The mantra in these times of the coronavirus pandemic is to wash your hands with soap and water thoroughly and as often as possible. When water and soap aren’t available, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recommend the use of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 per cent alcohol. However,…
EasyJet grounds its entire fleet, indefinitely
Budget airline Easyjet has grounded its entire fleet of 334 planes and will seek to reduce £4.5bn in spending. The operator blames government restrictions imposed in response to the coronavirus pandemic coupled with the lockdown of several countries across Europe. The airline, which has operated 650 rescue flights last Sunday and repatriated 45,000 customers, does…
Can I get a refund if Easyjet or BA cancel my flight?
These are frustrating times for travellers. Thousands have had their travel plans dashed, and the airlines are struggling to keep up with customer complaints and queries. Nevertheless, if either BA or Easyjet cancel your flight, you are entitled to a full refund. Typically, you could do this by visiting the respective website and apply for…
5 marvellous museums go online after lockdown so you can still enjoy a tour
If you were planning to visit a museum this spring, all is not lost. Even though these cultural icons had to close down, they can still be viewed online. Enjoy British Museum, London Who hasn’t heard of London’s most acclaimed museum? This tourist magnet is working with Google Arts & Culture and some 2,000 leading…
Trump Hotels won’t receive a dime in federal aid as part of the coronavirus stimulus
A $2 trillion federal aid package aimed at helping businesses through the economic slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic has been agreed. But, Donald Trump’s hotels and golf resorts won’t receive a dime. The package was agreed in principle by Senate Democrats but only with various caveats. According to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, one…
Contactless payments threshold increased to £45 from April 1
British Retail Consortium (BRC), Barclaycard and Mastercard announced this morning that you won’t need to use your pin number for amounts up to £45. From April 1st, the contactless threshold is being raised from £30 to £45. The idea is to limit cash transactions and to aid social distancing and reduce the need for contact…
Tom Hanks & wife Rita Wilson are recovering from coronavirus
Hollywood star Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson were both diagnosed as positive for coronavirus. Now two weeks after coming down with COVID-19, they are recovering. Tom Hanks tweeted on Sunday: Tom Hanks was keen to encourage social-distancing, saying “sheltering in place works like this: You don’t give it to anyone – you don’t…
Social media negatively affects our body image says poll
Millions of social media users edit photos before sharing in crisis of body confidence with women in particular worried about their figures. A recent poll has taken images of pre-social media icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Joan Collins and Kate Moss and reimagines them with puppy-dog ears, comedy specs and love hearts removing all blemishes.…
Finland named as the world’s happiest country for the third time
Finland has been awarded the annual 2020 United Nations World Happiness Report’s accolade of being world’s happiest country. Again. For the third time in a row, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland and Norway were also near the top. The report cites good social support networks, social trust, honest governments, safe environments and healthy lives.…
Coronavirus is bringing communities together
The Coronavirus pandemic is horrific and frightening and is bringing communities together like never before. A study revealed that a quarter of adults say they have chatted to neighbours they previously had no relationship with. A study of 2,000 adults found 64 per cent believe COVID-19 is bringing their neighbourhood closer together in a lot…