HONESTLY, it was wonderful.

In 15 years of enjoying Queen's Park I had never seen scenes like it.

The air was completely crisp and dry and the atmosphere was buoyant.

Freezing temperatures had caused ice to encase the duck pond and, after months of misery, people were enjoying a new feeling of freedom outdoors.

Figure skaters separated from their much-loved sport by rink closures had come to the park to practice their craft.

Friends were pootling round the pond in pairs, chatting and drinking coffees.

Little kids were being dragged up and down on sledges, giggling and shrieking with delight, while dogs were doing their best to make sense of the situation.

Some lads had kitted themselves out for ice hockey and were chasing a puck around.

It was truly delightful. All of life was there.

And that's the problem.

At the weekend, before the stricter lockdown conditions were announced, there was still a strong awareness of the new, more virulent strain of the virus taking hold of the population.

Each day we had seen the transmission rates go up.

So it was no wonder people online were furious at the sight of what they saw as crowds out on mass in the park.

Outside on Pollokshaws Road were lines of cars in a space normally empty of parked vehicles.

What looked like a crowd was gathering at the side of the duck pond. I say "looked like" because it wasn't there when I was and it can be hard to tell whether people are packed together from a photograph.

But even giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, it was busy.

We had similar scenes in the summer too, when the park was busy with people making the most of the sunshine.

There was condemnation of those who contributed to the bustle - even if they were adhering strictly to the regulations.

Seeing a busy area is unpleasant now, it's uncomfortable given what we know about airborne particles and the impact of the virus.

I can't be the only one who watches crowd scenes on TV shows now and feels disconcerted.

But the debate in the summer was far more sympathetic. There was an understanding that people who live in flats without gardens really needed to be out in the park for their health and wellbeing.

There was an understanding that this was essential and that it wasn't fair to expect people to turn round and go home if the greenspace looked overcrowded.

The argument now feels different. There was sympathy and insight before, and this seems to have diminished now.

While all of the above still holds true, there is a hard anger at seeing people seeming to flout lockdown rules - even if people are technically doing nothing wrong, it's felt that, morally, they could be trying harder.

It's not easy seeing people out having fun when you have stuck rigidly to the rules and made personal sacrifices.

It must be brutal for people who have been ill or who have lost someone they love to the virus.

What really hasn't helped the situation is seeing people in positions of power or with wealth breaking the rules and getting away with it.

From Dominic Cumming and his covid-positive trip to Barnard Castle to popstar Rita Ora going to a birthday party, apologising, and then going to Egypt but failing to self isolate on her return.

There are multiple examples of well known faces doing whatever the hell they want, for their own pleasure or convenience, while others suffer.

That's why Celtic going ahead with its training camp trip to Dubai is such a glaring misstep.

People are missing out on all manner of things, not least their own sports.

The Parkhead club has said it arranged the trip back in November with permission from all the relevant authorities. But while it might have been pre-planned and perfectly legal, we have all had plans cancelled.

We have all had to give things up.

Like it or not, sports stars are role models and, while perfection is a ridiculous ask, an attempt to set a positive example is not.

All the people furious at amateur skaters having a nice couple of hours in their local park should be similarly furious at Celtic for its unnecessary sunshine break.

We're supposed to be all in this together but the pandemic has emphasised the divide between rich and poor, between those with the means to make the lockdown a bit sweeter for themselves and those struggling on, exhausted.

When the well off find ways to enjoy themselves while others suffer, it sets a grim precedent that makes the situation harder for everyone else.