New Fred. It nearly ended in tiers.

[Cismyfatarse]

Sorry. Lost track of what was proposed. Hope this will do.

People thought visitors would stop going to Cornwall due to their hostility to second home owners and potential visitors, but still people visited in their hoards over summer.

I suspect Scotland will be exactly the same, although I would find it amusing if our infection rates were higher than Englands for a spell, although now vaccination has stepped up that's unlikely to happen.

What an utter nonsense. Most countries across the world are trying to protect their people in some way and have various travel restrictions in place as people really shouldn't be travelling. Is Jacinda Ahern Kim Jong Un as well? France shut their borders to us when the variant was found so will you never go to France again?

I find it bonkers that you think that by not getting COVID under control you'll be encouraging tourism

And bars and restaurants and what not are shut across Europe as well. None of this is unique to Scotland. I find it utterly bizarre that people on this thread seem to think we have,as a result of this pandemic, managed to get ourselves a reputation as some weird unwelcoming and highly restrictive place.

And that it's all the fault and wet dream of Nicola Sturgeon.

@WouldBeGood nobody is saying it isn't crap but it's certainly not unique to Scotland.

It’s crap here but surely no one can say they don’t wish they’d lived in New Zealand for the last year? 😀

New Zealand would be delightful! And there's a perfect example of a country that went extra hard on restrictions and improved their attractiveness across the world.

I’d hate to live in New Zealand.🤷🏻‍♀️

I think all the countries who’ve done this are insane. Not reserved for Scotland!

In any event, the NHS is not overwhelmed, won’t be as the vulnerable are vaccinated, so now is the time to get our lives back; not to move the goalposts with ever more esoteric targets and worries.

Where would you fancy @WouldBeGood ?

I like living in Scotland @kurtrussellsbeard. Normally!

The NHS isn't overwhelmed because we have locked down. Open back up without it being under control and it will be. Sadly these restrictions are necessary.

Incidentally is there a country you have in mind who have performed well without any restrictions etc?

No I mean where would you have liked to have seen out the last year? I think the PP doesn't want to leave Scotland just would have liked to be in NZ for the last year.

@WouldBeGood

I think all the countries who’ve done this are insane. Not reserved for Scotland!

In any event, the NHS is not overwhelmed, won’t be as the vulnerable are vaccinated, so now is the time to get our lives back; not to move the goalposts with ever more esoteric targets and worries.

I don't know if I'd say that keeping people alive is an esoteric concern for a government.

It's only by doing it that you can open up the economy again etc.

The government doesn’t give a shit about keeping people alive. They care about being seen to preside over a failing health service.

Governments panicked. They started this course because the people demanded it, in panic.

Now all that us happening is because of sunk costs. People are dying of lots of other things, not just Covid. Life needs to go on. Not just existence.

Well, I disagree. I don't feel I'm just existing. Today we had a snow day, made snowmen, went sledging, did some work, made tea together, had a glass of wine with my husband, and now I'm playing Just Dance with the kids. Not so bad.

Sorry if you feel that way but I don't, and I know that restrictions are needed, and I'll stick with them until they're not.

The NHS is on its knees. It's barely coped with this second wave. Not overwhelmed, but only because so much normal care has been cancelled or postponed, and extra capacity for covid patients created from space normally used for other patients.

But I know I'm not going to get anywhere with someone like Wouldbegood, they've got their views and refuse to see anyone else's. Worse, any challenge to those just makes them defensive.

I'm not an SNP voter. I think there's been grandstanding by NS and stupid quibbles with the UK govt, the vaccine rollout also started too slowly here. But I also think the devolved govt has made better choices overall than the UK govt, and that it was down to UK-wide policies around borders in particular that led to the resurgence of covid after the summer.

I want more out of life 🤷🏻‍♀️ There’s a big fascinating world out there.

Fair enough, you want that, you can do that whether or not there’s lockdown.

I had an abusive childhood and marriage. New DP has been diagnosed with a degenerative condition and is 60. I don’t have any more time to put off doing things.

Especially not for a virus with such a tiny fatality rate.

@TheMShip I disagree with you. That doesn’t make me “defensive”

I definitely feel like I'm just existing. Sick of it.
Desperately trying to catch up with work today, since I didn't have any homeschool. Not helped by a colleague going off with MH issues.

I think today is probably one of the most normal ones we've had in lockdown - it's pretty much what a snow day landing during the school break would have looked like anyway.

It's in no way representative of how I've found lockdown. Life has been like a relentless drudge, groundhog day after groundhog day. Work, watch tv, faff on internet, eat, sleep, repeat. The little moments that broke the routine of life, the connections, the interactions, socialising, trips, outings, holidays. It is dull and relentless with very little to look forward to in the short term

@WouldBeGood

I want more out of life 🤷🏻‍♀️ There’s a big fascinating world out there.

Fair enough, you want that, you can do that whether or not there’s lockdown.

I had an abusive childhood and marriage. New DP has been diagnosed with a degenerative condition and is 60. I don’t have any more time to put off doing things.

Especially not for a virus with such a tiny fatality rate.

Yeah it's my tiny life that means I'm happy to put up with restrictions 🤷🏻‍♀️

@IncludeWomenInTheSequel you said that you were?

Surely people can want different things?

I tried to explain why it’s such a massive deal for me.

@WouldBeGood

North Korea is exactly it, with the restrictions snd the way the SG is behaving in the inquiry and daily broadcasts from Our Leader. No questioning tolerated.

I am sick and fed up of it. Every day a friend confesses to misery or poverty because of this and it needs to stop.

Erm, literally every broadcast has questions posed to the FM.

I realise how lucky we are that she is so transparent