With Christmas Day fast approaching on Friday, the UK government has made amendments to the travel rules across England.
This now means that the tier you live in dictates where you can travel.
In what is a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and the “new variant” detected, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced this past weekend that the initially-announced plan – which allowed up to three households to form a ‘Christmas Bubble’ between 23rd – 27th December – will now be reduced to just a single date – 25th December.
It also comes as all of London and other parts of the South East of England have now been placed into Tier 4 restrictions, which has put a significant halt on travel and Christmas plans.
Residents of all tiers however have been told by the UK government that: “You should stay local and avoid travelling outside of your local area, meaning your village or town, or part of a city, where possible. People should continue to travel for reasons such as work, education, medical attention or caring responsibilities.”
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But for one day, these rules will be lifted to allow for households to meet to celebrate the festivities.
Those in some tiers will be allowed to travel to other parts of the UK, but this is subject to which tier the area they live in is under.
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Here’s everything you need to know.
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Tier 1 & Tier 2
Three households can still meet up to celebrate Christmas on 25th December.
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This means that the current Tier 2 and Tier 3 restrictions – which prevent people from meeting indoors with those from outside their household – will be scrapped for 24 hours on Christmas Day only, however residents in these tiers cannot see anyone from a Tier 4 area.
All Christmas bubbles must be exclusive.
This means that if three separate households meet up on Christmas Day, none of the groups can then see anyone else from other households, however the government says you should think very carefully about the risks and only form a Christmas bubble if you feel you absolutely need to.
Wherever possible, residents are encouraged to discuss alternatives to meeting up in person.
Residents of Tier 3 locations or lower who choose to form a Christmas bubble (of up to three households), are encouraged by the government and health professionals to carefully consider the risks of travelling at all.
If you live in an area with the highest level of restrictions, you should avoid travelling to lower prevalence areas where possible, but should you decide you do need to travel, you are asked to make travel plans in advance – including booking for public transportation services – to enable you and others to travel safely, and plan your outward and return journeys carefully.
You must only travel and return on Christmas Day.
Tier 4
You must not visit or leave a Tier 4 area in order to see others at any point during the Christmas period.
Households in Tier 4 areas will not be allowed to mix – except for already-formed support bubbles – and people are only permitted to meet one person from another household in outdoor public spaces.
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Restrictions will not be relaxed on Christmas Day.
Should anybody be found breaking the rules in a Tier 4 location, the police can take action against you.
This includes breaking up illegal gatherings and issuing fines. You can be given a Fixed Penalty Notice of £200 for the first offence, doubling for further offences up to a maximum of £6,400, and if you hold, or are involved in holding, an illegal gathering of over 30 people, the police can issue fines of up to £10,000.
Travelling into Greater Manchester
As announced in a joint statement issued by Greater Manchester’s ten directors of public health yesterday, anyone who has travelled to Greater Manchester from Tier 4 areas – or Wales – for Christmas is being told to self-isolate for at ten days.
Anyone arriving to the city-region is urged to remain in whichever house they are staying at for that period, starting from Saturday 19th December.
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They are being warned not to have visitors over that time, including on Christmas Day, although people in the same house do not need to self-isolate unless anyone develops symptoms.
The UK government has ultimately advised that the safest way to celebrate Christmas will be to do so with your own household in your own home.
Scotland has banned all travel in and out of the country – meaning Christmas bubbles can only be formed within the Scottish borders – but Wales has allowed cross-border travel to meet with households in Christmas bubbles, however this will be limited by the fact that you will need to leave and return to your home on Christmas Day.
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For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to official sources at gov.uk/coronavirus.
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Trailer released for new Harlan Coben thriller series Lazarus filmed in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
The trailer for Harlan Coben’s newest thriller series filmed in Manchester has been released ahead of airing later this month.
You may remember that, back in January of last year, Netflix confirmed it would be creating two more new Harlan Coben shows, following the smash-hit success of Fool Me Once starring Manchester’s-own Michelle Keegan – titled Missing You and Run Away.
Missing You went on to air on New Year’s Day this year, and it was announced in late January that Run Awaywas set to begin filming, again in Manchester, very soon.
But it turns out it’s not only Netflix that Harlan Coben fans need to be keeping their eye on, as Amazon Prime Video is now getting in on the action too.
First look images have been shared ahead of the release of Harlan Coben’s new thriller series filmed in Manchester / Credit: Ben Blackall (via Prime Video)
Prime Video has now released the official trailer for the highly-anticipated new thriller series Lazarus, which is based on an original story idea and written by the New York Times best-selling author, Harlan Coben, alongside his regular writing collaborator, BAFTA-winner Danny Brocklehurst.
Coben has worked with the critically-acclaimed Hyde-born screenwriter – who is most-famous for being the creator and writer of Sky One’s Brassic – for the creation of Lazarus, and it’s expected to be around the sixth time the pair have collaborated, with their previous successful works including Safe, The Stranger, and Stay Close.
Lazarus is set to follow title character Joel Lazarus who returns home after his father Dr Jonathan Lazarus dies by suicide, and begins to have disturbing experiences that can’t be explained.
He quickly becomes entangled in a series of cold-case murders as he grapples with the mystery of his father’s death and his sister’s murder 25 years ago.
The six-part thriller series stars big names like Sam Claflin as Joel Lazarus, and Bill Nighy as his father Dr Jonathan – with supporting performances coming from Alexandra Roach, David Fynn, Karla Crome and Kate Ashfield, to name just a few.
The show will be executive produced by Harlan Coben and Danny Brocklehurst, alongside star Sam Claflin, BAFTA-winner Nicola Shindler and Richard Fee for Quay Street Productions – which is part of ITV Studios.
All six episodes of Lazarus are set to be exclusively released Prime Video on Wednesday 22 October in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Featured Image – Ben Blackall (via Prime Video)
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Ginger’s Comfort Emporium has closed its long-standing Northern Quarter site
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester dessert favourite Ginger’s Comfort Emporium has unfortunately closed its long-standing site in the city centre.
The Northern Quarter-based ice cream icons have been serving delicious artisan scoops out of Afflecks for over a decade, but now they’ve decided to call time on the original location.
Having somewhat quietly closed this past weekend, those in the know came along for their final scoops from the pretty little parlour tucked away in a corner on the first floor of the indie shopping palace.
Officially closing on Saturday, 4 October, Ginger’s NQ is sadly no more.
Explaining the decision on social media, owner Claire Kelsey wrote: “There’s no sad reason. We’ve had a fantastic 12 years here, but unlike the other sides [of] the business, it’s 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, and I need to start having proper time off over winter.
“I’m looking forward to the extra energy for ideas I’ll have for our events & markets, and not spreading us out so thin! THANK YOU to the wonderful staff over the years, I appreciate your care and your time x
“THANK YOU to Afflecks and Bruntwood [property firm] for being such supportive landlords and THANK YOU to you, our customers, everyone from nervous parents waiting for their kid getting a tattoo to the OG Ginger’s fans getting their fix, kids learning to play chess – it’s been a joy. X”
Kelsey’s comments have been filled with loyal customers bidding farewell to the local favourite, ex-staff members expressing gratitude for being made part of the team, and even parents thanking Claire directly for giving numerous kids their first jobs.
One of those is influencer and now fellow independent business owner, Zack Hipps, who shared a lengthy post paying tribute to the veteran dessert venue.
“The best ice cream in Manchester is no longer so easily available in the city centre, but omg did this place mean a lot to me”, says Hipps.
“This venue had been going for over 13 years, it was the place I got my first job, the place that I first got into coffee, and the indie food scene, it’s where I first took a picture for social media (the second picture) and saw me develop into my content creation career
“It’s opposite where I’ve opened my own lil’ coffee shop and never has something felt so truly full circle as saying goodbye. I would not be the same person without it.”
Perhaps most notably, he signs off not only by wishing them all the best but by teasing that they’ve got “some mad interesting plans coming up”, before clarifying that he can’t say any more.
We don’t know exactly what he’s been sworn to secrecy over, but you best believe we, as well as the rest of Manchester and its boroughs, will be watching closely to see what the brand does next.
And don’t worry, ice cream lovers; you’ll still be able to find their vans popping up all over the region and serving their incredible flavours at events across the North West.
The Manc -
22nd December 2020 
