Shit Creek for the Scots. And it is entirely of their own making which is what makes it so sad.

Following the news this evening that MPs in the House of Commons have by majority, 498 to 114, voted to trigger the UK leaving the European Union I thought this cartoon is becoming more and more pertinent by the day.

Incidentally but of no real importance at this time (as we are talking about Scotland in the UK and it doesn't really count when it comes to votes) Scottish MPs voted 58 to 1 to NOT initiate plans to leave the EU. Scotland voted 62% to stay in the EU, but the UK Government as usual is ignoring the Scottish Government and the UK supreme court agreed that the Scottish Government and therefore the Scottish people's opinion can be ignored legally.

The harsh reality for Scotland now, at this juncture in its history, is that the governments of Estonia or Malta have more of a say about the future Scotland faces than the people of Scotland do themselves. And Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist branch office, wants to do all she can to ensure it stays that way, because in her universe everyone has the right to determine the path that Scotland treads except the people of Scotland .

And this is entirely due to Scots voting NO to their own country's independence in 2014. In September 2014 the question on the ballot may have said independence, but forget the terminology for a moment. What it meant was: Do you want Scots to have the power over their own lives or do you want to leave it up to whoever is in charge in Westminster?

UNEXPECTED COMMUNICATIONS and RESULTANT REVELATIONS FROM ENGLAND

Last week I was going about my business as you do when I received two communications from friends who reside in England and news of a third person who also resides in England.

What were these communications about? Was it something in their respective cities of Sheffield and Manchester (and also Nottingham)? It wasn't. It was about something happening in Glasgow and someone in particular and it was all good.

My first friend resides in Manchester. He has never understood my pre-occupation with Scottish independence and was against it, from the point of view (which I can understand from a person who doesn't know a lot of Scotland's position) of 'we should all stick together'. After all I have never subscribed to the view of independence for Scotland just because....

However Nicola Sturgeon's first speech at the SNP conference in Glasgow last week seems to have changed his views, although I had obviously working on him for some time. Recently it has not been that difficult to dent his belief in the UK, since he voted 'remain' in the recent UK wide referendum on membership of the European Union (when the UK as whole on the back of England and less so Wales voted 'leave'), he is a left of centre voter who is not a fan of Jeremy Corbyn and has no time for the Tories. He wishes Nicola Sturgeon was leader of a party which covered the whole of the UK as, he said, she is speaking his language as far as Brexit, services in Scotland, compassion and general style of leadership. If in Scotland she and the SNP would definitely be getting his vote in any imminent election. Unfortunately he can't vote for her however.

However this revelation was closely followed by another one, this time involving two people which made it even more amazing.

My second friend lives in Sheffield. He also voted 'remain' in the recent European Referendum and has been appalled by the fall out so far, from the xenophobic rhetoric of the campaign, to the rise in hate crime in England, and then on to the shambles afterwards. I have never 'worked' on him with any Scottish independence propaganda, as I never thought I had a hope of persuading him, although he is aware I am a member of the SNP and have been on and off since 1992 and was also aware of my involvement in the Yes campaign in the first Scottish independence Referendum campaign.

To quote...

Nicola Sturgeon has been very scathing about the Tories and she's right to be so. She is the best Prime Minister the UK has not had, yet?

He also has a close friend this time who stays in Nottingham which the next part of his communication was about...

I have a friend who is English from Nottingham and he has never had any faith in any of the political parties. When I called him today he had just joined the SNP and he said he was proud to be a card carrying member. He had voted 'leave' and now realised he had been conned into voting that way and had been sickened by the vacuum created by there being no plan of action to actually carry Brexit out.

He then went onto say of himself...

The SNP are the only way forward and I want them to be a UK wide party. Nicola Sturgeon is probably the only one who could help save the country. I don't agree with everything she says but I do agree with a lot of it and I am seriously thinking of joining the party myself. Theresa May is continuing the destruction of the country so we need Nicola Sturgeon to fight for our rights.

I am as astonished as anyone that an Englishman wants someone who stands for Scottish self determination to fight for everyone in the UK's rights. Not that I have any problem with it and indeed this is what seems to be her purpose i.e. in addition to protecting Scotland and Scots she is also trying to do the same for those in other parts of the UK.

I stated in response the obvious, i.e. that Nicola Sturgeon is leader of a party that only stands candidates in Scotland as the SNP is fighting for Scottish self determination and the best possible deal for Scotland as long as it remains part of the UK. Therefore Nicola could not without a major re-alignment be Prime Minister of the UK. His replied...

I would be happy if Edinburgh became the capital of the UK. People in the north of England have more in common with Scotland than London. Nicola Sturgeon is feisty and strong and knows her own mind. She isn't scared to fight her corner and would be a great UK Prime Minister. She couldn't do a worse job than Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Theresa May.

So there are my revelations from England! They definitely do set the cat amongst the pigeons.

UPDATE: As of 10.11.2016 I shared this article to my Google Plus account and was most surprised to have the hashtag #utterhorseshit attached by someone named Paul Baker. I want to tell him that I would not have believed the above if it hadn't actually happened! And therefore Paul Baker is in #truthdenial.

UPDATE: As of 14.11.2016 yet another English friend has contacted me this time from Somerset stating that as a Remain voter tired of the British Government's insular Brexit anti-foreigner rhetoric he too has come round to Nicola Sturgeon and her positive inclusive vision for Scotland and the UK and would have no problem the next time a Scottish independence vote comes around of being whole heartedly in favour of it. He just wishes he could be part of it with the same values in what would be left of the UK.

Which do you prefer Project Fear v Project Fear plus Project Hate

I have voted Remain. I believe strongly that something like the EU needs to exist and for Scotland to be a member. But the EU is far from perfect. 

Scotland is currently a sub-nation as long as it is in the UK

As long as we are a sub-nation within the UK Scotland is most definitely better of IN rather than out. 

Neither campaign inspired, both campaigns were #ProjectFear, but we did have a new development i.e. #ProjectHate from the #VoteLeave campaign and their more extreme bedfellows. 

Project Hate of Vote Leave actually made me definitely vote Remain

The Project Hate of Vote Leave actually made me definitely vote Remain when initially I was decidedly lukewarm in doing that, wondering whether to just abstain and not bother. 

I started off about 55% Remain and ended up according to an online questionnaire 81% Remain. So the leave campaign was very successful in making me go for the opposite of what they wanted.

What a difference in atmosphere between EuroRef and indyref

I am stuck between the atmosphere for this referendum in comparison to the last one that occurred in Scotland. 

It was also most definitely nothing like a General Election which the television commentators were comparing it to in England. There was nothing happening and nobody at the polling station. It seems just a mid summer overcast Thursday night in summer.

I have seen 3 Vote Leave stalls and one Vote Remain poster on one window. 

This compares with 15 Yes posters still displayed on peoples windows from the Scottish Independence Referendum almost 2 years ago.

I have also become increasingly concerned as the campaigns have gone on about the xenophobic rhetoric coming from the Vote Leavers. If people do generally feel that this relates to them and their lives then I am even more sure than I was that Scotland will most definitely be better of outside the UK but still in Europe.