I did my first bit of canvassing today, for Yes Scotland. That's Green Yes Scotland.  But I have to confess I'm finding it a little difficult to entirely nail my colours to the mast. That's both the Green mast and the Yes mast.   Where politics are concerned I am a natural commito-phobe, but the truth is, I do want to be involved. I'm like someone who wants to be married, but finds it difficult to settle for any particular husband.  (Actually I have been married to the same husband for over 35 years, so that's not a very good example.) The Green Party is the one that comes closest to my politics but I do have some differences. For example I'm a monarchist.  We had a conversation about this at breakfast and I ended up agreeing that I was happy to vote for our ceremonial leader rather than have them inherit the position, but I want them to be called the King of Scotland. Or the Queen.  So I'm only sort of a monarchist.

So why was I canvassing? Well, I thought, if we are about to begin to live "in the better days of a better nation" then I want to feel I played a part in making it come about. And if we vote No, then I want to feel I did my bit to try to stop it. I suppose that does make me a yes voter. But when people say things like - the UK isn't really such a bad country is it? I can't help but agree. In the context of a world that contains Palestine (for one set of reasons), Israel (for another set of reasons), Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Russia, or the USA, Zimbabwe, even India, China, or South Africa. Compared to that lot the UK is really doing okay.

The thing about canvassing when you're a definitely maybe, is that you can completely see where people are coming from when they express doubts. How do I know an independent Scotland will be better rather than worse?  How do any of us know?  That's the future for you - its horribly opaque.  Wouldn't it be galling if the rest of the UK  got rid of its current government and started to build a flourishing, Scandinavian-style social democracy and Scotland got taken over by a bunch of thieves and got turned into an American type neo-Con nation? I have these fears too.  But honestly, how likely is it, I ask myself?  On balance I think there is no reason why we Scots shouldn't make a perfectly good job of running Scotland, like we do already so far as the devolved issues are concerned.  Like the Norwegians and Norway? Well, maybe not quite - that might be going too far. I mean we are Scots and they are Norwegians.  But do I want to go on living in a country whose government is chosen by the Daily Mail reading, immigrant hating, climate change denying floating voters of Middle England?  No, I don't. So I that's why I ended up canvassing.  I thought - I should canvass, because I'm going to be voting Yes.  Definitely, er um, well, maybe. Almost certainly. Yes.