Crossing the border line

This is the official border between Scotland and England. Not the usual one that flashes by as you head south on the M74, but the road past Gretna heading for Longtown. We were on the way to Newcastle to visit family and took the scenic route for a change. I often wonder about the neighbours in the houses split by this border. Only a couple of metres makes the difference between free prescriptions and over £7 per item, free personal care and selling your home, free travel for disabled folk and restricted mobility, shorter waiting times and delayed operations, smaller class sizes and bedlam in reception. So maybe a more independent Scotland might not be something to fear, or might the spectre of a man called Barnett come back to haunt us....