Feart

1. A friend who runs a small business described herself to me as 'feart'. Well, if you're feart, you'll never do anything at all; the trick is to feel the fear and do it anyway. Benjamin Franklin said as much after signing those guys' own declaration of independence: "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately." Feart means no vision, no future, and as things are they shall remain. Feart means No. Don't be feart.

2. My long-standing friend Thingy, whom discretion constrains me from naming, writes:

"For god sake stop whinging and go independent.
It was never a British Empire, it was always an English Empire.
Go and the best of luck. Scotland is like a 40 year old child still in the nest. Go."

Thingy is ex-public school and Oxbridge, a retired industrialist sitting on a non-dom pile in I forget where. I can think of no more stereotypical No supporter, but then you don't know Thingy. Heed his words, and don't be feart! And remember, he knows about currencies and markets.

3. Talking of which, I see that 130 business leaders today endorsed No, but 200 endorsed Yes. So feart friends who run businesses might wish to take heart, and think again.

4. Other news today is that the report from the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission shows an elitist society whose top jobs are restricted to a small clique. Scotland won't be like that - we start throwing those jobsworths out on September 18th. And we won't be feart!