MY time in the Civil Service spanned some 26 years, and even included a brief spell in 10 Downing Street. During that time, I never reached the heights of the much respected Sue Gray. However, I was able to tell the difference between a work event and a party.

We often used to work late. And very occasionally, we enjoyed an after hours party.

If you worked late, you could claim overtime. If you partied, you couldn’t.

It was a simple as that. It shouldn’t take weeks to work that one out.

Keith Halley

Dalkeith

IT is not yet really that clear just what is the best way to take a bottle of wine into the workplace. Perhaps in a small duffel bag with one’s sandwiches and flask, perhaps in a briefcase, possibly a simple plastic bag, or perhaps indeed brazenly openly carrying it in by the neck.

Should the workplace have multiple wine fridges for use by its workforce, then of course there is the issue of whether bottle donations by all, to communal imbibing, collective funding of a bulk purchase to satisfy all tastes, UK taxpayer expense funded bulk purchase, or indeed VIP bulk donations from those expecting favoured treatment from the workforce, lack clarity as to the most appropriate mechanism for the workforce wine supply.

Fine British cheese provision for the workplace is of course a separate mater and subject to other purchase and/or storage criteria.

This would appear to only cover No10/11(above shop flat) Downing Street however, and of course the Westminster Parliament workplace has so many wine outlets (Taxpayer subsidised), that wine fridges would appear to be superfluous, except for the most hardened imbibers of Westminster.

Whilst the damage limitation exercises at No10 suggest suitcases were used to reduce damage to bottles if otherwise carried by plastic bag, and that getting hammered on wine with a following miraculous recovery to full working capacity was a Friday/Monday event respectively, no such restrictions appear to apply to the Westminster workplace.

Imbibing at the Westminster workplace is strictly limited to the exclusion of PM question time, and actual division votes, and the general rule for when imbibing, is to avoid the debating chamber completely or face the ignonimity of being accused of having “dined well”.

What perhaps is overlooked is that this workplace and the public servants working therein, are taxpayer funded, ostensibly to work for the benefit of the UK citizen.

So, just how many bottles are there to a rape clause? and how many fridges are required to make statues to people traffickers inviolable? and how many cellars to a Brexit?

Clearly, Scotland needs to be an independent EU nation state, with its own parliament and civil service, but perhaps now is the time to ensure and maintain divergence from the Westminster workplace issues that have fuelled both austerity over the last decade, and Covid/Brexit more recently.

Stephen Tingle

Greater Glasgow

AND all this was going on when Mr Johnson would appear on the steps of no 10 on a Thursday evening to clap for the NHS. One of them suggested a "badge" for carers. Insult upon insult. But he was educated to have contempt for the masses, and he is a product of the system, not the designer of it. Changing him will not change the culture. The song that comes to mind is “we’ve got to get out of this place, if it’s the last thing we ever do, we’ve got to get out of this place, Girl there’s a better life for me and you." I think it was the Animals. A good temporary anthem for Scotland.

C Walker

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