Social distancing: One metre or two won’t mean much on street – Hayley Matthews

The debate of whether people should stay one or two metres away from each other will make little difference to how many people behave, writes Hayley Matthews.

A pigeon sits on a social distancing sign at Waverley Station (Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

I was on BBC Scotland recently talking about social distancing and the prospect of it being relaxed soon with Bojo considering the advice (I know – don’t even get me started on that) and I believe the review will aim to report back by July 4.

However, will a half a metre or metre really make that much difference? And will we adhere to it? Folk seem to be making up their own distancing rules anyway. I don’t think it will make a huge difference to how people are going about their daily lives. For example, there are some people really taking it seriously and adhering to the two-metre distance rules and yet there seem to be others who go about their day oblivious to the advice and getting close to each other in the street.

It does seem to be mainly teenagers I spot in groups but there’s also the odd person still squeezing past me in the supermarket to reach for the pasta. So a half-a-metre reduction or even a metre reduction I don’t think will make a difference to how we’re coping.

I’m hardly walking about with a measuring tape but I reckon if you were to take 100 people and ask them all to draw out two metres, you’d get more variation and confusion than you would watching Prime Minister’s questions!

There did seem to be a few contributors on with me at the BBC explaining that the quicker the distance is reduced the better for our economy but, I think the damage is done and that a 50-centimetre or one-metre difference really won’t be the solution.

It’s the kids that matter, not the parents

We’ve had news from the school of a plan for return and the class situation and I’m delighted that my son is in with a lovely group of kids whose parents don’t seem to be involved in the “cliques”.

Trust me, because we’ve had first-hand experience of the bitchy mum clique with the one who likes to think she’s the ring leader taking a personal dislike to me and my son after doing her best to ostracise us.

I’ve not lost any sleep over the way this woman operates because I’d called it from the start and could see through the fake smile and constant sticking her nose in everyone’s business but sadly many are still fooled. Nonetheless it’s cheerio to her and in with a fresh bunch.

But the reason I’m writing this is for all those parents with kids about to start school and in very different circumstances to the normal starting of P1 – I can only imagine the apprehension.

That first day can be just as nerve-wracking for the parents as it is for the kids so my advice is keep it simple, be nice and don’t get sucked into the cliques.

The lure of a coffee morning with the ones trying to be the “cool gang” can be tempting but that’s where the fake friends are and no good ever comes of a “fake mum friend”.

Don’t get involved in the backbiting, keep it positive and remember, kids will be kids and as long as they’re happy, that’s all that matters.

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