Doing better than its neighbours in europe regarding the outbreak. As weve been hearing, more than 10 Million People have now received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, with an army of volunteers giving up their time to help with this massive effort. We spent the day at a Vaccine Centre in southall in west london with a gp, dr Kamini Gautam, who takes up the story. This is the dominion centre. This is where patients come to get vaccinated in southall. This is the main hall. Patients will enter through the door that says no exit over the top of it, because its a one way flow. They will be directed by our lovely stewards. Weve vaccinated over 11,000 people here, in the last three weeks, and we rely very heavily on volunteer staff members. Can i have your surname, please . We have Reception Team members, who have been deployed from their regular practices, and the same with our clinical staff through the house. I normally work as a nurse in a respiratory, high dependency unit. Im actually on annual leave at the moment, so im doing this kind ofjust on the side, i so i can help out, really. Having dad over 85 and mum over 70, the lockdown has been not very easy. It didnt take us long, straight on the wheelchair and straight in, and its been very good. This is where all the vaccine is kept. Both the vaccines have got very different sort of profiles. The pfizer one is a little bit more fragile, as it were, so we try and make sure that we use up all our pfizer one before we actually go onto astrazeneca. We have had a few people who have expressed concerns about having the vaccine. Of course, we do like to reassure them that both these vaccines have been widely trialled, and certainly from my three weeks of working here, ive not seen any major side effects. When they came to my office to give some stuff, i refused, but after reading the side effects and everything, and what it would do in future, ijust opted to take it, and im glad i made the decision to do that. Seeing people get vaccinated, it gives you the sense that there is light at the end of the tunnel, which is not another train. One of the things that really struck home was how isolated so many people had felt. People are frightened, people are scared, people are worried about their loved ones, so people arent visiting. But the gratitude in peoples eyes made this really, really rewarding as an effort. Dr Kamini Gautam there, ending that report. Now on bbc news its time for the travel show. Coming up on this weeks show an uphill struggle for europes ski resorts. The Lift Closures changed a lot things, so people came here for Cross Country skiing. Gorgeous view. The Italian Village trying to stay on its hilltop. And the show that must go on in dubai. I have no safety, i have no harness. I cannot have mistakes. Theme music plays hello and welcome to the show, where its pretty safe to say, 11 months on from the start of the pandemic, travel to and from the uk has pretty much ground to a halt. Laughs and if youre like me and you just cant wait for the opportunity to get back on the road again and see more of the world than your own front garden, then why not stick with us . We will be updating you with how the Travel Industry is trying to cope with the pandemic, plus, a bit of inspiration for things to see and do once those Travel Corridors are reinstalled and we can perhaps start exploring again. But first, its that time of the year when some of us start packing our ski suits and get ready to hit the slopes. But with an ongoing Global Pandemic and Travel Restrictions all across the world, travelling to the mountains is an uphill struggle. In the uk, all the ski resorts in scotland have closed their ski lifts until the current lockdown is lifted. Elsewhere, in europe, many ski stations have simply shut down for the season or remain open only for the locals. Chamonix is one of the oldest and most famous ski resorts in the french alps where this year theres a lot of snow but very few tourists. This the laiguille du midi lift station, it is the highest lift in western europe. Normally this Platform Area would be absolutely buzzing with people waiting to take the lift, with alpinists, with ropes people with their skis, every nationality you could imagine. Theyd be waiting here to take the lift. This is an extremely lively place in normal times. Since october, like other ski lifts across france, this cable car has remained closed by Government Order in an effort to stop the spread of covid 19. Perhaps the danger is not so much in the Outdoor Activity of skiing, which is considered pretty safe, but its more the gathering of groups of people and when you have ski, you inevitably have apres ski and thats something the government wants to avoid. I live and work in chamonix. Ive been here for 35 years now. The situation now with very few tourists is extremely strange. Its one that i have never experienced. Yes, its a very sad situation for all of the people who depend on tourism for their livelihoods. Singing like other european countries, france has decided to shut its restaurants and bars, and a curfew now moved to 6pm means all apres ski activities are curtailed. Its a major blow for the people working here in the valley. Theres no talk of reopening yet though, the government has confirmed that ski lifts will remain shut in february. Im sure the season is dead, im sure about that. Compared to december last year, our turnover is down by 62 , which is enormous. And because of this, i have been employing only four seasonals instead of 21 normally. At the moment, our clients are the locals and we have also people coming from switzerland a few of them. But there is no more foreigners in chamonix and this is how we live normally with the foreigners and for the moment, we dont have any. Although we found one group of foreigners who seem to enjoy their time here. Were from australia but we live in lyon. We dont get much snow in australia so this is my first time seeing snow. So, its pretty beautiful. And its a shame we cant go up on the mountain and ski but we are making the most of it with our snowman and everything. Well have to come back next year, hopefully, i when things are a little bit more normal hopefully. I yeah for others, the closure of ski lifts has been a way of rediscovering other things to do in the snow, like sledging. Because the Alpine Skiing is not possible, we have had customers who have been asking for the new things, and the new thing is touring skis. This is a touring skis with a proper binding. You have got pins on the front which helps the boots to go like this when youre climbing. And then you put the skins on the skis like this, and like this its going to help you climb the mountains. Ski touring, snowshoeing, Cross Country, normally the people who would have been skiing are doing those activities instead. And also, there have been so many people in the Mountain Making Sledging tracks and building snowmen and people who normally ski dont have time for those activities. So it is a little bit more of a back to nature and resourcing. And just enjoying the peace and quiet of the mountain as well. My name is daniele, i have been a Ski Instructor in chamonix for 20 years now. So the Lift Closures have changed a lot of things in the valley, you can imagine, because Chamonix Valley is very, very famous for downhill ski. So people came here in the holidays for the last Christmas Holidays here in chamonix, and the change of ski came here with the Cross Country ski. It was incredible. We had so many people here on loop, many, many skiers in chamonix. I have never seen that, never. We had so many people trying to have some lessons. We didnt have enough Ski Instructors in the valley. That was incredible. Some people will come back to Cross Country skiing next year too because they enjoy it. See where we are, look at the snow, the snow on the trees. It is much more quiet than downhill skiing. You have always got the noise of the chairlifts, its very noisy. Here its, its a totally different atmosphere so i think they enjoy this a lot. Well, stay with us because still to come on the show weve got the Italian Village clinging to its hilltop. You have to be like very very focused and concentrated on what youre going to do. And we find out how the show can go on in dubai. Welcome back to london, a city in lockdown where we are now getting used to seeing virtually deserted streets. Well, imagine living in a place thats acustomised to being empty, thanks to a constantly falling population. Well, last year, before the current Travel Restrictions were in place, i went to italy to a Hilltop Village thats in exactly that situation. Civita, today they call it the dying town but it was once home to more than 3,000 people. Now they reckon there are just seven permanent residents here. And they are heavily outnumbered by tourists up to 10,000 a day. As you approach the town, you can see just why. Gorgeous view. This bridge, by the way, is the only way up to the village, and back for that matter. You can only walk, you cant drive. Its about 300 metres, it gets pretty steep. Its a pretty stunning entrance as well, isnt it . Civita dates back more than a thousand years but over the centuries, its population has dwindled and notjust for economic reasons. Because this town is actually physically collapsing itself. In fact, it was once three orfour times the size it is now. Wow, so, luca, this is a really steep drop in the rock face. What caused this . And this is a problem that is continuing today, even up to today there is still a big danger that this will collapse even more. Ironically, although there are hardly any local amenities, no supermarkets, no post office, no police station, some businesses are booming because of increasing visitor numbers. Like this cantina, a restaurant owned by one of civitas few remaining residents. She grew up here as a child and watched the town change around her. Rosanna, tell me, what was it like here when you were growing up as a child . Was it sad for you to see so many of your friends leave and just you left behind . Indeed, now in civita, some young locals are seeing opportunities to stay. Like daniela and her brother, who set up a business here. In the olive fields overlooked by civita, where she played as a child, daniela got the inspiration to create cosmetics that evoke the unique landscape. The basic fact is, for civita as a whole to survive, it will need money. To cross the bridge you now have to pay five euros, and its in the running to become a unesco World Heritage site which would bring with it funding to help secure its future. Luca, the geologist, had one more thing to show me. He thinks that through monitoring long term planning and by reinforcing the base of the valley, civita can be saved for the benefit of the all. In the meantime, innovations are helping to secure this precious town. Hand on heart, luca, do you really think that civita can be saved . Fingers crossed. Grazie. Now back here in london, the capitals world famous theatreland took a huge hit during the pandemic with virtually all forms of Live Entertainment being forced to shut down. Entertainment is a huge draw for Tourist Destinations and a few years ago. I visited dubai to meet the Cast Of A New Theatrical Extravaganza called la perle. We are talking 65 world class artists, athletes and performers. Were talking motorcycles circling around in a bowl in mid air, and best of all, in the middle of a desert, you can even get rain. Like venues all over the world, they too were forced to shut down when the pandemic hit but now theyre up and running again. And last month, lucy got a behind the scenes look at how they managed to reopen. Its about five oclock so there are two hours before showtime and i have been lucky enough to get a Sneak Preview of the technical rehearsal that these guys do every night. It looks incredible and i cannot wait for showtime. Bring it on. La perle is a Mixture Ofjaw dropping acrobatics, visual effects, music and dance, performed here nightly in a specially built theatre inside a Hotel Complex in the heart of dubai. Bringing a touch of las vegas spectacle to an audience who in normal times is usually made up of tourists from Around The World. Carlos is one of the highlights of the nightly show, performing amazing and daring feats of agility on his giant rotating wheels. Where one false move could spell potential disaster. So carlos, i have been watching you with equal measures of dread and awe on The Wheel Of Life or the wheel of death as it was formerly known, how do you do that . You must be physically strong because it is heavy and then mentally strong and you have to be very focused and concentrate on what youre going to do. I have no safety, i have no harness. I cannot have a mistake. The show closed down on march 15 last year as a lockdown was announced in dubai and International Tourism here ground to a halt. But four month later, the decision was made to try and reopen the show. The performers and crew still in dubai agreed to form bubbles, a strict covid safe seating plan was introduced and once local authorities were happy, tickets went on sale again. When we came back to the theatre on august first, we came three weeks advance to perform, to practise, to get back into shape, to bring back the show together. This show requires a lot of training. So they say were going to open but it depends on you guys if were going to keep open the theatre. So you have to take measures. I sacrifice myself but at the same point, at the same time, i am grateful because i am allowed to, despite all these problems, i can still perform what i like. Live theatrical entertainment Around The World has been and here at la perle they practically reinvented their shows so that performers, crews and audience members could stay as safe as possible. And that has meant pretty much rebuilding the entire production from the ground up. How about the choreography, how have you redesigned that to ensure there is enough distance between performers and the audience . Originally we had a lot of changes because we normally have people flying all over the audience, coming very much into audience interaction. There are even artists coming onto the stage from within the audience. A lot of that was going through the whole show on day one, going to do that, not gonna do that, cannot do that. So were just running a lot of contingencies right now and one day, hopefully we will be able to bring those segments of the show back in. For now, we will still give the audience the same feeling without coming into contact with them. The audience is beginning to filter in, the seats have been sanitised and i can see people in their bubbles, safely socially distancing. If im being honest, it feels a little weird being here after ten months of absolutely no Live Entertainment but its amazing were going to see a show and i cannot wait. With all the restrictions in place and fewer performers on stage, rob describes the new show as a more intimate experience and reduced Audience Capacity means less revenue from ticket sales. But while International Tourism will not return to pre covid levels for some time, local audiences here in dubai have remained loyal, with many of them coming to see the show for the very first time. I play more with the audience because i feel they are shy and afraid sometimes, especially, not many shows in the world are open the show must go on. Were going to survive. And that is it for this week. Coming up next time grab your coat were revisiting some of our favourite snowbound adventures. From ade� s stay at swedens iconic ice hotel. What is the temperature in this place . 5. To entering an endangered glazier. It is beautiful. Wish me luck. And christas head first ride down a bobsled run. And in the meantime, dont forget you can follow us on facebook and instagram. Heres to the time we can get back on the road and travel again. We will see you next week. Goodbye. Hello there. Winter is about to ramp up to another gear by the end of this week, certainly into the weekend. Itll be turning much colder with the risk of some disruptive snow in places. So for the next few days, itll gradually be turning colder for all, and well see increasing snow particularly over the hills in the north. Now for thursday, weve still got low pressure close by to the uk, its the Weather Front across the north bringing further cloud, outbreaks of rain to northern ireland, much of scotland, Northern England too, and here well see further snow over the scottish hills accumulating and drifting in that strong east southeast wind. Further south, after a bright start to the day, well start to see showery bursts of rain moving up from the south. Here, itll tend to be fairly mild, 8 10 celsius, but very cold across the north where we have that snow. Through thursday night, it continues with rain and the snow across scotland significant accumulations over the grampians and the highlands, very wet weather with a risk of flooding. Further south, a drier night to come and clear skies, could see some mist and fog across southern england, and again, a big temperature contrast from north to south. Now the snow continues as we head on into friday and saturday significant accumulations have prompted the met office to issue an Amber Warning for this heavy, incessant snow. And also, some very heavy rain for lower levels could cause some localised flooding so a whole host of issues there. Further west, well have sunny spells, a few showers, tends to stay dry across the far south east again, 9 10 celsius, much colder further north where it will also be windy with that drifting snow in the hills. Moving on into the weekend, our area of low pressure sinks a bit further southwards, so it means the rain and the hill snow across Scotland Will Drift into parts of Northern England at times too, so a whole wintry mix here could be disruptive. Further south, quite a bit of cloud around with outbreaks of rain, and temperatures dropping generally across the board. Still cold in the north and a little bit colder for much of england and wales, too. As we head on into sunday, the very cold air across the east pushes southwards right across the uk, and itll be very windy, so the wind making it feel even colder 2 3 celsius, some snow pushing into northern and eastern areas which could be disruptive. So turning very cold through this weekend for all areas, with the risk of some disruptive snow for some of us. Welcome to bbc news. Im james reynolds. Our top stories protests continue in myanmar as the un calls for the release of leader aung san suu kyi, whos been charged by police, following mondays military coup. Essentially, what people here are saying is they do not want to live or work under the military anymore. Future proofing the Covid Vaccine how scientists are already working to make sure the new vaccines can be adapted to deal with any new variant. A 22 year old american who had the worlds face and hand transplant talks about his surgery, saying he feels gratefulfor surgery, saying he feels grateful for a Second Chance at life. Three female directors make history by being nominated for a Golden Globe Awards thats the first time more
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