RECENTLY I attended a family wedding in Canada, where the winters are harsh but the summers are glorious. Or so we had heard.

The country was coming off the back of a bad winter, into an unusually mild summer – although a Canadian mild summer is roughly what we in the United Kingdom would consider a decent one.

So the day of the wedding – which took place outdoors, on an acre of soft grassland – came round, and the rain was torrential and constant, from dawn until dusk. Woodland creatures ran past us two by two, heading toward a burly bearded chap wearing sackcloth who had his ark moored nearby.

The bride and groom took it in their stride, accepting there’s nothing you can do about the weather, but the spirit of the guests was overwhelmingly positive, and while every wedding is memorable, that’s something that I will forever recall with fondness as a real one-off.

People rallied around to flush water from the marquees, rearrange chairs, tables and the DJ’s decks so that they wouldn’t sink into the mud. Ingenious drainage solutions were masterminded to dry out the ground so those in high heels wouldn’t go under. Old rugs and pieces of wood were scrounged to build gangways over the quagmire so people could get to the bar without losing their shoes.

Most importantly, everyone accepted that while some things couldn’t be changed, life is what you make it – so let’s make it a good one. Roll out the Dunkirk spirit, roll up your sleeves and pull on your dancing shoes.

For the past few months, we’ve heard a lot about the breaking up of the UK through Scottish devolution, and as the big vote approaches, there’s been little else in the news – even Royal baby number two only got a day of rolling tedium, before Call Me Dave, Clegg and Miliband took over the airwaves again with the ill-advised Three Stooges tour of Scotland.

I'll be the first to admit that having only ever ventured to Scotland once – to the Edinburgh Festival, no less, the least-authentic Scottish event north of the border – it’s fair to say I’m probably amongst the least qualified people in either country to comment on the independence vote.

Although saying that, some of the celebrities who have come out in support of the Better Together campaign must be a pretty close second.

As it stands, the polls suggest the vote will be too close to call, and while it's not my place to over-simplify the arguments surrounding the debate, everyone else is having a stab at it, so why shouldn't I?

By gaining independence, the Yes campaigners say they'll fend off the privatisation of the NHS. Naturally, I'm all for that, but what do they propose replacing it with?

As I understand it, the EU hasn't assured them of automatic entry, so that's not going to help with healthcare. Free university tuition fees are great, but only the most naive of voters would think they wouldn't be among the first things to go under a new rule – have they learned nothing from Nick Clegg's horrendous flip-flop?

Yes, there's too much focus on the south and decision-making in London, but isn't it likely that once Hadrian's Wall has been rebuilt, there'll be complaints from residents in the northernmost villages and towns that there's too much decision making done in Holyrood, and not enough consideration for the true Highlanders? It'll just be the north/south divide in a smaller country.

These are just a few issues that everyone is unhappy about, whether English or Scottish, and like the weather, they're something we all love to complain about. But if we club together, throw in our lots and make the effort to make things work, rather than retreating into corners and huddling together to whine about it, there's no reason the future of the United Kingdom can't be a positive one.

I'm well aware that the declaration of independence of a country from another is nothing like a rain-soaked wedding, but there's no reason we can't treat the vote as something similar – a renewal of vows, perhaps?

However it ends up going, it'd be worth saving your editions of The Press on Thursday, September 18, as it may be the final one ever printed in the United Kingdom.