So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye…

The People of Great Britain have spoken and we have chosen to leave the European Union.

This was not my vote. I wanted to remain, I felt safe and secure and have always believed that we were better united. The world has changed a lot in past years and we see suffering of all kinds everywhere we look, I could not see the point in risking plunging my own country into suffering of any kind, we were not doing that good, but I couldn’t see why we would want to make it worse, even if it was in the short term. I believed that with the right leaders in place we could have continued to improve our place in the EU becoming stronger and more in charge of our own destiny, but with all the advantages of being in the union still available.

Was I wrong? I do believe that most of those who voted exit were fed up with the way our country was being run and that they were not happy with the input of other countries on our laws and regulations. They wanted a complete shake up, a leap into the unknown and a new beginning. And that is now what we have.


Could it work? We all knew that it was going to be a bumpy ride, but whether we come out on top is now up to us, no-one else. No-one seems to be able to predict our future but with the right leaders in place we could move on to better things. Yes, even I believe that although I didn’t want to take this plunge.

What has this referendum done to our country? It’s caused so much anger, arguing and upset. I have myself been involved in some strong debates, but I didn’t wish to cause anger and upset, I’ve just been firm about my opinion without putting the other person’s opinion down. Whenever I have been offended by someone I’ve not taken it as a personal attack because emotions run high at times like this. I hope that I have not offended anyone either with my views and beliefs.

I’m not the only one. I hear that all around the country we Britons are divided. Both in the run up to the referendum and even more so now. Communities, families, individuals have all fallen out. Words spoken have been vicious and unnecessary. We have proved that we can’t debate the future of our country without dividing it.

I live in one of the largest areas of the country that voted to exit, apart from my immediate family most of the rest of my family voted to leave. I still stand by my thoughts and opinions. It’s not that I didn’t believe that my country was strong enough to go it alone, I just believed that being a bigger player in the union would have been a wiser option.

But we have left, and the European Union are calling for it to be sooner rather than later, so we will have to work quickly to turn this around to our advantage. We have gone from being part of a big union of countries with deals in place to being a small country having to make our own deals. We’ve been big before, can we do it again? 52% of the countries voters believe we can. If it had been 72% I may have felt more confident, but it’s done now and we have to do what we can to make it work. My confidence in success is also knocked by the wishes expressed by Scotland and Northern Ireland. Surely now is not the time to start dividing our country?

The media as always is playing it’s part. We have almost non-stop news at the moment about our decision, with some saying it’s great and other’s saying not so great. I’ve been listening and absorbing and seeing how the media gives us clear information one minute and then plays on our emotions the next.

We see pictures and diagrams of the falling pound. Some say it will recover again, some say soon, some say it will take a while, many people watching have no idea at all of the implications. Some look at the graphs and think we are doomed. Others understand that it could be much worse and that from now it could go either way.

Then the media talk to the general public and people seem to be stunned and confused.
“I wasn’t really sure what it was all about so I voted remain.”
“I voted exit, but I didn’t think it would happen, I wished I’d voted remain now”

Then the little old man, complete with his war medals crying,
“I’ve got my country back!”

Obviously each comment has been chosen carefully by the media. For every confused person there is someone who voted with conviction, and for every old person who believes in freedom there will be one who remember the wars with our neighbours with horror and pray that we never go to war again.

image from EU4real

We have a bumpy road ahead and we won’t be riding it well while arguing and fighting with each other. This referendum has split us down the middle. Out of all the people who voted, almost three quarters of the population, the final decision was really close. We have to accept the vote of the majority even though almost the same amount of people did not want it.

I’ve seen people complaining that those that won the vote have made a huge mistake.
I’ve seen people complaining that those who lost the vote are sore losers.

Still the arguing continues.

We all have to realise, this was a massive decision for our country and now it’s done. People will be upset. If the vote had gone the other way then the other side would have been just as upset. Attacking each other will get us nowhere.

I hope that when the dust settles then so will the arguments because otherwise I fear for how they could escalate.

I don’t want to fight with my neighbours, family and friends because they have different views to me. I have not done a U Turn on my beliefs, I still think we would have been better off staying in.
But now that it’s done we will gain nothing by fighting each other and we have to instead fight for our country to make it strong again.

Here are the Lyrics of song by Dodgy, written 20 years ago!

U.K.R.I.P

Dry as you are, crippled leaves,
Snipped at your prime no longer breathes
Your fragrance is faint to my nose,
Wish I could paint what no longer grows
Where you stood is a mystery to me,
The dead carnation is all I see

I’m beginning to understand
I’m getting wiser every day

This country is not United and the Kingdom’s passed away
Shall we start all over again,
I don’t know, I don’t know
Bleaching light of the moon,
Clears just streets into my room
The dark cloak of paranoia
Feels warm just to annoy you
Stop longing for how it used be,
Stop looking for how it’s gonna be

I’m beginning to understand
I’m getting wiser every day

This country is not United and the Kingdom’s past away
Shall we start all over again,
I don’t know, I don’t know
The keys is timing, don’t do what they want
No matter what you’re revealing, don’t do what they want.
Don’t get low, don’t let go
Don’t get low, don’t let go
Don’t get low, don’t let go

Don’t get low, don’t let go, keep on fighting to unite our country once again. Do people know what they want, can they get what they want, who knows? Stop longing for how it used to be, stop looking for how it’s gonna be, begin to understand, get wise, start all over again.

N.B. For the pedants out there (and I know you exist because I’m one) I chose the heading for this title because of where it comes from and I thought it was appropriate….but I do also realise that  Auf Wiedersehen literally means see you later. This does not reflect any belief that we will be able to rejoin the EU as I do not believe that will ever be possible.