Has the first minister given a clear briefing today

You’re very kind, Marydoll. I’ll check with my mum and see whether she feels it’s worth it now. She’s very independent and makes up her own mind about things! I see the govt is now saying you can travel more than five miles to see family. I wish they’d be clearer about things.

SueDonim, the Shielding letter has a number to text to register for help. You then had to ask for a food box.
Because I didn't ask for one, the LA phoned me to see if that had been an error.

I said I was fine, but had a long chat with the Council Officer.
He was telling me they were concerned about vulnerable people slipping through the net, people who weren' t shielding, but still needed support.
He told me they too, were entitled to support, but the problem was identifying them.
I don't know if it would be worthwhile trying again.
It must be such a worry for you.

Thank you, Marydoll. I did try the LA route at the start but it kept sending me round in circles so I ended up back where I began. I felt I didn’t have the luxury of time to wait for them to get into action which is why I ended up relying on good samaritans. They’ve been very kind but I’m aware they’re busy people who are not being paid to do this so I don’t like to ask too much of them.

I had no idea about the need for registration - that wasn’t on any of the information I read.

Sue Donim, every local authority in Scotland has a dedicated number you can phone to ask for help with prescriptions and food deliveries.
The local authority websites have details of this number and an email address if you are unable to phone.

Here is the link to all the authority phone numbers.
www.gov.scot/publications/covid-shielding/pages/contacts/

Whether you get a shielding letter or not, in Scotland you still have to register for the free food deliveries, you don't automatically get them.
This dedicated number is not only for people who are shielding, but for vulnerable people who are unable to get out for medication or prescriptions.
You should be able to get support for your mother there.

I can assure you, the supermarkets did get the lists of vulnerable people from the Scottish Govt, albeit a fortnight after the the English ones were sent out. That is how I am managing to get priority deliveries.

The shielding letters are not based on age, they are based on patients being extremely clinically vulnerable at high risk of death from Covid.
Perhaps you could contact your mother's GP if you are concerned about her wellbeing.

Thank you for your kind concern, Riverwalk. It’s a two hour drive to my mother’s so it’s not allowed for me to visit. She has had no communication from the government whatsoever apart from the letters every household got at the beginning. Her GP hasn’t even phoned to see how she is, though she must be one of the oldest people on their list.

I haven’t been able to get supermarket deliveries for her because Scotland didn’t give the list of names to supermarkets and I don’t know if it’s that’s even been done yet as I’ve given up. There have been none of the boxes of groceries that vulnerable friends in England have delivered regularly to their door.

There has been not one iota of support offered from the govt, nothing. Instead, I’ve had to search out what I hope are trustworthy strangers to keep my mum going through this crisis.

I'm not an SNP voter, but I think Nicola Sturgeon is doing a good job.
I cringe when I hear ministers like Matt Hancock holding the briefing, he rarely gives a straight answer.

My friend works in a local authority nursery and they had meetings today to discuss what plans will likely to be put in place for nurseries opening up again. Things are happening behind the scenes.

The Scottish Executive COVID-19 Education Recovery Group are also in discussions to find the best way forward and Larry Flanagan, Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), General Secretary serves on that committee.
The present situation is unprecedented and politicians won't always get it right. It's a very steep learning curve.

To answer the OP, I always find NS a pleasure to watch and listen to - she just seems serious and doesn't talk as though addressing primary school children.

Whoever it was who hosted yesterday's Downing Street briefing was awful.

SueDonim as your mother is very elderly she is vulnerable and it's been allowed from day one to visit her surely?

Whether you would go into her house and have close physical contact would be your choice in case you introduced the virus to her, but the regulations allowed visits to such elderly parents.

Is that the best you can come up with, Paddyanne? You really are scraping the barrel. Still, such is the SNP voter in Scotland.

I'm sure the unions have been consulted about schools in fact their spokesmen were on the STV news at six ,and nurseries are going back especially the outdoor ones .The problem of course with ANY rules they have to be made to suit a majority .That often means some are left out.

Perhaps Boris' solution suits you better ,with beaches crammed and people using them as loos .Never mind SD.There will no doubt be something else for you to moan about tomorrow where SNP are concerned..Nicola could find a cure for cancer and you'd complain it would put medics out of jobs.Such is the unionist in Scotland

Nicola Sturgeon was interviewed this evening, both on STV and BBC Scotland.

She said to use your common sense if you had to visit an elderly parent, who lived a distance away.
I think her advice was where possible not to travel too far, but there are exceptions, if you had to see an elderly parent.

A lot of fine words but not much substance behind them. My dd administers services to schools and the detail simply isn’t there to make it happen. Unions haven’t been consulted and nothing has been said on nurseries, which many teachers rely on for their own children.

Also, unless clarified later on, we are restricted to meeting another household within five miles of us. For people like us who live rurally, five miles is ridiculous, that limit barely gets me into town and it further than that to the nearest supermarket. As always, she can’t see beyond the Central Belt.

From what I’ve seen so far, I don’t think I’ll be allowed to see my very elderly mother until August at the earliest. She lives alone and has scarcely seen a human face for eight weeks now.

Thanks Chewbacca. Some people really are ridiculous.

NS is a great speaker and has dealt with the pandemic with great maturity honesty and clarity with respect for the people of Scotland. I appreciate her considerate, careful, slowly cautious approach which is done for the good of every sector of society here. I do not support the Independence movement but am very glad to have Nicola at the helm at this time.

I listen to NS just to remind myself what a real leader sounds like.

I was most impressed by her clarity, no bumbling at all.
It was a well prepared speech, which in my opinion gave us a little chink of light for the future, but no empty promises with the proviso that if there is another spike, measures will be tightened up again.
I'm not an SNP supporter, but Boris could learn a few things from her.

As someone who is shielding I was pleased to hear that consideration is being given to the impact on the mental health those of us who are shielding.
We know that the isolation imposed by shielding over a long period of time is in itself very difficult and indeed harmful. And so, although we are not changing our advice on shielding yet, I can confirm that we will issue new guidance before the initial period of shielding ends on 18 June.

Could also reiterate what the OP has asked, can we please stick to the original post?

I find NS very hard to listen to. There are lovely Scottish voices and there are harsh ones - hers is the latter. It gets between me and the content of her speech. Some English voices have the same effect. So I’m not sure if she was clear or not!

NS did well again today.
Clear, concise with no faffing.

Why is it rude to compliment someone on their username? They're chosen by the individual; they're not foisted on us, so why was orangerose accused of being rude to barmeyoldbat?

She also has her speech signed which I’m very impressed with.

I also agree with the OP. In spite of my dislike of the separatist agenda of the SNP, I think that Nicola Sturgeon is by far the most experienced and competent politician we have right now.

As I don't currently live in Scotland, I can't comment on the effectiveness of her policies, but she does an excellent presentation every day. She talks well. She does not patronise her audience. She never resorts to meaningless soundbites and cliches like the dreadful UK government spokesman constantly do. She answers questions directly. I have even heard her say she doesn't know the answer to a question and apologise for things they might have got wrong.

Well said Nicola. You are certainly impressing a lot of folk in England.

Granny23 I totally agree with your comment. I actually thought Elizabeth1 post was quite clear on what she wrote - simply - clarity of NS speech today. Why do others wish to 'pop in' with ridiculous comments re names of other GN's. I just can't fathom this out at all. My view is that NS was clear and concise in her speech today as she has been throughout this whole process and the way forward for all us Scots. I certainly hope we are all singing from the same hymn sheet.

Didn't take long for this thread to be subverted in a ridiculous manner. {sigh}

I do agree with the OP. The first Minister's briefings and statements are the only ones I watch now. Always clear and straightforward, unlike the others which leave me more confused than enlightened.

Quite right about what Luca?

Snowflake again. Snowflakes are beautiful things but now the word is a cheap insult.
Barmeyoldbat didn’t claim to be offended by the way.
It was another poster (who was quite right)