First Minister describes 'emotional' reunion with wife for the first time since lockdown
The First Minister has spoken about the "emotional" experience of being able to live in the same house as his wife and mother-in-law for the first time since lockdown began.
Mark Drakeford had been living in a separate building in the garden of his family home but with the end of shielding has now moved back in.
In the latest edition of a new ITV Wales podcast, he said, "It is a bit emotional. I’ve been married for a very long time and not to be in the house and to be at a physical distance, even though we saw each other every day and talked every day, it was a puzzling experience in that sort of way and for that to be over it is a bit emotional for everybody."
He said that it was a "very strange" experience to return to his home.
Mr Drakeford said: "I'd forgotten how big it was! I've been reunited with a few books that I'd lost and have found again. I've found some pairs of socks that I could have done with. It is great to be back there because it means I can do more to help them."
It is one of the more personal questions I asked Mark Drakeford in The New Normal podcast, alongside more traditional political questions.
Mr Drakeford revealed that the coronavirus crisis reinforced something he had already learned about himself: he needs a full night’s sleep to function properly.
And while he said the life-or-death decisions "do weigh on you and they should weigh on you" he said he found making decisions to be relatively simple once he had been given as much advice as possible.
He confessed too that becoming the subject of online memes including a dance remix of his "regular, reliable rhythm" comments had "baffled" him but he had found them funny.
One clip which went viral featured him talking about his love of cheese. He explained that he had answered that question after hundreds of others and a long day without a break or food. "I was probably hallucinating," he said.
These are the more personal and unexpected things the podcast shows about the First Minister but he tackles more serious topics too.
It is the second episode in a new podcast series - The New Normal with Adrian Masters. During the podcast, my guests and I will be discussing politics in a time when we are all getting used to a new way of doing things.
Listen to episode two:
The New Normal with Adrian Masters is available wherever you usually get your podcasts. Future episodes will cover the environment, the debate around Welsh Independence, Black Lives Matter and more.