keen to do it anyway.
But I'll be out working most of the day and won't have time to moderate in any way.
I would simply ask you not to post anything illegal, or anything that you think could reasonably be construed to be illegal. If in doubt the best thing is to leave your comment till 10 pm.
Munguin doesn't want to do porridge!
**********
I've just noticed that over at Wee Ginger Dog, Paul has pointed out that there are strict laws regarding publishing material on polling days. It is illegal to publish any kind of exit poll or anything that could be so construed. I'm not sure to what extent blogs like this are included in the legislation, but i want to take no risks.
I'm not sure how to suspend comments on the blog and I'm not keen to do it anyway.
But I'll be out working most of the day and won't have time to moderate in any way.
I would simply ask you not to post anything illegal, or anything that you think could reasonably be construed to be illegal. If in doubt the best thing is to leave your comment till 10 pm.
Munguin doesn't want to do porridge!
Beautifully written piece Tris! Good luck to you and Scotland tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteLots of articles in the New York Times, Washington Post, and the other big papers in the USA today, and in the last few days.
The world is watching.
Danny
They and many others were watching the Livestream from Glasgow and the good wishes flowed from all corners as they could see that this can trigger a change throughout the world by breaking the warmongering ties of UK/US promoting peace instead.
DeleteThanks Danny. Your support through this long campaign, personal, and on Munguin's Republic has been much appreciated.
DeleteIt seems that the world is watching our tiny little country..
CH... let's hope that we do it, and that our example of a democratic split is an example to people all over the world. You don't need guns to get freedom.
Of course the UK had little choice to give us a referendum, after we did the impossible and elected a majority government in a system which was set up to ensure a coalition.. and at that a Labour led coalition at that.
But let's be grateful that we had that opportunity. Now lets hope we don't waste it.
Nice article. As I met Margo many times, thank you.
ReplyDeleteMargo had integrity sadly lacking in a large percentage of politicians and media friends.
DeleteThank you Marcia.
DeleteI never met her, but she was an inspiration, and it seemed to me to be such a tragedy that she died so short a time before the vote.
Margo has a place in our country's history
Aye CH. She said it like he saw it and if it hurt her own side, tough.
DeleteAnd it definately wasn't all about her.
I remember that her bill on euthanasia was not about people like her who could have, if she had wanted to, take a flight to Zurich and pay the Dignitas Clinic to stop the suffering. It was about poor people who couldnt afford a flight to Switzerland and had no way out in their own country.
Thanks for those sentiments tris as we have the power to change the world with a simple cross in the Yes box rather than a missile carrying drone.
ReplyDeleteI think I said before, that earlier this year I sat in a garden of remembrance in Dublin dedicated to the people who lost their lives in Eire's struggle against the British Empire. I said to my Hungarian fellow traveller how grateful I was that we had the chance to do what they did without one dead body... and although there has been some blood spilled (the little girl who was glassed at the OO march, and a guy given a good kicking the other night outside the concert hall, on one hand... and of course the lethal egg that Murphy got on his heid, on the other) with very little violence.
DeleteWe are lucky.
...so far, until the referendum is lost
Deleteor not
DeleteThese are the articles in American press that Danny was talking about. You might like to read them... Thanks Danny.
ReplyDeleteSample articles from the Washington Post and the New York Times (datelined Dundee):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/scottish-independence-vote-puts-british-leaders-on-the-line/2014/09/17/56420d28-3c33-4283-b31b-109df3e7b890_story.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/18/world/europe/scotland-referendum-on-independence.html
Other articles in the Times today and the last few days. This profile of Alex Salmond was published yesterday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/17/world/europe/long-road-from-fringe-to-scottish-referendum.html?_r=0
I too met Margo, wonderful woman. When I put my X, next to YES, I will have in mind the generations yet to come. It is for those of us past and present but, mostly for those not yet borne unto this world; that I, James Hannah Taylor, Will give the gift of hope of a better future..
ReplyDeleteJimnArlene
I wish I'd met her Jim...
DeleteYes... I guess that's another thing that we should think about. The future. That in 30 years time our kids will be living in a better country than we live in.
Washington Post article: Part 1
ReplyDeleteGLASGOW, Scotland — A referendum on Scottish independence that was once expected to collapse in resounding defeat was instead going down to the wire on Wednesday, with each side scouring lush Highland ridges, Gothic back alleys and rocky coasts seeking any advantage on the eve of a vote that could divide this island after three centuries of union.
The referendum has transfixed Scotland’s 5.3 million people, and analysts predict an extraordinary 90 percent of eligible voters on Thursday to answer a simple but sweeping question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”
But as much as the vote will turn on attitudes toward Scottish nationalism, it also will be a verdict on a group nowhere to be seen on the ballot: British politicians.
“It’s not that I’m against the English,” said Karen McGurk, an out-of-work mother of two who lives in state-subsidized housing on the south side of Glasgow. “But the politicians in London have behaved absolutely shockingly. They’re only for the rich.”
McGurk said she’s a firm “yes” voter, as are most of her neighbors on a block of modest red-sandstone houses that mixes working-class native Scots with South Asian immigrants. In another era, the area might have lined up firmly behind the Labor Party’s call to vote “no” — a position that has been joined by Britain’s two other biggest parties.
But residents said they were now relishing the chance to give the political establishment, Labor included, a kick in the teeth — even if it meant killing off Great Britain in the process.
The anger has many roots: a seemingly unending stream of foreign wars, a financial crisis that accelerated an already widening gap between rich and poor and an insular and privileged British political class that seems to only look after its own.
“Ten years ago, I couldn’t have imagined Scottish independence. But you have this extremely complacent leadership just taking people for granted across the country,” said Jamie Drever, 37, who has never been involved in a campaign before but was out knocking on doors to spread the gospel of independence in Glasgow this week. “They’ve inherited these grand old buildings and are harking back to a Britain that no longer exists. But the reality tells us that the British economy is in the toilet.”
The sour mood has offered “yes” advocates a golden opportunity.
Alex Salmond, the tart-tongued Scottish independence leader whose working-class origins set him apart from the privileged clique that dominates politics in London, has skillfully deflected questions about Scotland’s viability by reminding voters of their antipathy for the heirs to Disraeli, Gladstone and Churchill.
In the campaign’s closing days, Salmond has cast voters’ choice as onebetween “Team Scotland” and “Team Westminster” — the latter a reference to the palace in which London politicians ply their trade.
The three major British party leaders hustled up to Scotland last week after polls showed the referendum had slipped into a dead heat following months of comfortable leads for “no.” Salmond mocked them for caring more about their reputations than they do about Scotland.
Part 2:
DeleteOn Sept. 18, voters in Scotland decide whether or not to end their 307-year union with England and become the newest independent nation in the world. Truth Teller puts campaign ads for and against Scottish independence to the test. (Davin Coburn/The Washington Post)
“What Team Westminster seem to be concerned about is their own jobs,” he said.
Those jobs may very well be on the line. Prime Minister David Cameron could face a revolt in his Conservative Party, and calls for resignation, if Scotland splits the union.
His chief rival, Labor leader Ed Miliband, may have even bigger problems. Scotland has long been a reliable supporter of his left-leaning party in national elections. Without it, the remnants of the United Kingdom — England, Wales and Northern Ireland — could be Conservative territory for a generation or more.
Miliband on Tuesday tried to campaign for “no” at an Edinburgh shopping mall, only to have his visit cut short by a group of demonstrators who heckled him with calls of “liar” and “serial murderer” — an apparent reference to Labor’s support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The anti-London sentiment is not limited to Scotland, with polls showing profound disillusionment with politics across the United Kingdom.
Indeed, if Scotland breaks away, it will be the second anti-establishment earthquake to hit Britain this year.
The first struck from the political right. In May, the anti-immigration U.K. Independence Party was the top vote-getter in European Parliament elections, breaking a more than century-long streak of wins by either Labor or Conservative in national balloting.
The outcome was more symbolic than substantive since the European Parliament has little sway in domestic affairs. The anti-establishment wave in Scotland — coming from the political left — could have far more profound implications.
Without Scotland, the country left behind could be in need of a new name — South Britain has been suggested — and its identity as a global player will be badly shaken. The seat of an empire that once spanned the world would no longer control the top third of its own little island.
The United States has been reluctant to speak out on the referendum, mindful of its own history of breaking free from London. But U.S. officials worry that a “yes” vote could leave Washington’s closest ally distracted for years during negotiations with Scotland on the divorce, which would not become official until 2016.
Those talks would include the fate of Britain’s nuclear weapons — located north of the border on submarines based at a Scottish port — as well as Scotland’s desire to use the pound, its share of North Sea oil revenues and the future of the BBC.
British officials say they have made no contingency plans for a “yes” vote because they don’t expect it. But they have warned that a breakup could be turbulent — especially for Scotland.
Part 3:
Delete“It’s the uncertainty that is the killer of independence,” said Alistair Carmichael, the British government’s secretary of state for Scotland. “Ultimately, people will cast a vote for what will be best for them and their families. But with that enormous amount of uncertainty, you can’t be sure what you’re buying into.”
Scottish officials, led by Salmond, have dismissed such comments as scare-mongering. They insist that an independent Scotland would be more egalitarian and socially just once it is free of the austerity policies imposed by London.
On the working-class streets of Glasgow this week, many voters said they trust Salmond’s assurances. But others said they still have concerns about whether taxes, health care and energy costs would change under an independent Scotland.
Marco Guarino, a 54-year-old lawyer canvassing for “yes,” answered them with a question: “If you’re undecided, ask yourself whether Westminster wants to keep us because they’re valuable to us or because we’re valuable to them.”
Many converts later, Guarino called it a night, smiling with the satisfaction that Scotland had moved just a little closer to independence.
“Everybody,” he said, “hates Westminster.”
NYT article:
ReplyDeleteDUNDEE, Scotland — At the main office of the campaign for independence here, Jimmy Black, a local councilor for the Scottish National Party, described how supporters had distributed about 150,000 leaflets in the last three months, created websites and a half-dozen Facebook accounts, and handed out thousands of Scottish flags, or saltires.
Some 7,000 new voters have been registered in the city, said Stewart Hosie, a lawmaker in the British Parliament for the Scottish National Party. And on Thursday, he said, volunteers will be out to drive yes voters to the polling station and urge people to vote.
The scene was quite different at the headquarters of the no campaign in the city center: It closed Tuesday at 5 p.m., and on Wednesday, the day before Scots are to go to the polls and cast their votes, just two people were in the headquarters.
From the outset of this effort to obtain independence for Scotland, supporters have run a lively, enthusiastic, colorful campaign, reflected recently in polls that showed the referendum on independence from the United Kingdom too close to call.
continued:
DeleteActivists across Scotland, on both sides of the referendum, were preparing on Wednesday to make a final, full-fledged effort to energize their voters with last-minute emails and tweets, and to make sure that their supporters got to the polls.
For the no camp, a prime target is the so-called “shy voter” — those who havepreferred to keep their heads down in an increasingly acrimonious campaign. This group remains a crucial swing vote, largely reflected in polls as “undecideds.”
But evidence of the passion that the yes campaign has evoked among Scots was everywhere on Wednesday.
In Dundee, yes campaign leaflets and posters abound, and, thanks to its tradition of working class activism and a strong local organization from the pro-independence Scottish National Party, it appears to be holding up its reputation as Scotland’s “yes city.”
The boss of a transport company, Bob Costello, said he had stepped back from his business for the last two months, providing one of his 17 buses to the pro-independence campaign and spending much of his time handing out leaflets from a stall in Dundee’s main square.
Mr. Costello said he believed that Scotland’s oil wealth had been “misused” by politicians in London and looked back with resentment to his school days when, he said, Scots like him “thought we had to aspire to anything English.”
Near the main square, Tony Cox was campaigning for a small, left-wing pro-independence group called Stobbie for Aye — Stobbie being an abbreviation for Stobswell, a down-at-the-heel district of Dundee, and aye the Scottish term for yes. He said his group had persuaded around 1,000 voters to register for the first time, mainly people “left behind” by economic policies, and the enthusiasm was so strong that he said he “had junkies chasing me down the street to get registered.” His group also distributes official campaign leaflets in Polish for immigrant voters emblazoned with the word “Tak” – Polish for yes.
Outside Dundee things are different. Menzies Campbell, a former leader of the Liberal Democrats and an opponent of independence, said on Wednesday that his side had “a lot of support under the radar.” Speaking in Cupar, a town about 25 miles to the south of Dundee, he said the reaction he had received suggested “a majority in favor of staying in the union.”
continued:
DeleteCampaigning alongside him, Alistair Carmichael, also a Liberal Democrat and Secretary of State for Scotland, argued that yes campaigners are “in your face and no supporters tend to be less vocal.”
Getting people to display no posters has been hard. For example, Ciaran Folan, a retired broadcast engineer originally from Ireland, is an opponent of independence. But he does not have a no poster in his window because, he said, “some of the people on the other side are very aggressive.” He said, however, that he was “embarrassed” at how effective the yes campaign has been.
Nevertheless the Liberal Democrats expect between 300 and 400 supporters to help get voters out on Thursday in North East Fife.
In Morningside, an affluent area of Edinburgh, the yes office was busy on Wednesday offering literature, posters, flags and buttons, some of which were for sale.
“Some people come and give us the third degree, but I think we’ve got most of the answers,” said Ian Hay, 75, one of the managers.
As preparations for polling day were finalized, Alex Salmond, Scotland’s First Minister, was due to address supporters in Perth. “This has been the greatest campaign in Scottish history — and you the greatest campaigners,” Mr. Salmond was to tell supporters, according to draft excerpts from his speech.
“To our friends in the rest of the United Kingdom, I say this,” read the draft. “We don’t seek division, but rather equality. A new, better and harmonious relationship founded on our enduring bonds of family and culture.”
In Glasgow, a crucial battleground city, the two campaigns held rival rallies. “The people of Scotland will not be fooled,” said Dennis Canavan, chairman of Yes Scotland, to a cheering crowd of supporters. “There is only one guarantee of getting more powers for the Scottish Parliament and that is by voting yes.”
A few blocks away, the anti-independence Better Together camp held a “Love Scotland, Vote No” event, featuring placards with large red hearts. “If you have such a momentous decision to make, you need to have certainty,” said the leader of the no campaign, Alistair Darling. “For anyone in Scotland who has any doubt, be in no doubt — you have to say no,” he added.
Mr. Carmichael appeared to concede defeat over the contrasting quality of campaigns. But he said, “Campaign organization can only take you so far. It’s the equivalent of the marketing department in a business — it will only be successful if the product is sound.”
I popped into the Yes Hub in St Andrews Street today and it was mayhem but in a nice way with Eric, Mike and the other volunteers being run off their feet. Well done to all the volunteers who have made the Yes Hub in Dundee a success.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to second that. I was there myself for a minute or two handing back a few leaflets that I hadn't needed.
DeleteMet some lovely people as I was out delivering. Everyone smiling. There were two guys of Asian descent, both YES voters and I stood and chatted with them. They said most of the people they knew in the Asian community were YES voters.
'We have a handsome capital city'
ReplyDeleteI always say, Edinburgh is my favourite city in England :P
It's one of the nicest cities in the UK. Certainly my favourite, Dean.
DeleteI'm not sentimental about it from the "oor bonnie capital" point of view. I think Geneva is a pretty city and Paris is amazing.
I often think I'd like to live in one of the Oxfordshire villages, particularly when I watch a "Midsomer Murders". Then I remind myself that rather like Cabot Cove, it may be petty, but the chances of living long are remote.
Says it all when the Secretary of State FOR Scotland is urging a No vote. If there is a Yes vote will he be replaced by someone with confidence in Scotland.
ReplyDeleteWish you all well today and thank you for your attempts to make Scotland a more equitable and just society.
For Niko,
Come on, you KNOW it makes sense!
He's never been much of a SoS, has he.
DeleteWhen I think back to the fact that he was billed as the "BIg Beast" that was going to show the nationalists a thing or two... and he didn't have the nerve to debate with Eck!
Oh well. He had Portsmouth to look after.
Thanks for your good wishes, John.
Now let's get on and do it!
And, I think we can trust old Taz to do the right thing! A quick snap at Niko's heels as he is putting his cross, and Boab's yer uncle. He'll have voted for Scotland.
Every doorway is an opportunity to improve our relationship with God, which in turn leads to another opportunity. Those who pass by an opportunity to come closer to God will encounter additional doorways down the hallway; but we walk away from God every time we refuse to open a door. One must continually walk through doors to nurture and enhance a relationship with God.
ReplyDeleteJohn Bunyan from an English prison (1673-1678)
The pity is today of all days you chose an English Poet. There has been precious little God in the Better Together Campaign. My Husband shopping in Aldi this morning got glared at by an elderly gentleman who it turns out is a near neighbour. His crime, he was wearing his Saltire on his sleeve, such a heinous crime. Why all the sour faces Niko, after all you are winning are you not. (I trust that none of this is illegal)
DeleteNico, I've never had much of a relationship with God, I don't think there is one. Today though, I hand my hand firmly on the handle of the door marked independence, through which we as a nation will stride boldly, to a better future. Sure it won't be a land of milk and honey, but it'll a land where we can feed the hungry, house the homeless, care for the old and the sick. A better relationship with one and other as one, no matter of origin or belief.
DeleteJimnArlene
Helena
Delete“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
-Martin Luther King
Nah, worrying about one's relationship with god and slagging off Niko is perfectly legal ... :)
DeleteWe as individuals can only, despite the best of intentions, do so very little to help those who are suffering in the world - the lonely, the despairing, the despised, the cold, the hungry, those who are handicapped by fragility of mind and body and those who are left bereft of hope and aspiration by successive UK government but AS A NATION, YES WE CAN!
ReplyDeleteBravo!
DeleteJimnArlene
Hear hear, John.
DeleteThe much vaunted ring fenced international aid budget (where the domestic aid budget is being slashed) is only topped up because of the obligation on G8 members to pay up.
The alternative is to lose an opportunity for a photoshoot with the American president. And that's not gonna happen.
Good afternoon Tris and all at Munguins.
ReplyDeleteI was born in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. From my flat i can see her any time i look out my front windows. The Athens of the North , aye and much more.
Thank you for the blog Tris , your photo's and pics changed so many you would be surprised.
To all at Munguins. Good luck today.
Speak to you all after the vote. We will have lots to celebrate.
Thanks for the good wishes. Your support has been much appreciated Richy.
DeleteMunguin is rather jealous. He thinks that he should live within easy reach of the castle.
In it would be his preference.
I can't wait for tomorrow.
Well said everyone, except Niko of course though we all are entitled to our say. Thanks tris for this great blog and all the great posts and smashing pics. AYE Scotland we can show the world there IS a better way.
ReplyDeleteI've voted YES
Thanks M.
DeleteIt's been exciting today driving around transporting people and things with flags on the car. People have been so friendly, even the No people at polling stations have smiled and shared a quick chat.
Outside one polling station some lads were singing along to Proclaimers' songs on the balcony of their house. The atmosphere, despite the horrible weather here was fantastic.
Munguin was with me all day in the car, chatting up the women. (Mind you the youngest one was 80!) It's been fun and frustrating and hard and easy and ... It's been extraordinary.
Munguin voted YES and he instructed me to do so too...
Thanks for a great blog. It's kept up the spirits during the most negative spells of UK lying. Here's to us actually having a future rather than just a past.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words Iain.
DeleteIt's been fun to write it...
I'm not sure what its future is. I haven't really though about it.
I'll refer that decision upstairs!
here's to the future...
I just realised I had not thanked Munguin and Tris for all their hard work informing and entertaining us and keeping up the spirits through thick and thin. So thank you both again and I am very glad I found you both. Hektor did his bit this morning, with both blue and pink yes badges on, he is now bathed and ready for tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteThank you Helena for your support. We're glad you found us too.
DeleteGive Hektor our kindest regards! :)
Thanks for all your wonderful pictures and articles Tris, hopefully when we win you'll still be around to comment on the negotiations, between Westminster and Holyrood, one thing is for sure though Scots have come alive, and are debating on all manner of subjects.
ReplyDeleteActually, I was going to pack the blog in some time ago. But I decided to keep going to the referendum, and now I can't help thinking that negotiations might be fun to write about.
DeleteNo decision made yet, but there's a reasonable chance we won;t shut the blog down.
Munguin;s got the final word of course.
I've really been touched by all the kind messages.
Thanks everyone, from Munguin and me.
DeleteThis had been a fun place to comment on and you have been a great host.
I don't know what else to say.
Apart from, wherever you go from here, I will remember the good times.
Thanks so much, Douglas. I'm hoping that we can stick around together, all of us, for the next part of the story...
DeleteProbably best to do that, I think.
:)
Your support has been very much appreciated.
WOW... Cloch.
ReplyDeleteI guess the no lot don't really tweet much!
Except for one moron who wanted Andy Murray to have been killed in the Dunblane tragedy.
Any idea how you get the live stream of that. It is absolutely hypnotic
ReplyDeleteThe thought of listening to Danny Alexander and Ruth Davidson rabbit on was too much so switched off tv until nearer results coming. Like to echo what other have said. I've loved the blog and hope it continues.
ReplyDeleteI've a knot in the pit of my stomach though. Hoping for yes, fearing a No. Still what will be will be and at least folk got off their bums and voted.
Turnout at my local polling place at the primary school had a reported 80% turnout compared to the low 30's at the recent Euro election.
ReplyDeleteWe are winning this.