Which countries do you think will end up on the green list by end of July?

[nancysblush]

I know it’s dependent on various things, but what situation do you think we’ll be in for travel in the height of summer this year?

Greek islands- they’re Going for ‘horizontal’ vaccination (ie vaccination by whole island and not by age segment) and zero community transmission.

Plus pre vaccine had low Covid levels and even now - though on amber list - FCDO is not advising against non essential travel for a number of them.

@Dongdingdong

I also don’t understand why people are obsessed with holidaying abroad. There are some beautiful parts of the UK! Although if you were banking on a foreign holiday and haven’t booked anywhere here, you’ll be hard pressed to get anywhere now.

Do you really have to ask that? Places like Cornwall are grid locked in the summer. We are a small island, densely populated, with a very poor road and rail infrastructure. We've also got used to cheap foreign hols, accessible at a drop of a hat - though tbf we did vote to remove that lol!

Last Saturday there were 50 to 75mile queues into Devon and Cornwall, when you get here, you'll pay sky hi prices for ready made food and poor quality accommodation and whilst the weather is good now, there is zero guarantee in 2 weeks time it won't be cold wet and windy.
Even Cornwalls holidays chief asked people to stop coming to Cornwall and that was pre covid!

@Dongdingdong

I also don’t understand why people are obsessed with holidaying abroad. There are some beautiful parts of the UK! Although if you were banking on a foreign holiday and haven’t booked anywhere here, you’ll be hard pressed to get anywhere now.

Honesty? Because after years of holidaying in the U.K. and having to deal with the rain, I chose abroad and sunshine instead. For the same price if not cheaper.

It doesn’t mean some areas are not nice.

@Dongdingdong

I also don’t understand why people are obsessed with holidaying abroad. There are some beautiful parts of the UK! Although if you were banking on a foreign holiday and haven’t booked anywhere here, you’ll be hard pressed to get anywhere now.

When you tell me where can I find glaciars, big waterfalls , animals in their nature and not in a zoo , temples , sky scrappers , big national parks , locals whose culture is different to mine , sea where I can go in without being worried of getting frozen and my family as they live abroad then I’ll start loving spending my holidays in the uk

Let those who want to holiday in the uk do their thing. If it’s so wonderful and there’s such a shortage you should probably keep it quiet, or those lovely unspoilt green and pleasant lands will be overrun.

X2 PCSOs?
Would be interesting to see what they did?
They have no authorisation to issue fines etc for this.

@MsMiaWallace

X2 PCSOs? Would be interesting to see what they did? They have no authorisation to issue fines etc for this.

Yes, X2 PCSOs...(some of us have been around London long enough to recognise them)

What they did? Checked that the person was at the location on they had declared on their PLF when they'd come through a London airport 48 hours earlier...

Last year my cousin was telling me of a family in the next small town over.
The dad had previously worked in finance but had lost his job during the peak of greek austerity. Jobs were few and far between so he took a job at a Greek hotel group and his wife waited tables at a small family run hotel.
For a whole chunk of last year there was no work. None.
Their daughter collapsed outside a bakery so was taken to hospital thinking it was heatstroke or something. Turns out the family hadn't eaten in 3 days as they couldn't afford to.
Their neighbours rallied round and the support was amazing but it shouldn't come to that.
People who bang on about how we "need to spend money here" seem to forget that other countries have had no furlough or support and lives can literally depend on our tourism.

The truth is poverty also kills but no one cares cos you can't sneeze "poor" onto someone.

Livinlavidaloki I think people forget this. Many people in the UK also make their living from inbound tourism, especially in places like London or Edinburgh. And there is virtually no inbound tourism, and no sign of any in the near future.

I am one of them and haven't earned a penny for over a year. I've been fortunate as I've received some government help and am now working in a bar, but it's not so easy for people like the family you mention where there are few alternatives.

@LivinLaVidaLoki

Last year my cousin was telling me of a family in the next small town over. The dad had previously worked in finance but had lost his job during the peak of greek austerity. Jobs were few and far between so he took a job at a Greek hotel group and his wife waited tables at a small family run hotel. For a whole chunk of last year there was no work. None. Their daughter collapsed outside a bakery so was taken to hospital thinking it was heatstroke or something. Turns out the family hadn't eaten in 3 days as they couldn't afford to. Their neighbours rallied round and the support was amazing but it shouldn't come to that. People who bang on about how we "need to spend money here" seem to forget that other countries have had no furlough or support and lives can literally depend on our tourism.

The truth is poverty also kills but no one cares cos you can't sneeze "poor" onto someone.

In the last year unluckily seems like only those that have lost their life cuz of COVID matter and not those because of poverty or any other illnesses. Many people are going to struggle but seems like we only care about one thing

My friend just sent me this on WhatsApp if anyone wants to sign.

chng.it/MdmTFqvHdk

[quote LivinLaVidaLoki]My friend just sent me this on WhatsApp if anyone wants to sign.

chng.it/MdmTFqvHdk[/quote]
Signed last night ..

I don’t think people forget, they just don’t care. The govt is trying to make foreign aid cuts so drastic that even senior tories think it’s unreasonable. And then they scream “selfish” at anyone who wants to leave the sacred isle for whatever reason, be it burying a family member or just wanting a touch of sun.

Probably none at this rate....

@QuentininQuarantino

I don’t think people forget, they just don’t care. The govt is trying to make foreign aid cuts so drastic that even senior tories think it’s unreasonable. And then they scream “selfish” at anyone who wants to leave the sacred isle for whatever reason, be it burying a family member or just wanting a touch of sun.

im hoping to have an ice cream from boulevard in august, that's essential for me :D

Dongdingdong - I also don’t understand why people are obsessed with holidaying abroad. There are some beautiful parts of the UK! Although if you were banking on a foreign holiday and haven’t booked anywhere here, you’ll be hard pressed to get anywhere now

For heaven’s sake . It’s perfectly possible to appreciate the lovely parts of the UK and want to go abroad for some different scenery/language/culture/food/weather, you know, all the things that remind us that there’s a whole world out there.

"& who does the visits?? I can assure you it's not the police."

My aunt had a visit from the police to check she was self isolating a few days after returning from Canada.

I had a holiday in Devon a couple of weeks ago, and it was wet more than it wasn't. It was still a change of scene and fairly enjoyable. However, that was only the case because it was outside the holiday season. The infrastructure simply cannot cope with mass tourism and it would have been horrendous if it had been busier.

We have 2 holidays booked for this year and are resigned to probably not being able to go to Mallorca at the end of June (we will go at short notice if it is on the Green list). I am hopeful for Turkey later in the year. I do recognise that we Brits are not welcome everywhere due to the various variants of covid, but also realise that this is because we're better at identifying them than most other countries.

@AvonCallingBarksdale I think knowing there is a global pandemic tells us there is a whole world out there. And the world will still be there next year and the next.

[quote ineedaholidaynow]@AvonCallingBarksdale I think knowing there is a global pandemic tells us there is a whole world out there. And the world will still be there next year and the next.[/quote]
you might not be here tho, or your current situation might not be the next year or the next

And people who have elderly or ill relatives in other countries may not be able to see them “next year or the next”

Seeing sick relatives is different to seeing different scenery, culture, food.

We mainly holiday in the uk due to budget rather than anything else. And mostly its enjoyable, and definitely good to get away from work/familiar surroundings.(DH is self employed so often works 6 days a week and doesnt spend a lot of time with DC)
However we really noticed the difference when we went to France a few years ago. There were beautiful beaches that were almost empty, you could park easily nearby (free!!) Even in busy towns you could get a table at a cafe or restaurant.
Compared to places in the uk which would be bursting at the seams in summer, in good weather.

@ineedaholidaynow ok you’ve made your point, maybe just leave off now? We can agree to disagree.

I’m hoping for the Greek islands. They are aiming to have all the population vaccinated by the end of June as they are so reliant on tourism. If they’re vaccinated and we’re double vaccinated I can’t see the issue. They want us to visit. Cases will hopefully be low over there due to the vaccination program so what justification will there be for keeping them amber?

Not getting my hopes up too much but it looks a bit promising!

It’s still early June so the government are being cautious.