No, I'm suggesting the decision to hold the date during the "Year of Homecoming" is not a coincidence. Even Salmond has said he wanted the referendum in 2014

"but surely you are wise enough to know that that doesn't actually mirror the real world"

I'm not wise at all, in fact I'm pretty stupid. The only Scots apart from friends that I have discussed this with (oh, and the abusive bloke who owns the grocers halfway down The Royal Mile in Edinburgh who, last September called me and my wife "stupid", "ConDems" and subjected us to a 5 minute tirade about us down south), is the people on forums. Now, I understand that having a load of shouty gobshites representing your country on public forums is not pleasant (for the purposes of this discussion I'm English so can say I'm more than used to it), but it's happening. How I am supposed to know who are the chosen voices for the people?

"If you actually follow the referendum debate within Scotland itself"

I don't live there, and follow it as best I can from here (England). This is another comment often directed at posters with the audacity to challenge or question any aspect of independence: "You're not in Scotland and are ill-informed". On the other hand . . . there is an element of truth in this statement. Down in the south we are kept ignorant of the subtleties of the debate, although any expression of opinion is unwelcome and largely irrelevant (at least to the Scots).

I'm wondering if there will ever be a partnership of equals on this island when there is any degree of superiority felt by one section of the population over the others. Or perhaps that's always happened, and in my naive and idealogical airy-fairy world the idea we could actually play to our strengths as a single people and finally all get the say we deserve.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.