I KNOW. We’ve been up the hill and back again many times over the past eight years.

There have been stops, starts, promises, mandates, conferences and marches, yet not much progress towards indyref2 – even as the wheels fall right off the rickety auld charabanc that is Westminster.

There’s been Covid and a shift to the online meeting environment so profound that events in the real, physical world seem distant, dodgy and overly demanding.

And that’s created the strange mix of defiance, foreboding, wariness and fatigue that characterises Yessers today.

But it’s time to get over party political divisions and feelings of lethargy or ambivalence – fast.

READ MORE: Whatever its ruling, the Supreme Court can't stop the Yes movement

Because next Wednesday, there’s a chance to show the world – and fellow Scots – that despite all the setbacks, the Yes movement has not and never will go away.

On the morning of Wednesday, November 23, the Supreme Court will announce its decision on the big question – does the Scottish Parliament have the power to hold an advisory independence referendum? The decision will go one of three ways – aye, naw or dinnae ken.

But that’s just one part of the story. The other is how supporters of independence respond.

If the verdict is game on, do we turn out at the eight rallies organised across Scotland that night and look happy?

If it’s no dice, will we be on the streets to look aggrieved but cheery and pose the obvious next question – how on earth can Scots ever decide their future lawfully and democratically if election mandates count for nothing, Westminster’s too feart to hand over Section 30 powers and the “world’s most powerfully devolved parliament” is officially too puny to run an advisory vote on anything?

If it’s “cannae say”, will we be out in front of the TV cameras to say the absence of clarity from the UK’s top court is their business – we won’t be calling judges enemies of the people – but also massively disappointing?

Because if we don’t provide the narrative to accompany next week’s announcement, it will be missing and the watching world will rightly conclude that Scots are “all gong and no dinner”. Full of talk about independence but unwilling to rouse organised when our future is finally – and momentarily – making international headlines.

And although we live in a volatile and unpredictable news environment, that court verdict will make waves in the media. How big is partly down to us.

Now, I’ll quite grant you, Nicola Sturgeon’s Supreme Court strategy seems overly legalistic and the Unionist mood music insists it’s doomed to fail. And even if the judges decide Holyrood can hold a lawful advisory referendum, the decision will probably be opposed or ignored by Westminster, giving Unionists an excuse for boycotting the October vote completely. That is not ideal but it’s still a result.

The Spanish objection to Scottish EU membership last time around centred on their desire for a “lawful” independence vote, setting no precedent for Catalonia which – sadly – is walled up inside a constitution that explicitly outlaws secession from the Spanish state.

European heads of state want a legal procedure – accepted as lawful by the UK as well as the Scots. And at best, that’s what a thumbs up from the Supreme Court could achieve. An indyref2 process agreed upon all around. But if pigs don’t fly and the latest UK Government develops the same deaf ear as Liz (who?) Truss, the world will finally see precisely what Scots have been dealing with. Not a government of fair-minded democrats but a bunch of panicked toffs who’ve crashed the UK economy, risked the return of violence in Northern Ireland and waved two fingers at EU leaders before paying them to police the Channel.

If the Supreme Court backs the Scottish Government’s case, Rishi Sunak will be challenged to honour his pledge of “integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level” or stand exposed as a charlatan and law-breaker, no better than Boris “I see no ships” Johnson. Supreme Court backing would also shift the SNP from words to action to get a campaign together and a vote organised for October 19. Heavens ter Betsy, the party might even co-ordinate with the rest of the movement for once.

Now it’s true this outcome has only a slim chance of success. But isn’t that worth getting out of bed for? If it’s not, what are we saying? The Supreme Court might back Scots but we prefer to stay home and get oot the big clipper? C’mon.

How we respond, is who we are.

That can be a bunch of Yessers who pitch up, show face and either celebrate victory or use defeat to expose the Hotel California nature of this “voluntary Union”. Or a set of tired, disillusioned folk who thought it easier to go nowhere, watch TV and complain loudly about the lack of BBC coverage.

Which is it to be?

There are many options denied to Yessers.

But the choice between those two options is entirely in our hands.

So next week, when Scotland’s future is in the news, will you be out with other Yessers on the streets of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Perth, Inverness, Aberdeen, Dumfries and Selkirk – or sitting on your hands?

If you can be active, this is the ideal time to reinvent that precious, old habit.

Sure, the streets won’t be filled with hundreds of thousands of Yessers like the AUOB marches of yore. But the final impact could be greater because the Supreme Court rallies will take place on a day when the cameras are already in Scotland and on our parliament – and that’s half the battle in getting news coverage.

So please sign up on the Time for Scotland website – it’s the easiest way for the volunteer group behind these rallies to keep everyone in the loop. Contact details for the rallies furth of Edinburgh are also on the website and we’ll be posting the names of speakers and pipers for the main event at Holyrood now we finally have a date and a deadline.

Will the media come? Judging from the interest expressed already – yes, they will. Just as 19 broadcast companies appeared at a similar rally outside Holyrood two years ago on the eve of Brexit. Across the world, everyone and their aunty knows Scotland’s desire for a second independence referendum is unfinished constitutional business.

It’s time to turn the heat up – by appearing in our thousands next week.

Hail or shine.

Victory or defeat.

Let’s be having you.

Register for full details of the rallies HERE.