Oh dear Barack Obama, don’t come to Scotland and call us the Emerald Isle or talk about our national bard as William Shakespeare!
Had his researchers never heard of Rabbie Burns?
Or was it just the weak coffee at COP26 that he was complaining about, which made him muddle us up with the rest of the UK?
I’m always a little bit offended when Americans insist on referring to the UK as England.
Many of them don’t understand how unique and special our little country is. We are not England.
It’s wonderful that Glasgow has hosted so many world leaders and dignitaries during COP26, and according to my friends who live there, the disruption to normal life has been minimal.
Barack may have tasted weak coffee during his stay but I hope he also tasted a few very strong drams while he was with us, and I hope that many of those people who attended got a chance to see a little bit of the beauty of Scotland and not just the inside of the conference centre.
It’s quite incredible really that COP26 managed to go ahead despite Covid being very much still around.
Talking of Covid, more friends of mine than ever before have been diagnosed with Covid in the last week.
Thankfully I haven’t been in contact with any of them and they seem to be doing well but it’s worrying that so many people who are double vaccinated are getting it at the moment and feeling quite unwell.
Gordon thankfully has now had his booster and I’m due mine in a few weeks, but hopefully as many of us as possible can stay safe until we get that third jab in our arms.
My friends who are unwell right now are keeping in touch with us all on text thankfully. They can’t, of course, go out and are having food delivered to their doorsteps and it reminds me of the community spirit we all experienced in the first wave.
Are we in a fourth wave or is it just a coincidence that I know so many people experiencing Covid at the moment?
Roll on those boosters!
Meanwhile, despite Covid still being around, I personally feel that life almost seems back to normal.
Certainly London seems as busy as ever, and with Christmas shopping getting underway, the shops seem the busiest I’ve seen them for a couple of years.
I met up with some friends this week for lunch. It’s something we haven’t done since before Covid and it really is one of life’s pleasures to reminisce and catch up with old friends like we used to do.
We have all got a few more wrinkles, we have all had to adjust our waistbands a bit, but we are all still here and have survived these strange times and we definitely raised a glass to that.
One thing that seems to have changed forever though is the filming of people for TV shows in their own homes. When we first saw an array of bookshelves behind people in their homes, we thought that was a temporary measure.
However, nearly two years on, those bookshelves are still a regular feature of many
TV interviews.
I was doing some more filming for Channel 5 this week and once again, rather than going to them, they sent the camera to me.
All I can say is thank goodness for Gordon being able to set it all up.
I quite enjoy the setting up of the background though. It’s fun to make your house look as posh as possible.
Of course, it’s all a bit of a false story though because if the camera could see what’s on the other side of the room it would be funny.
When you are rushing around to get your hair and make-up done for TV and your husband is setting up a film studio on your kitchen table, the last thing you have time to do is tidy up the bits of the room that can’t be seen!
Next time you see someone sitting in what looks like an immaculate house, remember that behind the camera is probably an ironing board and a pile of washing!
I’m still recovering from wearing heels at Pride of Britain so I have to admit that under the table for my filming I had on my slippers.
Have a good week,
Yvie x
