You may have noticed that, until now, I have avoided the 'Scottish question'. This is because I can't make up what passes for my mind on this prickly thistle of a problem. In essence, my head is saying one thing and my heart another. From 'down here' it's like living next door to a grumpy, scrounging, bagpipe-playing Jock who insists on interfering in matters that do not concern him! But on the other hand, after all these centuries of shared turmoil and triumphs which have seen Anglo-Scottish blood spilled on every continent, it is difficult to even imagine life without them. Anyway, I thought, there's no chance a majority of them will be daft enough to cast themselves away and into the clutches of the malignant morons who run the European scam.
However, I have been provoked out of this disgraceful complacency by a piece at The Coffee House by Hamish Macdonell who reports on the most recent opinion poll which shows a sudden increase in the 'Out' vote. Suddenly, the gap has closed and there is a very real chance of Scotland voting for independence. According to Macdonell, part of this sudden surge may be due to the ScotsNats' method of spreading their message. Apparently, they have eschewed the media which is solidly against them and instead they have concentrated on old-fashioned 'village hall' electioneering'! Their technique at these meetings is to avoid confrontation but quietly to steer the 'debate' in their direction. If this recent poll is accurate then their technique seems to be working.
