Ah well met my friend, just let me hang my soaked clothing up for the weather has turned to rain whilst I was attending my garden. What a past few days it has been with these isles that we live upon deciding to reject the community of the European nations and once more cut our own furrow in the ongoing story of human civilisation. Many folk that I know are now wailing and gnashing their teeth and prophesying the ruination and ultimately the division of these isles many folk  have come to call home.  But I have to wonder is it all bad or perhaps we are a nation of worm-tongues who are never happier than when we overlook the silver linings and just see the storm clouds instead.

     Already the folk who lost out by voting to remain under the faceless government of Europe are claiming that for some reason that this was an incorrect outcome to the referendum and are demanding another as not all of the country voted and that the statistics seem to point to the fact that the older generation largely supported the leave option when they have less time to live with the consequences of this decision.  The remain side also are accusing the leave voters of racism, bigotry, lack of understanding of the consequences and of being culturally numb! Our financial systems will now go into free fall, jobs will be no more and the environment will be destroyed all withing the next twenty four hours if rumour is to be be-leaved. But I wonder to myself my friend if this is to be the case, certainly not within the next twenty four hours m’thinks and maybe not at all. Of course there will always be consequences of such an historic and map changing event but are these consequences any worse or different to those of remaining a part of what many perceive is becoming a federal state run by faceless, un-elected politicians?

What do I think or believe? well my friend I have given some time and thought about this subject and have come to only one conclusion at the moment and that is at this very moment not one person has a clue what the future holds now that we have elected to leave the European community, any more than if we had remained. It will take time, and a great deal of it, to understand where this path we have chosen will now take us but hey I’m up for any adventure so we might as well tag along for the ride. I do think that the people who are now lamenting the withdrawal from Europe and with some of the rhetoric that is coming forth from their quivering lips that they should be totally ashamed of their response to this outcome. If the older generation did indeed swing the vote well so what? every person who is eligible to vote does so under their views and quite frankly the older generation has more experience and, as a general rule, have contributed to this country far longer than the youth of today. As for living with the consequences, well people have fought and died to give the people of this country the right to speak out and to vote in which ever way they deem fit. If the populace make an unwise decision then perhaps we should look inward at education and truthful information and not tabloid scare mongering and unfounded rumour? 

     As for the other insults being banded about such as racism, bigotry, a lack of understanding and the like well these ‘labels’ may be attached to people on both sides of any argument as these traits run, unfortunately so, through the very DNA of many humans no matter how civilised we consider our race to behave. Tis a sad fact that there are always people that will be unsavory characters within any population but to tar all because their vote did not tally with your own is, in my opinion, very childish and very uneducated. And as for being ‘culturally numb’? well these fair isles are steeped in their own culture which has been added to over centuries of population movement from east to west whether it be by invasion, trade or settlement we all have mixed DNA to some degree. But perhaps the people who voted to leave did not wish to be European but rather remain British with all the cultural attachments that come with it? 

Finance, environment and jobs? who knows the answers or has that crystal ball that allows one to peek into the future? Not I for one I can tell you, but one thing that has come to light and is certainly a silver lining is that the people of these isles made a decision and it shook our politicians to the core as they did not believe that we would step out of the line of sheep that they thought we had become and actually vote for ourselves and find our voice so maybe, just maybe from now on perhaps we will learn to use that voice and politicians will listen and act upon it instead of their own vested, self serving interests. As I have said before my friend to make change we must ensure that we use tools such as education and  provide truthful facts for people to learn and make decisions that are for the good of these isles and the environment that we all so depend upon.

Ah I see the clouds and their rain has cleared a tad, I think that I will just chance the outside for a while and get some planting done in my tiny garden. Please don’t get up as I am sure that there will be others seeking to rest and while away the time soon enough my friend. Oh did I vote to leave? well I should have guessed that my chatter would have made you think that way but no, playing the Devil’s advocate is always fun and even though the vote went against my hopes this time, there be only one path to follow now and we should help each other along the way, now where did I lay that trowel down…….

The road has been chosen