A coach load of tourists from Bolton have reportedly left locals angry after travelled to Wales for an already-cancelled ‘Elvis Festival despite local lockdown restrictions.
The Porthcawl Elvis Festival – which held annually in Bridgend County, South Wales and usually attracts about 35,000 fans and 100 impersonators – was understandably cancelled this year due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Following a rise in confirmed cases, Bridgend County Borough was placed under local lockdown restrictions effective of yesterday (22nd September) at 6pm, with residents requiring “a reasonable excuse” to leave their county and tourists warned against travelling to the region.
This didn’t seem to stop a group of Bolton residents travelling there anyway.
The tourists arrived by coach on Monday afternoon after travelling 180 miles to the Seabank Hotel on Porthcawl’s seafront, only to then be told the county would become subject to tighter restrictions.
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Instead of spending the four nights in Porthcawl, the hotel is then believed to have transferred the group’s stay elsewhere and it is alleged that the tourists have travelled to the seaside town of Tenby in Pembrokeshire to continue their holiday.
Welsh Government has confirmed further restrictions for Bridgend County Borough from 6pm on Tuesday 22 September to help stop the spread of coronavirus.
👉 do not travel outside of Bridgend County Borough without a reasonable excuse. 1/6 pic.twitter.com/T8tUubcamo
Reporting from Porthcawl on Monday evening, BBC journalist Rhys Williams, said: “Not so long ago, a coach full of tourists turned up at one of the hotels along the seafront,
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“I spoke to a couple of the travellers on there who had actually come all the way from Bolton and instead of staying the four nights they were going to they had been told it was rearranged and tomorrow they were going to Tenby instead due to the restrictions that were due to come in to place.”
The UK government guidance does however allow residents from areas under local lockdown restrictions in England to travel outside of the area for tourism purposes with members of their household or social bubble.
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This discrepancy has fuelled concerns over lockdown tourism.
Andrew RT Davies – the Welsh Conservatives’ health spokesperson – told BBC Radio Wales it seemed “remarkable” that people from Bolton were on a coach holiday in Wales.
He said: “It doesn’t seem as if they have broken any rules or regulations, I think it emphasises the need to have a joined up approach between all the countries of the United Kingdom,
“If one part of the UK is allowing for such visits to be undertaken and another part of the UK is receiving those visits and testing isn’t in place to make sure those people aren’t leaving the area and might be spreading the virus, then obviously that is a gaping hole in the regulations.”
By working together we can stop coronavirus taking hold of our communities again.
-Keep 2m apart -Wash your hands -Work from home, if you can -Wear a face covering where needed -Only meet 6 people from your extended household indoors -Only travel when necessary#KeepWalesSafepic.twitter.com/eSTm70AK2e
The recent reports have also provoked anger on social media, with many Welsh residents querying why visitors are allowed to travel from a town with such high levels of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection rates.
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A spokesperson for Pembrokeshire Council added: “There are no restrictions to stop people leaving Bolton to go on holiday other than they should be doing so with people with whom they live (or in a ‘bubble’ with). There were no current restrictions on the bus load of persons leaving Porthcawl either at the time, and nothing to stop them from being in Tenby.”
They added the council’s enforcement team would be monitoring premises in Tenby to make sure they were complying with the current regulations.
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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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New Man United signing Andrey Santos reveals what Cole Palmer told him before transfer
Danny Jones
Manchester United new-boy Andrey Santos has revealed what local lad and former teammate Cole Palmer told him before he joined the club earlier this week – one of two midfielder signings they’ve already made this summer.
He and his fellow new arrival may not have been the transfer supporters were expecting, but with a cosign from ‘Cold’ Palmer, it’s fair to say fans can hope for big things.
The young Brazilian CDM, who arrives from Chelsea on a fee worth a reported £48 million, is purported to be a player with great potential.
With the ‘Seleção’ supposedly believing he could one day be a Casemiro successor, it seems only fitting that he replaces the footballing veteran in the middle of the park for Man United; and it looks as though the 22-year-old has been vouched for by a boyhood MUFC fan in Palmer, too.
🗣️ Andrey Santos on Manchester:
"Cole [Palmer] sent me a message because he was born here, he knows here, he said all the best for your career and a lot of things… So I'm so excited to be here in Manchester!"
As shared in his first media duties at the Carrington training complex, the ex-Strasbourg player and one-time Nottingham Forest loanee said that the Wythenshawe-born winger and attacking midfielder wished him nothing but the best on his move, noting his knowledge and lasting love for his hometown.
Palmer, himself still only 24, may have played for Manchester City, but he’s been a Red since he was a kid and confessed that he initially never wanted to leave the region.
Having also commented on Santos’ announcement post – simply writing, “What a player! Good luck bro” – leading plenty of people on social media to start speculating over whether the England international could also be convinced to make the move (back) up North.
The prospect seems to be fairly thin at spurious at present, but stranger things have happened.
It’s worth noting that Palmer struggled to be quite as his very best for Chelsea last season, not only missing out on game time due to injury problems but also struggling to lock down a guaranteed spot in the starting XI despite his obvious talent, especially given the extremely large and ‘bloated’ squad.
Not unlike Santos, you could say – though Palmer has obviously hit much bigger heights in the blue already in his career.
On the other hand, when asked about transfer rumours and the most recent round of links to his beloved Red Devils in a Guardian interview earlier this year, the Manc footballer admitted that while Manchester is still his home, he’s grown to enjoy life in the capital and can usually just “laugh it off”.
However, with the west London club looking at yet another overhaul under a new manager, you never know who could be deemed surplus to requirements, a good bargaining chip in the transfer market, or simply not as big a part of Xabi Alonso’s plans.
Meanwhile, United and the INEOS board have brought in the likes of Youri Tielemans elsewhere in the middle of the park, along with back-up goalkeeper Kyle Darlow so far in this window.
As for the Vasco de Gama youth graduate, you can hear more from Andrey Santos in his first full interview as a Manchester United player below.
Thomas Tuchel quote from early interview as England manager comes back to haunt him
Danny Jones
A quote from one of Thomas Tuchel’s first interviews as England boss looks to have come back to haunt him online after his squad limped out of the 2026 World Cup following their semi-final defeat to Argentina.
Ironic seems to be the word being thrown around the most…
The Three Lions fell at the penultimate hurdle against the genius of Lionel Messi and their old foes in ‘La Albiceleste’, despite grabbing the opening goal and looking the more dangerous on the counter-attack for large parts of the match.
Conversely, many have been quick to criticise Tuchel for his tactics and decision to go more defensive after taking the lead, not only sitting back but taking off some more advanced players who could have provided. Cue what some have called a “damning” clip rearing its head on social media…
👀🏴 Thomas Tuchel on England's Euro 2024 campaign: "They were more afraid to drop out of the tournament than having the excitement and hunger to win it"
While it might still be a valid point in relation to why previous manager Gareth Southgate’s couldn’t cross the finish line not only at the last Euros but in Euro 2020 as well (the latter of which we also scored first in), it now feels rather hypocritical to many given how lots of fans believe he tried to see out the tie.
There’s plenty of fair comments about England’s style and gameplan(s)/lack thereof – even at times this past few weeks – but they nevertheless managed to make it yet another semi-final.
It’s worth noting, by the way, that this is the third time they’ve reached this point in the knockout stages across the previous quartet of major competitions, just for a little worthwhile perspective on how far the national team setup has come over the best part of the last decade.
And that’s not including a quarter-final finish in the 2019 Nations League, either.
Of course, we also made it through to the last four at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where the team bowed out to a ruthless France side by arguably playing too open, but they still showed attacking intent and tried to win the game back then.
It’s that distinction in approach, it would seem, that has left the vast majority of supporters, pundits and English people who were watching on last night so frustrated, as much like his remarks above back in March 2025, it looked as though the idea was to sit back and hang on to their slim advantage.
As evidenced by the comment and numerous reposts, countless people couldn’t agree more with reporter Tim Vickery’s analysis of what went wrong, or rather what changed, which then led to letting Argentina gain the ascendancy and our downfall.
To put it into numbers, between the 67th and 92nd minute, the players had little more than 7% possession, with only a few touches in the opposition box; in fact, Harry Kane didn’t manage to receive the ball even once inside the penalty area.
Now THAT, we would agree, can be seen as ‘damning’ statistics and stuff to hear, especially when the German coach has already claimed that England have been guilty of being too scared to lose in big fixtures in the past. Here’s what he had to say this time around:
Do you agree with his post-match thoughts?
Credit where credit is due, he didn’t mince his words when it came to accountability and certainly hasn’t shied away from being brutally honest through this tournament.
You only have to look at his words after a narrow victory in the quarters against Norway – which star man Jude Bellingham took umbrage with last week – to know he takes responsibility and his own standards very seriously.
Who knows whether the issues came from the technical area, or the players themselves simply struggled to keep their confidence to stick to the task; all we know is we’re gutted not only with the result but by the manner in which we lost. What did you make of the
It might not come as any real consolation, but in case you missed the news, Lionel Scaloni’s side do look like they are due to be punished for a provocative, politically-charged statement after full-time.
The Manc -
23rd September 2020 
