First ministers briefing

[Trichford]

Is there one on today? If so what time will it be? Thanks

I missed it today, was there any mention of childcare at all? Perhaps in a question or something as another study this morning is concluding spread from children is minimal? Our school have not been given any guidance so we’re all in the dark.

Sorry YOu, I did have it on but wasn't really listening. Also cut away to the Scotland channel just as the questions started.

According to the BBC (I missed the beginning of the press briefing), Thursday's route map will also set out the assessment of a phased return to school.

I suspect that that means in August rather than anything happening before the school holidays.

I don't recall hearing anything about child care.

In my LA the tips were closed so they could divert the manpower to collecting bins as they had lots of staff off/shielding

There certainly seems to be plenty going on. When we're out walking there are quite a number of houses getting work done. I feel like a lot of people have just decided to take lockdown easing into their own hands.

Yep Sam, just today I've had a neighbour getting a skip delivered followed by another neighbour complaining on SM that the basketball net that they keep out on the pavement got knocked over by the skip lorry and that's bad becasue there is always a crowd of kids around it...

It wasn't damaged so as usual kids from different households mixing playing on it, then we have 4 teens sitting out in the street drinking, two live here, the other two are the girlfriends, one who seems to have moved in (with a family shielding due to a health compromised child).

Then we have the house who sometimes stay in their own house and other times stay who knows where which has been going on since this started.

There was a party in a garden the other day.

I'm just hacked off - you might be able to tell? Sorry for the rant

I think Nicola sturgeon keeping the lockdown in place till 28th May is a moot point.

These are my musings and genuine questions...

It’s not really been a lockdown like in Spain where you needed a permit to go outside, drones and police patrolling the streets and masks are now mandatory.

Loads of folk I know are just going out and about, meeting family and friends. Folk are driving from towns to closed council county parks in the middle of nowhere despite repeated social media posts stating that the park is closed to all but those that can walk there; they just park their car hazardously on the narrow country road, it’s amazing what people post on social media. The council don’t have the staff to manage it and similar to the police they don’t want the bad publicity nor the hassle in confronting folk; but if Nicola Sturgeon says stay at home then that’s what everyone is doing (?) there will be a small core who actually continue to do so.

A lot of shops are open now for click and collect which were not on the Scottish governments’ list of essential businesses. If you can do click and collect does that many any business can trade?

My dh is a key worker and has to travel rurally between clients; the roads are increasingly busier, lots of building firm vans and horse riders (mixed households too).

If nicola stalls long enough on lifting this ‘lockdown’ then the criticism of whether schools should have returned before the summer holidays will be easily rebuffed.

And now it won’t be easy to get any FOI request as the greens agreed with the SNP (I think they also made use of the depleted MSP numbers; as I understand it you can only vote in Holyrood if you are physically there) to increase the time limit they have in answering a FOI. It is now extended from 20 days to 60 days (greens did at least not vote with the SNP to a further extension of 40 days). I don’t know why they needed to do this, I would have accepted the reason that we are in desperate times and have other things to contend with was sufficient enough for me (they have been criticised for this worldwide but blink and you’ll miss it).

Anyway, to me lockdown outside has definitely already eased off so I don’t know what all the political fist clenching is all about. So much for the be kind movement.

Now, Lockdown concerning our indoor activities which makes up the majority of most people’s daily life; I would hope Nicola sturgeon addresses this on Thursday and I await her sermon.

I completely agree with you Jodri! I wonder what new announcements Nicola Sturgeon makes on Thursday

On all honesty, I think some children should go back to school. Not my ones (p4 and P6), for whom it would be irrelevant, but both younger (P1/2) and older ones, i.e. the ones with exams coming up. They should be prioritized.

I was reading in the Scotsman that golf courses had not been reopened because deemed unfair on women (if true, WTF!!!), But don't know IF really true.
The FOI thing is rather worrying.
And Nicola still has to defuse the Edinburgh conference centre bomb (awaiting the other ones that will befall her once this crisis is over).

Would be so fair for me if the golf starts and my DH would go out and play for hours

Spot on Jodri.

Also delayed is the apparently scathing secondary education review which is now conveniently set for after the Scottish election next year.

I'd just like to find out what I'm going to be able to do on my holidays which start mid June.

I'm not particularly ambitious, a drive and a picnic would be good though, an overnight stay even if it wasn't that far away would be even better!

My dad is going fucking nuts now. He wants pubs to reopen because Spain is doing it and their lockdown was worse than ours.

He's adamant that we need to get back to normal and is not listening when I try to explain that its a while off and it will be a different kind of normal.

He and my mum also see no difference between seeing me and DD now as opposed to seeing us in 10 days time when lockdown is lifted. They say if we can go to work and supermarkets then we can be in the presence of family.

DMum wants me to come for a BBQ tomorrow!

some restrictions are lifted, is what I meant.

I sort of see what your parents are saying @nuttymomma - if a politician told us in 5 days time it was ok to meet family but it hadn't been until then - what has fundamentally changed? Nothing. A politician has said it's ok but your chances of getting the virus are probably exactly the same in both scenarios !

Which is why I can’t accept that this is not a game of politics and posturing for NS.

So you think BJ was right to ease the lockdown when he did, and you think he's right to open schools on June 1st?

I really hope we get some news about nurseries tomorrow. I really hope private nurseries aren't forced to stay closed until August just because of school holidays.

I have the same worries too @poppet31. With all of the talk about schools and how its almost the holidays anyway, everyone seems to have forgotten that nurseries (and holiday clubs for that matter) take their lead from schools in terms of whether to open. We also need some clarity about how schools will return. If it's going to be a mix of home schooling and 'proper' schooling we need to know, as we can't then return to work!

@SamSeabornforPresident, in all honesty I don't know, but to allow at least SOME children back seems to me a sensible approach.
I have not been in Edinburgh or Glasgow, but from what I read the lockdown has eased anyway. Whether NS acknowledges it or not is a moot point at this juncture. She would have to send the police out in droves and close all the shops that have reopened (even if with click and collect).

There's quite a lot of construction work on houses and driveways going on around here (as well as more cars and people out). People are still usually socially distancing (although I haven't seen anyone wearing a face covering), but people do seem to have decided they're going to crack on with life to some extent anyway.

Hi.. I'd really like p7 to go back as my boy is so lonely and fed up and could really do to see friends and have a wee bit of school before high school next year...

Interested to see what she says tomorrow, do we think it’ll just be in line with what England has been allowed to do?

As far as I can see, a lot people in my area have relaxed quite a bit. From word of mouth it’s a lot more than I imagined.

Yes, I think people have had enough and are making their own decisions. Fair enough.

I don't know... I kind of hope so but I don't know what she'll do?

I think it will be less than England have done or something completely random. They'll keep up the pretence that more people are sticking to it than there are.

There will be a real desire not to look like they are just following Boris et all and are in fact being different. there will no immediate change. Any change will be at least another week away.