Bowling Alleys, Casinos & Ice Skating Rinks to Stay Shut 

With the school summer holidays and August getting into full swing, the summer of 2020 has never looked so different. Whilst many have adapted into a new way of life to go about their daily business, there are still a couple of establishments which aren't set to reopen just yet despite first thoughts. The original plan was to open land based casinos, bowling alleys and skating rinks at the start of August, but this plan has now been shelved for the time being.

Why?

Boris Johnson has said further easing of restrictions including allowing small wedding receptions and land-based "bricks and mortar casinos" will be postponed for at least another two weeks. 

At a Downing Street press conference earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said ‘squeezing the brakes’ on reopening could help prevent a repeat of a nationwide lockdown, because recently there has been a surge in reported cases in hotspots where large meetings have recently taken place. 

 What Does This Mean For Casinos, Skating Rinks and Bowling Alleys? 

 What this means is that this type of entertainment venue will remain closed for at least another 2 weeks but there is no definitive timeline as of yet. You could also say that this decision is on par with many of the postponed gigs and music festivals that have disappointed many music and festival goers this year, with many live artists and bands cancelling or postponing their gigs until at least 2021 (aside from a couple of scheduled festivals but there could be changes on the horizon, just like those above).

In further news, the PM also announced that from Saturday, August 8, people will have to wear face coverings in more indoor public places than what's the law now, including museums, galleries, cinemas and places of worship.  Johnson also stressed that he could ‘not afford to ignore the evidence’, but said guidance allowing employers more discretion over the return to the workplace, coming in force tomorrow, remains unchanged. 

Hot Weather for the Month of August

In other news, whilst thats a blow for some, the good news is that there is some fantastic summer weather on the way! Hot weather that's said to be sticking around for a couple of weeks. Met Office forecaster Bonnie Diamond said there will be a "warm spell across the UK", with the highest temperatures soaring in the southeast of England. 

At the minute and with high confidence, we're expecting 34C to 36C (93.2F to 96.8F) by Friday and Saturday," Ms Diamond added. 

 The high temperatures are the result of southerly winds moving from Europe and high-pressure patterns that are set to kick in from around Thursday. The predicted warm weather comes after the UK recorded its third-hottest day on record last Friday when the mercury topped 37.8C (100F) at Heathrow Airport. The highest ever UK temperature remains 38.7C (102F), which was recorded on 25 July 2019 in Cambridge University Botanic Garden. The coastguard said it had one of its busiest days in years too, while councils said that beaches were "unmanageable" as Britons flocked to the seaside to enjoy the heat.