Sturgeon: 'Meeting parents in garden was odd but nice'

The First Minister has said meeting her parents in their garden was “odd, but in a nice way”.

Nicola Sturgeon said at the daily coronavirus briefing on Sunday that she hoped to spend time with her parents that evening, joking her mother would not let her “wriggle off” the commitment.

She later shared a post on her Instagram page of the meeting, including a picture of both of her parents in their garden.

Asked about the reunion with her parents in an interview with Capital FM host Katy J on Wednesday, the First Minister said: “It was good. I hadn’t seen them – like most people – for a while, probably about three months, so it felt a bit odd being with people, even my mum and dad, that I hadn’t seen for ages.

“But it was nice, it was quite brief and it was in the garden – thankfully it was a nice night and the rain stayed off.

“Hopefully I’ll get to spend a bit more time with them over the weeks to come.”

She also said it was “weird” meeting people again, adding: “I hadn’t really appreciated how odd it would feel to do something.

“My routine’s a bit different because of the job I do, but it’s very similar day to day so I’ve gone to work and gone home and not really done anything else, so to even just go and visit my mum and dad felt a bit odd, but in a nice way.”

The First Minister was able to meet her parents, Robin and Joan, after Scotland moved into phase one of the route map out of lockdown.

The first phase allowed members of two different households to meet outside, including in a private garden, as long as they observe social distancing.

Ms Sturgeon is expected to announce a move to phase two on Thursday, with some sectors expected to be able to open further.