Now, think carefully.

What would you say, if the question 'how good do you feel about life in general' was put to you?

We have, on this island, an air of suspicion which has wafted in like a mist, falling on everyone's shoulders. There are cliques forming in many camps.

While we in Scotland have recently put political fervour behind us, for the most part at any rate, the parliamentary kettle is bubbling merrily away in England. It could be considered disturbing to watch the growing support for what used to be a marginal party with limited appeal blossom into a force which could conceivably form a substantial presence in the Commons come the 3d of this May. The United Kingdom Independence Party, or UKIP, has snatched seats in by-elections from all of the established parties, and it's leader, Nigel Farage, has graduated from a joke, to a powerful joke.

We have been told our economy is recovering; little seems to have changed as far as the ease with which the average household income stretches. We have been told being 'British' carries a responsibility by the media and David Cameron; we are told several times a week of how British football supporters have disgraced themselves abroad and at home, and of British men and women running amok. We are maintaining; we look over our shoulder guardedly. 

But never you mind..

Put on the kettle..