A Bench With A View

Starting as I mean to go on, with a walk before starting work. 289 new emails were kindly waiting for me after two weeks leave and I had read them all by the close of play. 

Big announcements today from Westminster and Holyrood. I want to remember the First Minister’s final words from her parliamentary statement. 

“All of this is incredibly tough - and six months on, it only gets tougher.

But we should never forget that humanity has come through even bigger challenges than this one - and it did so without the benefits of modern technology that allow us to stay connected while physically apart.

And though it doesn’t feel like this now, this pandemic will pass.

It won’t last forever and one day, hopefully soon, we will be looking back on it, not living through it.

So though we are all struggling with this - and believe me, we are all struggling - let’s pull together.

Let’s keep going, try to keep smiling, keep hoping and keep looking out for each other.
Be strong, be kind and let’s continue to act out of love and solidarity.

I will never be able to thank all of you enough for the sacrifices you have made so far.

And I am sorry to have to ask for more.

But if we stick with it - and if we stick together - I do know we will get through this.”