This first day of February 2020 brings Brexit to its inevitable, real beginning. At 11 p.m. GMT, yesterday, the United Kingdom officially severed its 47-year membership with the European Union. The turbulent exodus started with a June 2016 referendum and ended with a December 2019 Parliamentary election that brought to power a UK government capable of ratifying an agreement with the EU.

I mark the occasion with an additional entry this week—self-titled “Union Jack Flag and Rollercoaster” by Nick Page—that is most appropriate. Surely the nearly (estimated) 68 million peoples begin a roller-coaster ride that will last, at the least, through the eleven-month, EU separation-transition period that concludes on the last day of this year.