Another brick in the wall...
So, the terms for the Scottish Independence referendum were sighed off earlier this month. The surrounding debates rage on. It is frustrating to be disenfranchised, but deep in this article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20048521 written by a fellow expat Scot, remains hope of returning to my roots in future:
... in the event of independence, my Scottishness would gain legal expression. Under proposals by the Scottish National Party (SNP) government, the fact I was born in Edinburgh would entitle me to citizenship of a sovereign Scotland, even if I continued to remain in exile.
Phew! Well that's alright then. They'll let me back in too, despite spending all of my adult life in enemy territory. :-)) Could a vote for partition mean that I get drummed out of England on the stroke of midnight on a date as yet to be declared in 2014? Hiding behind an Italian married surname won't wash away my tell-tale accent...
Seriously though, as someone with a foot in both camps this is exciting and excruciating. My heart soars in a skirl of fierce 'clan' loyalty tinged with tartan-tinted nostalgia for primary school history lessons - we learnt nothing but Scottish history for the first years. Yes, that did include the Romans and the Vikings - at the thought of an independent Scotland. But my head acknowledges the fact that I chose to leave my country at the first opportunity, and in reality have always found multiple reasons not to return for longer than a fortnight ever since - the weather plus close proximity to said 'clan' being part of the overall equation! Being British, as opposed to simply Scottish, has suited me very well.
Although this year with the jet stream so low, the summer was actually very much better in the north, Mr T and I continue to toy with the notion that we'll retire to not-so-sunny Scotland one day. Born in England but coming from a newly immigrant family, he has no particular affiliation to any region, and is quite content to adopt mine. Our children already regard Edinburgh as their second home, so they'd be quite content for us to relocate there in due course. My parents' house remains the hub. The next few years are bound to see a lot of changes, not least in family circumstances. Decisions really will need to be made. It's going to be interesting.
Of course historically (or perhaps hysterically) the Scots have been 'granted' separation before:
[From Private Eye issue 1325, 2012]
Yes I'm a patriotic expat, proud to be from unruly and unconquerable stock. And no, marrying an Italian does not mean that I succumbed to Roman conquest as soon as I escaped over the wall. Or maybe it does. Just not immediately. Ye gads, all this colonialism stuff is complicated. :-))
... in the event of independence, my Scottishness would gain legal expression. Under proposals by the Scottish National Party (SNP) government, the fact I was born in Edinburgh would entitle me to citizenship of a sovereign Scotland, even if I continued to remain in exile.
Phew! Well that's alright then. They'll let me back in too, despite spending all of my adult life in enemy territory. :-)) Could a vote for partition mean that I get drummed out of England on the stroke of midnight on a date as yet to be declared in 2014? Hiding behind an Italian married surname won't wash away my tell-tale accent...
Seriously though, as someone with a foot in both camps this is exciting and excruciating. My heart soars in a skirl of fierce 'clan' loyalty tinged with tartan-tinted nostalgia for primary school history lessons - we learnt nothing but Scottish history for the first years. Yes, that did include the Romans and the Vikings - at the thought of an independent Scotland. But my head acknowledges the fact that I chose to leave my country at the first opportunity, and in reality have always found multiple reasons not to return for longer than a fortnight ever since - the weather plus close proximity to said 'clan' being part of the overall equation! Being British, as opposed to simply Scottish, has suited me very well.
Although this year with the jet stream so low, the summer was actually very much better in the north, Mr T and I continue to toy with the notion that we'll retire to not-so-sunny Scotland one day. Born in England but coming from a newly immigrant family, he has no particular affiliation to any region, and is quite content to adopt mine. Our children already regard Edinburgh as their second home, so they'd be quite content for us to relocate there in due course. My parents' house remains the hub. The next few years are bound to see a lot of changes, not least in family circumstances. Decisions really will need to be made. It's going to be interesting.
Of course historically (or perhaps hysterically) the Scots have been 'granted' separation before:
[From Private Eye issue 1325, 2012]
Yes I'm a patriotic expat, proud to be from unruly and unconquerable stock. And no, marrying an Italian does not mean that I succumbed to Roman conquest as soon as I escaped over the wall. Or maybe it does. Just not immediately. Ye gads, all this colonialism stuff is complicated. :-))