2018? Don't talk to me about 2018

This year's Christmas card -
printing by raremags.co.uk

Brexit has put my life on hold over the last three years, but it has also enriched it.

For me, Brexit is the wrong thing to do, and it's being done badly. Despite the appalling campaigns, the 2016 vote can't be ignored, and the British establishment - from the most above-it-all civil servant through business and politics to the most poisonous of media outlets - should be forced to face at least some of the motives behind those decisions to vote.

But can Brexit be anything but a distraction from dealing with the respectable reasons people voted to leave the EU? It seems very likely to make it more difficult to do so, though it has forced a lot of those who claim to be in power at least to pretend to be concerned about the issues involved.

I've encountered some amazing people - mostly online because I don't get out much. I've learned a lot - reading treaties and acts of parliament and blog upon blog - and I think I've played a part in passing that information around. And I certainly haven't thanked many of them, but proponents of Brexit are among those who've made me think, educated me, and changed my position.

Just not as much as most of them would like.

So Merry Christmas to fellow travellers and sparring partners alike. Just about none of us likes where we are today, but most of us are still going to be here at the end of next year, so we do have some common interests.

****

It's an interim ID card - I'm still working on
a picture which finds my good side.

One of the bright sparks of this year has been the work of the fine people at Able Archer, who are docu-satirising the Brexit negotiations. Yesterday I received an unexpected package which turned out to be a goody bag from their crowdfunding exercise. And now I feel like an insider.

The story so far is here and I look forward to the next three episodes as the drama unfolds.

(@teamablearcher on Twitter, "Able Archer - Negotiations, Brexit Satire." on Facebook)