Late in life, Scotland has become very important to me. I’m surprised that it’s taken me this long, given my ancestry. My mother was Scottish and my father English. My brother was born in Scotland and spent the first ten years of his life there (he was ten years older than me). I was born, grew up and lived all my life in England. I have always felt English but my brother was always a proud Scot - he even had a sgian dubh (dagger) tattooed on his leg. Our family always felt like a mini-UK. Hence, for me, the idea of the UK splitting up would be as painful as our family splitting up would have been. More about me on the About Me button Being a part of a family with Scottish as well as English ancestry, was the reason for my becoming interested in the history of Scotland and in the reasons for the referenda on Scottish membership of the UK and the UK’s membership of the EU. Use the Novel button for info on the background to the story of Somerled and Walter fitz Alain and the EU/UK  button for my thoughts on the recent referenda. I hope you find them interesting and informative. Walter J. 25 Jun 2016