East Lothian is a funny kind of place; tucked between the Capital and the Border, it’s neither post-industrial Lothians proper, nor rural idiosyncratic like Border towns.

For a millennium the doormat of Scotland, where many an English army wiped its feet, where does East Lothian – now Edinburgh’s dormitory hinterland – stand on the question we are all being asked on September 18?

Far from being a doormat, in this instance, East Lothian may lead the way by being Scotland writ small. The components are there: clump of ex-mining communities; quaint medieval trading towns turned dormitories and tourist destinations; bleak moorland empty but for turbines and sheep; a rich plaid of fertile fields knitting it all together.

If our canny QCs and top financiers see their pensions under threat they’ll be inclined to vote ‘no’; but they might equally see huge new business in Scots Law and restored faith in the canny Scots banker if yes have their way. Their junior colleagues will also split – mortgages to rise from lower credit ratings? Vote no; moving out of London’s shadow could make Scotland a beefier Channel Islands? Vote yes. Most East Lothian folks’ choice will be driven by how it affects them personally. Rightly so – this is not a standard party election; this is a lifestyle choice for our grandchildren.

So the farmer above East Linton views any break in CAP receipts as too risky to thole, while his neighbour, aware that 85 per cent of Scotland is Less Favoured Status to the EU, sees a chance for our own voice to demand direct payments. A small builder based in the Windygoul area of Tranent may see huge opportunities around Edinburgh for his business, whereas an upmarket travel business owner may fret she will have to deal with border and even currency adjustments.

The model for all this is Cockenzie Power Station. Understandably beloved by those steeped in our industrial heritage as a source of jobs and symbol of Scotland’s industrial heritage, its two 100m chimneys are seen by some as landmarks to retain. Others find it an eyesore and want it replaced it with an assembly site for offshore turbines, a cruise liner pier and a revamped waterfront from Musselburgh to Port Seton. The former like comfort, the known; the latter follow Cockburn of Ormiston, risking all to build this better world we now live in.