Those are catchy words in a song from our collective past and more recently in a hotel commercial,  but the Brits are taking this question very seriously right now. Should they stay or should they go? It is so exciting for me, a political junkie, to watch another country get completely energized about an issue while I am just an observer in something that really is none of my business. I will post pictures from around our neighborhood and around London of the debate that is raging over “Brexit.” The vote is Thursday. We will be out at a wine and cheese event that evening and I hope everyone in London will be as mellow as I anticipate being when we leave Buchanan’s Cheesemonger Thursday around 8:30 (apologies–I should say 20:30). Goodness, I hope the Brits “keep calm and carry on” until we get back to our home away from home, but I have to admit that people seem to be getting really worked up about it and I do hope cooler heads will prevail that night. We can’t even get off the tube these days without someone trying to give us a pamphlet, a sticker, or a piece of their mind.

I don’t want to fan the flames, but I must relay a few facts (or opinions masquerading as facts)  that I am seeing on the telly (that’s TV to you folks in the New World). Here is one that really got my attention: every week, the UK sends 350 million Pounds Sterling to Brussels to fund the EU.  Every week! Got it? Do the math–how much is that over the course of a year? Meanwhile, patients are waiting for care at each and every NHS facility. I am told that with that amount of money, The UK could open a new hospital EVERY week. The old RN in me is screaming WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? I read today that there is only one neurologist per 90,000 people in this country. I could be wrong, but a little search gave me reason to believe that in the US, we have one neurologist per 18,000 people. If you don’t believe that in itself represents a shortage, try getting an appointment with a neurologist. It ain’t easy, my friends. Plan on waiting to be seen. But waiting won’t be a issue unless you have a neurological condition and then waiting could be problematic.  Also, I am told that when Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia, and company get in the EU, it will really hit the proverbial fan because they will undoubtedly take more than they give and the regular old working Brit will be so screwed since they will be on the giving end instead of the receiving end. One particularly funny assessment from some politician was that the EU is so outdated and out of touch  and is “marching valiantly towards 1970.”

The Remain camp warns of a recession if voters don’t heed their wisdom. They insist that Brits will lose in so many ways. Without a doubt, food prices will shoot skyward, jobs will evaporate, and Britain will be left behind in an increasingly global world order. It will be nothing short of catastrophic. It’s off to the dustbin of history!

So, we wait and watch as the claims on both sides become more frantic. We can count on the Brits to “sort it all out.” Thursday should be quite a day to be in London!