Enlightenment

There is an aspect of independence that I have not yet seen addressed in The Scotsman. Set aside for the moment the need to change our groats and bawbees into sterling when travelling south. Ignore the custom posts and passport control at the Border. Avert the eyes from the signs reading “Welcome to Scotland, twinned with North Korea”. Think about time zones.

It is well known that many people, mostly in England, would like to have year-round British Summer Time, but are frustrated by a minority –
mostly in Scotland – who seem to 
believe going to school in the dark is somehow much worse than coming home in the dark. (I say nothing of those who apparently believe that “changing the clocks” provides an extra hour of daylight! The debate on educational decline goes on elsewhere.)

The answer is obvious and, following independence, will surely happen sooner rather than later. England will operate on BST and Scotland on GMT. London an hour ahead of Edinburgh; Berwick an hour ahead of Coldstream; the BBC schedules (or should that be the rUKBC schedules?) an hour different from Scottish programmes.

What jolly fun it will all be.

Norman D H Murphy

East Saltoun

East Lothian

I am looking forward to 18 September, 2014, because on that day my first and present wife and I will celebrate our 43rd wedding anniversary. There will be a minor distraction in having to register our No votes in the independence referendum, but I am sure we will find time to fit that in to the fun-packed schedule planned for the day.

However, I am not so sure that I will be able to stand a further nine months of daily doses of propaganda from the SNP, none of which has the slightest chance of changing my mind. Why can’t we hold the referendum now and save us all from any more suffering?

I would venture that the result would be the same as it will be next September.

Gordon K Lawson

Dornoch

Sutherland