OVER the course of the past week I have enjoyed a couple of momentous occasions which show how far as a nation we have come in the past four months.

I was able to leave the town where I live for the first time since March for a pleasant stroll in the park in the sunshine. Everyone else seemed buoyant too even though, in normal times, it was nothing to get particularly cheery about.

I then visited a beer garden, which was a strange experience, but laughter was in the air as folk swapped their lockdown stories, which ultimately all sounded the same.

Next week, of course, hairdressers, cinemas and indoor areas will open meaning Scotland is at last open again for business.

But while most Scots are happy to enjoy the moment and take baby steps towards embracing the new normal, others are seizing the moment to reopen divisive wounds. Fresh from lodging a petition to close the border, some fanatics have taken it upon themselves to stand by the A1 and hurl abuse at motorists heading north after crossing from England.

Dressed in hazmat suits, they claim they want to keep Scotland Covid-free based on the higher rates south of the border, but we can all really see what’s going on here, although they deny being anti-English.

If they looked up at the sky during the protest, they would see planes overhead carrying passenger into Scotland from various countries, many with even higher rates than England.

Why, we may ask, are they not protesting outside airports and mainline railway stations too? There are probably more folk coming into Scotland at these places instead after all.

But of course, it is campervans and caravans that they are really after and now plan to publish the registration plates of those that have the audacity to cross the border for a break in our beautiful land.

Thankfully, these idiots have no support and have been rightly condemned by Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf as not representing the welcoming and inclusive Scotland we all care about.

Hopefully, they will soon get recalled from furlough by their employers or just get bored and slide away back to where they came from before they cause real damage. As much-needed revenue returns to many sectors as the country opens up, everyone needs to work together to ensure it is done safely.

The lunatics must not be allowed to take over the asylum.