During my travels around the world the three most common questions that locals ask me are: are you married, how old are you and which football team do you support?!
Football, or soccer for my American & Australian friends, is one of the world's most popular conversation ice-breakers.
Whilst I enjoy the sport and I have been known to travel overseas to support the national team and enjoy the atmosphere at the World Cup and the Euros, I have to confess that my knowledge of individual teams & performances is limited and often people overseas know more about the English football teams than I do!
For all the global football fans reading this you will be pleased to hear that England's Premier League, having been suspended due to the coronavirus, is set to re-start on the 17th June - giving Liverpool the possibility of their first league title in 30 years. All of the games are due to be played behind closed doors. Dates for the FA Cup were also announced this morning - the final taking place on the 1st August.
Whilst we are not out of the global pandemic yet this is encouraging news as lock-down restrictions are slowly being relaxed. The National Trust which owns lots of beautiful gardens and parks across the country have also announced that they will be re-opening some of these from the 3rd June. Visitor numbers will be limited and you will need to pre-book tickets in advance. For more information and a list of which National Trust gardens and parks will re-open please visit:
The closest one to Bath that will be re-opening is the Abbey gardens at Lacock - a picturesque village located approx. 35 minutes drive from Bath. This is great news for UK domestic tourists - particularly with the beautiful weather that we are having. As "Sods Law" should have it - this Spring has been the sunniest Spring since records began in 1929!
For international visitors, hotels and many tourist attractions currently remain closed and from the 8th June anyone arriving into the country from overseas (including UK citizens) will need to go into a 2 week quarantine. There is talk of "Air Bridges" which will give exemptions from countries with a low rate of infection but these have yet to be agreed. With other countries across Europe already starting to open up their borders - I am hoping that any entry quarantine will not be in place for long - certainly for no longer than is necessary. The UK Government has talked about opening up parts of the hospitality industry from the 4th July.
As the situation with the coronavirus continues to improve I hope to bring you more good news. Until then take care & make the most of the situation that you are in (and any good weather!)
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