Scunnered Emma and Rob

In this edition of Scunnered, Rob and Emma discuss what has been getting them through life in lockdown.

From the long awaited release of Hamilton on Disney+ to ticking off all the quarantine cliches - we cover it all and more.

It wouldn’t be Scunnered without some political chat: this time we are tackling the issue of face coverings and why the UK Government’s position is so different to that of ScotGov.

We would love to hear your take:

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In this episode, Emma and Rob discuss the importance of being a ally to the Black Lives Matter movement in not only the US, but here in Scotland and the UK as a whole. This episode was recorded of #BlackoutTuesday and we talk about how much of an impact the protests are having in the States, here in Scotland, and to us individually.

We also chat about the easing of lockdown restrictions (and how many are spoiling it for the few).

We finish up by talking about Aamer Anwar and his work on the Sheku Bayoh case, plus his own story at the hands of police violence in the past and how he came to be one of the most prominent Human Rights Lawyers in Scotland.
You can Tweet us at @scunneredpod
Like us on FB www.fb.com/scunnered
Visit us at www.scunneredpodcast.com

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. 

Get in touch: 

Tweet us at @scunneredpod 

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Visit us at www.scunneredpodcast.com

We got so impatient with waiting, that even one host down, we had to get a message out to you all. Just a quick word from Emma to check in and say hello but we will be with you with our full Preview Ep and - what’s that - LAUNCH EPISODE - in a week or two. We are excited, Scunnered, and hope you are too.