Nothing run of the mill about this boycott

I paid a visit earlier in the summer to the Trossachs in Perthshire in Scotland. ‘The Highlands in miniature’, they call it, and, true enough, they have everything you might want in Scotland — Loch Lomond, bonnie, bonnie banks, mountains, legends, castles, dramatic ruins, forests, pipe bands, tossing the caber displays. Hats off to all concerned.

During the independence debate, a fervent No voter friend of mine — from the town of Aberfoyle in the Trossachs — suggested that I help the remain-in-the-UK campaign as a gesture of friendship and solidarity.

He suggested I boycott Scottish goods in order to show the Yes people what it would be like if Scotland suddenly found itself on its own. I agreed to support him, and decided to boycott porridge, Glenmorangie whiskey (my favourite), Scottish salmon caught in the Tweed, Aberdeen Angus steak, Highland shortbread biscuits, and anything with David Tennant in it.

But rather than rush things, I decided to start with porridge and see how thing developed from there vis-à-vis the referendum.

The funny thing was, once the debate had been settled and the vote taken, I didn’t have any real longing to go back on the porridge.

I was probably committing some breach of contract law, I know, but there it is.

But now the clamour for a fresh referendum has increased, what with Brexit.

And my Aberfoyle friend has changed his stance to become a fervent independence man. So I’m not sure where that leaves me and the porridge.

PS: According to my friend, one of the things that swung it for the No campaign last time round was the spectre of rising roaming charges for mobile phones.

It seems that roaming in the gloaming was just too much for some people...