Hogmanae

[rookiemere]

This is an ongoing thread for Scottish mumsnetters - or indeed non Scottish mumsnetters such as myself, to comment on ongoing covid matters pertinent to ourselves, in a hopefully not too partisan and friendly fashion.

@Bikingbear or group pelvic floor exercises 😂

@rookiemere

Well if the police want to make some easy money, they can just check number plate addresses at the airport. Us Edinburgh Level 3 plane spotters or covid testers are unlikely to be staying overnight - although I tempted to have a night at one of the airport hotels just for the sheer heck of it.

That's allowed

"Guidance encourages nonessential (leisure/tourism) use
only by locals. " (with regards to hotels)

Cos loads of people use local hotels on a regular basis for anything other than illicit shagging which is banned

@Bytheloch When you see it written down like this, you have to laugh. It’s so ludicrous that this summary is pretty spot on re the made up rules and yet reads like a spoof news article.

I know, I wasn't even trying to be funny and it sounds like it belongs in The Onion or something!

I don't give a fuck about the tiers any more. I can't be bothered trying to understand so I just stay home unless doing something 'essential' - food shopping, dentist, or care visit. You know it's bad when a visit to a garden centre (within permitted boundaries) seems like the social event of the year.

I have basically been home for months now with a young child and increasingly grumpy husband. In the halcyon days of summer we could have a playdate or two indoors and adults from outwith my household round for a coffee. I even managed a week in Northumberland in August (despite NS messing up my holiday by imposing a start date for everywhere in Scotland). Now we are stuck back indoors or freezing at the park.

Am off to Legoland Denmark with DS as soon as we are allowed. Grumpy DH might be allowed to come too

I have basically been home for months now with a young child and increasingly grumpy husband

Me too. Dc1 is at school so getting plenty of socialisation etc but dc2 who is 2 has one in person activity which started up recently and one virtual one. Freezing cold park dates and walks in the woods really aren't doing it for me atm.

hey @Dinosauratemydaffodils - it's shit isn't it. Sending hugs

To be fair my DS has been at school since Aug which is OK as far as it goes but he isn't allowed to play with friends in other classes, none of our regular activities ever came back, and he doesn't have any siblings so misses out at home especially around halloween and the like

I have basically been home for months now with a young child and increasingly grumpy husband

Similar here, been wfh since late February, moved at end of August but not been able to do anything to meet people as everything is shut.

@IwishIwasyoda same DS is 3. I work 3 days (from home right now) but was on furlough from April to August and it was very, very tough. I make sure he gets out every day but since Silverburn and the car dealerships (I know...) are shut under tier 4 and it’s pissing it down it’s the supermarket or nothing now.

WishIwasYoda, it's really hard going not talking to people. DH seems to be on calls all day, but I'm not. I'm sure the Hermes deliver driver hates coming to my door, I keep her chatting for ages.

BTW - Can I come to Denmark too??

Two days in a row I have been a floutingly brazen foolish flouter by breaking the LAW. Sunday DH and I went for a wee socially-distanced wander round the West End.

Yesterday we went to Ikea in Glasgow (is that illegal? Who knows, who cares) to get a new mattress for DS. Ikea have that click and collect thing NAILED - you call them from the carpark, they text you where to park and bring it out to you.

And the other DS is back to school today after 2 weeks being off - happy days! 50 kids off for 2 weeks, not one with symptoms, 500 combined days of education lost.

If you've got gardens or a local green space, I recommend bird and squirrel feeding - you are usually guaranteed at least pigeons!

This year I've mostly watched the dc climbing trees in the gloom and fed wildlife - in my memory it's one long greyish, cold-ish day.

Very glad not to have toddlers and much sympathy to anyone with an under 5 in these times.

@littlbrowndog

There are 2 mad people on Scotland tonight

The interviewer is like. Omg

One is saying just have one course at your Xmas dinner

The other one is saying get creative. Open the windows. Meet out outside.

Meet in the morning as you might get careless when having drink in the evening.

Omfg these people are bonkers and out off touch with reality

Are these actual "experts"? Or those vox pop people off the street? Have they ever been to Scotland? "One course", "meet outside". On Christmas Day. Aye, right.

Did anyone see Ian blackford charmingly going after an English photographer in glencoe on Twitter yesterday? The photographer had been up there since end Oct and for work).

He's reflecting what a section of his constituents said, that was his defence. He has the right to question. The scars from the covid finger pointing will take a while to heal.

Turkey wraps in the garden? Christmas pudding cake pops?

@IwishIwasyoda

I don't give a fuck about the tiers any more. I can't be bothered trying to understand so I just stay home unless doing something 'essential' - food shopping, dentist, or care visit. You know it's bad when a visit to a garden centre (within permitted boundaries) seems like the social event of the year.

I have basically been home for months now with a young child and increasingly grumpy husband. In the halcyon days of summer we could have a playdate or two indoors and adults from outwith my household round for a coffee. I even managed a week in Northumberland in August (despite NS messing up my holiday by imposing a start date for everywhere in Scotland). Now we are stuck back indoors or freezing at the park.

Am off to Legoland Denmark with DS as soon as we are allowed. Grumpy DH might be allowed to come too

Yes - all of this. It's so much easier to stay at home and order wine off the internet than try to go out to do anything healthy, or rewarding or worthy. I've started fantasising about holidays again. DS has been watching those Viking programmes for his school topic, and I've got a hankering for Norway, with all those mountains and fjords and pickled meat and it being dark half the day. Sounds appealing compared to my front room.

bikingbear - I get like that working from home. Its not so bad now as DH is generally available for a chat/ rant, but I did use to spend far too long talking to those people who phone up trying to sell you dodgy loft insulation or conservatories on the phone. Just to talk to a human...

And I agree - I'm so glad DS is of an age he can be more or less self sufficient given a tablet or gaming device . Trying to entertain a toddler or preschooler at the moment must be hell. We lived in coffee shops, soft play or the swimming pool at that age, and none of those would be available in tier 4...only the squelching through leaves and sitting on a wet bench part of parenthood. Which I loathed.

@anon444877

Did anyone see Ian blackford charmingly going after an English photographer in glencoe on Twitter yesterday? The photographer had been up there since end Oct and for work).

He's reflecting what a section of his constituents said, that was his defence. He has the right to question. The scars from the covid finger pointing will take a while to heal.

No, but just came onto say I absolutely loathe this man. He cannot make any statement without some sort of irrelevant snide remark. Another graduate from the school of Salmond politics 🤢

Do love a non apology apology re blackford!

The thing is I suppose that although basically a year of your life being restricted feels bad in your 40s/50s, for young kids it could be that a quarter of their current life has been spent this way and that's time you won't get back. And this is essentially for something that is of very little risk to them. Also for older people there is a sense of not having too many years left and that's also really difficult.

I'm not saying I know what the answer is, just remembering that the time between Christmases felt forever when you were a child.

The very young won't really remember of course and we probably feel more guilt than they feel loss.

My dc accept they can't do things 'because covid' - but mine and dh's parents who are all around 70 have really, really struggled mentally this year. They all have quite poor physical health and it's been a roller coaster ride of terror for them.

One of our parents has got anti depressants for the first time after several stress related collapses this year and I would lay money on another of them taking them before much longer to get through winter.

50 kids off for 2 weeks, not one with symptoms

Actually on the flip side that is really good news, I means what they are doing in schools is stopping the spread.

But naw nobody is going to be in the garden on Christmas day. Ok it's not often we get snow fall but people bet on it every year. But the wind and rain can be miserable too.

My kids are 3 and 9 they just accept it. The younger one just doesn't know what hes missed. During the first lockdown I got the older one an Xbox just so he could keep in touch with pals. You could see him getting depressed. We tried him calling pals but they just seemed to have nothing to talk about.
He'd asked for Xbox last Christmas and I put him off on the basis the new one was due out this year. However I never thought that we'd all be on house arrest come March. Count my blessings that we had money to go and get him one.

i'm just more pissed off @Bikingbear that the provision has been so poor for what he had to do at home.

Few maths worksheets. Reading a book for English. French homework. Nothing from Science, history, geography, art, music, home ec, drama, RE, computing....

My 13 year old niece in England is isolating too and has a full timetable of lessons every day and just as much as she does at school.

It's really piss poor. And the final nail in the coffin was an email from the school office saying "please click this link to tell us what you think of isolation learning" which didn't work! I may have sent a ranty email in return...

Anon444877 I think depression and the stress of covid is the main reasons why they are trying to arrange some sort of Christmas.

I'm almost convinced that schools will go online on the 11th, and part of the reason is to make it safer for DGP.

Sitting watching the rain reading all the stuck at home comments. My DH works from home all the time, not just during pandemics. Even we are struggling because I'm not allowed out and about and I can't even put my top tunes on to do the ironing. Do have the tech for a silent disco but it is really not the same.

All this is not helped by having a stressed out frustrated first year Uni student studying from home. Walking on egg shells most of the time with my volatile middle child at the best of times. Doesn't help being justifiably told to ssh regularly. Good job I've got her Dad to sympathise with her over the tech issues even if he is unbelievably obtuse about printer management.

I'm fully supportive of her big sister's decision to stay away at Uni over Christmas because at least she'll be isolating with her peers instead of her cranky middle aged parents.

DD3 is at primary and so, apart from all after school activities being cancelled, is much less affected. However even she is not allowed to play with half her friends. The school has a policy of mixing up classes annually and now they are prohibited from mixing in the playground.

Raspberry that needs to be shouted from the rooftops that Scottish kids aren't getting the same as English. Shite absolute shite.

SG is all about 'closing the attainment gap' there are two ways to do that, raise the standards at the bottom or lower the standards at the top. I might be a cynic but the game seems to be lower the top.