i agree that much more information is needed on this subject, and hopefully as people consider and debate that matter, some of that information may become to light; as well as new information be sought after. as these issues are discussed and answered, then a greater knowledge of the issue will hopefully help people make a more enriched judgement on Shetland's constitutional future. to put my opinion forward, here are some of my suggestions to your dilemma's 1. while we do depend on the UK for most of our goods, there is no reason why shetland can not produce a greater quantity of her own needs for herself. large portions of the isles remain unproductive, and could be utilised more efficiently to produce most of our food needs. 2. im sure that an independant postal service would not cost a great deal more than is does currently. 3. whether or not a shetland gov decided to subsidise travel links to the rest of the UK is a debate that we shetlanders would need to consider, and where we would take resources from elsewhere in the public sector to pay for that. 4. Yes, our nearest UK port would likely be Newcastle, but i am sure a Scottish link would be maintained with Shetland, as Scottish buisnesses would still wish to benefit from trade with us, it would just mean that Scotland would not subsidise the ferry link.