After several conversations and many hours of thumb-twiddling and half-finished sentences the decision has been made that no matter how tempting it is to prattle on about the Waterfront and votes of no confidence and censures and whatnot, it is time to leave it alone.

I know that, in its own way, it is important stuff but while the sun is shining and the tennis is on it seems an awful lot harder to actually give a monkey’s.

And what with GST and all the rest of the gripes it just seems to be time to talk about something else for a change. Something fun. Can we just lighten up for the summer, please? The proper time to be collectively miserable and argumentative is in the winter.

Actually, on the tennis front it should be stated that, as a sports fan, being fickle is without a doubt the name of my game. This has always been the case. I just haven’t got the commitment it takes to watch hours of sport on television and my support for a team would definitely have everything to do with whether they were winning.

For this reason I only caught the last half-hour of the Andy Murray match against Gasquet, a match which convinced me that Wimbledon was worth my time, and then sat through the whole of the one he played against Rafael Nadal. Needless to say, the first flush of enthusiasm for the sport wore off half-way through the latter match, which led to a bout of watching Location, Location, Location, which was far more addictive even if just as predictable.

More importantly, while the sun is actually out, it is really difficult to concentrate on political manoeuvring which had a limited appeal anyway.

Much more fun on a lazy sunny afternoon is to let the mind wander over the ups and downs that would be independence.
Making our own rules – what fun. Of course, we would have to start with having time off on sunny days. And that means everyone. So if you fancy going to the beach because it is sunny, you can. The government will also close on the grounds that no one is listening when it’s sunny anyway. By doing this, we can also go some way to reducing the office jealousy inspired in the hearts of those who always manage to take off the weeks when it’s raining.

If we were independent, we could also have our own king and queen who, like Miss and Mr Battle, could be appointed annually and act like a sort of Minister for Fun. Thinking about it, though, perhaps Minister for Fun should be a permanent position.

Independence is one of those lovely words that is bandied around every so often and always seems like a marvellous idea.

The word speaks of a certain inner strength and poise. An independent state is one with a bit of gravitas. It knows its place in the world and while it can be friendly to others and maybe, out of the goodness of its heart, help out its fellows every now and then, it is, essentially, happiest on its own. That is the way it likes it – everyone at a safe distance.

Others can make suggestions but when push comes to shove (off), an independent state can look after itself.
So what’s not to like? Well, there is the fact that being independent means that everyone can tell you to shove it as well. There’s no hiding under the wing of some great … [visit site to read more]