Allowing households to mix could prove costly. People should proceed with care, finding safer ways to celebrate where possible
“Call off Christmas.” That three-word, ad-libbed flourish elevated Alan Rickman’s Sheriff of Nottingham to the pantheon of classic movie villains. This is a country where tree decorations can appear for sale in August. The discussion over what will happen this winter seems to have lasted almost as long. No politician – least of all Boris Johnson – would relish cancelling festivities as Oliver Cromwell once did.
After a hard year, and a second lockdown, many people long for even the illusion of normality, and for the chance to be with those they love and have seen much less of than usual. Some relish the news that the UK’s Covid-19 restrictions will be loosened, with up to three households allowed to mix for a five-day period.
