Upcycling; Covid Holiday Tests; Festivals

Available for over a year

Charities have been hit hard through the pandemic - donations have plummeted due to shut shops and cancelled events. One way they’re trying to make more money is by upcycling stuff which would usually be unsellable. Our reporter, Samantha Fenwick, finds out about the different ways charities are upcycling and the difference it's making to their funds. We report on the uncertainty passengers are facing over the Covid tests they need to take to return to the UK from countries abroad. Listeners have been coming to us to tell us how they've been refused boarding on flights, even when they've taken the tests the UK government says they should have taken. We hear from one passenger, who was denied boarding when trying to fly back to the UK on a TAP Air Portugal flight. She had taken a rapid flow test bought from Prenetics, a UK Government approved company. We speak to Andrew Steele, Head of Product at Prenetics UK. TAP Air Portugal says the test wasn't valid for travel back to the UK because it was self-administered. There are calls for a government backed insurance scheme to help festival businesses survive. More than half of festivals have been cancelled for a second year, mainly because they can't get insurance. Two have been held as part of a government research programme looking at how easily Covid spreads in outdoor crowds. Others are being staged under existing restrictions - with very limited numbers, social distancing and no mixing. Our reporter Elizabeth Hotson visits one of them, Bigfoot, in Warwickshire. We also speak to Andy Smith, the founder and director of Kendal Calling, one of the big festivals that has just cancelled for this year. Andy Smith is its founder and director. Presenter: Winifred Robinson Producer: Tara Holmes