IT’S December, which means it’s well and truly Christmas shopping season, just not as we know it.

Another normality we all took for granted, which this bloody virus has meddled in, is the good old-fashioned Glasgow city Christmas shopping day out.

For some that could mean a solid 9-5 Saturday of getting to as many stores as possible, for others it might be meeting for brunch ahead of a boozy dinner with some shopping breaking out in between.

Either way, it has always been a pleasure to help take a Glaswegian with countless Christmas shopping bags safely up the road after a December day out on the town.

Clearly this year is different. The pandemic means online shopping has rocketed, and supermarkets remain busy, but many retailers are suffering and we really do feel for them. The bars and restaurants, the hotels and hairdressers, they are all struggling and for them there is only one thing on their wish lists – a vaccine.

Glasgow Taxi drivers will be equally affected. Instead of looking forward to one of the busiest months of the year, this will be the quietest December for the trade in living memory. We just hope 2021 is the light at the end of this toughest of tunnels.

That said, we remain available and happy to help any essential journeys, such as to the supermarket or back, or even with the transporting of goods and presents. We are separated, sanitised and safe.

We are also scarred by some experiences, or at least a couple of my colleagues are, when it comes to shopping.

I remember one driver, who will remain nameless, who left his taxi to help pick up the shopping of the customer waiting at the rank so he could kindly place it in his cab for her.

Unfortunately, the customer hadn’t seen the driver leave his taxi and instead thought he was a member of the public going to steal her shopping – so she started whacking him over the head with her handbag!

Poor John... I mean, poor driver!

In another episode, my other driver friend did get the shopping in the cab and made it 200 yards along the road before realising there was no passenger sitting with the bags. Cue an abrupt U-turn to collect the confused customer!

Thankfully both journeys ended well and everyone had a laugh about what had happened.

The sooner we can get back to that the better (I’d even take being hit by a handbag right now!).

Happy shopping.

And stay safe!