Losing It

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A leading whisky expert is still living in lockdown because he fears losing his senses and his livelihood to Covid.

Since March 2020 Blair Bowman has only ventured out of his Edinburgh home for walks and to collect his weekly shop.

Before the pandemic he travelled The World for corporate events, but now does all his work online - and his business is booming.

Mr Bowman told: " At The Moment the risks are just much too high for me. "

The whisky consultant and broker has been closely following the science since start of the pandemic.

And he was aware from an early stage that loss of smell and taste was a symptom of The Virus .

But as Scotland's Covid restrictions have gradually eased, Mr Bowman has maintained an existence he describes as " very surreal".

He Said : " I have made this decision and I have come to peace with that.

" I Am doing The Right thing for myself and others.

" There is still a risk, despite being double vaccinated. We can still spread this virus amongst each other. "

Asked what his life is like, Mr Bowman, 31, said: " My business is thriving, its growing dramatically actually, because I Am able to do so much through Zoom.

" I Am very fortunate to do a job that I love which is nosing and tasting whiskies and working with clients and consulting on projects around The World .

" My Life is very much a virtual world and has been since the rest of The World started to unlock.

" I have to decline dozens, probably hundreds, of events now and I'm having to decline lots of tasting events. "

Before the pandemic Mr Bowman travelled The World and when Scotland went into lockdown he had trips booked to Norway, Japan, Macau, Ghana, the US, United Arab Emirates and China.

His work mainly involves hosting tasting events for private clients and guests.

Mr Bowman added: " I just can't do that and I'm not planning on doing that any Time In the near future until the science is very clear about the risks. "

On his routine, He Said : " The only Time I am going out is once a week to collect shopping from a distance in a Car Park in a supermarket.

" They know me now so well not to come near me, to leave the trolley next To My vehicle And Then , once they have left, I put The Bags into my car and away I go. "

Mr Bowman said he has not been in a pub or restaurant for 20 months.

And he revealed the cases of wine and champagne he dropped off at an Edinburgh restaurant ahead of his planned 30th birthday celebrations last March were still sitting in its cellar.

He added: " The thought of going to a dinner, or an awards dinner or a big gathering just does not work for me at all at The Moment .

" I would just feel incredibly uncomfortable with that because of the amount of risk. "

Mr Bowman, who has been involved in the whisky industry for 10 Years , lives with his partner who is also self-employed.

He added: " Both of us are very comfortable in our little bubble. "

Mr Bowman told the programme he is At Peace with the fact he is still leading a lockdown life and is in no rush to return to normal.

He Said : " I don't want to take a risk that could jeopardise my sense of smell which is so important To My livelihood. "

Asked about the experiences of others in the industry, Mr Bowman highlighted the case of A Man who recently told him that when he tried to savour his favourite Islay Whisky all he could smell was Fresh Air .

He Said : " If you know Islay Whisky it should be peaty, smoky and medicinal.

" That just seems incredibly discombobulating really, to smell something and have no smell from it. "

'Difficult to Live With '

Sarah Oakley, Executive Director of charity, said about 90% of people who lose their sense of smell through Covid get it back within a week or two.

" But for maybe one out of 10 of Those People smell loss will be persistent and it might be for a couple of months that they do not really have much smell at all, " Ms Oakley added.

She explained those individuals may then experience, which is distorted smells.

Ms Oakley said: " Things that are really familiar to you, things like coffee, baking bread, frying bacon, can suddenly become triggers and trigger a disgust response in you because your olfactory pathways are not receiving signals properly. That can be really difficult to Live With . "

She also told the programme people take their sense of smell for granted and warned Losing It can make people more vulnerable to low mood and depression.

Ms Oakley added: " It affects all areas of your life. It is key to The Way that we navigate Our World . "

RULES: LOCKDOWN: CASES: NUMBERS:

Source of news: bbc.com