Before we even get in to the episode - 

Rob asks the question on everybody’s lips...Carol Baskin: Did she do it? Was Joe Exotic Framed? Can Emma get that TicTok song out of her head? Before we know it, we are into the episode (not before discussing our slight technical difficulties the previous day, where we recorded a full podcast only to discover it hadn’t been recording, that was a fun moment!) all is well though and we are HERE! 

Welcome to Scunnered. Episode One: Lockdown Life. This lockdown is affecting us all in many ways, Emma was meant to be celebrating her engagement on the day of this recording and having her engagement party this night. Just another example of the many ways this virus is impacting us all. Emma was a wedding singer in a previous life (is still a singer/entertainer now) and the wedding industry has been hugely affected. Many venues have ceased trading and close friends have had to postpone/move their wedding dates. It’s really sad and on a personal note, the wedding date will have to be moved back at least a year from when it was planned it as all the couples who were booked in for this year will take priority. Also, Emma’s income disappeared pretty much overnight. 

The entertainment industry is really struggling right now, so if you see someone on Facebook doing a livestream, give them some support and love please. Emma chats about how she dealt with having COVID. Especially as she is someone who has an underlying health condition. Emma has a genetic condition called Classical Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (yup, it’s a mouthful!). It does make her somewhat immunocompromised, but not enough to be on the list to be shielding (we’ll get to that later with Rob!). 

It was a pretty scary experience having COVID and being someone who already had health conditions, because you never knew when or if things could take a turn for the worse. Emma was sick for longer than is ‘usual’ (there’s a surprise) and had to visit the COVIDhub. These Hub’s were set up pretty early in the Scottish Government’s response to COVID19, but they don’t do any testing...why this is the case, makes Emma and Rob both ask many questions. Now things have changed, thankfully. But it was too late for Emma. However, you will hear how much of an impact Emma’s experience at the COVIDhub had on her and how much the bravery of the staff moved her to make a video as she was sitting in her car in the car park. There is a link to that video in the description. It’s an important watch. 

Rob discusses the importance of PPE, the ‘numbers’ being produced by UK GOV and testing site anomalies. We go on to discuss the Louisa Jordan NHS Hospital in Glasgow and joke about how a certain number of the population want it named the Nightingale something or other...it was a whole thing. We then discuss how Rob has been in shielding since lockdown has began. This has been a pretty gruelling process for Rob, but he has been so incredible and I don’t know how he does it. Rob talked about the emotional impact this has taken, and also the practicalities of day to day life. He signed up for a scheme in which he gets food delivered from the council, and also another food box that he had to sign up for via his GP. One has fresh produce (meats, eggs, cheese etc) and the other day to day things like pasta, bread, pasta sauce, beans, cereal, etc. General groceries. Rob said he is really grateful for these deliveries and that he is doing his bit by staying home as he is immunocompromised and the council/government are doing their bit by helping him. Have they done everything right? No. Will we be saying what we think? Yes. 

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