The shops are now open – but it’s not quite ‘business as usual’. While you might be itching for some retail therapy after months of lockdown, stores are having to make changes to ensure the safety of shoppers. From socially distanced queues just to get in, to changing rooms being closed – the new normal … Read more
Step back in time, a century or so ago, and this green and pleasant land of ours was blessed with inns and hostelries to welcome weary travellers. But 50 years ago the domestic market paled and could not compete with the lure of a foreign tan and exotic sights. Now, though, home-grown hospitality has come … Read more
We’ve already seen a runner complete a marathon in his back garden and a man reach the lofty heights of Mount Everest in his own home. But now locked-down Britons are climbing the walls of their own home with boredom – quite literally. Climbing enthusiasts unable to reach their favourite spots or local leisure centres … Read more
The life-threatening coronavirus that has rapidly swept the world can linger in the air of crowded places, researchers today warned. Experts in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the pandemic began, analysed air samples from different parts of two hospitals. Results showed the virus, called SARS-CoV-2, was undetectable everywhere except two areas ‘prone to crowding’. Researchers … Read more
It’s shopping – but not as you know it: Changing rooms will be closed, trying on clothing will be banned, no couples or groups allowed and using cash to be ‘discouraged’ The recommendations have been published by the British Retail Consortium Stores have been asked to consider using one-way systems for customers They could also use … Read more
Facebook rolls out Zoom alternative called ‘Messenger Rooms’ that allows users to host and share group video chats of up to 50 people at a time The feature allows users to create video chat rooms for up to 50 people at once It will let users share the rooms via Messenger or through news feeds … Read more
For your next period of isolation, try a cut-price paradise: The private island resort in Fiji that costs from just £20 a night and offers lessons on how to crack coconuts Barefoot Manta Island, which is just under a mile long, has dormitory rooms start from just F$60 (£20) The sandy outcrop, accessible only by … Read more
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly presented the latest Saturday Night Takeaway from their living room as the nation remains in coronavirus lockdown. The presenters, 44, introduced a compilation of some of the show’s best moments from their homes, and said from the start ‘it was different and weird’ to their usual live show. Ant and … Read more
Two New York City hospital systems are barring partners from delivery rooms as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread across the US. New York-Presbyterian and Mount Sinai Health System – which have a combined 18 hospitals – say no visitors will be permitted in rooms where pregnant women are giving birth. Several obstetricians and midwives … Read more
They are the hotel rooms that are, according to the inspectors – ‘perfect’. Forbes Travel Guide has unveiled its list of the world’s best hotel rooms for 2019 – and they all received maximum marks. Undercover reviewers stayed at hundreds of properties across the globe assessing them on comfort, convenience, cleanliness and maintenance. And according … Read more