It's good to have you back Caledonian and I certainly share your view of Scotland's contribution to Canadian independence from our very troubled southern neighbours. Eternal gratitude on that score! Sitting on the branches of my own family tree however, I do want to suggest that Lowland capital and skill made a tremendous difference too, and that not all of the immigrants turned their back on the old country. Many of them, especially in the agriculture sector, came because there was simply no room for them in Scotland, but they maintained close personal and commercial ties for the rest of their lives, and those affinities still exist too. And tho' I'm in no position to take sides in the independence debate, for what it's worth, I heard some of the same doubts that Alastair raises from Scots when I visited there last spring. Thanks!
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