Broadway World UK: Spun Glass Theatre Releases Theatre Search Early In Response To COVID-19. “A comprehensive free resource for producers, freelancers and theatre companies to aid the recovery of the performing arts, Theatre Search will be published on Monday 3rd August 2020. Spun Glass Theatre have worked to make their Theatre Search database available over a month earlier than initially planned. Theatre Search documents the opening status, dates and programming windows of nearly 900 theatres, venues and festivals across the UK.”
UK
Phys .org: ‘Price of life’ lowest in UK during COVID-19 pandemic, study finds
Phys .org: ‘Price of life’ lowest in UK during COVID-19 pandemic, study finds. “The price the UK government was prepared to pay to save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic was far lower than in many other developed nations, a study has revealed. In a cross-country comparison across nine nations—Belgium, the US, Germany, Korea, Italy, Denmark, China, New Zealand and the UK—researchers used epidemiological modelling to calculate how many lives were lost through delaying lockdown, estimating that a UK lockdown date just three days earlier would have saved 20,000 lives.”
Coronavirus: New 90-minute tests for Covid-19 and flu ‘hugely beneficial’ (BBC)
BBC: Coronavirus: New 90-minute tests for Covid-19 and flu ‘hugely beneficial’. “New 90-minute tests that can detect coronavirus and flu will be rolled out in care homes and laboratories from next week. The ‘on-the-spot’ swab and DNA tests will help distinguish between Covid-19 and other seasonal illnesses, the government said. The health secretary said this would be ‘hugely beneficial’ over the winter.”
Eat out to help out: Coronavirus scheme offering UK diners 50% off begins (BBC)
BBC: Eat out to help out: Coronavirus scheme offering UK diners 50% off begins. “Diners across the UK will be able to enjoy half-price meals throughout August from Monday, as part of a government scheme aimed at boosting restaurants and pubs post-lockdown. ‘Eat out to help out’ applies to eat-in food and drink on Monday to Wednesdays at more than 72,000 venues.”
Coronavirus: Virus isolation period extended from seven to 10 days (BBC)
BBC: Coronavirus: Virus isolation period extended from seven to 10 days. “People who test positive for coronavirus or show symptoms in the UK must now self-isolate for at least 10 days, rather than seven. The change, announced by the UK’s chief medical officers, comes as ministers try to avoid a resurgence of the virus.”
Zoom walls, fake crowd noise, water breaks: Did you enjoy lockdown football? (BBC)
BBC: Zoom walls, fake crowd noise, water breaks: Did you enjoy lockdown football?. “coronavirus, English professional football has had to adapt in unprecedented and occasionally unusual ways. We’ve had games behind closed doors, fake crowd noise and Zoom walls, water breaks, five substitutions and, after the Championship play-off final on 4 August, 217 domestic matches in the space of just 49 days.”
‘It’s just too long’: children in detention may face Covid-19 restrictions until 2022 (The Guardian)
The Guardian: ‘It’s just too long’: children in detention may face Covid-19 restrictions until 2022. “The Ministry of Justice has said that new rules that allow youth detention facilities to hold children in solitary confinement for up to 22 hours a day to prevent the spread of Covid-19 could remain in place for two years despite lockdown measures being relaxed for the rest of the UK.”
Docklands & East London Advertiser: ‘People don’t want things to return to how they were before’ — Findings of coronavirus study released by Bethnal Green charity
Docklands & East London Advertiser: ‘People don’t want things to return to how they were before’ — Findings of coronavirus study released by Bethnal Green charity. “As reported by the Advertiser in April, Bethnal Green charity The Young Foundation invited people to share their experiences via an online platform, with the aim of gauging the virus’ social impact. Over the course of 100 days, more than 600 adults — 75 per cent female, 25 pc male, and 21 pc key worker — contributed to the project, broken down into first-person stories and recommendations.”
Phys .org: Scientists see COVID-19 as historic moment for UK’s environmental future
Phys .org: Scientists see COVID-19 as historic moment for UK’s environmental future. “A leading group of University of Manchester academics are imploring policy makers to use the UK’s post-pandemic recovery as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead a positive green revolution.”
Coronavirus: How Covid-19 hit the comedy industry (BBC)
BBC: Coronavirus: How Covid-19 hit the comedy industry. “Some half (49.2%) of comedy clubs in the UK say they will definitely face permanent closure without further funding or support, according to a Live Comedy Association (LCA) survey. The UK government is providing £1.5bn emergency arts funding, but comedy was not mentioned in the announcement. British comedian Mark Watson says this follows a long history of comedy being overlooked, despite playing a big part in UK culture.”
Reuters: Kenyan museum, Mau Mau fighter shed light on British colonial abuses
Reuters: Kenyan museum, Mau Mau fighter shed light on British colonial abuses. “The camps, where tens of thousands are thought to have died, are a traumatic but largely forgotten part of Kenya’s past. They were set up to jail activists and sympathisers during the Mau Mau uprising of 1952-1960, in which [Gitu Wa] Kahengeri, born in the 1920s and a Secretary General of the independence movement’s Veterans Association, participated. Using eye-witness accounts, documents and field visits, Kenyan and British historians from the Museum of British Colonialism are now building an online archive of the period, complete with 3D recreations of some of the camps.”
Adam Matthew Digital: Adam Matthew Digital publishes the first module of Mass Observation Project: 1981-2009
Adam Matthew Digital: Adam Matthew Digital publishes the first module of Mass Observation Project: 1981-2009. “This first of three modules covers the 1980s and is a fascinating source of personal diaries and first-hand accounts from a diverse range of ‘mass observers’ in Britain. The material consists of responses to questionnaires, referred to as directives, and covers a broad range of topics from global politics and events such as the emergence of AIDS and the Cold War; to details of the wonderful and the mundane in the everyday lives of individual responders. This range of topics makes it a truly rich source of primary source content on British social history.”
New York Times: In Tackling Coronavirus, Scotland Asserts Its Separateness From England
New York Times: In Tackling Coronavirus, Scotland Asserts Its Separateness From England. “There was nothing particularly festive about Nicola Sturgeon’s recent visit to the Cold Town House, a newly reopened Edinburgh pub, but maybe that was the point. Sipping coffee and surveying plexiglass dividers, Ms. Sturgeon, the leader of Scotland’s government, warned customers not to expect the jolly, sweaty intimacy of nightlife before the coronavirus pandemic.”
Coronavirus: Pools, gyms, team sport and outdoor gigs to return (BBC)
BBC: Coronavirus: Pools, gyms, team sport and outdoor gigs to return. “Pools, gyms and sports facilities will be able to reopen and team sports and outdoor gigs resume in England, the government has announced. Outdoor pools and performances can resume from Saturday with social distancing in place, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said. Beauticians, nail salons and tattooists can also reopen from Monday, he said.” 😬
Coronavirus: Public spending on crisis soars to £190bn (BBC)
BBC: Coronavirus: Public spending on crisis soars to £190bn. “Public spending on the battle against coronavirus has risen to nearly £190bn, according to latest Treasury figures. It comes after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced another £30bn of support in his summer statement on Wednesday. The extra money is worth nearly £3,000 for every person in the UK – and more than the entire planned health budget for 2020-21.”
