AUGUST 2021

Thursday 5 August 2021

Heading towards 'freedom day' on Monday. Yay! Yes I know that England will have been free for three weeks by then. Actually will anything change then? So many businesses have changed their way of working that life is never, ever, going to go back to how life was before the 23^rd March 2020. For example, does anyone else find it really irritating to go into a pub/restaurant and be told to order via the app? Errrr no, I don't want to have to scroll through a menu on a tiny phone. Part of the enjoyment of going out for a meal is perusing the menu and deciding what to eat. Not strolling through a list of things on a tiny screen.

I'm off to Glasgow for a couple of nights next week. This trip has been postponed since last December. The hotel has already emailed my friend to ask what time we want breakfast. How do we know what time we want breakfast? We're going to be on holiday. We're supposed to be having a relaxing time, not deciding what time we want to eat breakfast more than a week in advance. Apparently it's got something to do with the number of people they can have in the restaurant at any one time. We're not going until after 'freedom day' so in theory everything should be back to normal by then.

Obviously I agree with keeping people as safe as possible but I'm finding it extremely irritating that the media are calling Monday, 'freedom day'. There's nothing 'freedom' about it.

Oh and while I'm on the subject of freedom; masks are still going to be mandatory indoors and on public transport. I did a Meet & Greet the other day and after I'd climbed up 86 steps to a top floor flat I could hardly breathe, let alone talk to the visitors, so I asked them if they minded if I removed my mask. They weren't wearing one and had absolutely no idea that the rules were different in Scotland from England. They'd binned all their masks on 19^th July so I politely had to tell them that as they were inScotland that they'd have to purchase more for the duration of their stay in Scotland. I can't say they were too happy about that one.

Sunday 8 August 2021

Off to Glasgow for a couple of nights with the girlies.

Monday 9 August 2021

Freedom day in Scotland!!! We were allowed to stand at the bar to have a drink but we had to put our masks back on to go to the toilet. Is Covid really clever enough not to spread whilst standing at a bar, but the minute we walk from the bar to the toilet it suddenly goes into super spreader mode.

Can't say I've noticed much difference to my daily life now freedom day has finally arrived.

Tuesday 10 August 2021

I've had a lovely couple of days in Glasgow with the girlies but I have to say 'freedom day' was yesterday so why are we all still wearing masks?

Apparently the trains that are heading south are insisting that people wear masks until the train crosses over the border into England and then they can take them off. Have you ever heard of anything so stupid?

Wednesday 11 August 2021

The end of social distancing. Popped down to the Royal Mile to do a Meet & Greet. Judging by the photos, no one seems too worried about social distancing any more.

Saturday 14 August 2021

Did a Meet & Greet this afternoon. Visitors from London who weren't wearing masks. Well why should they? Masks aren't mandatory in England so why should visitors to Scotland have any idea that the rules here are different. Boris is the Prime Minister of the whole of the UK so if he's abolished masks then obviously those who live in London are going to think that the rules apply to the whole of the UK, not just England.

Oh and apparently Scotrail have said that they are not going to challenge anyone not wearing a mask on their trains. Sensible decision if you ask me. After all, how can it possibly be safe to travel from London to Berwick-Upon-Tweed and not wear a mask and then the minute the train crosses over the border you have to wear one. I very much doubt if Covid knows what country it's in?!

Sunday 15 August 2021

In the past week or so I seem to have settled into a new routine. I only take Trixie the Collie pup for a little toileting walk around the block first thing in the morning, come back and have breakfast and then I take her out for 2-3 hours. Usually go out in the afternoon to do one/two Meet & Greets as Edinburgh is mega busy with tourists just now, and then take Trixie, the Collie pup, for another little walk when I get home.

Everyone seems to have got into a new routine. After being locked up for 18 months, it seems like a massive hassle to go out in the evening. I've got 4/5 groups of friends with 4-6 people in each and pre-lockdown we would probably meet up about once a month. In Scotland we've been restricted to meeting up with three households since the end of first lock down which means that everyone has got into a new routine and can't be bothered to do anything. And also, a few of my friends are now very nervous of going out at night.

I've managed to book up three lunch dates in the next week or so, but why are restaurants still insisting on two hour slots? All restrictions are supposed to have been lifted. Two hours may be long enough for lunch but when I go out with my friends, we make a whole afternoon of it and usually have a few drinks after lunch. Now we're going to have to find somewhere else to go once our two hour slot has expired. It is very, very annoying.

Monday 16 August 2021

Went to do a Meet & Greet this afternoon and about a quarter of the people on a very busy bus weren't wearing a mask. Can't say I blame them. Apparently a lot of people are now exempt for 'mental health issues'. Mmmmmm.............. I wonder if one has to get a doctors note to say that they have mental health issues?

Thursday 26 August 2021

Has anyone else heard the latest news from Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's First Minister? Apparently she's considering a 'circuit breaker lock down' or putting us back into 'Tiers'. Seriously?!! Covid is going to be with us forever. Flu has been with us forever.

Obviously, we've all got to be careful re getting too close to people and here in Scotland, masks are still mandatory. However, life is short. I'd far rather die young and enjoy myself then be imprisoned in my home for the rest of my life. Surely, we've all been locked up for too long.

My nephew has Covid. He's holed up in his bedroom, but why? He's 24 years old, has been double vaccinated, as have his brother, sister and parents. Apparently he just feel a bit cold and achy. Like flu then?

There's still a lot of things that aren't back to normal in Scotland. I've been trying to register with a NHS dentist for the last two years. Every single dentist that I've phoned has a message on their answer machine (not one has been answered by a real live person), that says, press one if you have an appointment, press two if it's an emergency, and then the message says, 'we are unable to answer any other enquiries at this time.' Now is that life back to normal?

Oh and I read somewhere that it's going to take the NHS 10 years to catch up on all the missed appointments due to Covid.

People are dying. People with other illnesses have been denied the help they need due to the whole focus being on Covid. It's wrong. All wrong.

Friday 27 August 2021

Popped down to the Royal Mile to do a Meet & Greet this afternoon. The Royal Mile has been mega busy for the past month. It's like nobody has ever heard of social distancing. That's fine. It doesn't really bother me. What does bother me is the inconsiderate people who get onto buses and think that they are entitled to take up two seats. The buses are now back to being as busy as they were pre-lock down and to be honest if I catch Covid I will probably catch it off someone on a bus because we're all packed in like sardines. Today I was sitting at the back of a very crowded bus when three elderly people got on and they were visibly distressed because other people were already sitting in the elderly/infirm seats and seemed unwilling to share their seats. I don't really know what the answer is to this. The buses hold 150 people and obviously it's not down to the bus driver to refuse to drive off until the selfish people move their bags off the seat next to them, but in my opinion if people are so paranoid about having someone sit next to them on a bus, then they shouldn't be on a bus.

Saturday 28 August 2021

A normal Saturday night at last. Dinner out with a couple of friends, followed by another couple of drinks in the pub.