Many people have had the experience of ending a visit to an elderly relative with ‘Well, see you next week’, and receiving the response ‘if I’m spared’. There is some element of that in the air as we wake up this morning to many in Scotland moving to a lower Level of Covid restrictions. We

4 The decision to move Portugal from the Green to the Amber travel list has produced much comment in the media. There is no doubt that it will be a big blow to those who had booked holidays, or those currently on holiday there, finding that they will now have to isolate for 10 days

3 Media North and South of the border are commenting on education matters today: exam grade appeals in Scotland and the money available for a catch-up plan in England. Many of the comments tend to be phrased with a focus on party politics and personalities, rather than the situations of pupils, staff and families/carers. It

2 It’s good to hear that in West Dunbartonshire we are moving next week to Level 1 (along with Argyll and Bute, and many other areas), but it isn’t a time to gloat, when there are neighbouring areas like East Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire that remain in Level 2. We’ve been there and had the t-shirt,

1 June month Volunteers Week (1-6) Eight years on from the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Birmingham is appealing for 13,000 volunteers to help with next year’s Games there. Our community and country wouldn’t run the way it does without volunteers: from parent-teacher councils, to youth organisations, to charity committees, to sports club committees, to National Trust

31 Garden wildlife week (31-6/6) This is apparently Garden wildlife week. I know some folk in Dumbarton and the Vale have deer that come and eat their flowers, some have squirrels that cause trouble. We have occasional visits from our friendly local hedgehog that seems to be doing its stuff with the snails and slugs.