Five years on from the first nationwide lockdown many Scots are still coming to terms with the huge impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
There are many people who are still grieving for friends or family members who were lost to the disease.
There are Scots continuing to live each day with Long Covid and its side-effects.
And the economic and social costs of lockdown are still all around us.
Countless businesses which never reopened. Schools closed. A battered and bruised economy reeling from repeated shutdowns.
Many families will know of an isolated friend or family member who were stuck alone during lockdowns and have never recovered their self-confidence in the years since.
In this context it can be hard to remember the genuine public health success story that was the Covid vaccine roll-out.
The swift introduction of the jab was the key to ending lockdown and bringing a degree of normalcy back to our lives.
During the dark days of March and April 2020 it seemed as if the possibility of a cure could be years away. The government response to Covid at all levels was far from perfect. There were very real failures, and the ongoing public inquiries into the issue will hopefully identify what they were.
Leaders such as Boris Johnson appeared to flout the rules while ordinary people suffered. That has caused a rise in mistrust of politicians among voters – which continues to impact our national life five years on.
It’s important lessons are learned so we are better prepared in future.
And on a national day of reflection, we take the time to remember those we lost.
Stop vile trolls
No politician thinks they can please all of the people all of the time.
The nature of a democracy means there will always be some opposition to certain policies. Robust debate can be a positive in the decision-making process.
But in the age of social media, opposition too often turns into vicious name calling, threats or worse.
And too often it’s female politicians who attract the worst abuse of all.
Cowards sitting at home on their smartphone should realise that so-called trolling is not a harmless pastime.
Abusing public officials for simply doing their job would be unacceptable in the workplace. No one would tolerate being shouted at in an office by a random member of the public.
The same principle should apply to social media. We need more women in politics, not fewer.
Abuse on social media is a real problem and must be tackled robustly.
There’s no excuse for it.