Tiers For Souvenirs

 

Ken Dodd had an unexpected hit with 'Tears for Souvenirs' back in the 1960s - who knows maybe the think the time is right for a new, parody version!   

 

Tiers, Plans and Covid Lockdowns (27/10/20)

Today's the big day when we get to hear more details about Scotland's new tiers or levels of Covid restrictions which for some strange reason are numbered zero to four instead of one to five. 

I may watch the event 'live' on TV as I'm very interested in what the Scottish Government has to say - while we're not back exactly where we started in March, I think it is fair to say the politicians have lost control since their disastrous decision to allow students to return to universities and their halls of residence.

In which case what are the politicians planning to do other than locking us all down again for weeks on end - surely they don't believe that an endless series of Groundhog Day 'lockdowns' is the way to defeat Covid-19?

So if I were the Scottish Minister, instead of cancelling Christmas or Halloween, I'd be asking myself why so many people (albeit a minority) are ignoring the Government's message on public safety. 

Then I would set about finding new, different and more effective ways of persuading people about the importance of social distancing, wearing face coverings and remaining cautious at all times. 

 

Thunderbirds Are Go! (21/10/20)

 

5, 4, 3, 2 , 1 (21/10/20)

The Herald reports that a mere three Covid-19 restriction tiers may not be enough for Scotland - we may need five for some reason to get the job done.

 

Coronavirus One-upmanship - Any Advance On 17? (20/10/2)

Sky News reported on the latest example of Coronavirus 'one-upmanship' with the news that Wales has imposed a 17 day period of additional Covid-19 restrictions which is, of course, one day more than the measures announced by the Scottish Government last week.

Follow the link below to Sky News, but I wonder who'll be first to get to 19, 20 and beyond?

 

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-wales-to-enter-17-day-circuit-break-lockdown-leaked-letter-reveals-12107052

Coronavirus: 'Wales to enter 17-day circuit break lockdown', leaked letter reveals

The lockdown will take Wales "back to the situation in March", when businesses shut and people were told they must stay at home.

By Dan Whitehead - Sky News 

The Welsh government will announce its next move on Monday

A "circuit break" lockdown for Wales will start at 6pm next Friday and last for 17 days, according to a leaked letter from the transport union CPT. 

Mixed Messages and Covid-19 (19/20/20)

 

Just the other day the Scottish Government announced its intention to 'align closely' with the rest of the UK over tougher measures to stop the spread of Covid-19. 

But soon afterwards the Scottish Government was 'spinning' the message that Nicola Sturgeon would go just that little bit further, in another case of the Covid-19 one-upmanship our politicians seem unable to resist.   

See the links below to contrasting reports in the Glasgow Times and The Times.

 

https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/18788596.nicola-sturgeon-says-scotland-will-align-closely-boris-johnsons-three-tier-lockdown-system/

Nicola Sturgeon says Scotland will 'align closely' with Boris Johnson's three tier lockdown system

By Stewart Paterson - Glasgow Times


Nicola Sturgeon says Scotland will 'align closely' with Boris Johnson's three tier lockdown system

Boris Johnson has announced a three-tier lockdown system for England which Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland would be closely aligned with.

The Prime Minister said the system of Medium, High and Very High would determine what interventions were needed in certain areas to avoid a full-scale national lockdown again.

Medium is the current national restrictions which cover most of England with the rule of six on gatherings indoors

High includes the rule of six outdoors as well.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/coronavirus-in-scotland-sturgeon-draws-up-plan-for-tougher-lockdowns-xpzhc9zr3

Coronavirus in Scotland: Sturgeon draws up plan for tougher lockdowns

Shoppers in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, and across the central belt are being urged to help break “the chains of transmission” - Photo ANDREW MILLIGAN/PA

By Mark McLaughlin, Chris Smyth and Francis Elliott - The Times.

Nicola Sturgeon is preparing to “toughen up” the UK government’s three-tier coronavirus controls or introduce another higher level amid fears from Boris Johnson’s scientific advisers that the measures will not go far enough to suppress the virus.

Scotland’s coronavirus hotspots — mostly in the central belt — already face stringent restrictions with pubs and restaurants closed for a fortnight, but last night the first minister admitted she may have to go even further to curb infection rates.

Politicians and Coronavirus (19/09/20)

The essential point about Covid-19 is that if we all take social distancing seriously, remain cautious, wear face masks and wash our hands at every opportunity - the virus cannot jump from one person to another.

Yet politicians across the UK are now rushing to tell us that because they have failed to persuade fellow citizens to behave responsibly they have no choice but to impose even more rules which prevent people from seeing their families and friends.

Everyone from Boris Johnson to the Mayor of London to the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be saying essentially the same thing, no doubt while also suggesting that something or someone else is to blame.

Yet what it boils down to is a failure of our politicians to unite behind an agreed strategy which is capable of changing people's behaviour. 

Follow My Leader ((10/09/90)

The Scottish Government seems likely to follow the lead of the UK Government later today by announcing further restrictions on people's lives to help reduce the spread of Covid-19.

According to leaked press reports Scotland will reduce the numbers of people who can meet to just 6 individuals - both indoors and outdoors.

The present 'rules' are driven by the science allegedly, there is no doubt that politicians revel in having small differences in their own back yards - at a time when it would be better if we were all singing from the same hymn sheet. 

 

Politicians and Coronavirus (09/09/20)

Glasgow councillors were back in the news again after the Daily Record broke a story about Council leader, Cllr Susan Aitken, enjoying a drink in a Merchant City pub with three colleagues.

Nicola Sturgeon waded into the row at the weekend to remind public figures, especially elected politicians, that they need to be seen to be above reproach.

Yet the First Minister's words fell well short of the criticism directed at Aberdeen and Celtic footballers recently when  the Scottish Government threatened to shut the game down altogether, if players stepped out of line again.

I can't say I'm in favour of shutting things down as it seems to me the job of politicians is to hammer home the message about the importance of remaining cautious and continuing to socially distancing - while wearing face masks and washing your hands frequently.

I was in Spain over the summer, Catalonia to be precise, and my personal experience is that these issues are taken far more seriously in other parts of Europe than they are in Scotland.

Spain currently has a higher Covid-19 infection rate than Scotland or the UK, but the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez has already said that life must go on and that there will no return to a full lockdown.

Face coverings are mandatory in all public spaces in Spain and just recently Spain banned smoking and vaping in outdoor hospitality spaces in an effort to combat the spread of Coronavirus.

Whereas my experience in Glasgow is that the wearing of face masks or using hand sanitisers in shops is very patchy and not enforced - with lots of people wearing face coverings hanging round their chins, for example. 

The reality is that if people take social distancing seriously, remain cautious, wear face masks and wash their hands at every opportunity - the virus cannot jump from one person to another.

 

Narcissism of Small Differences (05/07/20)

The term 'narcissism of small differences' was coined by Sigmund Freud to describe groups of people who share common aims or goals, but who also disparage and argue with each other over relatively minor differences.

Sounds an awful lot like what has been happening during the Coronavirus epidemic if you ask me, with the three devolved governments of the UK desperate to distinguish themselves from Westminster - sometimes for valid reasons, to be fair, but on other occasions it's just low politics.

The same thing happens in political parties of course - Jeremy Corbyn's Labour was anathema to many fellow party members, just as the SNP has two tribes warring with each other over how best to pursue independence and Indyref2.

The very latest Coronavirus row is about whether travellers coming into the UK or returning to the UK should be required to quarantine for 14 days.

Similar disagreements have emerged in recent weeks over when and how to open up outdoor hospitality spaces, but the general direction of travel has remained the same, unsurprisingly.

Because these problems affect countries and governments right across Europe and to a greater or lesser extent they are all watching and learning from each other, albeit sometimes as rivals and competitors - rather than good neighbours. 

 

Lockdown Begins To Ease (24/06/20)

I listened to the lockdown easing measures announced by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson yesterday - they all seemed pretty sensible to me, not least because the same thing is happening right across Europe.

No doubt some people will use this as an opportunity to wave flags or score party political points, despite the fact that our neighbours in Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Portugal all face the same dilemma. 

Labour leader Keir Starmer hit the right note for me by welcoming steps to relax the rules while emphasising that we all must remain on our guard by continuing to observe social distancing, by wearing face masks in public and by regular hand washing.