THAT sound you hear may well be a thousand sighs across Renfrewshire as readers realise this is another column about Brexit.

Yes, folks, even The Gazette can’t escape the clutches of the topic which seems to be at the centre of everything.

But, let’s face it, we are truly bored of Brexit. 

In fact, I reckon more often than not, most of the people reading this column are bored of politics altogether.

Such is the boredom, Sky News even launched a new channel that would be entirely Brexit-free, in a bid to alleviate the suffering of an increasingly fed-up audience.

Of course, a Brexit-free edition of The Gazette is unlikely to get past the first production meeting (believe me, I’ve tried on numerous occasions) but is it little wonder the man or woman in the street has lost interest in the long-running saga when it has taken more twists and turns than Manchester City star Raheem Sterling manages in an average 90 minutes on the pitch?

Whether Brexit is good or bad is not for this column to say (although, hint, it isn’t going to lead to extra zeros at the end of your wage slip or care-free travel across Europe) but reader fatigue is entirely understandable.

It might seem like more fun to waste away the hours watching videos of adorable dogs or, as I have been prone to doing lately, weighing up whether or not it would be worth living on beans for the rest of my life just to be able to afford a nice Alfa Romeo Giulia.

But, the unfortunate truth of the matter is that, well, Brexit still matters.

It matters to the thousands of EU nationals whose lives have been unfairly disrupted and it matters to the Brits abroad who must surely be considering returning. 

It matters to those living near the Irish border who fear a return to the Troubles of the past.

And I know full well it matters to people in Renfrewshire.

The effects of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit could have a serious impact on local families, with council chiefs preparing for “significant disruption” to services in the area if Britain leaves the European Union without an exit agreement.

It’s why so much of our coverage in the run-up to next month’s snap General Election has been, and no doubt will continue to be, dominated by the oohs and ahhs of the candidates’ views on Brexit.

Well, most of them anyway. One of the hopefuls who is asking for your vote actually refused to reveal to my colleague Steph Brawn whether he backed Leave or Remain.

It is, perhaps, a cruel trick of the three-tiered system of government we have in Scotland that, in reality, there is very little else other than Brexit that your MP can directly influence.

Hate your local bus operator and think you’re being short-changed by public transport? Speak to your MSP.

Long for the days of the old bin collection system, when your garbage was picked up on a more regular basis? Take it up with your local councillor.

Of course, that is absolutely not to say that, whoever is voted in as your MP on December 12, he or she won’t do all they can to help but it might help to explain why national issues dominate the election debate.

I can’t pretend Brexit is more interesting or comprehensible than a puppy trying its best to walk up stairs.

But, sadly, I think it remains more important.

Let’s just hope that, one day, we’ll look back on all of this as and chuckle a bit as you join me for my nightly supper of beans...