JACKIE BIRD’S COVID AGONY
Presenter’s anguish as elderly parents shield
JACKIE BIRD has revealed her sadness at not being able to hug her elderly parents during lockdown.
The broadcaster, who quit as presenter of Reporting Scotland last year, has not been able to embrace Linda and Ronnie, both 82, who are shielding at their home – which is only ten minutes away from her.
Technology has allowed them to enjoy bingo and wine tasting nights at the same time in their respective houses, but the journalist misses being able to cuddle them.
She said: ‘I just want to hug them again really.
‘It was February or March the last time I hugged my parents. It’s awful – absolutely horrible.
‘It sounds so trite and clichéd but that’s the thing I’m most looking forward to when all of this madness ends. It’s one of those occasions when we only realise what we’ve got when it’s gone.
‘I would hope we will appreciate the simple things after this – that we will remember what we lost and be more grateful for it when we have it back.’
Ms Bird added: ‘They are the people who looked after me when I was building a career and looked after my children, now it’s my time to do a bit of looking after them.
‘When restrictions were at their tightest I was able to go and deliver their newspapers and chat to them through the glass.
‘We’ve been trying to find innovative ways to give them something to do. We got them onto Zoom, which was hilarious, so we had bingo nights and we even did a wine tasting evening when we got a half dozen types of wine and dropped it at the front door.’
Ms Bird also revealed how she suffered a string of injuries during lockdown, after stepping up her exercise routine.
The 58-year-old damaged her Achilles tendon while running then put her back out after over-exerting herself on an exercise bike.
She said: ‘Lockdown for me began like everyone else in that it was a bit scary but a bit of a novelty, then the weather got nice and I thought, “OK, this is do-able”.
‘It gave me opportunities to do lots and lots of running, so much so that I did in my Achilles tendon, and then I did the exercise bike, which was great until I put my back out. Like so many people, I upped my mileage because I was a bit bored but it was one step forward and two hobbling steps back.
‘I got through it with rest and I’m alright now. I’m still going out and about, but now the weather is not so nice, the nights are drawing in and I think everyone is just fed up and wants an ending in sight.’
Ms Bird hosted BBC Scotland’s coverage of the Children in Need appeal for the 20th year in a row on Friday night, and told how she was moved to tears while talking to charity workers about the challenges they have faced this year due to the pandemic.
She said: ‘There’s greater need than ever... in my 20 years, this is uncharted territory.’