A difficult day at home but nothing compared with what was to happen late afternoon.

A few months ago Jane booked a holiday cottage at Bassenthwaite for 4 nights starting tonight. We were looking forward to a few outdoor get togethers having not seen them since the end of July. They were travelling from Tier 2 North Yorkshire to Tier 2 Cumbria.

We knew that today was the day for a review of tiers but thought that even if they went up it would be a few days before it came into force so they should get two nights of the 4.

No. This afternoon, when they were already in Keswick, Matt Hancock announced that Cumbria was moving from tier 2 to tier 4 …… taking effect from midnight. Jason phoned the cottage company and was told they couldn’t go in. A return journey was the only option.