Guilt free railing

[WouldBeGood]

The place to vent, moan, rail, cheer: whatever you’re feeling about Covid, and the rules, and life and the universe.

I’ve started this as I’m feeling scared and fed up with increasing restrictions despite vaccines. I feel that what should be a more positive time is instead bringing more and more doom.

I want the simple pleasures of life back, as well as all the big stuff.

Yeah independence just makes so much else fade for a lot of voters.

@StatisticallyChallenged yes that’s interesting. Too long in government.

All soo sleazy and disgusting

There seems to be a real lack of political talent - in all of the parties. People who could not dream of earning an MSPs wage in the private sector. Is this the best we have to run the country?

@WaxOnFeckOff if you like the sopranos have you watched Lillyhanmer? It’s great

I know, I think there needs to be a complete rethink on what the job is. It's a decent salary and many folk are doing far more complex and demanding jobs in all sorts of public and private sector jobs. If it wasn't for the campaigning type stuff where i think you need to have a certain personality type, and the fact that if you lose an election you are out of a job, then I think you could attract more competent people to the job.

If there was some way of all companies/sectors being able to offer a 4 year sabbatical it might also encourage people knowing that they still had a job to go back to.

I think we need to get away from politicians in ordinary roles being like, well, politicians. You want people with a curious mind, able to make good judgements, with compassion and understanding, dynamism, honesty, integrity, capability, endeavour etc. Not necessarily people who want to go chapping doors and kissing babies. Hmm I dunno really. Maybe it's time for bed.

[quote WouldBeGood]@WaxOnFeckOff if you like the sopranos have you watched Lillyhanmer? It’s great[/quote]
yeah, I think we got 3 or 4 seasons in and enjoyed it but started watching other stuff and never got back to it. Also waiting for the next series of Fargo - really worth a watch. Godless is another recommendation. It looks like something you won't enjoy, but it's really good.

I’ll try that, @WaxOnFeckOff

We need an Athenian system where citizens have to serve for a year or so then back to normal life

I think there is a smattering of good, decent people across the parties. Very few in the SNP but that's because I find it extremely hard to put the Indy stuff to one side and see them as decent politicians despite that. I admire Joanna Cherry if not her politics, and Johann Lamont, Jenny Marra and Ruth Davidson. I'm sure there are a few other good eggs out there.

One of my siblings is actually standing as a candidate and they are a very good, hard working person who genuinely wants the best for people. I'm don't know how much those good intentions translate once you're in confines of the job.

Is anyone finding the snow really tough going? We are basically trapped at home. We have a new 4x4 which should theoretically be able to handle the snow but when I took it out on Thursday it was sliding all over the place and it's too deep to walk in really.

I feel like the lockdown has taken on a physical form Perhaps the weather was ordered by the First Minister? I wish she'd order the blazing sunshine of last April/May...

In theory the list system should allow parties to bring in people who are talented but maybe not the best campaigner/baby kisser. Doesn't seem to though.

There was a lot of hoo-ha at the time Kate Forbes became Finance secretary about how she was the most qualified person to ever hold the post. This was because she'd worked as a trainee accountant for a couple of years... why is it that we constantly have people who are so under qualified that this seemed excellent?

I don't actually think politicians salaries are too high for the role - I appreciate I'm unusual in that- but I think the calibre of people in the role are largely not worthy of it. There are of course exceptions like the women stoptouching mentions.

@StopTouchingYourFairyGarden

Is anyone finding the snow really tough going? We are basically trapped at home. We have a new 4x4 which should theoretically be able to handle the snow but when I took it out on Thursday it was sliding all over the place and it's too deep to walk in really.

I feel like the lockdown has taken on a physical form Perhaps the weather was ordered by the First Minister? I wish she'd order the blazing sunshine of last April/May...

Yeah I can't really remember last time I went somewhere. DH made it to the local Tesco yesterday, that's about it. I watched a Sainsburys van take at least 15 tries to get out of my street yesterday

I watched a Sainsburys van take at least 15 tries to get out of my street yesterday

That sort of thing makes me so anxious! Roll on better weather...

Oh jeez I made the mistake of reading about Ireland's restrictions this morning. They've been told they will remain level 5 until April/May. Schools might be the only exception. Does anyone else not understand why this year (with a vaccine) would be worse than last year? Anyone else now feel stupid celebrating the end of 2020?!

Bloody hell @Pootle40 is there vaccination roll out slower than ours? To go from school return on 22nd February to April would be quite some leap.

The story seems to be that we unlocked too quickly last year - which I find utterly farcical given that I remember indoor play dates for about a 6 week period august/September before the doors slammed again.

That seems to be why this time even more caution, plus now vaccine is a reality there is no acceptable level of covid to politicians.

@titsbumfannythelot no I think they're suggesting schools would be the only exception but everything else will be this shit until then.

Should have read your post properly, sorry!

@titsbumfannythelot according to the vaccine tracker they only done 250k first doses so that will be an issue. No idea the population of RoI.

Politics as a whole has a talent drain, Twitter and social media is in large part to blame, very little chance of a private life these days. I can't think of a current SNP politician with any impressive credentials, we seem to only have career politicians.

Colleagues in Dublin have told me it's been slow but I dunno how that compares numbers wise with us.

The salary is higher than many of them would ever command elsewhere. They know that so therefore are determined to protect their jobs. I feel a bit with the SNP at the moment that it’s all about the power/ keeping their job and not about being able to initiate change, enhance life etc.
You only have to look at how they chop and change their rhetoric about covid. Wait till the polls suggest that the public are fed up with lockdown we’ll soon come out of it, and get told it’s guided by the “science”.

@Pootle40 I don’t understand either. I’d assumed vaccinations meant freedom - how wrong I was

@StopTouchingYourFairyGarden I’m convinced we’re in Narnia, ruled cruelly by the White Witch with eternal winter. Never Christmas

I don't necessarily think the salary is over the top too high but lots are not deserving of it, and many people do jobs with higher levels of responsibility for less. When you get to the top levels though, I think salaries are probably too low for the job responsibilities and those doing a job at a similar level in private industry would be paid more. I'm not talking about the quality of any incumbents though.

Personally I think the basic mp/msp salary is a bit too high comparatively and could be dropped and that the top jobs are probably too low.

In a real down mood today. Friend I was meant to be meeting - also her DS could walk with my DS - looks likely to cancel because her car is stuck at location in snow.

Need to rearrange big family holiday with SIL for the 3000th time, but to when ? Beginning to think we're never going to be allowed into England or have multi household holidays ever again.

Most annoyingly DH is so relentlessly cheery as he keeps on reading the Daily Telegraph English route out of lockdown which HAS NO RELEVANCE TO US IN SCOTLAND as I may have gently reminded him more than once. Plus he keeps talking through miniseries.