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Iceland and Co-Op won’t force customers to wear masks in store
Despite new rules on mask wearing in shops and on public transport coming into force this week, the supermarkets say staff won't force customers to comply
Responding to new rules coming into force around mask wearing, supermarket bosses at Co-Op and Iceland have both said that their staff won't force customers to wear masks when shopping in stores.
In spite of new Covid rules coming into force from Tuesday this week, the supermarkets have said they won't be asking staff to enforce them.
Citing the "long-term recovery of the high street", Iceland's managing director Richard Walker said his staff could not and should not be asked to intervene if they see a customer in the store who is not wearing a mask.
He added: "we need to continue to encourage people to shop in stores if they feel comfortable".
The Co-Op has also said it would not be enforcing the use of face coverings and that customers will not be refused service at checkouts if they are not wearing one, reports The Sun.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mr Walker said: "We fully support the reintroduction of compulsory face masks in shops, however, we won't be asking our store colleagues to police it.
"Our store teams, alongside all retail workers, have shown heroic efforts in terms of ensuring safety for customers and building back consumer confidence and it's crucial that we stay focused on the long-term recovery of the high street.
"We need to continue to encourage people to shop in stores if they feel comfortable, and I'm hopeful that the latest guidelines won't discourage customers from doing so."
What are the new rules on mask wearing in England?
The comments come in response to announcements made over the weekend that rules on mask-wearing will be made stricter from Tuesday, 30 November 2021.
The public will be required once again to wear masks on public transport and in shops, banks and post offices, with police given renewed powers to issue those seen not to be complying with fines of between £200 and £6,400.
The new rules do not apply in bars and restaurants, however, nor in school classrooms, theatres, or cinemas.
What other measures are being brought in?
The Prime Minister has said that anyone arriving in England will need to take a PCR test for Covid-19. This must be taken on the second day of their arrival.
Travellers to England must then self-isolate until they have provided a negative test result.
Why have the measures on mask wearing been brought in now?
The new restrictions have been brought in in response to a new variant of Covid called Omnicron, which was named a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organisation on Friday.
So far, two cases have been detected in the UK and six in Scotland. The new variant is thought to be more transmissible, with scientists pointing to mutations in its spike protein.
They will be reassessed in three weeks time, on 21 December.
Did you know you can watch The Devil Wears Prada 2 for free across Leeds just by taking a quick trip to the shops?
If you’re eager to watch Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) and the Runway Magazine crew on the big screen once again, you can do so for free.
After making its cinema premiere earlier this month, 20 years since the first film, The Devil Wears Prada 2 continues the story with more iconic quotes and a whole host of celebrity cameos.
One of these is pop phenomenon Lady Gaga, who also appears on the soundtrack for this stylish sequel alongside artists like Miley Cyrus, Doechii, and Brit acts Raye and Olivia Dean.
Just like real life, the story follows the real-life fashion news outlet and media brand, Runway Mag, undergoing some major changes.
For instance, they’re wrestling with scrapping print editions of their beloved publication and swapping this for online short-form content.
The sequel to this fashion-focused film also sees role reprisals from Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt, with new additions from Lucy Liu, Kenneth Branagh and Justin Theroux.
Now, enough of us talking at “a glacial pace”, let’s get all of you fashion fans those free cinema tickets before they go out of style.
An all-new promotion courtesy of not one, but three notable names: The Devil Wears Prada 2, Diet Coke and Sainsbury’s
The UK Supermarket chain is currently running a promotion during the film’s big-screen run, where if you purchase a 30-pack of Diet Coke, you can get free tickets to The Devil Wears Prada 2.
Simply purchase one of the big crates of Diet Coke between Wednesday, 29 April and Tuesday, 19 May, before snapping a picture of your receipt and uploading it online.
So it really is that simple, all you have to do is buy a 30 pack of Diet Coke and get a free cinema ticket for doing so – did somebody say girl maths?
For more info and to upload your receipt, visit the promotional website HERE.
Passengers across the North warned as new train timetables are being introduced this month
Emily Sergeant
Passengers across the North are being told to plan head as new train timetables with ‘targeted adjustments’ are being introduced this month.
Forming part of the national timetable change – which takes place twice a year each May and December – train operator Northern is reminding customers about changes which are going live next week following recent feedback from customers on how to improve.
While most of Northern’s services set to see little to no change this month, there are some ‘targeted adjustments’ taking place.
In the North West and Greater Manchester, there will be some small changes on a few routes to ‘help with punctuality’, but it’s elsewhere across the region where more significant changes are set to take place.
Image: Northern
In the North East, more customers will be able to travel between Newcastle and Whitby on Sundays without changing trains, and there will be some small tweaks to the timetables on other lines.
Then, over in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, trains running between Sheffield and Lincoln will now call at all stations along the route on Sundays.
“We’ve listened to feedback from our customers and have focused on improving reliability when the May timetable change takes place,” commented Toby Higgins, who is the Head of Business Performance at Northern, ahead of the timetable changes being introduced next week.
“Whilst there won’t be widespread changes to times, I’d advise customers to check before they travel as some services will leave a few minutes earlier than they do now to help with overall punctuality.”
New train timetables go live from next Sunday 17 May, and the full details of all of the changes taking place across the network can be found on Northern’s website here.
The Hoot -
29th November 2021 
