History was made at Holyrood on Tuesday when The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill was passed unanimously by MSPs. It was the culmination of a campaign led by Monica Lennon MSP, who had support across the parties and she is to be congratulated for her tireless campaign for period dignity for all.

It is estimated that period products cost around £8 a month but when girls and young women, or their families, can’t afford this monthly hit they don’t go to school. Missing out on education because sanitary products aren’t affordable is an inequity that will no longer exist, thanks to Monica’s bill. It should also mean that no-one will be left in the upsetting situation of not having the period products they need.

That was quite a week but when the result came it was worth the wait. I think there was a collective sigh of relief around the world when CNN forecast that Joe Biden had won the US election. 

As President Trump continues to claim electoral fraud, the contrast with speeches from President-elect Biden and his Vice-president Kamala Harris couldn’t have been greater. They offered hope for the future but have a mountain to climb to heal a divided country where 70 million people voted for four more years of President Trump.

The publication last week of the Scottish Government of Scotland’s Strategic Framework containing five levels of restrictions meant that the question everyone was asking at the weekend was, “what tier are we in?”

We didn’t need to wait long for the answer. In a leaked letter sent to COSLA from the government at the beginning of this week, hopes of returning to some kind of normality were dashed when we discovered that Shetland, along with Orkney, Moray, Highland and the Western Isles, would be in Level 1. At the time of writing that tier has not been formally confirmed by government.

The trip down to Edinburgh was uneventful. All the Covid safety precautions are in place at Sumburgh and on Loganair, hand sanitiser everywhere, and with only a handful of passengers on board physical distancing was easy.

The city centre was a bit busier following the return of students, but the signs of the impact of Covid on the economy is there to see with the doors of many businesses, predominantly in the hospitality sector, remaining closed. Some of the shops on the Royal Mile weren’t open either, a direct consequence of the lack of tourists.

Students have had a raw deal. It was entirely predictable that a mass movement of people across the country and coming together in “new households” would lead to further cases of Covid-19.

Those going to university or college for the first time, including some 17-year olds, have been hit especially hard with their last year at school undermined by the SQA grades uncertainty and debacle, now their first experience of higher education began with a two-week lockdown.

The council’s decision last week to explore options “for achieving political and financial self-determination” resulted in some inaccurate national media stories about Shetland seeking independence. Nothing new there perhaps, and social media wasn’t immune to it either.

It is little wonder that councillors overwhelmingly supported the probing motion - and had I still been on the council I too would have voted for it. A combination of year on year reductions of central funding and the erosion of local decision-making powers isn’t working for an ambitious Shetland.

It goes without saying that the last twelve months have not unfolded as predicted. Equally, it was no surprise that Covid-19, and recovery from it, was the main feature in the Programme for Government which was delivered in Holyrood on Tuesday. This set out the legislative programme and bills to be introduced in the parliamentary session ahead of next May’s elections.

The week began with a virtual presentation, “Farm to Fork”, about why standards of food, animal health, welfare and the environment matter.

Hosted by one of the members of Parliament’s Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee, MSPs and other stakeholders heard first hand of the high environmental and food production standards in the UK from two farmers, one based in the Borders, the other in the East Midlands, who are both passionate about sustainable farming and the environment.

Tuesday was Exam Results’ Day. Except this year there were no exams. Some people are still questioning why the exam diet was actually cancelled when most of the year’s work had been completed, and countries like Germany, France and Italy continued with their exams. So the grades awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) were anxiously awaited by young people and their parents and carers.

Congratulations to all the young people across Shetland who have received results this week. You have faced this most important stage in your lives in circumstances not experienced before.

The wearing of face coverings on public transport has been mandatory for a few weeks now but from today we’re required to wear them when shopping too. I’ve been trying to get into the habit of putting on a face covering when out shopping but confess I haven’t always remembered. Changing the habits of a lifetime isn’t easy.

There is a strong view that this preventative action should have been taken months ago. For now, with a few exceptions, we all have get used to covering our faces when shopping. I know the great efforts that shops across Shetland have undertaken during this lockdown period so the least we can do, while continuing to support them and the local economy as we slowly come out of lockdown, is wear a face covering and avoid the possibility of spreading the virus to shop staff or other customers.