And for the weekend, 29th June 2013...

Well, here it is, the end of flaming June and what was flaming?

Well,  not the weather, but some highlights and some lows. 

Tennis highlights ...come on Andy.... / http://www.andymurray.com/  and the lows? 

I didn't get all the (festival) tickets I wanted.  / http://www.edinburghfestivals.co.uk/  and https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/ 

Boo hoo! 
But hey, what's wrong with saving some money, or getting two for one later, or maybe even free bees!

I love my free-bees, and must thank https://www.facebook.com/walker.neill  

for freely sharing an article: Natalie McGarry: Scotland needs clear constitution

http://www.scotsman.com/news/natalie-mcgarry-scotland-needs-clear-constitution 

It certainly brought back memories of the heady days the leading up to the devolution vote, the framing of the Scotland Act 1998.  Scotland Act 1998 - Legislation.gov.uk and the role of the Scottish Constitutional Convention. /wiki/Scottish_Constitutional_Convention 

Were they really heady days, or imagined heady days?
Did the You's and Me's here in Scotland really meet, talk, have a barnie now and then, but during all those heady times didn't we believe deep down that our time for change was definitely coming?
We weren't all sitting at the top table of the Convention but the connections were made through 'civic' society.
They had to be, since I was 'connected'. I went to meetings, banged on tables (metaphorically).
The Me's were there, and the You's too. I saw you there, in the womens' groups, the arts groups, the community groups, and more. 

Next year's referendum will produce change, big time. Whether it's yes for, or no against, life will not be the same again, for any of us.
Either way, Scotland is a nation, and will remain so.
But nations & nation-hood are not static. Nations & nation-hood by their very nature are in a virtual state of flux.
If planned, then through democratic processes & the voting power (or lack of it) of the people,with laws, policies, practices, underpinning effective governance of social & economic institutions.
Or, unplanned, and re-active to unforeseen circumstances (internal & external): wars, unforeseen economic forces (negative & positive), geo.political events and so much more.

So where's the civic debate in our nation? The coming together? The groups talking, linking, email, sharing? For the majority of us, is it a deafening silence, perchance even a conspiracy of silence?
Over the last few years, we've been told of the need for citizenship, and s#the sub divisions of 'active' and 'good'.
Yes, there's so much baggage attached to all of that including@ the right to, the need for, determining and proving.
But one pillar of being a citizen, being part of, being connected to & though the fabric of society.has to be using your vote in an informed manner.

So, is the civic debate alive, kicking& informing and am I just missing out this time round?

Perhaps it's a a case of  : just 'no-mates-Selma'? 

But in my own defence, do we have to wait till news, views, and pronouncements trickle down from on high? Surely Natalie McGarry got it right when she said......To see civic Scotland be proactive instead of dragging its collective heels on this would be desirable'

I don't see or hear the No Campaign/Better Together
/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better_Togethhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better_Together_%28campaign%29er
telling  me, my family, my extended family, and my country, what I will gain if I vote no to independence.

They tell me what I will loose, or how bad it will become.
So will I just be gaining more of the same? Is it a status quo?

Just exactly what is the Yes vote going to do for me? 

That might seem selfish, but I would like to know.

I appreciate that there's never a cast iron guarantee for anything in the future, and who other than a 'Mystic Neg' would predict some rosy futuristic picture?
Ask & all will be revealed? Not poss!
But as a simple person then, and a non-Mystic Meg, I can only go on 'the past', take that 'past' as a template, and project into the future, based on that past (experiences/outcomes)

Surely we're no' too feart to have those conversations? And, I don't mean the entrenched diatribes ...this-is-my-view-I-know-where-my-vote-is-going--I-want-to-convert-you-and-have-the-last-word. 

So please, come on civic Scotland, let's not wait for those already at the top tables to inform us.

let's do it for ourselves.......

or I really might be 'no-mates-Selma'.