Lockdown board games: Forget Monopoly, here are the real games December 30, 2020 For decades board games lived largely unloved lives, their battered boxes pulled off dusty shelves on rainy days and holidays. But as we approach essentially another national lockdown, many of us will be dusting them off once more. Back in their heyday, board games were designed to be simple, with concepts that could appeal equally [...]
Loungewear sales up 1,303 per cent as lockdown changes consumer habits December 30, 2020 Loungewear and leggings sales spiked by 1,303 per cent in 2020 according to new data from John Lewis. The department store’s annual look at consumer habits shows lockdown’s impact on customers’ baskets. As well as sitting room fashion, sales of chess sets (a 121 per cent increase on 2019), TVs (45 per cent) and paint [...]
How you can support your favourite bars and restaurants into 2021 December 30, 2020 January is generally a slow month for the hospitality sector as it is, largely due to those who have overindulged during the festive period wishing to take a break and partaking in the equally dreadful ‘Dry January’ or ‘Veganuary’. However, owing to ever-shifting and ever-stricter lockdown restrictions, we may not have had ample opportunity to [...]
Wonks expect retail to see a brighter 2021 December 30, 2020 Retailers can expect to see sales growth of as much as 3 per cent in 2021, according to a new expert report. Pent-up savings and demand, more confident consumers and a successful vaccine rollout will all bring a boost, says the KPMG/Ipsos Retail Think Tank. Read more: Where did it all go wrong for Topshop? [...]
Over by Spring: Hancock hails Oxford/AstraZeneca jab as part of path to normality December 30, 2020 Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the UK could expect to be out of the pandemic by spring after the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab was approved. Boss of the pharmaceutical firm Pascal Soriot said as many as 2m vaccines could be manufactured each week. “The vaccine is our way out of this,” the Health Secretary told the BBC. [...]
Astrazeneca vaccine could help ease Covid restrictions, minister says December 28, 2020 Regulatory approval of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Astrazeneca and Oxford University could accelerate the easing of lockdown measures, the government has said. Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said there would be a “significant increase” in jabs available if authorities give the green light to the British vaccine candidate. This would allow ministers to ease [...]
The best films to watch on a Tier 4 Christmas day December 25, 2020 As many adverts have told us, Christmas will be a bit different this year. There will be people we won’t be able to see, and celebrations we won’t be able to have. However, one thing that 2020 can’t take from us is our favourite Christmas films. Whether you like them as sentimental, dramatic, funny, or [...]
China bans flights from UK as global fears of mutant strain mount December 24, 2020 UK flights into China have been suspended by Beijing as worldwide fears of Covid-19 mutations found in Britain grow. The move comes with China having largely suppressed the virus on its mainland, despite its origin there. Read more: Brexit deal looks imminent and sterling rises alongside hopes China’s decision to block flights from the UK [...]
Cancel Christmas mixing or risk thousands of super-spreading events, urges Independent Sage December 24, 2020 Household mixing on Christmas Day should be banned and all areas placed in Tier 4, Independent Sage has said, as the Covid situation worsens in the UK. The group of independent scientists urged the government to make changes to the planned easing of restrictions on Christmas Day, describing the new strain of Covid as “incredibly [...]
Whitbread – at the end of the day, someone has to pay December 24, 2020 Whitbread, the owner of popular hospitality chains Premier Inn, Beefeater and Brewers Fayre, has written to the landlords of its properties asking for a rent reduction of 50% for the next three months, to “share some of the pain” of the ongoing pandemic and the restrictions on hospitality. It seems, prima facie, a reasonable request. [...]