I’ll have to wait a little longer to hug my parents

As most of Scotland enjoyed restrictions easing yesterday, it was not good news for everyone.

Swathes of the country moved to Level 2 but Moray and Glasgow remained in Level 3, due to an increase of coronavirus cases.

For Cheryl Peebles, above, this means cancelling her long-awaited visit to her parents Tom and Ann Wood.

Here, the DCT Media schools and family team leader – who was due to travel to Moray from her home in Fife for the first time since last summer – shares her experience...

“My dad is unable to talk over the phone so the only contact we’ve had for the last few months is a wave as I Facetime my mum.

“I’d been counting down the weeks until we could visit my parents this weekend, give them a hug and let them see their grandchildren for the first time in months.

“But they live in Moray, which has remained in Level 3 due to a spike in cases. So we’ll have to wait a little longer.

“Dad, whose 70th birthday I missed in November, is not in good health and has been in hospital three times over the last year with pneumonia. He had throat cancer three years ago and although he has a tracheostomy with a speaking valve, he struggles to raise more than a whisper. A conversation in person is difficult, so a telephone or Zoom chat is out of the question.

“While Moray was in Level 1 with limited restrictions last autumn, Fife was shifted into Level 3 preventing us from travelling out of the region to see my folks. So the last time we saw them was when we camped near where they live last summer.

“For the first time in over a year, people can now give their loved ones a hug. I’ll just have to wait a little bit longer to hug mine.”