It's 23rd September which means I have now been living in (a non-independent) Scotland for 8 weeks pretty much exactly, and been practising as an F1 for 7. Time flies when you're having fun, eh...? Or just when you're too busy to realise perhaps..?!
There's been so much that is new to me. More so than I guess I've ever experienced. The working out how to get the bus, where to buy my toilet roll at 2230, where to grind your own almond nut butter (yes it exists and yes it's worth the walking 20 minutes out of my way to grind it myself!)... to who to trust... on the street, on the wards, and when to just trust yourself.
Then there was even a slight wave of politics that ran through me. Yes the #indyref as they called it.
I have never, ever been once remotely interested in what in politics - not when I was 16, despite spending most waking hours of my life physically in the shadow of parliament, and not now, despite many of my friends reminding me I should be otherwise. But this time was different. A question had been raised that might change the course of modern history. And Everyone (with a capital E) was talking about it. Yes and No posters lined and do still line the windows. Badges were being worn. The news was rife with Team Westminster vs Salmond - I couldn't escape it even on a treadmill!
It was when I started speaking to some students during my postgrad freshers week that I realised the seriousness to the situation. Some of them were a few years younger than me, fresh out of an undergrad degree or just a mature student about to start university a bit later in life. But I realised that whilst I was young and naive, they were even more so. In the same way I was a few years back. Their votes were their family's vote - not one that was informed and certainly not autonomous. This kicked me to go read up a bit more about both campaigns - there were plenty of flyers coming through our letter box but I needed less propaganda and more facts. And there hit the problem. There were few facts because most of the campaign was hinging on yet again politicians making up their own!
To cut a long story short, my conclusion was, that simply because of this, it most definitely had to be a No. The risks involved that would have surfaced if independence had been won were far too great. Salmond is charismatic, a true Scot at heart and in head, but I'm afraid I have to say the Yes campaign was based on little more than that; nationalists who wished their identities to be made official with a stamp and maybe a passport, and nothing more.
On Thursday 18th September, the day finally came, and even our hospital couldn't escape the excitement. There was talk of patients going on "day pass" so they could cast their vote, patients telling me they hadn't slept all night as they were listening to the radio, or the neighbouring patient was and so no-one in the bay had slept! There was a nervousness about.
On Friday morning, I awoke to read the news: Scotland has voted No. I felt a wave of relief. I didn't want to see the country I had just moved to potentially crumble to pieces even if it most probably wouldn't affect me! Things are good as they are. If it ain't broke therefore, best not to fix it.
I then drove past Yes campaigners drinking their sorrows away at 0730 in the morning sitting out on their windowledge. Our Scots will be Scots!
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