Finally, the day has arrived.
After months (or is it years - it sometimes feels like it) of listening to politicians squabbling amongst themselves and being told by one expert that staying in the EU means disaster, and by another expert, that leaving means the end of life as we know it, we have finally been given the opportunity to express our own opinion.
And it is not just the politicians and so-called experts that have been divided on this, individuals have been arguing the case in homes, pubs, offices and even in church. The Archbishop of Canterbury has expressed his opinion, although the pope, so far as we know, has not, and we have even been told what the Queen thinks (or, rather, what certain papers want us to believe that the Queen thinks, which is not necessarily the same thing at all). A day has not passed without a retired general telling us to leave before the French take over Trooping of the Colour or some well-known business mogul forecasting the greatest recession in history if we fail to remain in. Even Donald Trump has expressed an opinion (although I can't remember what it was, but as he probably couldn't point to the UK on a map of the world, his opinion hardly matters).
Even here at Rye News opinions are divided. Two of our colleagues have gone public for Brexit, while another has handed out Remain posters with orders to put them up in our windows. I am sure the Prime Minister felt he was doing the right thing to give us a chance to vote on Europe when he announced the referendum a year or two ago, but one has to wonder whether he fully realised the size of the Pandora's box that he was opening.
More people than ever before have been eligible to vote - some 46 million of us and while, of course, there will be those who don't (or can't be bothered) to vote, it seems, if Rye is anything to go by, that the turnout will be high. At the last general election this writer turned up at the polling station and there were, perhaps, three or four other people there. At the recent PCC election, hardly a sole darkened the doors. This morning, however, the queue at the Community Centre stretched from the tellers table right to the door and doubtless many of us will be glued to our televisions and radios late tonight and early tomorrow to see which way the country has swung.
But there is one, oh so important factor that none of us must forget, we have expressed our intentions, the die is now cast, and whichever side wins tomorrow, that will be the future for our country. It will be then up to us - all of us - to make it work. The result, we are told, will be close and this means that just a little less than half those who voted will be disappointed, but nevertheless it will be time for the arguments, the insults, the name calling to stop and for the country and its various communities - even down to our small one here in this corner of Sussex - to pull together to make the future work and to make a success of it. Surely this is the very least we owe to our children, grandchildren and those who come after them.
