So Theresa May has triggered Article 50. It didn't go down well. First, she called for talks on the UK's exit from the EU to proceed in parallel with those on a free trade deal. Clearly she hadn't been listening to what everyone else had been saying for months. It isn't going to happen, as Angela Merkel (and many others) quickly pointed out. Then she issued a veiled threat - be nice to us or we will stop co-operating on security. At a time when all European countries face a severe threat, this is not good timing. And her obvious disregard for the interests of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar greatly increases the likelihood that, in 10 years time, it will be England alone outside the EU.
Maybe we could be more reassured if we felt that the UK government had some plan for how to proceed. Sadly, as I noted in a recent blog for the BMJ, it is now all too apparent that it doesn't. Indeed, listening to the news today simply confirmed my suspicion. Those who support Brexit simply don't understand the EU and our relationship with it, something that has taken 40 years to develop and, by all accounts, will take 40 years to disentangle ourselves from.
Can the notification of Article 50 be revoked. Certainly our European partners think so. And for this we should be very grateful because, sometime in the next few years, the UK will hit the wall we call reality. And we may be very grateful for an escape from this insanity.